Shorter Cranks

[PolePosition]

I have long legs & femurs. I can’t squat without spreading my feet very far apart. My quads would smash into my rib cage with 175mm and 170mm cranks. Switched to 155mm after my fitter read a Cobb article a number of years ago. I’ve been able to get into a much more aerodynamic position with no pain and without moving my knees to the sides to avoid my chest. Geometries are individual so YMMV!

[Gabe77]

I've never heard anyone mentioning that your effective gearing ratio changes with crank length (except SheldonB). 165mm to 175mm is exactly the difference between a 53 and 50 chainring. Beware messing up your gearing ratio if compact/full crankset is an important factor for you. IE to switch from 175-165 and keep the same gearing you'd need to swap to a compact crankset.

[Pricci09]

I recently switched from 172.5 to 170. Can't really notice a difference to be honest. I think with a change that small the body will naturally settle into what's comfortable by just sliding around the saddle a bit.

If I did it again I'd go straight to 165