I’ve just past about a month riding now. I’ve started out on a Qu-Ax 24" Cross as I wanted something strong enough to handle my near 100kg of ass.
Due to an expected loooooong loss of licence, I’m gonna be commuting on this contraption but I find with the stock 145mm cranks my legs get pumping pretty fast if I want to ride at a decent speed.
I’m looking for some shorter cranks (ISIS btw) but I don’t know how short is ‘too’ short.
I checked municycle.com.au for a pair but the next step down is 114mm in the same Qu-Ax type. Thought that might be a bit small.
I do a short commute on a 24" Nimbus with 125 mm Qu-Ax cranks and a hookworm tire. The setup works well and gives me plenty of control on sidewalks with a few pedestrians. I have not tired shorter cranks but they would probably be OK.
on a 36, I can handle the 114s, they’re short for a beginner, but on a 24 inch, that’s probably about the size you want to work towards. definitely wouldn’t go above 125 for commuting
Well It looks like the 114’s will be the easiest to source right now, I think I’ll order myself a set tonight. Thanks for the speedy input.
On a related note, the actual reason I’m changing is I’ve stuffed the left crank at the hub end. It looks like it may not have been bolted on properly and the bolt in the middle has stripped out part of the inside of the crank hole (for lack of a more savvy explanation).
As a result I’m going to need a new bolt as well.
The only two types that look even remotely similar are these.
Generic crank bolts from Udc were the right ones and the cranks went on without a hitch. I tell ya, there’s a big difference between 145s and 114s! Took me a few goes to freemount and i can’t nail a rollback mount yet but so far they’re awesome! Feel so much smoother with alot less twisting and it’s easier to sustain a decent pace. Whoever mentioned they ride a 36 with 114s must be either nuts or have tree trunk sized legs.
Assuming your commute is flat, AND assuming that you want to commute on your 24" and not on a bigger wheel, then consider 114 mm to be a temporary length. After you’re used to this length, you could go to 102 mm and quite possibly to 89 mm thereafter. 114 mm is nice on a 24" wheel, but not really short. After some getting used to, 102 or 89 mm will be noticeably smoother and faster.
My 36er Nimbus Impulse came with 125/110’s and I re-learned (had a Schwinn 24" in college (20 years ago) on the 125 hole. I enjoyed the 110’s on flat RiverWalk (the speed helped me keep up with my leisure b*ke friends) but the Kentucky hills had me switching to 150/125 after the first 6 months. Now I have gone full tilt and installed a set of 165/137 cranks and I have never been happier (granted my intention was to slow to my wife’s running pace) so it all depends on how much speed you need. Short cranks are smooth (barely moving your ankles instead of marching along) but scary. Long cranks are kind of embarassing (not that a non-unicyclist would notice) but the added stability comes in handy when bouncing down sidewalk curves.
My dream set up would 150/125’s with a Schlumpfh hub but I am waiting till my daughter is tall enough to ride my Impulse. In the meantime, I will be purchasing (when the prototype roll off the line) Josh at UDC’s 26" Large Marge with Larry’s big old fat tire and honing my MUni skills. The moral of the story is have fun!
I would love to get a bigger wheel to commute on but unfortunately, I have to fit it on a train with people crammed in everywhere, and considering full size bikes are actually banned from peak-time trains, I figure I shouldn’t try and push the boundaries
I’m getting used to the 114’s and I can pretty consistently static/roll mount and can ride across rough grass and small bumps but I’m still having trouble finding enough control to turn properly.
The commute will be mostly flat and I’ll try and stick to paved paths so even smaller cranks will probably be on the cards later down the track.
Not sure what you mean by “turn properly”. During a commute or just touring the streets, your turns probably don’t need to be tight or sharp. So you should turn by leaning slightly into the direction you want to go. Just smooth riding will get you to complete the turn that way, and there is hardly any additional control needed over what you need to ride straight. Tight turns or turning on the spot are a different story, and need more control indeed, but those are mostly out of the realm of commuting.
