Pog popularised it, but that is about 20 years or more after the study which highlighted ideal crank length as ~20% of leg length.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11417428/
The cycling industry is slow to catch a trend IMO. It’s still difficult to get shorter cranks from the main crank suppliers. Especially cheaper ones.
Rode one of my kids MTBs to work after adding air to the tyres - has been sitting for quite a while now they have a licence.
Chose that bike as my regular MTB, Remedy, badly needs a shock service. When I got home the Remedy got a wash to get it ready.
There are any number of studies that show very little difference in power across a range of crank lengths. I hardly see one study as the definitive final word on the topic.
Pog was winning on 172.5 but has gone 165 and is still winning but probably even more. What I have read is the shorter crank length allows a more comfortable low frontal position for aero advantages as when not climbing aero is by far the biggest resistance facing a racing cyclist.
MVdP is still doing a bit of winning on 172.5.
No joint issues here and I am guessing somewhere above 200k km on 175s without issue. They are harder to get now though. 172.5 are morereadily available and I don’t really note any difference.
Not everything is about power, frontal area, etc. Some of us just want to avoid pain. I’d be on shorter cranks even if they were slower.
They were for me back in the day, at least for climbing. Not a big difference but I went up Mt Alex slower. TTed on 177.5 which is counter to what they use now but I certainly didn’t have a wind tunnel like the top level guys do.
I was replying in relation to Pogi being behind the game. He has led the racing change as the results were on longer cranks.
No pain here but certainly no speed improvement going slightly shorter. It is still in decline, but regardless I still enjoy pushing myself at times
jack bobridge won the aus road race (2022 I think it was). left it in the big ring, went off the front for 90ks… he’s 178cms and was riding 175mm cranks that day
The Ltwoo eGR and new cranks and cassette is on and ready.
Had a bit of trouble getting the app to go and getting the shifter to connect to the derailleur. You need to adjust each gear individually. Sounds like a pain but easy to do and a good feature imo.
Easy to bleed and the rubber hoods are much better than any Shimano hoods I have had.
Very happy so far but only been up and down the street thus far. Hopefully a ride tomorrow if the weather doesn’t turn to poo.
I have a 50mm tyre on the way, to go on the front. Should be better than the 40 on currently and will match the 45 on the back better. Plenty of tyre for most of the terrain I ride.
Yeah, that’s an upgrade for gravel IMO. I think in 10 years people will be wondering how we thought 40 was a good idea for gravel. Kinda like some are with 23s on road now.
When I was a teenager, I had a road bike with 27 x 1 1/4" tyres. Which is about 32mm. So the tyre width appears to have come full circle in the last 40 years.
Regarding fit. Maybe it’s an optical illusion from the pics I’ve seen. But are the position of you hands on the hoods in front of the front hub?
The base of the hoods are just behind the axle, the nose in front. For me it is a dirt roadie so the position is very similar to my actual roadie.
Need to adjust the R hood. Tilted in too much. I don’t do much steep descending, if I am I am not on the hoods and have my backside off the saddle and behind it. Not the type of cycling I go looking for though.
Thanks for the reply.
I take it that you don’t ride anything new that’s going to surprise you then? So you ride the steepest stuff brakeless. 
Braver than me.
I do sometimes ride loose downhills that I have no hope of riding up. Sometimes at the MTB park. Sometimes in the bush. I’m more reluctant to do it on the Avanti with no dropper.
From the middle of the grips my Kona is 29cm behind the hub and 24cm for the Avanti. I find bars further back works better for both climbing and descending steep stuff. You would think bars more forward would be good for climbing. But when standing on gravel, I struggle to get the weight back far enough to keep grip. It’s the same advantage as with shorter chainstays.
No I don’t do any real steep stuff on that. It is not a MTB and not bought with the intent of using it as one. It will go down anything I can ride it up. I have been on a gravel bunchie and we went up a short sharp hill I struggled to climb. Fine going down it as I described and on the brakes.
I would like a MTB but am happy enough with the riding I do so prob wont happen.
Out to Heathcote and back on the Revolt with the Ltwoo eGR today.
Early days so I’ll try not to start raving but very happy. Not a missed shift, very precise. I did a very quick visual guess adjusting the derailleur setting yesterday arvo. Brakes aren’t super strong but I may have got oil on the front disc. Didn’t spot any but I did spill some brake oil bleeding them. I have left the GRX calipers on and they may have a different sized piston to the Ltwoo ones supplied? I may do some research. I am able to stop quickly but have to squeeze pretty firmly.
The hoods are super comfortable and I prefer the oil port location on top of the hood to the Ultegra 8100 on the Reacto. There is a handy slot in the plastic body of the levers to locate the 5mm long T shaped allen key you need to use to secure them. Works great.
Only concern I have is battery life. I rushed setting the sensor detail on the Garmin today as I was running late. It offered to set a new page that included battery level but I cocked up the settings in my haste. Will have another go later. It did 3h40 or 100km today and so it should but the battery cant be very big in the rear derailleur as it is. Hopefully it proves durable. It is nice to be rid of the stupid internally routed cables.
The 10-45 cassette with 44t ring is a bit over geared for gravel but I will also use it on road with another set of wheels at times. The 2t gaps in the bottom of the cassette aren’t ideal but I can live with them and nice to be rid of the front derailleur as it was a pita to set up and keep adjusted properly. I will post again when I have some more ks on it.
A couple more rides on the eGR. Got the battery and gear position on the Garmin now.
Not too worried about how long the battery charge will last now. The head unit was giving me warnings the shifting battery was critical low on stopping. Pretty sure that was just the eGR going to sleep when stopped.
Still shifting very well and still find the hoods more comfy than the GRX were.
Put a 29x2" Conti RaceKing I had at home on the front. Not the fastest rolling but grips well. It can stay there a while.
I haven’t got a chain keeper fitted but it hasn’t looked like dropping the chain. Apparently those narrow-wide rings are pretty good in that respect.
Have my Singlespeed a clean today.
It had been sitting with a fine coating of gravel residue for at least a few days.
By which time it mostly brushes off.
Then a bit of a polish with eucalyptus oil solution.
Needs a new chain, which I purchased today.
Yeah, apparently they stop the chain from moving sideways and therefore dropping off. All my bikes have them.
Yeah, I watched this the other day;
It does seem a good improvement.
Frame is back from repairs so I was getting it ready for a bit of paint when I noticed this crack at the seat tube/bottom bracket junction. What do you think, game over for the Kona?
Well i don’t recommend riding it
Can you send a photo to the bloke who did the other repair and see what he says?
I am no expert but perhaps it can be welded over?
Yeah, done. I’ll report back when he responds
