I don’t know why but the 152 cranks that came on the 24" seem just a tad too long for me. Maybe it’s because I’m short (5’2") and my legs feel like they’re making a huge revolution or is this just because I’m a novice and I should stick with the 152’s. Although the 24 is a fairly rugged beast she won’t be doing any real MUni.
I’ve just found this information on http://www.firetoys.co.uk/ which obviously is not a dedicated uni site so I’m wondering what y’all think about the crank information they give.
[I]“In practice:
16” unicycles can only be fitted with 102mm cranks or shorter or the cranks touch the ground when pedalling.
20" unicycles; 102 cranks give a smooth fast ride but make idling harder, 127 cranks give more torque and are good for learners and tricks, 152 are too long
24" unicycles; 102 cranks are very smooth and should only be considered if you are a speed fiend, 127 cranks are smooth and still quite fast, although are ok for idling, 152 cranks are great for learners.
26" & 29" unicycles; 102 cranks make a great long distance machine but very hard to idle, 127 cranks are smooth and make a good street machine, 152 cranks are great for standard Muni riding and tricks work, 170 are for the serious trials rider or mountain climber, these give you the ability to go up almost anything!
36" unicycles; 127 cranks create an extremely fast machine and gives some control for the experienced rider to idle. 152 cranks are standard and should be considered the minimum for all but experienced riders."[/I]
Crank length comes up pretty frequently around here so there is a lot of info in existing threads. The biggest factors tend to be wheel size and terrain/riding style but personal preference plays a large role (height may be part of this).
The best solution seems to go by feel and try a few different lengths to see what works best for you. If the 152mm cranks you’re using now feel too long then I would try some 140s or 127s. Once you switch give yourself some time to get acclimated to the new crank length before judging whether or not there is an improvement in feel.
125 on a 24 muni is gonna be a little short for such a big wheel, relatively speaking, so even if all you’re doing is light muni, the 125’s are gonna take more skil and strength.
A longer crank helps compensate for less control and strength when learning, then makes tech stuff easier for aggressive riding bt giving you an edge in control and power.
150’s on a 24" muni is standard. My son runs 160’sm but he’s over 6’ tall and has some weight on him.
My son’s buddy is your height and she runs 150’s on her 24 muni and does fine.
So is the problem that you don’t feel smooth enough?
Yes Ben that’s it, I guess I would say that it doesn’t feel ‘smooth’ to ride on the 152’s. Maybe it’s just me being a novice and I should stick in there - which I’m going to have to do until I find (and can afford) something else. Do KH make any cotterless cranks?
I am hoping to lay my hands on some 140’s and give them a trial. Thanks David for your advice of giving myself a period of acclimating to them when I do change over.
Thanks for taking the time to read the info I found juggleaddict I suspect I’ll try out some 127’s too in the end just to see which I prefer, as you and others rightly point out, ultimately a lot of this will be about personal preference.
I think most of the Firetoys information is very good. The only thing I would formulate differently is that 127 mm on a 36" creates an extremely fast machine. True, on such a setup a good rider can easily hit 25 km/h, and a few supertalents can do 30 km/h or more, but while that may seem extremely fast to a beginner, I would not describe it as extremely fast. For that, you need shorter cranks (114 or even lower, some go as low as 80 mm on a fixed 36" wheel).
As to your own question whether you need to stick to 152 mm on a 24" to get more experience and get used to it… No. As a rule, beginners need long cranks (152 mm on a 24" is fine for learning) but experienced riders often move to shorter cranks. So if you feel you have enough control for the riding you do, but your pedal circle is too large, then YES, try shorter cranks! You seem to be ready for it.
Thanks for taking the time to reply Klaas Bil. Although I’m still very much a novice I’m going to go with my gut instinct and get shorter cranks. My next project is to learn how to change the cranks myself rather than visit the local bike doctor (who lives just up the road)
For what its worth, my Quax 24" came with 125s and they seem ok. But I do have problems with pedaling smoothness, I suppose I pedal squares…
Certainly they don’t seem fast.
As a general rule you want the ratio of crank to size of wheel when learning should be 1:4. Obviously they use the cranks closest to the right size, but they are close. Once you have learnt to ride you want to increase the ratio… so sometimes it is worth going for something like the club, which has 114 cranks on the 20".
Crumbs that’s only a 11mm longer than the cranks on my Club 20, not so sure I’d be happy going that short on the 24 but I’m glad they work for you mate.
What would you recommend for me Roger? Oddly I have 114’s on the 20 but the 152’s still feel just a tad too big despite getting lots of practice with them over the weekend.
