I am sure some of this is just nervousness from me at high cadance at high speed as I am new to this.... But I found myself on my normal rides maxing out and just coasting where I would be powering on the DF. Some of this was probably just because I was going just as fast coasting on the V20 as at 300W on my DF!! But it got me thinking how fast I could go if I could stay on the power! I don't see myself needing the 34 much for my riding. If I was going to do the steep stuff I will use my DF. 53-34 would be awesome though!
V20 crank length?
- Thread starter TransAm
- Start date
DavidCH
In thought; expanding the paradigm of traversity
I have a rotor elliptical chainring 54t. It's a beautiful daisy cutter... the trouble is... I go mega fast but the knees get knackered quickly. Its also shimano crank compatible. At the moment I am running sram rival 155 and the knees don't ache. If I want the speed... then shimano 165 cranks and the rotor 54t is my best combination so far.
The beauty of the bike is how integrated you feel with the engineering ... it really is the creme de la creme. Make yourself really aero and just cycle for Eternity. At the moment I don't really need to drink on the rides.
The beauty of the bike is how integrated you feel with the engineering ... it really is the creme de la creme. Make yourself really aero and just cycle for Eternity. At the moment I don't really need to drink on the rides.
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I have Sram Rival 2x10. Front is 52/34. No problem at all. In fact it's better than 50/34 because it was dropping chain when shifting up to 50 before. No more dropping chain after I swapped to 52 ring.
chicorider
Zen MBB Master
Crankarm length is a "sweetspot" kind of thing. I run 160mm cranks with a 50/36, 11-28 Shimano Dura Ace set up (which shifts great). The longer your crankarms, the more torque you will have for climbing (think of the crankarm as a lever), but the sooner you will spin out on the downhills. Conversely, the shorter your crankarms, the less torque for climbing, but you'll be able to spin up to a higher speed down hills. I tried a 155mm set for a month and did notice the difference. It wasn't a big difference, but during that month I did bag some downhill KOMs that I had not been able to grab with the 160's. But I ultimately didn't like the decreased torque for climbing, and I had to spin a bit higher than I like on the flats to hold my usual pace. So I returned to the 160's and have been happy since then, after experimenting. I found my sweetspot. Yes, I would like to spin faster downhill with a 52, but the 50 works so well for me on every other kind of terrain that I plan to stick with it. When Shimano goes 12 speed for its road groups, and I can use a 10-28, I will go with that and keep the 50t.
Shimano and SRAM GPX bottom brackets look the same, but they are not compatible. Shimano uses a straight 24mm spindle while SRAM uses a 24/22mm spindle.
Shimano and SRAM GPX bottom brackets look the same, but they are not compatible. Shimano uses a straight 24mm spindle while SRAM uses a 24/22mm spindle.
paco1961
Zen MBB Master
Comfort will come with time. Not sure if it's the same for all but I can't spin at the same rate on my V as I could on my DFs. High spinning at a slow speed when climbing is ok but high spin rate at 30mph is another thing alltogether. Mind you, I'm no sprinter. Never have been. And as a 35 year runner I tend to be more of a masher than a spinner - but I'm getting better. Working on getting the 52/34 combo to work since others have clearly done so. That should let me drop my cadence by 10% on high speed runs
chicorider
Zen MBB Master
Yes, comfort will come. I can coast on a downhill and go right into a full spin and back to coasting without a problem. But I have five years under my belt. I couldn't have done it in my first year, or maybe two years.
The only caveat is that I feel the shifting is slightly delayed going from 34 to 52 by maybe a second. But the best thing is that the chain doesn't drop anymore. Great relief for me.
chicorider
Zen MBB Master
My understanding is that with recumbents, you want to avoid knee strain by keeping the knee from bending more than 90 degrees at the top of the pedal stroke. Shorter cranks helps this happen. That seems to be the largest metric to consider, and then you can fine tune your preferred crank length from there.
A question for those running 52/34. I have SRAM rival 50/34. I also have some generic (praxis works) 52/36 chainrings. Can I mix the Praxis works 52 with the SRAM 34 to do the 52/34 thing?
I actually see the Wickerks 53/34 in my future at some point. That sounds perfect. But pricey, so may try 52/34 as others here have first.
I actually see the Wickerks 53/34 in my future at some point. That sounds perfect. But pricey, so may try 52/34 as others here have first.
Give it a try. I originally have Cobb 155mm crank with their 50/34 rings. I bought a 110bcd 52 teeth FSA ring and swapped it out. Works fine.
chicorider
Zen MBB Master
I am running Cobb's carbon cranks, which come in shorter sizes. Stiff, lightweight, pricey. I like 'em. I also like that it uses Shimano's bottom bracket interface, which I've always preferred to SRAM's.
