What crank length is on your Muni?

I voted for everything 150mm and under because of the various terrains
MUni could encompass.
On (extremely) technical downhill you have to appreciate the extra
control of the 150s, but for anything else they're overkill if you have
a decent level of mastery over the machine.(imo)


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Thanks for all the comments, I hope these posts are helpful for folks
just getting into muni like my son and I. Wheel size is one question
most newbies have, but crank length is an even bigger question once you
get riding. So far I have tried 135/145/165/170 on a 24"/26".

What I'm finding is that I can ride fine on shorter cranks, but when I
go to climb I find that I don't have enough control to manage my
balance while at the same applying sufficient pedal pressure to make
the mild to mod grades. The 150 was manageable, but I had trouble in
sand and looser gravel.

When I went from the 150 to a 170, it was wierd for about fifteen
minutes, then I relaxed and had a blast! All the climbs were easier,
descents were a snap, even free mounts were easier. I can go slower and
manage my uni easier with longer cranks, of course the trade off is I'm
moving my legs a lot!

I'm going to follow the advice of Chrashing:


I started with 170 first year, then 165 next, and now 150mm.



I'll work the 170-165 for a while, then look for some 160's, either
stop there are move on down to a 150. Though some folks ride shorter
cranks, I can't see ever wanting to less the torque, esp if I stay
brakeless, but if I got brakes 'd go with 150's. I kinda' like slow and
torquey

Ben


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Thanks for all the comments, I hope these posts are helpful for folks
just getting into muni like my son and I. Wheel size is one question
most newbies have, but crank length is an even bigger question once you
get riding. So far I have tried 135/145/165/170 on a 24"/26".

What I'm finding is that I can ride fine on shorter cranks, but when I
go to climb I find that I don't have enough control to manage my
balance while at the same applying sufficient pedal pressure to make
the mild to mod grades. The 150 was manageable, but I had trouble in
sand and looser gravel.

When I went from the 150 to a 170, it was wierd for about fifteen
minutes, then I relaxed and had a blast! All the climbs were easier,
descents were a snap, even free mounts were easier. I can go slower and
manage my uni easier with longer cranks, of course the trade off is I'm
moving my legs a lot!

I'm going to follow the advice of Chrashing:


I started with 170 first year, then 165 next, and now 150mm.



I'll work the 170-165 for a while, then look for some 160's, either
stop there are move on down to a 150. Though some folks ride shorter
cranks, I can't see ever wanting to less the torque, esp if I stay
brakeless, but if I got brakes 'd go with 150's. I kinda' like slow and
torquey

Ben


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I received my dual-holed 125/150 KH Moments on Friday, and went out for
a ride straight away and again on Saturday morning. The change from
170mm to 150mm was so strange at first. I had more control than I
thought I would have, and also felt the Uni better (hard to explain
this one), and had better fine control at slow speeds.

Going up hill I noticed that I was using my outer quad muscles (higher
up) in my legs more probably due to the leverage angle (I did not
change the height of my saddle), and it was a little tougher but still
do-able.

Going down the single tracks was easier in some respects and harder in
others. The harder part was controlling the descent (obviously), and
the additional speed down some areas made it quite tough to control and
take obstacles like I was used to. Trying to make tight turns with the
additional speed and less control was also difficult, but nothing a
little practice won't sort out. The easier bit was rolling out of drops
and down some single track with consecutive small drops due to being
forced to keep pedalling and not trying to brake (a bad habit I have
when a little panic sets in )

My initial verdrict is that I am happy with the switch to 150mm, and
with a little more practice I feel that I will be doing better than I
did with 170's.


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Nurse Ben wrote:
Wheel size is one question most newbies have, but crank length is an
even bigger question once you get riding.



I would disagree. Wheel size is a very important decision when you get
your muni, as most people will only every buy one of these. Changing
the size of the wheel is a very expensive option once you have it.

Cranks, on the other hand, are cheap and easy to swap. It doesn't cost
much or take very long to go from 150 to 170 or 125. You will probably
also find that as you ride more, your technique will change and the
terrain you ride will change too. So, the best size of crank for you
now may not be the best size in a year or two.

STM


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Semach, I think you need to re-read my post... of course wheel size
important, but I said that.

Like you said, many people will only ever get one uni, so crank length
is a big deal once you have your uni, it determines your "essential"
cadence. Since you only have one gear, cranks are a means to change
your power, the riding position, so much more.

Sometimes, after someone has been doing a sport for a while, they tend
to get removed from the beginner perspective. For instance, a new rider
with shorter cranks feels very different from an experienced rider using
the same cranks, same goes for choosing wheel size.

I remember when I first started, I had someone tell me I should get a
29er first. I deferred and bought a 24, then when my son started riding
the 24 I went up to a 26. Lots of folks told me to just get a 29 if I
was going to go up to a 26. Well, I am quite happy on my 26, I feel
just a little less stable than on a 24, yet I can bridge obstaces
better on the 26 and I have more speed. No such thing as one flavor for
all tastes

So I'm working with 170's now, then once I can ride solid on my local
single track I'll see about stepping down to 160's.


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I use 160s on my 26 (my main MUni) and 150s on my 24

haven't experimented to much on the 24 but on the 26 170s were a bit
awkward and 150s just felt too short with not enough torque. never
tried 165s but was scared to spend $65 on a pair of cranks that might
feel a bit too much like 170s. so I spent $150 on a pair of echo 160mm
ISIS cranks, best buy I ever made for that uni. the 160s just feel so
natural that it is almost magical.

150s fell about right on a 24 for me.

So other people with 160mm cranks what are you using? And are they ISIS
or Profile?


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