Maybe this is a dumb idea - but that's never stopped me...
Despite all the talk of putting 5" and shorter cranks on a coker so as to go faster, would it make for easier riding were one to go the other way and put longer ones on?
My knees are sh!t and I'm thinking it would make for more torque and less resistance. Speed isn't really my thang - just cruising around have fun and keeping fit.
I have no idea as to how readily one can get 8+" cranks in Australia, but I'm a sculptor and could just dodgy up some of my own if it were worth the effort.
The longest readily available cranks are 175mm, though you might be lucky in finding a pair of 180mm bike cranks that you could adapt (ie cut the spider off) for uni use. If you really want 8" cranks you'll most likely have to make them yourself. With such enormously long cranks there are drawbacks - the main one being that your pedalling circle is huge. This means that for every pedal stroke you have to put in a lot more energy. Also it puts your knees through a larger range of movement, which may or may not be a good thing.
'LiveWire Unicycles' (http://www.livewireunicycles.com) (my little company) can do trials-quality square taper cranks from 165-180mm, and high-quality square-taper road cranks from 100-230mm (to the mm). Both types are 7075-T6 aluminum and warranteed very well. PM me or email me from the website for details if you are interested.
When I first started riding, especially idling, I found that by switching from 150mm to 170mm on my Pashley 26", I lost a lot of knee pain.
Sometimes stretching, drinking more water, icing your knees after riding to promote healing, using ibuprofin to keep inflammation down, and similar things help a lot too.
Rogeratunicycledotcom 3 May 2005 11:09:50 [ permanent link ]
You are going the wrong way! shorter cranks cause less damaging stress on knees. The problem with unicycles and knees is the horizontal twist that is created when you apply pressure on the pedal. The lateral movement is at the point where the leg is at maximium pressure so exagerating the problem.
If you are not sure, try shorter cranks. I have not had knee problems since I got rid of my long cranks (150mm) on my Coker.
