How do you like the 100mm cranks? Do you have enough control? I see there on sale at udc wonder if it’s worth a shot for just road riding.
crank length for geared 36er
For geared Cokering: I switched from 150s to 137s so the heel of my size 10 five tens could reach the shifting button without readjusting my feet. Yes, shorter cranks in high gear is challenging but, let’s face it, so is geared Cokering with longer cranks. The real benefit of 137s is smooth spinning in low gear where, to be honest, I spend most (85%-90%) of my time. Two useful gears.
My experience and tastes:
With Schlumpf hub: 150s
Regular hub:
102s: Fast for flat riding; steep hills will kill
110s: Work fine on my local bike path with small to moderate hills
114s: Better for all-around cruising on pavement
125s: Good for steeper road hills and light MUni
150s: My preferred size for offroad Cokering
165, 170s: If your MUni trails are steep
For the type of riding i do (mild XC/Muni when walking the dog, street/sidewalks with moderate ascends and descends) i’ve settled with 150mm for now.
I started with 163 which gave plenty of power and control, but the circle of movement was too big for me to feel comfortable. 150mm is just about right, i may try 125mm sometimes but only on even ground.
Greetings
Byc
My thoughts are very similar to John’s:
Schlumpf: 150s. I may try 137s to pick up a bit more speed, but 150s are pretty quick and they give a nice 1st gear for steep hills (15%+).
Ungeared I vary a bit:
100s: Good for going fast. Not too bad unless the hills get steep. There is less control too. Pack a brake for sudden stops.
105s: A very nice compromise between 100s and 110s. I have a custom drilled set of 105/150s. They’re excellent.
110s: Pretty much any road riding is good to go. With a well tensioned wheel they’re good in the hills. The only thing I don’t like is that they’re noticeably slower for me than 100s.
125/127s: Great for commuting and use in traffic. I can ride these after a full day of work and not have to think or worry about any control issues when I’m tired.
137s: These have really grown on me. Almost as fast as 125s, yet much faster than 150s. Good with a Todd tire in the snow. Excellent for control. I wouldn’t want to ride marathons on these, but they’re a nice balance for road and off road use.
150s: Good for some off road. Nice leverage for when control is essential.
165s: Excellent control, but difficult to spin. I run these when I can’t afford a mistake- in parades with many people around or in crowds of people who aren’t paying attention to the unicyclist. They’re a go to when cyclocross conditions are on the border of a 36er not working due to slick mud. Fun on the steeps and in the snow off road.
I’m a big fan of dual hole cranks on the Ungeared 36. One of our 36ers has the 137/165 combo and another has a 110/127 (currently) on it. The 110/127 uni also gets the 125/150s or the 105/150 (numerically dyslexic cranks) at times. Since it’s the one with a rim brake, it’s also the only one that gets the 100s as those aren’t available in an outboard disc option yet.
can anyone show light or opinion on a good crank length for 36er muni?
I was thinking 110 137s. 137 being the magic number for my 26Guni and balance between speed, smooth pedaling and torque.
As i need to buy a set of spirits to fit a disc brake i dont know if 137 is going to be not enough offroad for the big wheel specially after 5 or 10km.
would 150mm be better. But then i still have the 127mm holes for road. I would have prefered the 110s there.
any ideas. i figure steep pinches or rocky climbs the 36 is a full hand full so everywhere else a 137 should do what a 150 will do. just a matter of fatigue after a white
any input much appreciated. Anyone regularly muni a 36er? would love to hear from you
if your reading this thread and dont have a 36er yet i suggest you should find and ride one. dont wait at all. Skip the 29er. get one later if you really want to try or own one. For once in life bigger is better!
That’s exactly what i was thinking and right now i am trying to get used to 150/125mm cranks. 150 should provide enough torque and ability to spin (165mm feels a little bit too long for spinning).
Greetings
Byc
If I could have only one crank length it would be 137. I find it a very balanced crank length which is small enough to spin and long enough for moderately easy off-road stuff. Having said that I have been riding 110mm cranks for the past few months and would consider going shorter if I could keep my disk brake.
thanks Eric, i might try the 137’s for the muni 36er that way i have 110,s on the commutes
If Kris doesnt have 110 /80 spirits or similar in the near future you ‘could’ try getting some thread taps and doing some more holes in your cranks or bite the bullet and gear up. Big fan of the Schlumpf
You are talking to a gearhead, I already have the taps, and 2 Schlumpfs (one operational at the moment)
When I got the Spirits I looked at the possibility of adding a 3rd hole to the 150/127s but it would get quite tricky to go shorter than 110 as the crank is not flat after that point and you are getting into the rear cut-out section. Extra short SINZ cranks with a Mountain Uni rotor (I got a couple of those too) is a possibility although they are not strong enough for a multi-hole crank. Swapping cranks with an external disk is a pain.
127mm is the best all-round road crank for me. Let’s you get a good spin going but has enough torque for emergency braking and modest Coker trials moves.
I put 150mm or 160mm on if i am planning going off-road though.
Just my 2¢…
Bummer…I just put new 150s on my 36er (up from 125s). Now I’m wondering if I should’ve tried 137s instead.
sooooo im still wondering…
i would like 110’s on my ungeared kh36 but looking at muniing so will 137’s be enough torque in anyones view. 125mm i climb all but the stupidist on hills on sealed roads so 36" wheel 137mm crank offroad???
Any ideas specifically on this?
Once your used to 125mm on roads and paths, 110mm is the nicest for 36er and getting wind in your hair, enjoying ungeared at the mostest.
Well, if you think of some Muni riding, and if you can get comfortable with 150’ maybe 115 for street riding, 150 daulhole Couleur have been a Good choice.
Or somi think.
Greetings
Byc
It could work. I think a big factor is how “old” your knees are. Jess Riegel used to ride with me on MUni trails with 125s (and no brake) and he was fine. These weren’t technical trails, and it worked fine for him. My 150s might even have been a little long there.
But take it onto some steeper terrain and 137 may be short. So it also depends on how steep and/or technical your trails are, as well as how hard you like to push. For people who don’t mind walking the climbs that are too steep, 137 might make the rest of the ride more fun than having longer cranks.
thanks for your insight John!!!
Personally i dont like 150s for spinability, they seem slow and mechanical. Honestly is i cant ride a hill with 137’s i probably more often than not work be able to with 150’s.
137’s ungeared with brake will decend almost any thing, 137s will climb just about anything 150s will too. ( specially on 26Guni )
also will give me 110 for the roads and for ungeared 36er is like riding on clouds in the summer breeze
I like the Uni crank ratio chart floating about and Kris’s graph in the Muni/ trials Book but someone ( possibly me could roll all these details into one big page? basically a revised newer version of the ratio guide. Maybe one easier to read and less eye gouging colours… no offence to the originator. I have in the past spent many hours lost in its depths