Dosnt have to be your head, be creative 
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I traditionally use alloy or steel rings, but whatever floats your boat.
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Cheap and effective floats my boat. 
A good brand for me so far.
Crank length. One of my favourite subjects.
Iām with you on shorter cranks, also being shorter myself. Made a difference to me. The difference between a sore knee, or not.
According to this study, optimal crank length was found to be 20% of inner leg length.
Determinants of maximal cycling power: crank length, pedaling rate and pedal speed - PubMed
My leg length is 80 cm. So ideal crank length for me is 160. Started in MTB in about 1990 with 175s like everyone else. Iāve ridden just about everything shorter too. Was on 165 from about 2009. Been on 155s for about a year on the MTBs and 152s recently on the commuter. The 152s do feel a bit short standing. Changing to 155s was probably the best upgrade Iāve done.
Hereās a fixy guy that noticed the difference and he isnāt short IIRC.
Oh yeah, this is a post your new stuff thread. Iāve got some new Shimano shoes. Iāll see if I get some time later. As Iām Noboby my identity canāt be given. But I might get something in the photo.
Reacto is a couple of years old now.
IMG20260412125156480Ć360 30.4 KB
Since when did you become rich and left the rest of us normal people behind with your $6K bikes? 
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Yeah, true I guess. 
But have you priced a new roadie lately? We are a single income family but empty nesters now. I used tax return and overtime to pay for it but surprised it got past the keeper.
Yep a terrible investement as it is now worth a fraction of that, but bike riding is my passion and you are a long time in the grave. Disc brakes and di2 are very, very good. 
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As you know, not my cup of tea. ~86cm inner leg measurement here. 20+ years on 175. I have gone to 172.5 as those cranks werenāt available longer. No real difference noted tbh.
You should head over to weight weenies.
They love them there.
https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=161431
Thanks for the link.
I read the last 3 pages. Mostly posts either agree or disagree with some reasoning as to why. I did find the link below which I found particularly useful. It has 2 ways to calculate crank length from measurements - both came out as 160 for me - and some solid reasoning why people should round down and not up. So 155s are still the right choice for me.
Choosing an
OPTIMUMCrank LengthA down-to-the-millimeter āoptimum crank lengthā doesnāt exist! Rather, there are a range of lengths thatāll be beneficial to the rider.
Thereās more often an upper limit of crank length than a lower limit. Going too long will cause pain, discomfort, or instability. Going too short will feel a little funny for a few minutes. You decide.
Anyone that can ride a 170mm crank, can also ride a 165mm (or less) just fine. Going longer is a higher risk.
When in doubt, round down.
A Riders Guide to Crank Length - Appleman Bicycles
And yes they do sell short cranks. So likely not totally unbiased.
They make some good points in thread. If I still raced I would perhaps try shorter. The big advantage seem to be allowing a more open hip angle for a given position allowing better breathing perhaps, if that is an issue, and to go lower for less frontal area and less drag.
I donāt race and aero doesnāt matter as much. If anything the 172s cause me knee pain rather than reduce it. I expect that is something around cleat position on that pair of shoes. Look cleats on that bike only. I have replacement Shimano pedal bodies to put on the vector pedals after the originals broke.
My old Shimano shoesā sole glue failed after about 20 years. This time I decided to get shoes that fit my wide feet better. Unfortunately in cycling you often have to spend more to get a better fit. Hence the XC302 in 43 Wide or E. Of course with a pic of one of my wider feet.
I consulted with ChatGPT extensively before purchase. Taking foot measurements, etc. I shouldnāt have been, but I was still surprised that they were a perfect fit. The fit was so good it made me laugh after puting them on.
Iāll probably get some shoe glue and keep my old too long, size 45 shoes as spares.
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Ryet 50mm carbon wheels from Aliexpress.com under $600.
Trace velo has has done a review. Despite the title, review is pretty good.
Delivery took a month, but was well packaged. Weight was right on advertised 1540gm. Wheels are true, dished correctly and spoke tension is pretty even. Came with 10m roll of tubeless tape and tubeless valves but I had bought Ryet valves along with their disc rotors.
Waiting on some Silica sealant (as recommended by Mr P. on BNA) but as is, holds pressure for around 12 hours. The Pirelli Road TLR tyres were a struggle to get on. Probably next week before they can be fitted to the bike.
Image of me from Bobbo Classic a few years ago.
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Good score!
Silca sealant has a shit reputation on WW. Havenāt used it though.
Interested to hear how it goes anyway.
Version 1 or Version 2 or both has bad reputation?
The older version primarily. Orange seal is spruiked but by some louder voices perhaps. It has worked well for me.
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a new lid and some bits for the commuter
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The Silica Ultimate sealant arrived after lunch. Installed using syringe purchased from Silica. No problems, just a little splatter when unhooking tube from valve due to air pressure. No obvious leaks and tires appear to be holding pressure. Will check pressure tomorrow.
I did see video which suggested adding a bit of lubricant to valve and valve inner to help stop sealant clogging. Have given it a try.
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Well if you decide to turn a '90s MTB into a commuter for someone who doesnāt ride, I hope you are prepared to spend a fair bit of money on it. Because not only do you have to buy parts, but also pump, multi-tool, a helmet, a lock. If you want to make it a present, it needs the whole eco-system as well. Anyway, most of the bits are below. Iāve already swapped the crankset, bars, stem, saddle with stuff I had. Not cheap.
Most of this is from Bike24. Some from Pushys, and the Avid levers from AliExpress.
This link might work for a bigger image.
Stuff for Gary Fisher
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Canāt see the photo
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The link still doesnāt work on my android tablet but the picture in the post comes up full size.
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Quick update on my Ryet wheels and P Zero Road tyres. The combination is a smooth and comfortable ride. Grip seems good in wet and dry conditions. Tyres hold air for a week before needing to be topped up. Only problem is the Ryet disc rotors in the wet (got caught in a shower) as they squeal very loudly. In the dry they are quiet. Generally try to avoid wet weather so not a major problem but wouldnāt want them on an all weather commuter bike.
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