145mm and 155mm cranks

[paul.williams_1981@yahoo.]

Hi All

Looking for some advise on cranks.

I have just took delivery of a cube one77 SLT(first emtb). I read on various posts the the BB is low on this bike and would like to change them for 145-155 cranks.

Most of my riding will be downhill orientated steep tech and I will be hitting jumplines and big drops regularly. I would prefer quality over cheap as I dont want a snapped crank.

After people's thoughts and experiences with them. Eg will 145mm cranks have an affect on the downhill.

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[Kepa]

Search the cube one77 threads, lots of discussion there.

 

[paul.williams_1981@yahoo.]

Search the cube one77 threads, lots of discussion there.

Been through that bud, I'm not asking about the bike I'm asking in about shorter cranks in general and people thoughts

 

[D3xt3rMTB]

Been riding 155s (on different bikes to yours) for quite a while. Different reason for me, the benefit of the shorter cranks is on technical climbs and helps reduce pedal hits when pedalling. Can't say I've noticed any difference on the downhills at all (won't comment on jumping as not really my thing) and even as a very tall rider the slightly shorter spacing when standing on pedals for descents hasn't had any negatives for me.

Assuming the cube is a bosch unit then Hope make 155 cranks and Pinnd 145 & 155. Have been running both for a while, both very good quality and no issues. Survived everything from bike parks, alps trips to rocky peak district descents with no problems. Wouldn't go back to longer cranks now on an ebike as not found any negatives from running shorter ones.

 

[paul.williams_1981@yahoo.]

Been riding 155s (on different bikes to yours) for quite a while. Different reason for me, the benefit of the shorter cranks is on technical climbs and helps reduce pedal hits when pedalling. Can't say I've noticed any difference on the downhills at all (won't comment on jumping as not really my thing) and even as a very tall rider the slightly shorter spacing when standing on pedals for descents hasn't had any negatives for me.

Assuming the cube is a bosch unit then Hope make 155 cranks and Pinnd 145 & 155. Have been running both for a while, both very good quality and no issues. Survived everything from bike parks, alps trips to rocky peak district descents with no problems. Wouldn't go back to longer cranks now on an ebike as not found any negatives from running shorter ones.

Thanks bud for the detailed response. One part of a bike i have never altered is the cranks. I have always run the lenght the bike was bought with.

From what i have gathered pedal strikes are low BB are common place on emtbs.

 

[Astro66]

From what i have gathered pedal strikes are low BB are common place on emtbs.

Riding mostly downhill, pedal strikes are not as common, as you can stop pedalling and just flat pedal through obstacles. Climbing is different, as stopping may cause you to stall.

I'm big on climbing so I run short cranks. I haven't noticed any impact on downhill. It has increased my cadence which improves motor assist. But once again, mostly in the area of climbing.

 

[paul.williams_1981@yahoo.]

Riding mostly downhill, pedal strikes are not as common, as you can stop pedalling and just flat pedal through obstacles. Climbing is different, as stopping may cause you to stall.

I'm big on climbing so I run short cranks. I haven't noticed any impact on downhill. It has increased my cadence which improves motor assist. But once again, mostly in the area of climbing.

Thanks bud. With my model of bike on the bike specific discussions a few people had mentioned strikes while descending. I do need to get up to come down. Some of my local climbs are pretty rough so shorter should be an advantage.

 

[steve_sordy]

Have you ridden the bike yet and suffered the pedal strikes that some complain about?
Fitting shorter cranks has a downside. A quick Google says that the standard crank on your bike is 170mm. If you fit a shorter crank, you will be altering the basic gearing of the bike.
For example, if you fit a 145 crank it will make the bike harder to get up hills by (170-145)/170 = 14.8%

The average shift on a 12-speed cassette gives you 16%, so it would feel like you need one more big gear on the cassette when climbing. And needing a smaller gear at the other end of the cassette when trying to go fast!

 

[Ndanger]

Thanks bud for the detailed response. One part of a bike i have never altered is the cranks. I have always run the lenght the bike was bought with.

From what i have gathered pedal strikes are low BB are common place on emtbs.

I am looking to find shorter cranks and considering the Sram 90's, hopefully they are durable.

 

[paul.williams_1981@yahoo.]

Have you ridden the bike yet and suffered the pedal strikes that some complain about?
Fitting shorter cranks has a downside. A quick Google says that the standard crank on your bike is 170mm. If you fit a shorter crank, you will be altering the basic gearing of the bike.
For example, if you fit a 145 crank it will make the bike harder to get up hills by (170-145)/170 = 14.8%

The average shift on a 12-speed cassette gives you 16%, so it would feel like you need one more big gear on the cassette when climbing. And needing a smaller gear at the other end of the cassette when trying to go fast!

Have you ridden the bike yet and suffered the pedal strikes that some complain about?
Fitting shorter cranks has a downside. A quick Google says that the standard crank on your bike is 170mm. If you fit a shorter crank, you will be altering the basic gearing of the bike.
For example, if you fit a 145 crank it will make the bike harder to get up hills by (170-145)/170 = 14.8%

The average shift on a 12-speed cassette gives you 16%, so it would feel like you need one more big gear on the cassette when climbing. And needing a smaller gear at the other end of the cassette when trying to go fast!

Not ridden the said bike yet. The standard cranks are 165 not 170. They are nice era cranks so taking them off and selling them before having pedal strikes was my idea.

I can ride my analogue bikes up the hills i will be using to uplift myself do the gearing wont bother me. I may end up trying more advanced uphills so it is something to consider.

 

[paul.williams_1981@yahoo.]

I am looking to find shorter cranks and considering the Sram 90's, hopefully they are durable.

What size are you thinking

 

[Jurassic]

I have a Giant Reign E+1 which also suffers from a low BB. I went from OEM 165mm cranks down to cheap 155mm Miranda cranks to test the concept and then subsequently I went with 145mm Pinnd cranks. Honestly I haven't found any downsides to going with short cranks. A lot of people seem to offer opinions on this matter without actually trying shorter cranks and I think they'd be surprised about how much the pros outweigh the cons (there are no cons in my experience but lots of pros).

 

[paul.williams_1981@yahoo.]

I have a Giant Reign E+1 which also suffers from a low BB. I went from OEM 165mm cranks down to cheap 155mm Miranda cranks to test the concept and then subsequently I went with 145mm Pinnd cranks. Honestly I haven't found any downsides to going with short cranks. A lot of people seem to offer opinions on this matter without actually trying shorter cranks and I think they'd be surprised about how much the pros outweigh the cons (there are no cons in my experience but lots of pros).

I bought the 145mm pinned but ordered the wrong fitment. Reordered the correct type but have to wait. 150mm seems like the ideal number to me but couldn't find a decent set.

I tried the 165mm cranks that came with the bike on a steep long rocky hill and didn't get any strikes. I will still be changing tho.

 

[Rocketb]

I’ve been running Pinnd 145mm for over a year now awesome quality. I have a Bosch motor so check the motor spec first.

 

[d3ftone]

Going

Have you ridden the bike yet and suffered the pedal strikes that some complain about?
Fitting shorter cranks has a downside. A quick Google says that the standard crank on your bike is 170mm. If you fit a shorter crank, you will be altering the basic gearing of the bike.
For example, if you fit a 145 crank it will make the bike harder to get up hills by (170-145)/170 = 14.8%

The average shift on a 12-speed cassette gives you 16%, so it would feel like you need one more big gear on the cassette when climbing. And needing a smaller gear at the other end of the cassette when trying to go fast!

This. Going from 155mm to 145mm, it's noticeably more difficult turning the cranks over going up steep shit. Like Steve said it's basically a gearing shift.

The benefit of far less pedal/crank strikes going up or down make it worth running the shorter cranks imo, especially if you're dealing with a bb that's too low. Motor power is part of the equation too. The more power on tap the more I'd be fine with running shorter cranks.

 

[luna87824]

Why do people keep buying bikes with a bb that's too low...........

 

[MJO]

Cube One77 has Bosch cx G5, isis fitment like my Vala. My crank size is between 150 to 155 according to measurement. Decided to go for 155, still waiting for the delivery.

Becareful with sram, they sell crank without the gap cap cover/dust cover. That's why I opted for E thirteen.