Cranks

Shorter (125mm) Cranks

Since the trails around here are too wet to ride during the winter season, I picked up a pair of shorter cranks with the idea that they would give me more of a workout, and keep me in better shape during the off-season.

I normally use 150mm cranks, so this represents a 5cm smaller pedal stroke. It definitely makes a difference in the effort required to ride, and increased my average speed by about 25%. But hills are where I really notice the difference.

At first I thought I should have gone shorter still - but that could be dangerous on downhills without a brake.

I chose these Qu-Ax cranks because they were cheap - and I didn't really know if I would like the change in length. Apparently they are weak, and can twist on large drops, so I haven't done more than a bit of hopping with them.