Hi, I’m wondering if a 114mm crank is a comfortable choice for a 29 inch road cycle. I currently have a 26” Club with 125mm cranks and it’s pretty good so far. I want shorter cranks if it means more potential for speed but would 114mm sacrifice too much leverage and control? I’m also relatively a beginner so I have potential to get better with technique. Is it worth it to go even shorter than 114mm? I’ve found that with the 125mm, it’s decently harder to go up even shallow hills but doable with practice. Thanks
I would recommend giving 29"/114mm a decent try. I really love cruising around on 29"/110mm myself. It will feel really heavy compared to your 26"/125mm, so it is possible you might want to switch to 29"/125mm while getting used to climbing with a 29er. That said, I am able to go pretty steep and basically everywhere on 29/110. I am seriously considering getting 100mm cranks for it as well as I sometimes feel 110s is to much work while speeding on flat sections. But I would definitely not recommend trying that until you are comfortable on 114s.
Best of luck! I would love to hear how it feels for you! 
I would use 100 mm for slow cruising and 75 mm for distance
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why are new cranks so expensive. 60 EUR for the cheapest ISIS cranks. And if you want cranks with triple holes you have less metal, but the price is higher.
I figured I could try 125mm cranks. The only shorter cranks I currently have are 140mm. But if I end up not using the 125mm, then it is a waste of money.
Btw are shorter cranks worse or better for the knees?
Yes you would, but you are the most extreme unicyclist I have ever had the fortune to ride with. 
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You can say that about a lot of things. Like getting a unicycle in the first place.
Edit: You WILL use these. With the huge selection of unicycles you have, you are going to find one that suits you on 125s.
true enough. if you want a good sturdy project, some unicycles can be more expensive than a normal bike. I believe my commuter bike was also around 700EUR, same as the Nimbus 29". I reckon for a uni I just accept it and I don’t want the cheaper products. But for a simple metal bar with some holes I had expected half the current price 
You (or a friend or a workshop) can drill holes in a couple of your 150mm cranks and thread them for your pedals, like @Ulkicycling did on the hole selection bar on your 36" UW. And soon you will be racing along on 75s as well!
So lucky, it turned out that I already had 125 and 127mm ISIS cranks. Musta bought them many years ago. Just screwed them on the 29”. Will no doubt be a challenge at the next ride
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I’ve been riding 110s on my 36 all year. I switched from 135s, and it only took a couple rides to adjust. I think you’ll like the shorter cranks
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For pure flat road riding 29”/114mm is a good next step. Shorter means smoother and you will be able to go faster with practice. You will not loose much leverage in my opinion. In time you might want to go shorter but then a brake will be beneficial in my opinion.
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I have 125s on my ungeared 29er (actually, 28er) and think it‘s a good balance of control and speed / ease of pedaling. I remember when I had just bought my 26x4 (~same diameter as a 28x2) I replaced the 165s for the 125s that came I bought with the uni since I was mainly riding on tarmac. That felt nice unless I had UPDs due to lack of control. So I went back to using longer cranks, even for tarmac. Since then, I have progressed a bit and feel at ease with 125s.
It all depends on preferences and skills…
I removed the brake from the 29" because the brake hit the disc every rotation. I even took the wheel to a bikeshop, but they said there was nothing wrong with the wheel itself. It was easiest to just take it off. I don’t do heavy muni-ing anyways.
I like 125 on my 29" but then it has a rather heavy tire. I’m sure I could do shorter with something like a Schwalbe One tire.
On the topic of cranks, @Siddhartha_Valmont found some interesting ones on the website we shouldn’t use for buying stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/PROWHEEL-Electric-BANGFANG-Standard-Panasonic/dp/B0CLCZT1GY
Nothing shorter than 127 but for this price, might be worth a test!
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I’ll second having a brake if you want to go with shorter cranks. Now I’ll add that I’ve never ridden a 29er myself (I do have a 700c unicycle rim but it’s running a 28c tire which makes it closer to the size of a 26" wheel), but a bigger wheel paired with short cranks would be a good candidate for a brake as well. Especially riding among people or in a stop and go environment. A brake isn’t required of course, but I do really appreciate having one on my 36er.
I don‘t think I ever need a brake when riding among people, except maybe when riding on a descent at the same time. The arcades of Berne are my main challenge for riding among pedestrians, but I think using the brake wouldn‘t be beneficial - would only increase the risk of a UPD when braking too hard too suddenly.
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Good answers above. I think it’s really hard depending on what you mean by road. Short answer: yes.
For long open relatively flat riding, 114mm is actually longer than what I would pick (I rode 89s on my 29 for the last Unicon road race).
For me, 114 would be a good city commuting length as a good compromise between control and speed.
As has been said above, I would recommend a brake for anything shorter than 125mm, but some road riders get used to not having a brake (as a muni rider I am used to always having a brake).
I mostly ride 29/110 for road but this is also because I ride 110s for downhill and the Q-Axle doesn’t yet have many crank lengths to choose from (I have 89s but not even sure if they make 100s). Otherwise I would probably pick 100s for general road and commuting (I usually ride my 36" with 125s which is almost the same gearing). But 110s are decent and 114s are not super slow so definitely a good choice for comfortable.
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Assuming it’s non-geared, a good all-around size that might include grades as steep as 20%, 110-125s would probably be a good choice for an experienced rider in reasonably good physical condition. Although whether 89mm or 165s, your still traveling the same distance per revolution, but the shorter the cranks, the less up/down leg movement and less wheel wobble, hence a smoother cadence. But it will be noticeably more difficult to climb steep hills with super short cranks since there would be considerably less leverage compared to longer cranks. Combo hole cranks should be considered if you plan to do a mix of riding.
I agree with @MUCFreerider My 29” road unicycle has 114mm cranks on it, and I now feel those are perfect for that unicycle. But, that unicycle is exactly what @MUCFreerider said, a good compromise between speed and control. It allows for a little bit of both.
You will like the 125s but don’t expect a big increase in speed.