MTB experts, help!

it's the distance from the centre of the bottom bracket spindle to the centre of the pedal shaft.

175mm is standard, 170mm is for if you're a wee man.
 
Imo its more about preferance rather than your height.

I run 165mm cranks on my dh bike and im 6ft 1.

If your pedals hit the ground a lot, then go for the 170s otherwise 175s. I run 175s on my xtc and never had a problem with ground clearance.
 
exactly as the guy above me says.. shorter cranks are more desirable for serious off road stuff where your pedals hit the floor/rocks a lot, and thats why they tend to be more.

175mm is the international standard

good choice too.. raceface are the dogs when it comes to chainsets
 
you really notice the difference a lot more than you might think pedalling 170s as opposed to 175s... if pedal strikes were an issue id get a frame with a higher BB rather than change crank stroke.
 
Thanks for the help. Ordered the 175mm. I'm 6'3 and the XTC frame is 21" so it should be fine.

My original crank has bent. I looked at the price of the the original Truvativ one that came on the bike, its only £30. Looks like they cut costs on the cranks on these bikes!
 
Guybrush said:
you really notice the difference a lot more than you might think pedalling 170s as opposed to 175s... if pedal strikes were an issue id get a frame with a higher BB rather than change crank stroke.
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Why not just change your gearing ratio rather than changing frame :confused:

Longer cranks dont make it easier or more efficient to pedal, you just need to change your gear ratios due to the difference in leverage.

Edit : im just adding that longer cranks dont make pedalling any easier, not directed at you just letting the op know what difference crank length makes :)
 
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who said anything about gearing? It's the physical movement of my feet that I'm talking about. I'm a long legged 6'2" and to me 170s feel very odd (though id probably get used to it... but still less efficient from an anatomical point of view) and 165s feel like im riding a child's bike.
 
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bolger said:
Imo its more about preferance rather than your height.

I run 165mm cranks on my dh bike and im 6ft 1.

If your pedals hit the ground a lot, then go for the 170s otherwise 175s. I run 175s on my xtc and never had a problem with ground clearance.
Click to expand...

about say, my street/jump bike has 165's and I'm 6 foot 1, its all about preference, hard to explain, its all about feel, I have ridden some expensive bikes that feel carp, I love mine to bits
 
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