Half a week, a few rides and an interval training session - that's all the time I've had with the new 155s. But there's already a lot to be said for it: the bike feels like it was finally built for my legs, not the other way round. It remains to be seen what the crank will do for my seating problems.
From the saddle to the crank
Seating problems have caused me to doubt many a time: Maybe my body isn't made for cycling. And I have tried many things: different trousers, different saddle, different bike fitting. In addition, there was a feeling that I could never quite get rid of: that I tipped back and forth a little on the saddle whenever the crank was pointing upwards. I had the crank length on my radar, but never changed it.
If possible, I was travelling with 165 mm. However, many bikes come with 170 mm cranks, even in small frame sizes. With a height of 1.60 metres and a saddle height of around 66 centimetres (measured from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the saddle), that's a lot of leverage. At some point I suspected that maybe 165 was still too long for my legs. So I started reading up on the subject. At Appleman Bicycles in Minneapolis, where framebuilder Matt Appleman manufactures cranks between 135 and 175 mm, I found an argument that convinced me: Frames come in many sizes, stems from 40 to 140 mm, handlebars from 38 to 46 cm - only cranks have been stuck in a tiny corridor of 165 to 175 mm for decades. With body sizes varying by around 25 per cent, a six per cent spread in the cranks is simply not enough. The WorldTour provided a second argument: Tadej Pogačar now rides 165 mm. And let's be honest - a little pro vibe on your own bike doesn't hurt either.
I wanted to know exactly. So: bike fitting appointment. The result was an ideal crank length of 155 millimetres. A second check at Lightwolf Studio in Dresden, where I had bought my new bike, confirmed the result. But I still couldn't make up my mind. Appleman is beautiful, but expensive. I found what I was looking for at Raketa from the Czech Republic and Alugear from Poland, but which aluminium crank should I choose?
Before I could finish my pondering, SRAM came round the corner. My January highlight: the announcement that Red would also be available in 150 and 155 millimetres in the future. At last. I just had to wait until it was available.
Attach, mount, drive
A week before a 450-kilometre ultracycling event, the test crank arrived at the editorial office. No risk no fun, I thought to myself. Fitted and mounted. Wait: there was something wrong with the saddle position. The new crank is 10 mm shorter than the old one. Meaning: saddle higher and slightly forwards. The rest of the bike was already prepared for 155 mm anyway.
The first few turns of the pedals are unfamiliar. I find myself searching for the old feeling of movement. Half an hour later, during interval training in Forstenrieder Park near Munich, there's nothing left of it. It just feels normal. A few days later, on a winding single trail, I notice something: Where has the toe overlap actually gone? Small people with small wheels are familiar with this phenomenon - the tip of the shoe rubbing against the front wheel in tight bends. With 155 mm: gone - or at least negligible.
What gets shorter, what opens up
Physically, two things happen when shortening. The maximum torque decreases because the lever is shorter. This is particularly noticeable when accelerating from low speeds, for example on a steep kick. At the same time, the hip angle opens up: the knees no longer come as high to the chest, the movement runs on a smaller path and feels more rounded. Hip mobility is also less of a challenge, which improves stability in the saddle. This is precisely the reason why short cranks have spilled over from time trial and triathlon sports into road cycling - and why small people in particular can benefit from them. If you reckon with a crank length of 20.5 per cent of the inside leg length, 155 mm would be the most common crank size for women. - and is therefore actually outside the standard range.
I'll know next week how the crank performs over 450 kilometres at a stretch. Then there will be the second part. Until the start: a few more micro-adjustments to the saddle. When loosening the clamp, I accidentally adjusted the angle - now I have to find the right one again.
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
