what length cranks for sprinting

superstar kyle said:

hi everybody, just taken delivery of my new frame, and looking for a new set of cranks either dura ace or fsa track ones, what length is best for events such as the Keirin and Match sprint

thanks 😕

Personal preference in my opinion. If you're going to be riding on a steep track, you may want to go with 165's for the match sprinting. For Keirin, it doesn't matter, whatever you like since you're already up to speed in that event. My personal preference is 165's

thanks for the advice, is that a BT in the photo just above your location?

superstar kyle said:

thanks for the advice, is that a BT in the photo just above your location?

Yup. Gonna try it out this year

me to mine finaly arrived on monday

I would advise against the fsa cranks, i got some and the bottom bracket had poor quality stiff bearings

Lee

taras0000 said:

Personal preference in my opinion. If you're going to be riding on a steep track, you may want to go with 165's for the match sprinting. For Keirin, it doesn't matter, whatever you like since you're already up to speed in that event. My personal preference is 165's

While I agree with 165 I would suggest a different reason. The shorter the crank the shorter the distance your foot actually moves in a rotation (at the expense of leverage of course). So I believe it does matter, I only Sprint 165 pure and simple. I use 165 for Keirin also but I don't know if it is as important as with sprinting.

Fixey said:

The shorter the crank the shorter the distance your foot actually moves in a rotation (at the expense of leverage of course).

I would think that it would give you more leverage. Your leg is more extended at the top of the stroke than it is with a longer crank.

I have the FSA cranks and I'm not too pleased. The crank arm attaches to the carbon fiber spider with a ISIS style lock-ring. The lock-ring has come loose on me a few times which results in a little bit of 'play' in the sytem. No problem with the bb though.

I have a brand spanking new set of Sugino 75 Track Cranks 165mm.

$100 bucks, Send me an e-mail if you want them.

165s

170s are OK if you are not exclusively a sprinter.

taras0000 said:

I would think that it would give you more leverage. Your leg is more extended at the top of the stroke than it is with a longer crank.

I understand what you mean but leverage comes from the length of the lever, most power comes from the crank at 2 o'clock to 5 o'clock so the leg being "cramped" at the top would not be an issue, also that would be a seat hight issue.....

Go 165. Is a lot easier on smaller gears and even though you might laugh if youve got big hip flexors (think thats what they call them) you'd be better off with 165 as there is less range of movement, enabling a more aero postion whilst keeping seat height as normal. Anything in 96+ range you would probably want 170s just for the sake of leverage. Just out of curiosity,you've gone out and bought a B.T and you've never ridden track before?

Fixey said:

I understand what you mean but leverage comes from the length of the lever, most power comes from the crank at 2 o'clock to 5 o'clock so the leg being "cramped" at the top would not be an issue, also that would be a seat hight issue.....

Sry, should have clarified it as biomechanical leverage, leverage across your joints. Your muscles are in a better position to fire. Fixey, you know yourself you can muscle a lot more weight from a half squat than you can a deep squat. That's what I was getting at. The seat height bit, yes, you will be cramped if your seat is low. But even if you have proper seat height, you would still benefit from having a more open hip angle in my opinion.