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Hello there I was thinking about getting a shorter set of cranks for my nukeproof mega maybe 165mm cranks anyone else running shorter cranks how do you find them compared to longer ones ?
Also I was looking at the Hope are they worth the extra cost over something like shimano?
Seth from Berm Peak did a really useful video on this recently.
Thanks for that I will check it out now
For downhill / enduro there's definitely an argument to be made for shorter cranks.
For XC, I'm not so sure. Look at the top 10 finishers in any Men's elite UCI MTB XC race and they're all still on 175mm.
For XC, I’m not so sure. Look at the top 10 finishers in any Men’s elite UCI MTB XC race and they’re all still on 175mm.
Yea but for context they'll also be running a 38t chainring and utilizing absurd VO2max so that extra leverage must assist spinning that kinda ring size. I think.
I noticed a subtle change going from 170 to 165 but adapted rapidly and appreciate the additional clearance.
I went from 175 to 165. Dropped 2 teeth on the chainring at the same time.
I much prefer it. I can spin the cranks faster, and this seems to be less tiring than grinding 175s round. Also the extra clearance is useful. Took a couple of rides to adapt. For reference I am 6'3"
I would go for Shimano over hope. Not sure what if any advantages you get for your extra money other than picking colour and they say hope on? Hope aren't hollow either are they? So arguably worse as they won't have the same stiffness to weight.
165 is great unless you want to ride lots of flat terrain I reckon. Shorter cranks = higher saddle at full extension relative to BB so they're not quite so great for saddle up riding on technical trails I find (e.g gravel bike or fast hardtail on singlrtrack).
For a Mega they defo make sense!
I went from 175 to 165. Dropped 2 teeth on the chainring at the same time.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; color: #000000; font-family: Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; background-color: #eeeeee;" />I much prefer it. I can spin the cranks faster, and this seems to be less tiring than grinding 175s round. Also the extra clearance is useful. Took a couple of rides to adapt. For reference I am 6’3″
Me too, worked a treat especially as I like to run a lot of sag.
I have 170, 172.5, two pairs of 175 and 180mm cranks on my bikes.
If I didn't know which one was which I doubt I could tell.
I'd get some Shimano ones and not worry much.
Last bike came with gx 12 speed. I wanted a 36 tooth chain ring. Best price £120!!!
I have a Cannondale road bike that came with fsa cranks. When that needed new chainrings it was cheaper to get a tiagra chainset with chain rings, BB and BB adaptor than chain rings for the FSA.