125 mm cranks and Schwalbe Big Apple

Hi all,

I took my Yuni 29" with 2.35" Schwalbe Big Apple and 125 mm cranks out for
the first ride today. As I expected, the 29" uni felt much "twitchier" than
the uni I'm used to, a 24" Miyata Deluxe with 127 mm cranks. I also
discovered that UPDs on the 29" uni are harder to run out of than UPDs on
the 24" uni.

My question is whether the "twitchy" feel of the 125 mm cranks will go away
with practice, or if 125 mm cranks always be more difficult to control (even
on smooth level surfaces) than 150 mm cranks. I selected 125 mm cranks for
speed, but I also want the relative flywheel effect of the Big Apple so that
I don't have to concentrate on the uni every moment. Will the 125 mm cranks
negate the flywheel effect of the Big Apple?

Any comments are appreciated.

I use my 700c wheel with 89, and 102mm cranks, and it flies. Of course
its always going to feel more twitchy than a 24 inch with longer cranks,
but you have to understand that that is part of why it can go so fast.
Alot of the uncomfortable feeling will go away though, after a few
rides.

-Ryan


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On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 16:55:05 -0500, "Uni" Nospamforme wrote:

My question is whether the "twitchy" feel of the 125 mm cranks will go away
with practice, or if 125 mm cranks always be more difficult to control (even
on smooth level surfaces) than 150 mm cranks.

Both. It will feel less twitchy with practice but I think 150 mm will
always give you more control. I have ridden my Big Apple 29'er with
150, 125 and 110 mm cranks. For now I prefer the 125, due to the
larger control I'm actually faster on 125 than on 110 (fear factor).
But I might move to 110 after more practice. I need to invest in some
more padding first, though.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
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"Friends don't let friends drop to flat - Kris Holm, discussing large drops to flat ground."

Uni wrote:
*
My question is whether the "twitchy" feel of the 125 mm cranks will go
away
with practice, or if 125 mm cranks always be more difficult to control
(even
on smooth level surfaces) than 150 mm cranks.
*


Hm, when you say "difficult to control": When I try to ride fast (well,
fast for me:-), I find longer cranks harder to control. When I try to
ride slow, difficult terrain, shorter cranks are harder to control. For
me it`s some kind of function which has the surface and the speed as
input variables:-)

I finished my 29"er project last weekend; I have a Pichler frame
http://www.pichlerrad.de, Schwalbe Big Apple 2.35" and 125mm cranks.
The hub is also from Pichler, and I built the wheel myself.

I rode it only on smooth ground for now, and I really like it. Mounting
is still difficult for me, I need 2 or 3 attempts before I succeed.

Regards,
Juergen


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I put 110's on my Pashley 29er (back when it was a 26er) and it only
took me 3-4 awkward rides to get used to them. I find the short cranks
require more patience from your brain stem -- you don't get instant
gratification when you make a correction, but the correction does
happen.

Now I'll go back to suppressing my Big Apple envy...


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The "right" crank length for a given wheel depends a lot on the rider
and the terrain. For Muni on a 29" wheel, I can't imagine you'd want
shorter than 125mm but for road rides, 100mm might be a lot faster. It
all depends on you and what you like. If you practice riding with
shorter cranks you'll certainly get used to it. For instance, I used to
think idling a Coker with 152mm cranks was really hard. Now it's not
hard with 125mm since I'm used to it.

---Nathan


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Thanks to all who replied. I'd like to use this uni for city as well as
distance riding, so let me ask the question in a different way:

Is a 29" uni with 125 mm cranks practical for riding in a city (manuevering
on sidewalks, passing pedestrians, crossing streets)? Or does the relative
lack of control at slow speeds from the 125 mm cranks make this a bad idea?

"Uni" Nospamforme wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I took my Yuni 29" with 2.35" Schwalbe Big Apple and 125 mm cranks out for
the first ride today. As I expected, the 29" uni felt much "twitchier"
than
the uni I'm used to, a 24" Miyata Deluxe with 127 mm cranks. I also
discovered that UPDs on the 29" uni are harder to run out of than UPDs on
the 24" uni.

My question is whether the "twitchy" feel of the 125 mm cranks will go
away
with practice, or if 125 mm cranks always be more difficult to control
(even
on smooth level surfaces) than 150 mm cranks. I selected 125 mm cranks
for
speed, but I also want the relative flywheel effect of the Big Apple so
that
I don't have to concentrate on the uni every moment. Will the 125 mm
cranks
negate the flywheel effect of the Big Apple?

Any comments are appreciated.

Uni wrote:
*Thanks to all who replied. I'd like to use this uni for city as well
as
distance riding, so let me ask the question in a different way:

Is a 29" uni with 125 mm cranks practical for riding in a city
(manuevering
on sidewalks, passing pedestrians, crossing streets)? Or does the
relative
lack of control at slow speeds from the 125 mm cranks make this a bad
idea?


*

I've just posted a thread on the relative merits of 29-ers and munis in
those kind of riding situations which you may find of interest: -
http://tinyurl.com/368b4


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"He's also been known to indulge in a spot of flame juggling - but it's
the Muni that really fires him up."

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Thanks for the thread, onewheeldave. It was very helpful.

I think that 150 mm cranks on the 29" uni may be a good compromise (between
a 24" with 125s and a 29" with 125s). They should allow me to ride
comfortably and safely in the city, but still do some moderate distance
riding. They should also be better for the occasional hill than the 125s.

Does anyone else have an opinion on 125 vs. 150 mm cranks for a 29" uni that
will be used for city *and* distance riding?

"onewheeldave" .com wrote
in message
news

Uni wrote:
*Thanks to all who replied. I'd like to use this uni for city as well
as
distance riding, so let me ask the question in a different way:

Is a 29" uni with 125 mm cranks practical for riding in a city
(manuevering
on sidewalks, passing pedestrians, crossing streets)? Or does the
relative
lack of control at slow speeds from the 125 mm cranks make this a bad
idea?


*

I've just posted a thread on the relative merits of 29-ers and munis in
those kind of riding situations which you may find of interest: -
http://tinyurl.com/368b4


--
onewheeldave - Semi Skilled Unicyclist

"He's also been known to indulge in a spot of flame juggling - but it's
the Muni that really fires him up."

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Uni wrote:
*Does anyone else have an opinion on 125 vs. 150 mm cranks for a 29"
uni that
will be used for city *and* distance riding?
*


Yes. 125 for serious Muni and 89's for street and distance. :-)


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