Good chart for the most part, with the caveat that it is just gear ratio. The wheel diameter and rolling weight have a lot to do with it as well.
For instance, a 20" wheel with 75mm cranks isn’t good for much other than indoor gym floor riding (in my book). It just can’t roll over anything without some forethought. My 90s are pushing it for riding around the neighborhood doing freestyle tricks.
Yesterday, I took my first ride on my 29" muni with 137s crancks and I loved it!!! I did some easy Xco, I felt really in control and I rode much faster. But I have very short legs, I think that makes a difference too ;-).
My understanding of unicycle evolution is that, back in the day, people did not hold onto the seat. Now it is common in mUni riding, with some people holding on with two hands. My guess is that, without the added stability of a handle, in the old days, the leverage of longer cranks was necessary. Now, riders can clutch the seat/handle, allowing them to push on the pedals under conditions of greater load.
In regard to proper crank length, I would like to ask many riders posting on the forum: “What, exactly, do you mean by ‘hill’?” I consider the hills in my neighborhood pretty steep, and I am currently running 165mm cranks on my 26".
well if you ask Terry, the answer is that you can climb just fine up a 25% grade with 90s on a 36er : P but not everybody is inhuman.
Really though I can conquer just about anything with 125s on a 36 unless it gets up beyond a 15-20% grade, as long as it’s smooth and you come in with a bit of speed. You just have to stand on the pedals a bit, and if you fall off you’re not going to mount back up on a huge hill. Keep the momentum.
165s on a 26 is a huge amount of torque for some. I ride 150s on my 29 for muni. On the road that feels like I could ride up anything I could walk up.
As far as “proper” there’s no such thing : ) Everybody will give you a different answer, just ride what you like for the conditions.
In training for the Nepal tour, I rode up Mount Diablo on my 29er with 137mm cranks. The day turned out to be about 1500m of climbing, mostly on dirt, with grades on-road of up to 14%, and a few off-road grades higher than that.
Then there’s the fire road connector (a.k.a. “Heartbreak Hill” or “The Wall”) in Berkeley, which is on dirt, over 20% average grade for about 300 meters. I ride that regularly on my 24 with 150mm cranks; I haven’t gotten a chance to try it on the 29er yet.
There is no proper crank length, only proper training.
Some very good advice here.
As a kid, I used hang out with cousins who lived in Concord and we would go up to Mt Diablo. Next time when I have a job close by, I’ll ride there, sounds challenging.
Have you been to Alum Rock Park? You are probably able to climb Eagle Rock in one shot.The last time I tried I cannot muscle it all in one shot, too exhausting, my lungs gave out. But I will try again soon.
I haven’t been to Alum Rock on uni, only riding through on road bike after coming down off Mount Hamilton. It’s a good ways south from Oakland. But yeah, I’m pretty sure I could ride it non-stop. On long climbs the important thing is to be able to ride slowly enough to not blow out your lungs and legs; get into a rhythm with a bit of a pause in each pedal stroke.
Is that what I see or is that my eyes deceiving me again??
In the pic 32% doesnt look to terribly scary… but thats just in the pic…
I did worse trying to climb Eagle Rock on 150s instead of my usual 165s, even though my legs were supposedly stronger from this whole week of riding, or maybe they were just tired. Though I really zipped up the other hills that used to give me a hard time.
Wrong size ,29" Knards were shipped, having it corrected. In the meanwhile Im going back to 165s and practice with even higher cadence which I feel more comfortable at now.