Shorter cranks?

[Eden]

The site says they recommend shortened cranks for recumbants, only, as a safety factor.

Pardon the drift, here....but measuring crotch to floor is not your "inseam", but perhaps your "leg length". Isn't "inseam" what you would wear for pants - which would go to about ankle height? Say, 3" shorter than inseam?

Alas, as with Kitsune06 and Mimi - I offer no helpful insight.....

It's a semantics thing, when one says inseam in the cycling world you generally assume the measurment was taken like this
"Stand with your back against a wall, your bare feet 6" apart on a hard floor, looking straight ahead. Place a book or carpenter’s square between your legs with one edge against the wall, and pull it up firmly into your crotch, simulating the pressure of your saddle while riding. Have a helper measure from the top edge of the book to the floor, in centimeters. (You can convert inches to centimeters by multiplying inches by 2.54.) Repeat two or three times, for consistency, and average the results to get your inseam length."

[HappyAnika]

This is slightly off topic, but good for a chuckle. My 6'5" husband recently became convinced he needed longer cranks. He was shocked to measure mine and discover they were 172.5's "on a women's bike!" I'm 5'7" and have a 54 cm WSD frame. His were only 175's, he just assumed mine would be much shorter. Anyway, $500 later, he has his custom long cranks and swears by them. The funny part is the $500 cranks are on a bike he paid $350 for. He gets a new bike next year and the custom cranks will be reinstalled on the new bike.

[rij73]

See: http://www.nettally.com/palmk/crankset.html

I'm 5'6" with a 30 inch inseam. According to above, I should use a 165mm crank. My bike came with a 170, though, and I'm not going to change it unless a problem develops...

[spokewench]

I've ridden 165, and 170s. The 165's spin easier (faster), but the 170's give you more power (torque). I loved the 165s cause it was easier to spin up faster from stopped. I don't mind the 170s they are fine. Neither one gives me any trouble with fit or problems with pain or anything like that.