can you switch the crank arm size on a 26"torker? I have whatever it came with. If so what will the difference be? Faster??? Pardon my ignorance but I am only traveling 6.4 mph and want to get faster/ farther. Thanks
How long are the cranks you have now?
I just bought some forged alum cotterless Sugeno cranks. I like them a lot. Good price, light and good looking.
http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=list&Category=832&Brand=397&type=T
Correct me if I am wrong, but the crank size does not contribute to the speed of the unicycle. The wheel size does.
No I think the crank length does do something. Someone told me the shorter the cranklength the faster you go and the longer the length the more tork you have.
If it does do anything it would be a very small amount.
The wheel size is most important
But putting on shorter cranks can help some, especially if he has 150’s or bigger now. I think the 26 torker has cotterless cranks. They should have a square hole where they bolt to the axle. Then, any cotterless crank should fit.
Does anybody know approximately how much faster the unicycle can go if there are shorter cranks on?
If the cranks are longer your feet have to move around a larger circumference therefore travelling further each revolution, meaning short cranks make it easier to go faster.
The lx 26 at UDC has 170 mm cranks
So if you swapped those for 127’s I bet you would pick up a lot of speed. You could go shorter then that on a 26 I would think, I run 125’s on my 36. It is flat here, but a 26 is geared lower. I bet 127’s would be good.
on my 36" when i went from 150s to 127s I probably picked up 2-3mph. But it also made it easier to go longer distances because your legs don’t have to move as much.
Rem
Measure the distance from the center of the pedal axle to the center of the hub axle, and tell us what it is.
didn’t mean to gaff you guys off I just lost track of this thread. I am new to this stuff. I don’t have anything around to measure the cranks with till tomorrow. Does anyone know what is standard on the twenty six inch torker? Has anyone ever changed cranks on a 26 torker? Thanks again
Changing cranks is a standard “tuning option” for any unicycle.
The speed of the unicycle is governed by how fast the wheel is spinning, and the size of the wheel.
How fast it is spinning is solely controlled by how fast you can spin it. Long cranks mean your legs have to move further in a clumsier movement; short cranks mean you can spin little dainty circles really quickly.
The standard cranks sizes are more or less as follows: 175, 170, 160, 152, 150, 140, 127, 125, 114, 110, 102, 90, 80 mm, although there are other options. They wouldn’t make all these options if it made no difference.
I have tried most of those sizes on one sized wheel or another.
As a rule of thumb, a 10% difference in crank length makes about a 10% difference in speed. However, the ratio breaks down with big changes because there are too many variables: wheel size, tyre section, terrain, skill level, strength, nerves…
As most people ride at around 8 - 12 mph, a 10% difference is only about 1 mph, give or take.
However, choose the right length of cranks and you will have an efficient and comfortable pedaling action that you can sustain for mile after mile. Cranks that are too long will tire you out with big clumsy leg movements. Cranks that are too short will reduce your control of the unicycle and tire you out on hills.
After much experimentation, I have settled on 165s for muni, and 114s for road and easy cross country, with 125s for general purpose. There are faster riders than me who use longer ones, and faster riders who use shorter ones. It is a personal thing. It’s like asking, “What is the best gear for a bicycle?”
You’re half right when you say that it’s wheel size that determines your speed:for a given pedalling cadence (in revolutions per minute), your speed will be decided by how large your wheel is. A given rpm on a large wheel will move you faster than on a smaller wheel.
However, having shorter cranks means you have to move your feet in smaller circles during each revolution. This can allow you to comfortably achieve and sustain a higher cadence, and therefore allow you to go faster. There’s a tradeoff though: you have shorter levers to push against, so you have less control, it’s harder to push the wheel over bumps, it’s harder to go up hills.
Depending on your crank length, having shorter cranks can make quite a difference. I’ve found on my big wheels that using shorter cranks has gained me me maybe 1-3 mph in terms of sustainable speed (as opposed to sprinting). This is only true until they get too short for control, at which point you start going slower and getting more tired.
Of course, my big wheels had fairly short cranks to start with. On smaller wheel with longer cranks it might make more difference.
Your uni likely has 170mm cranks
That’s what most seem to be advertised with. If it is flat where you live, and you are after speed, 100 mm would be about right, maybe shorter. If you have a lot of hills, maybe a bit longer. No matter what size you get, you will always want to try another!
You need a puller to remove the cranks. I recommend this one, only a few dollars more then some, and it removes all cranks, cotterless (like yours) as well as splined (that you will likely own eventually). I have one and it works really well.
http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=TL0585
I would advise you to buy your cranks from AEB as well. They have the best prices.
how much are those guys paying you, anyways?
united crank arms from UDC are 12 bucks a pair and have a wide selection of sizes.
if you want shorter than 80mm(like me!)you might need to have a bike shop drill em for you…
actually, i only have 50mm cranks on my road uni. on my halfway decent one i have between 89mm and 114mm depending on what sort of riding ill be doing.
its mostly riding style and personal preference, but i truely hate long crank arms, even for hills, at most i use 114s