So many people have been telling me to get 170mm Profile cranks instead of the 150mm ones and I’ve told them all the same thing. Now I can just refer these people to this thread. Someone from the bike shop where I work part-time went ahead and ordered the profile 150mm cranks with the hub without confirming with me. I was being pretty impatient and couldn’t wait any longer to get them. He did this because hew thought that 170mm cranks felt way too long for him. I would have preferred getting the 170mm ones but I’m stuck with the 150mm ones which will be here hopefully on wednesday. If I really don’t like the 150mm ones, I’ll just have to save up for a few months for the 170mm ones. Luckily, the cranks aren’t the expensive bit…it’s the hub.
Anyway, I still think that although it may not be ideal to ride a 24" muni with a 3" wide tyre with 150mm cranks, it won’t be that bad. Surely if it’s harder to push up hills and to slow down when doing some downhill unicycling, then I’ll get used to it after a while. If it’s harder on my legs, then wouldn’t they just get stronger? Also, the 150mm ones do have their advantages (or maybe their advantage). They’ll be much easier for general riding and for any cross-country riding.
What do you all think about this? Does anyone out there do any trials/northshore/general muni with 150mm cranks on a 24" wheel?
Thanks,
Andrew
p.s. I can get a nice fat 24" x 3" Intense tyre easily in Australia without shipping!
I’ve got 150s on mine. I tried 170s for half a day; they’re probably better for really intense stuff but you can’t use them to actually go anywhere on them, it’s a lot slower and did my knees in.
I have some 170s which I’ll put on if I’m ever using it for something involving really nasty bits and very short travelling distances. But for everything else I like my 150s.
Crank length is such an individual thing depending on the terrain you ride and your style/strength that it’s hard generalise about what length would work best for you. What suits me here in hilly Wellington feels rather clumsy in flatter places. If you know any unicyclists in you area then try borrowing their Unis for a spin and to see how their crank length suits you.
On the whole, 170mm will let you ride most things. 150mm will get you up steep hills too but it is much more fun when your legs aren’t screaming at you for more leverage. I don’t know about trials, but I imagine the extra length would give you a bit more stability as well. Anyway, if you’ve already ordered the 150mm then why worry about it? Go out and enjoy your new profiles!
To be fair, my tyre isn’t as fat as yours, but when I had 150s on my 24, I rode up the first incline of the High Peak Trail in Derbyshire. If I remember correctly, that’s a 1.25 mile steady climb at a 1:7 (14%) gradient, on a rough surface. I had to stop for a breather a few times, I’ll grant you, but the riding was easily doable.
I put 170s on my 26 and did a few days’ riding. I found they made mounting and hill descending much easier, but climbing over broken ground much harder because of the lack of rhythm. I then found that 150s and a bit more practice made a far better and more comfortable combination.
For maximal ‘capability’ with comfort, speed and riding range on a 24, I’d say 150s.
For maximal fun, I’d swear by 102s, until Roger gets the 89s in.
Thanks everyone. I’m planning to do a combination of a little bit of freestyle but not much, trials, cross-country muni, northshore (homemade unless I find some big hidden northshore forest somewhere which unfortunately isn’t too likely), and steep bumpy, rocky, rutty style downhill (eventually). Would you recommend if I choose to save up later and get the 170mm cranks, that I keep the old 150mm ones? I could sell them and get the 170mm ones sooner but I think it’d be better to wait a bit longer and then have a choice of cranks length.
How much are profile cranks? I was going to say cranks are dead cheap, but then I remembered you’ve got posh ones.
I’d have thought the way forward is to wait till you try it… I’ve got some spare 170mm cranks and I’ve not yet had need to use them; you might find the same.
Tonight I went out on my 24 with 102mm cranks. It won’t mean anything to anyone who’s not seen it, but I easily rode up, over and down the suspension bridge in Nottingham. That means short but quite steep ramps at each end - I don’t always make it up on the Coker. I rode various other steepish slopes and some rough ground too, and all by torchlight.
Later, I had a go on my mate’s almost indentical 24 which has the original 150s. Considering that I rode mine with 150s for a long time, it was amazing how unwieldy I found his, now that I’m used to shorter cranks.
The more I experiment, the more I feel that technique and practice count for more than crank length on hills. The shorter cranks do give you more speed though, which makes the uni more of a vehicle and less of a ‘toy’.
Thinking about it, I don’t think I’d even consider putting 170s on a 24. 150s will more than do the job. Any slight increase in hill climbing/descending ability with 170s will be at the cost of comfort, cruising speed, top speed and general enjoyment of the uni. 150s max is my advice.
I have 170mm Kookas on my Muni. The trails I ride are hilly some steep, some not so steep (I haven’t nade a Klass hill-o-meter yet )I find the 170s are great for this type of riding.
Having said that I feel they are a little long for me when it comes to trials and just riding along. The pedaling motion seems to be a little less fluid then I would like. I tried some 150’s and they were a little small for me on the trails but I loved them for just riding around. I’m gonna split the difference and try 160s and see how that goes.
I agree with GizmoDuck that crank length is an individual taste. Try the 150s and see if you like them. I don’t believe that there is a generic set up for a Muni or a trials uni or a freestyle uni.
Enjoy the ride
Re: 150mm cranks on a 24" won’t be too bad will it?
I ride with 175mm profiles with my 24x3 gazz and they work awesome. 150mm would
be way too short for techincal trials-type riding. I live in BC, Canada, home
of the North Shore.
This is slightly off topic but I love both north shore unicycling and mountain biking. Unfortunately as far as I know, north shore forests, etc don’t exist in Australia. Have you got any photos or videos of your north shore adventures?
I agree with mike. I ride trials and muni on a 24 whenever I can and I use the 150s, granted it makes it harder - (quite a lot when things get a bit serious) but it helps to make the riding faster.
That said I’ve been cycling and uniing as long as i can remember, track racing, MTB, BMX, Audax and all the uni diciplines so I probably develop more power than most unicyclists.
Here’s some photos that Dan took (captions by Ben) the weekend after UNICON.
There’s only a couple of me, because I wasn’t riding very well that day, but
there’s lots of pics of everyone else. The lighting is kinda crappy in some
shots, just because of the dense forest, and because it was overcast that day.
Enjoy.
