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Crankarm Length For A Tall & Heavy Rider

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#5 ·
I'm 6'5" and I have 180mm cranks on two bikes. Everything else has 175. I like the long cranks. I truly believe if I strike anything, I'd do it with 175mm cranks also.

I haven't had a strike in a really long time.
 
#7 ·
Yeah...6'3" really isn't that tall. I'm 6'2" and don't consider myself tall at all. As far as crank length...175 is perfectly fine. I don't think you'd need to consider longer unless you were quite a bit taller. At 6'2" I was actually throwing around the idea of going shorter to 172.5 but after some research...I decided to stay with 175. Some pros on the road are going shorter so there might be a little something to it...but any tiny benefit you'd get would be something you would have to be a top level pro to realize. And top level I am not. And I really don't think that on a mountain bike...2.5mm shorter, if the crank is actually even any shorter...is going to do much or anything to help prevent strikes.
 
#8 ·
I am 6'3" 34" inseam 230lbs. I rode my 2009 Turner Sultan with 180mm cranks back to back with several different bikes from LBS's with 175mm cranks. I love my 180mm cranks and 175mm feel too short for me. Obviously I bought the Sultan with 180mm cranks.



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#9 ·
Theoretically a longer crank might fit your leg length better. But, pedal strikes will slow you down more than a slightly short crank.
I would say, if the bottom bracket is pretty high and your trails smooth, sure, go with the 180s. If it's a low bike or your trails are rocky or rooty, stick to the 174s. Is there a price difference?
I am 6'5", 37" inseam, and switched to 170s on my current bike to prevent pedal strikes. I notice no difference to the stock 175s. I did ride 180s several years ago, again could not feel a huge difference.
 
#10 ·
There's a bunch of research out there, and it points to there being little practical difference in an extremely wide range of crank lengths. In fact, there could be a slight benefit to using *shorter* cranks.

Crank Length ? Does Size Really Matter? - PezCycling News
The Benefits of Reducing Your Crank Length | TrainingPeaks

I'd stay with 175 or shorter due to bottom brackets assuming they have to handle that length on production bikes, and lower bottom brackets in general due to the current 'long low slack' trend.

Additionally, I'm your size, I tried a bike with 185mm cranks (a custom hard tail) and it felt really weird and fun, but didn't make much of a difference in my overall performance.

HTH.
 
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lowestbarone
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