Shorter Crank Arms on Levo / Kenevo?

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Right... after my off yesterday I need to get a new crank arm. I need to buy a pair as thats all the OEM Praxis are sold as.

I'm going to try and get 160mm, reducing it down from the standard 165mm. I get loads of pedal strikes, I know this won't solve it completely but I'm going to give it a go.

Has anyone changed theirs to anything other than standard?

Cheers,
Rob.

PEDAL STRIKE!!

EDIT: Here's my YouTube video one them, fitted the shorter cranks:

 

[ccrdave]

i have an idea kiwi in wales put 152mm on his

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I've found these and asked the manufacturer if they fit:

 

[Kernow]

Be nice to find some to fit the shimano motor , no idea why mtb are made with such long cranks , I think it’s the last thing to become developed from the old standard roadie type bike where it all began not that long ago .

 

[Dax]

Wow good crash! Amazing clip. Did you snap your crank arm?

 

[Doomanic]

I've found these and asked the manufacturer if they fit:

View attachment 2072

Pretty sure these are Bosch fitment.

 

[ccrdave]

Brose is isis bb fit so dont see why they wont work

 

[UKPHOTO]

Search on FB forum Rob, several have fitted them.

 

[ccrdave]

What’s the best crank length on an E-MTB? | E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine

 

[Kernow]

What’s the best crank length on an E-MTB? | E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine

Interesting article and some things I hadn’t considered
They state for the 150 crank ‘Really noticeable is the higher pedalling cadence, with an average increase of ten to fifteen rpm.’ That’s not really sustainable if your already doing around 80 rpm . So 160 could be the way to go , would have been good if they compared a 170 crank really as that’s now becoming the norm on most mtb
I agree Rib less pedal strikes would be good , I find I get most strikes when Iam iether tired or at the beginning of a ride before I warm and things start to flow . Certainly the more I ride the less I get so I think my brain must be on a new learning curv with recognising when to keep the pedal out the way .

 

[villho]

I have 150’s waiting to be installed (bolts still on their way) as I get way too many pedal strikes with 165’s.

I mainly ride technical single tracks with lots of roots and rocks and I don’t mind if I lose some of the top speed due to shorter cranks causing higher cadence. With 165’s it’s hard especially in uphills, when I need to stop spinning due to a potential pedal strike, when I’d rather spin constantly and with no cut in the motor power.

I see higher cadence only as a good thing, because it feels like that also Brose is on a better power curve with higher cadence.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I have 150’s waiting to be installed (bolts still on their way) as I get way too many pedal strikes with 165’s.

I mainly ride technical single tracks with lots of roots and rocks and I don’t mind if I lose some of the top speed due to shorter cranks causing higher cadence. With 165’s it’s hard especially in uphills, when I need to stop spinning due to a potential pedal strike, when I’d rather spin constantly and with no cut in the motor power.

I see higher cadence only as a good thing, because it feels like that also Brose is on a better power curve with higher cadence.

Which arms did you get? Same brand as I posted?

 

[villho]

Nimbus Venture 2. Originally meant for unicycles

 

[Cyclejunkie]

Right... after my off yesterday I need to get a new crank arm. I need to buy a pair as thats all the OEM Praxis are sold as.

I'm going to try and get 160mm, reducing it down from the standard 165mm. I get loads of pedal strikes, I know this won't solve it completely but I'm going to give it a go.

Has anyone changed theirs to anything other than standard?

Cheers,
Rob.

PEDAL STRIKE!!
View attachment 2071

SCHOOL BOY ERROR LOL.......GOOD EFFORT @Rob Hancill

 

[Blackbird]

I'm just wondering how shorter cranks cause higher cadence? Because the shorter arm transfers less power so you need a lower gear? If the gear stays the same cadence should stay the same.

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

I run Nimbus Venture 150mm cranks on my ebike. Please see the picture below.
To balance up the length of the cranks I run a 170mm OneUp dropper. I also have 180mm to 150mm Lyrik dual position forks. My head angle is 65 degrees.Please note, Before I had my ebike, I always ran all of my analogue bikes with 165mm cranks so when I changed down to 150mm I did not notice any difference apart from a drastic reduction in pedal strikes.

The cranks are the Venture2 models. I got these from unicycle.com. There is an updated version called the Nimbus VCX which are stronger but they will not fit unless you modify them by filing or grinding them down a bit where they connect to the motor as they will scrape the motor covers on the Levo 2017. I weigh in at 75kgs all kitted up and have had no issues with the strength of these cranks.

Before I made the purchase I had a long conversation with the uni cycle.com man to check out his view on shorter cranks and pedal strikes. It was a very interesting conversation and he suggested 150mm would be fine to start with but said I could go shorter if I was still getting pedal strikes. I tried the 150’s and found them to be perfect for my style of riding.

They may not suit you but for me, they were exactly what I needed. By the way, he runs 100mm cranks (yes 100mm) on his off road unicycle and also 100mm on the pennyfarthing he races so this was a real eye opener to me and made me think I may try some shorter ones in the near future, possibly a set of 135mm ones?

Yes, I have read the emtb magazine article when it was first released and for me, everyone has there own opinions. I am just going by my own experience and at least half a dozen other people who have ridden my bike. Not one of those people noticed the cranks were 150mm until I told them after our ride. All of them were running 175mm cranks on their analogue bikes and we swapped over from their bike to my bike throughout the 2 to 3 hour ride a number of times. Maybe if they were all riding ebikes instead of analogues they and I might have noticed something, I honestly don’t know. All I know is I do not feel I am losing any Watts and I do not feel I need to spin a faster cadence. I got 3 KOMs on my ride this morning and all of them were uphill segments so in my opinion the cranks can’t be robbing too much power from me.

All I can suggest to everyone here is to try them, for £48 delivered they are a bargain and the fact you will reduce your pedal strikes, to me, it’s a no brainer. Ride safe and enjoy!

 

[Hinett]

Have you tried the levo with 29er wheels? Fitting these will raise the BB and help with the pedal strikes and with the shorter crank arms you’re after should give you loads of clearance

 

[Tori]

Right... after my off yesterday I need to get a new crank arm. I need to buy a pair as thats all the OEM Praxis are sold as.

I'm going to try and get 160mm, reducing it down from the standard 165mm. I get loads of pedal strikes, I know this won't solve it completely but I'm going to give it a go.

Has anyone changed theirs to anything other than standard?

Cheers,
Rob.

PEDAL STRIKE!!
View attachment 2071

Great stack Rob! From the evidence provided above, it is clear to me you need to stick with the 165mm cranks, or perhaps even lengthen them - so we can see more quality offs like this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Hinett]

Right... after my off yesterday I need to get a new crank arm. I need to buy a pair as thats all the OEM Praxis are sold as.

I'm going to try and get 160mm, reducing it down from the standard 165mm. I get loads of pedal strikes, I know this won't solve it completely but I'm going to give it a go.

Has anyone changed theirs to anything other than standard?

Cheers,
Rob.

PEDAL STRIKE!!
View attachment 2071

I did exactly the same on my stumpy about 18months ago but ended up with grade 3 shoulder separation

 

[eFat]

I've found these and asked the manufacturer if they fit

Looks like the Delta model. They have many different lengths and Q-factors available.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Wow good crash! Amazing clip. Did you snap your crank arm?

No just bent it and ruined the thread that the pedal screws in to.

 

[Kernow]

I'm just wondering how shorter cranks cause higher cadence? Because the shorter arm transfers less power so you need a lower gear? If the gear stays the same cadence should stay the same.

I was thinking the same there’s a few things they say in that test that don’t seem to add up , I get that there is a power drop , less torque due to shorter crank , I think what they mean is you need to pull a lower gear to make up for it , so 150 cranks , require lower gearing result is going slower ?

 

[villho]

Yeah, and I at least see it so that being able to pedal constantly with no motor cut-outs (ie. with shorter cranks) wins all day everyday the possible better leverage that you get with longer cranks, but being obliged to take breaks from pedaling when things get really rough.

After all, with ebike one can compensate the lesser leverage by adjusting the motor assistance accordingly.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Thanks @Kiwi in Wales, trying to find a set of the Nibus Venture 2 but doesn't seem anyone in the UK has them.

 

[ccrdave]

i think merlin have these
Miranda Replacement E-Bike Crank Arms | Merlin Cycles

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

i think merlin have these
Miranda Replacement E-Bike Crank Arms | Merlin Cycles

Thanks Dave, I'm not 100% sure these fit so have emailed Miranda, still awaiting a response.

 

[eFat]

You can order directly from Miranda. This way you have access to every lengths and Q-factors.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

You can order directly from Miranda. This way you have access to every lengths and Q-factors.

But how do you know which / if they fit the Levo?

 

[Stretch]

I'm also looking at shortening cranks to reduce pedal strikes. When I started doing research on this a few weeks ago, I noticed quite a number of people were reducing by 10mm and I'll be honest my initial thoughts were that is would not be enough to stop pedal strikes.
@Rob Hancill I see you looking at reducing by only 5mm, do think that is enough?
I appreciate there is potentially an argument to be made regarding loss of torque when shorting etc etc so you should not decrease it more than required but purely from a pedal strike perspective my gut feel is you need to reduce by at least 10mm?
Is my gut lying to me What do you guys think?
Has anyone who has reduced by only 5mm found it to reduce pedal strikes significantly?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

I'm also looking at shortening cranks to reduce pedal strikes. When I started doing research on this a few weeks ago, I noticed quite a number of people were reducing by 10mm and I'll be honest my initial thoughts were that is would not be enough to stop pedal strikes.
@Rob Hancill I see you looking at reducing by only 5mm, do think that is enough?
I appreciate there is potentially an argument to be made regarding loss of torque when shorting etc etc so you should not decrease it more than required but purely from a pedal strike perspective my gut feel is you need to reduce by at least 10mm?
Is my gut lying to me What do you guys think?
Has anyone who has reduced by only 5mm found it to reduce pedal strikes significantly?

I think I'm going to go to 150mm, @Kiwi in Wales has recommended this and he has great feedback. I don't think that 5mm will reduce many pedal strikes but its going to make a slight difference! But 15mm should make a fair bit of difference. Might have even prevented that crash! (That, or increased skill levels! ).