Pedal strikes - shorter cranks needed?

[Bigkatoomer]

Not another crank thread!

This one's a bit different, my cranks are currently on nice and tight, but they hit the ground on my trail rides quite a lot more than my other bikes.

Shock sag is 25%. No insert.
Forks are quite soft in the first half, (3 inserts I believe)
Tyres around 20psi
I'm around 75kg.
Technique: shoddy, but I can't fix that so I want to pay my way out of the problem.

This was a widely reported problem by journos on the Occam but not so much on the Rise, which is surprising.

It's an M10 XL with E13 ALU cranks.

I'd like some shorter, lightweight cranks. Anybody any idea what spec I need to be looking at? Crank distance, thread type? Spec, and good makers of lightweight alu or carbon cranks?

 

[Gyre]

According to the Orbea website, your XL Rise comes stock with 170mm cranks. E13 makes 160mm cranks that would trade off some torque for more clearance.

Presumably this one would work on the Rise: e*spec Plus Cranks (ethirteen.com)

10mm extra clearance won't cure pedal strikes, it'll just reduce their frequency. Reprogramming your instincts to ratchet over chunky bits is the only real solution. Modern eMTB software makes it a lot easier, just be sure to make a deliberate effort to practice.

 

[Doomanic]

Technique: shoddy, but I can't fix that so I want to pay my way out of the problem.

Finally, an honest short crank thread. ?

 

[soundwave]

I have 165mm and 160mm e13 cranks ready for installation. Also 165 shimano cranks. 170mm that I have now in my XL are clearly too long. Any opinions which size I should try first? 160mm to really feel the difference immediatelly, or 165mm for subtle change?

 

[Gyre]

I have 165mm and 160mm e13 cranks ready for installation. Also 165 shimano cranks. 170mm that I have now in my XL are clearly too long. Any opinions which size I should try first? 160mm to really feel the difference immediatelly, or 165mm for subtle change?

If you don't spend a lot of time in your lowest climbing gear, then you might as well go for 160 so you develop a better intuitive sense of what crank length will and won't do for you.

 

[soundwave]

Thanks. That's a good advice. The e13 cranks are cheap enough so I might as well keep both of them. I haven't luckily had any issues with the factory installed cranks falling off - knock on wood!

 

[soundwave]

Installed today first the 160mm cranks. They felt quite weird so I installed the 165mm ones immediatelly without properly even riding the 160mm ones. These ones feel better so gonna try these ones first.

 

[Gyre]

Making a 10mm switch takes some acclimation. If/when you try again focus on spinning the cranks more and that should help.

 

[soundwave]

It felt like you reaaaaally are spinning them ?

 

[PetrD]

I upgraded in opposite way. I had 165 e13 cranks and goes to e13 170. It feels much better now and it means more power by me as I can see in computer. Rpm peaks stands on 70-80. Maybe because I am tall - 6"5'.

 

[soundwave]

170mm does feel more powerfull than 165mm but the pedal strikes are too common with the 170mm for me. Too early to say if 5mm makes a real difference…

 

[Mikerb]

I had experienced some problems with pedal strikes on my Whyte E180RS when I first starting riding it.......it does have a lower BB than my Levo for example. I am not sure changing crank length achieves a great deal. Obviously being more aware of potential pedal strikes and adjusting technique is the most important thing to do but I became aware that most strikes I was getting were on the outer or leading edge of the pedal rather than under the pedal. I changed pedals to some with a smaller platform ( width and length) . That made a big difference for me.

 

[PetrD]

170mm does feel more powerfull than 165mm but the pedal strikes are too common with the 170mm for me. Too early to say if 5mm makes a real difference…

it was clear to me during the first ride. I am big and the standing position on longer cranks is better too.

 

[soundwave]

I also changed the pedals to slimmer ones and that helped too + shoe traction improved (OneUp aluminium)

 

[Zed]

Finally, an honest short crank thread. ?

Truth

- for the op, add 20 psi to everything and/or increase your spring 50 lbs and work harder to not feck it up.

I lol at the "learn to ride like me, clearly I'm superior" purist mentality people get about short cranks. Reminiscent of the anti-ebike argument really isn't it?
I like short cranks because I want to just keep spinning up ludicrous stuff that just can't be done any other way. And I don't want to run my suspension too firm to do it either.
It's not that I can't ratchet and struggle, it's not that I can't ride. It's that when it gets steep and rocky enough that's just not going to work as I need (and want) to keep momentum.

 

[Doomanic]

I lol at the "learn to ride like me, clearly I'm superior" purist mentality people get about short cranks. Reminiscent of the anti-ebike argument really isn't it?
I like short cranks because I want to just keep spinning up ludicrous stuff that just can't be done any other way. And I don't want to run my suspension too firm to do it either.
It's not that I can't ratchet and struggle, it's not that I can't ride. It's that when it gets steep and rocky enough that's just not going to work as I need (and want) to keep momentum.

You are amongst the minority though. Most of these threads, and there have been many, are from people getting pedal strikes on tame trails, not the loons who like to climb the gnar. Besides, the OP said;

Technique: shoddy, but I can't fix that so I want to pay my way out of the problem.

So there was no need for you get all defensive on his behalf.

 

[Zed]

So there was no need for you get all defensive on his behalf.

Nah, I was getting defensive on my behalf
When he said:

Technique: shoddy, but I can't fix that so I want to pay my way out of the problem.

I really took that as joking, pre-empting the impending "learn to ride". Maybe not, and if so, fair call.
No need to get defensive about my getting defensive though...

 

[Bigkatoomer]

Cheers all. Really helpful. And no offence felt from 'Ride better/pump everything to 1000psi'. I'm a grown man nowadays with thick wrinkly skin. All advice welcome!

Was riding yesterday and got a few strikes on narrow footpaths (let's not go there) that are sunken with turfy banks on either side. Just catching now and then.

Had no idea 160mm would feel so dramatically different, and that you settled on 165mm @soundwave . I think I will try 165mm and perhaps a little more shock pressure/ less sag.

Much appreciated.

Will

 

[carlbiker]

Cheers all. Really helpful. And no offence felt from 'Ride better/pump everything to 1000psi'. I'm a grown man nowadays with thick wrinkly skin. All advice welcome!

Was riding yesterday and got a few strikes on narrow footpaths (let's not go there) that are sunken with turfy banks on either side. Just catching now and then.

Had no idea 160mm would feel so dramatically different, and that you settled on 165mm @soundwave . I think I will try 165mm and perhaps a little more shock pressure/ less sag.

Much appreciated.

Will

I too was going to pick 160mm but just about to order 165mm, some have said it can impact on things negatively if you go too small

 

[BiGJZ74]

170mm does feel more powerfull than 165mm but the pedal strikes are too common with the 170mm for me. Too early to say if 5mm makes a real difference…

On my 2 enduro bikes (Evil/Orbea) run 165mm Shimano XT on one, and 170mm RF Next R on the other. I live in an area where 2000ft climbs over 2-4miles is the norm and I don't think the power difference between the two is substantial enough to be worried. I run 160mm e13 on my eMTB and get zero pedal strikes even with a loger stroke rear shock, and 19mm more travel. I swap between all 3 bikes, and don't have any issues swapping between lengths. I'm 6ft tall, but a longer torso.

 

[The EMF]

Hi All when I first got my Whyte E-150 RS the reviews were full of “great bike”, “rides well” BUT low BB height, hard to remove battery blah blah blah……
Thing is I’m in my mid sixties and still love to shred but I’ve had to improve my technique when it comes to pedalling and getting the full use of the motor assistance when tackling technical climbs. I find it’s all about making a little time to asses the obstacle and where to put a half-crank in to use the benefit of the slight motor run on you get with the Bosch CX. When it all comes together and you make the gnarly ascent without a foot down or a strike then it’s another skill you’ve mastered……….that doesn’t mean to say that I don’t still have the odd pedal strike but the more I ride they are becoming less frequent………it seems to work for me anyway.

 

[Doomanic]

I'm sorry, but that reasonable post has no place in a short crank thread.

As eny fule noe, it's entirely down to the extra long cranks that are fitted to eBikes and in no way related to skill, observation or ability.

 

[Mikerb]

You can increase ground clearance with thinner pedals.........a lot easier than replacing cranks just to gain 5 mm! I agree with the above though. My Whyte E180 RS has a very low bb and initially I was constantly getting pedal strikes. Now it is pretty rare. So I think you adjust and modify your line and technique to take account of that.

 

[carlbiker]

If it wasn’t for the e13 crank issue there no way id be buying new for sake of 5mm….id just retrain myself exactly like the first time I was getting strikes when I started learning the first time, if others are doing fine then maybe it’s not just the cranks?

 

[Mikerb]

Apart from just generally being more aware and more observant I found 2 things helped.
Firstly a lot of my pedal strikes were on the inside pedal when I was choosing to ride with level cranks on mild turns, so paying much more attention to what was on the inside of a turn plus choosing more often to ride outside pedal down helped sort that.
The second was being aware how much suspension compression led to pedal strikes or scrubs, often with both pedals in narrow gully sections and how it could be avoided by lifting the front wheel.

 

[BiGJZ74]

You are amongst the minority though. Most of these threads, and there have been many, are from people getting pedal strikes on tame trails, not the loons who like to climb the gnar.

LOL, I'm definitely in the loons who like to climb the gnar category.

 

[Andy Sid]

Ive gone with Steps FC-EM900 Crank Arm Set Hollowtech II 160mm and they seem good, also OneUp aluminium pedals are pretty thin if im not using clips

 

[soundwave]

Update on the cranks from my side. I switched from 170 -> 165 cranks on my XL due to pedal strikes. It helped, BUT... it turned out my rear shock pressures were waaaay too low and after fixing that, the ride transformed and I tried the 170 cranks again. Much better now - more pedaling power and not so much pedal strikes anymore.

 

[Rod B.]

Instead of changing the cranks, have you considered changing the travel on your fork? I changed the travel on my Fox 36 from 150mm to 160mm. It significantly reduced pedal strikes. A replacement 160mm air shaft assembly costs about $35. It's an easy procedure to replace the shaft. If you don't like the added travel, no biggie, put the old one back in.

Here's Fox's webpage tech link on air shaft assembly replacement:

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