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A medium is not a medium

Jersey Skier

aka RatherPlayThanWork or Gary
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How long are the crank arms? Most bikes come stock with 175 which is ridiculous for women. Think about when you are out of the saddle in the ready position, if your feet are spread farther apart, they will feel not as "under you". I had other observations from when I had shorter cranks but can't remember some of the other things that I really liked, other than fewer pedal strikes. I have a pair of 170s that should arrive today. Won't get on them for a few days as the weather has gone back to winter. Saddle height and saddle fore/aft can be tweaked, too. Obviously, moving it forward will make the cockpit seem shorter.

I'd ultimately like to be on a165 crank, but they are non-existent right now. I'm not sure why, but the 175 Shimano feels longer than a 175 SRAM.

Most E Bikes come with much shorter crank arms. My current Turbo Levo came with 165's the new ones ship with 160's.
 

AmyPJ

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Some really good info from a local NJ MTB legend.

That video led me to this one:

Definitely interesting. Per Trek's charts, I am smack-dab in the middle of a small and medium, meaning I could ride either. When I have time to fiddle around, I'm going to measure my reach. I will say, wheelies, bunny hops, pedal punches, are not easy for me.

ETA the second video indicates I should be on a small. But it seems there are so many other variables, including bar width, sweep, fork travel, crank length, that would ultimately affect fit.
 
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Thread Starter
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Tricia

Tricia

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How long are the crank arms? Most bikes come stock with 175 which is ridiculous for women. Think about when you are out of the saddle in the ready position, if your feet are spread farther apart, they will feel not as "under you". I had other observations from when I had shorter cranks but can't remember some of the other things that I really liked, other than fewer pedal strikes. I have a pair of 170s that should arrive today. Won't get on them for a few days as the weather has gone back to winter. Saddle height and saddle fore/aft can be tweaked, too. Obviously, moving it forward will make the cockpit seem shorter.

I'd ultimately like to be on a165 crank, but they are non-existent right now. I'm not sure why, but the 175 Shimano feels longer than a 175 SRAM.
175 :(
 
Thread Starter
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Tricia

Tricia

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That video led me to this one:

Definitely interesting. Per Trek's charts, I am smack-dab in the middle of a small and medium, meaning I could ride either. When I have time to fiddle around, I'm going to measure my reach. I will say, wheelies, bunny hops, pedal punches, are not easy for me.

ETA the second video indicates I should be on a small. But it seems there are so many other variables, including bar width, sweep, fork travel, crank length, that would ultimately affect fit.
Holy shit that is a good video!!
Very eye opening!
Ironically I put my measurements into the Norco fit system and am a big small or a small medium.
:doh:

To make sure I'm measuring correctly, where do you measure the crank?
Center to center or center to end, or......:huh:
 

Philpug

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Most E Bikes come with much shorter crank arms. My current Turbo Levo came with 165's the new ones ship with 160's.
Do you measure the spindles center to centerZ?
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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Most E Bikes come with much shorter crank arms. My current Turbo Levo came with 165's the new ones ship with 160's.
Do you measure the spindles center to centerZ?
Center to center its 160, Center to end is 170ish.

I feel like I used to know a fair amount about bikes but all of this is making me feel kinda dumb.
 

Philpug

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Yes, but the number is usually on the back of the crank arm.
Yes, the number will be somewhere on it. Git yer reading glasses on.
iPhone on zoom usually works for me.
IMG_4365.jpeg
IMG_4366.jpeg
 

princo

Getting off the lift
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Definitely interesting. Per Trek's charts, I am smack-dab in the middle of a small and medium, meaning I could ride either. When I have time to fiddle around, I'm going to measure my reach. I will say, wheelies, bunny hops, pedal punches, are not easy for me.

ETA the second video indicates I should be on a small. But it seems there are so many other variables, including bar width, sweep, fork travel, crank length, that would ultimately affect fit.

Me and some friends signed up for group private lessons with one of the instructors of LeeLikesBikes (the bearded guy on the video). Another friend has already taken some lessons and said their philosophy is based on your bike having a "reach" that allows you to be balanced at all times over the bottom bracket and letting the bike "hinge" under you.

One of my riding mates is a female 5'2" with a 2020 XS Stumpjumper that she got 6 months ago (smallest bike she was able to find). That bike came with 800mm handlebars and the reach even looks a little bit long for her. I'll let you know if they recommend any tweaks to her bike setup and how she manages to do the wheelies, bunny hops, etc. Also, check their video (with an open mind) on handlebar width (link) which is also interesting - too wide of a handlebar can limit the range of motion and how much force you can apply when "lifting" the front of the bike. We had cut her handlebars to 720mm and that made a big difference (in a good way), but will wait until the lessons to see if it needs to be further trimmed.
 
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Tom K.

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Bonus ether-beers for any Pugskiers that post pictures of the "On Your Back RAD Fit Check"!

:beercheer:
 

AmyPJ

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Me and some friends signed up for group private lessons with one of the instructors of LeeLikesBikes (the bearded guy on the video). Another friend has already taken some lessons and said their philosophy is based on your bike having a "reach" that allows you to be balanced at all times over the bottom bracket and letting the bike "hinge" under you.

One of my riding mates is a female 5'2" with a 2020 XS Stumpjumper that she got 6 months ago (smallest bike she was able to find). That bike came with 800mm handlebars and the reach even looks a little bit long for her. I'll let you know if they recommend any tweaks to her bike setup and how she manages to do the wheelies, bunny hops, etc. Also, check their video (with an open mind) on handlebar width (link) which is also interesting - too wide of a handlebar can limit the range of motion and how much force you can apply when "lifting" the front of the bike. We had cut her handlebars to 720mm and that made a big difference (in a good way), but will wait until the lessons to see if it needs to be further trimmed.
The bar width calculation they use puts me at 726. I did have my bars cut to 720 two bikes ago, but felt that 750 was good on the current frame's geometry. Bar width is not hard to test if you have open-ended grips. Just slide them in, along with your levers, and ride a few times.
 

Superbman

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With the ubiquity of the sloping top tube, I pretty much focus solely on Reach as the best fit gage--and with super steep seat angles, I err on the side of longer (as there are no longer stand-over issues going bigger). Though, 'medium' reach numbers on a lot of modern trail/ enduro bikes are 460-475mm, which was large (quite large, in fact) just a few years ago.
 

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