Shorter Crank Arms on Levo / Kenevo?

[Doomanic]

When I first got my Mega I asked a question about pedal strikes and crank lengths and was told to learn to read the trail better...

They kind of had a point. After a while I stopped getting them so often on the Mega and when I switched to the Trek I didn’t get any for ages. I now occasionally get one, usually when pressing on while tired towards the end of the ride.

I’ll have to measure my cranks tonight and see what Trek supply.

 

[eFat]

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

You want the ISIS mount and have to check these 2 measurements :

 

[Stretch]

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! ).

Does that mean this will this is the end of the spectacular entertainment shows you provide with your stacks
Jokes as-sided, it happened really quickly and was expecting you to be hurt, was very happy you came out of that unscathed.

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

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! ).

Hey Rob, did you find the Venture2 cranks or are you going to try a different brand?

How soon do you need them?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Hey Rob, did you find the Venture2 cranks or are you going to try a different brand?

How soon do you need them?

No, cant find the Venture2 in stock in the UK.

I'm OK for the moment, using the wife's Levo as a donor bike

 

[Doomanic]

She's not interested in riding at Malvern then?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

She's not interested in riding at Malvern then?

Not at all!

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

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?

Hi Stretch,

Reducing by 5mm on a fully suspended bike in my opinion will make very little difference.

I definitely agree with Doomanic that you also need to learn to read the trail better as this has definitely decreased pedal strikes for me.

The problem I have now is after owning my secondhand ebike for over 5 months and virtually doubling the amount of rides and distance travelled I believe I may have started to, pardon the pun, ‘E’volve’ my riding skill set ?

Not sure if you or anyone else does this but I now look at trails differently and also trails off trails differently as I now have the means to ride trails I would never have considered riding before. In the short time I have owned my Levo I have started to develop a new ‘steep uphill climbing’ skill set which has changed the way I ride and pedal as to ride steep climbs one must pedal ?

Reading the trail will definitely help but when the trail gets really steep and technical the chance of a pedal strike gets higher hence me changing to the 150’s and also increasing my fork travel from 150mm to 180mm. Even with the 150’s on I get the occasional hit but they are now few and far between.

My advice, try some 150’s, you can always revert back. However, you might, like me, be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

No, cant find the Venture2 in stock in the UK.

I'm OK for the moment, using the wife's Levo as a donor bike

As a self confessed serial upgrader and hoarder of bike parts of both new and old...... I actually have a spare set of Venture2 150mm cranks which you could try if you want?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

As a self confessed serial upgrader and hoarder of bike parts of both new and old...... I actually have a spare set of Venture2 150mm cranks which you could try if you want?

That is bloody kind of you! I’d love to if you’re sure? Do you want to sell them to me? ?

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

That is bloody kind of you! I’d love to if you’re sure? Do you want to sell them to me? ?

You can do a try before you buy if you want to? Would be good to get some positive or negative feedback from you after fitting and riding them for a while. If they don’t do it for you I will happily take them back. I like having spares ?

You have my email address so send me your address and I will post them out tomorrow.

Do you have all the tools to remove your cranks?

 

[davosaurusrex]

My recent pedal strike left me with a broken neck. When recovered I have fitted 165 XTs in place of the standard 170s. I have a 36" inseam so didn't want to go shorter. Anyway mine was more not looking where I was going more than anything else.

Anyone interested in a set of near mint e800 cranks?

 

[Topov]

Guys I have actually changed my stock 165 to the Miranda 152's They are a massive difference, I can still pedal while cranked over, yes cadence feels higher but speed is the same, I can still pedal at over 30mph on standard 32tooth chain ring. It is one of the best changes as yet. feels weird at first but you soon get accustomed to it. Rob if you want to try before you buy give me a pm and ill meet you somewhere

 

[villho]

[...]I can still pedal at over 130mph on standard 32tooth chain ring. [...]

I really need more training

 

[Topov]

I really need more training

edited lol

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

Guys I have actually changed my stock 165 to the Miranda 152's They are a massive difference, I can still pedal while cranked over, yes cadence feels higher but speed is the same, I can still pedal at over 30mph on standard 32tooth chain ring. It is one of the best changes as yet. feels weird at first but you soon get accustomed to it. Rob if you want to try before you buy give me a pm and ill meet you somewhere

I sent Rob a set of 150mm Nimbus Venture 2’s yesterday.

To be honest when I put mine on 5 months ago I didn’t really notice the cadence. All I noticed was a drastic reduction in pedal strikes and as you say above you can still pedal while cranked over but obviously there is a limit to how far cranked over you can go before you get spat off ?

I am now pondering 145’s or even 138’s. Like I said in a previous post I have a 170mm dropper so that helps the inside leg measurement.

I know it is not an ebike mtb but people race Pennyfarthings with 100mm cranks so it shows how short you could go. In reality I think 100mm would be too short but hey, can’t really comment on that as I have not tried them.... ?

 

[ccrdave]

So how do these short cranks affect position on the bike? Shorter cranks means you have to lift the seat to keep good peadaling positions right? Does the bike start to get a bit top heavy?

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

So how do these short cranks affect position on the bike? Shorter cranks means you have to lift the seat to keep good peadaling positions right? Does the bike start to get a bit top heavy?

I have a OneUp 170mm dropper that resolves that problem Dave ?

What is the length of your cranks on your 2018 Levo? Are they 170mm? If they are, you are talking a reduction of only 18mm if you get the 152mm Miranda ‘Delta’ cranks which is not a lot. They do them in 150, 152, 155, 160, 165

Like I said above, I didn’t notice an affect on my cadence, but others did and you could as well. Remember we are talking 18mm here so it is not going to be a huge adjustment.

I am looking at going shorter now because I am used to the 150’s and doing a lot of ‘Trials’ type riding and riding up heavily rutted 4x4 tracks so a bit shorter will hopefully reduce this new version of pedal strikes I am getting.

I will report back to let you all know if I have made a big mistake or give you a big thumbs up ?

 

[ccrdave]

My cranks are 165 but i would really to try something shorter dont think its worth trying 160 but i think i might try 150

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

My cranks are 165 but i would really to try something shorter dont think its worth trying 160 but i think i might try 150

Even better then as you are only making a change of 15mm if you go to 150 or 13mm if you go to 152.

The challenge for you will be finding the cranks. The cranks I have are sold out and are not being restocked

However, I saw some Miranda 152’s on the Holland bike shop website
Buy Miranda Delta 0 Crank 152mm Right Bosch Alu - Black at HBS

 

[ElectricGuv]

However, I saw some Miranda 152’s on the Holland bike shop website
Buy Miranda Delta 0 Crank 152mm Right Bosch Alu - Black at HBS

Does anyone have the above? Thinking of getting to put on the Kenevo.

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

Nimbus Venture 2. Originally meant for unicycles

Correct, and that is where I got them from, unicycle.uk.com. Unfortunately they are all sold out now

 

[villho]

I got mine 150s installed yesterday. Didn’t require any Dremel work, but the clearance isn’t big A short spin around house and yes, it feels like you are pedaling quicker, but not in a bad way. Jury is out there until I get to take a proper ride on trails.

I took a photo also of the stock cranks that have gotten some abuse during 1,5 month of ownership.

 

[ccrdave]

where did you get yours from?

 

[villho]

From Unicycle.com's Danish "side office": Pedalarme - Nimbus Venture 2 ISIS, Sort

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Perhaps also worth considering is the Miranda. I asked if they fit the Levo. Here's their response. I take that as a 'Yes they fit but you need to select ISIS'.

Hi Rob Hancill,

Many thanks for your contact.
You can buy our cranks in our online store.
Please select ISIS: interface.

If you have any question please contact me.

Many thanks and best regards,
Tiago Silva

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

From Unicycle.com's Danish "side office": Pedalarme - Nimbus Venture 2 ISIS, Sort

Well done finding the Venture 2’s, I will see if I can fumble my way through the site to purchase a spare pair as my knowledge of the danish language is virtually zero. Might need Google translator to assist ?

As a few of you know, I have had my current Nimbus Venture 2 150’s on for a few months now and are really pleased with them. I still get a minimal amount of pedal strikes but that is purely down to me taking on more technical trails (Steep uphill and slow ‘Trials’ type trails) where continuous pedalling is required to get you through them.

So I feel now is the time to push a bit further and see how short I can go. I have a set of 137mm Kris Holm Spirit cranks coming in today to try out. Hopefully they will fit and not need any Dremel work to clear the engine covers.

I know they are short. However, like ebikes, how can you possibly know what they are like unless you physically try them? ? I might be making a big mistake here but then again, I might not be..... I will let you know how I get on or don’t get on with them over the next few weeks.

 

[ccrdave]

here my reply from unicycles
@Kiwi in Wales Chris did you work out what offset we need?

Hi Dave

We do a couple of different cranks at 150mm. Unicycles don't have chains and as such don't require a chainring fitting to the cranks, so this might be something you have to figure out. The Kris Holm cranks have the biggest offset and also have a 6 bolt disc rotor mounting which might be something you could work with should you require a chainring.

Kris Holm Spirit - Crank Offset 28mm (this is a dual hole crank 127/150mm crank length and has a standard 6 bolt disc rotor mounting)

Nimbus VCX - Crank Offset 9mm

Hope this helps as a starting point.

Regards

Paul

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

here my reply from unicycles
@Kiwi in Wales Chris did you work out what offset we need?

Hi Dave

We do a couple of different cranks at 150mm. Unicycles don't have chains and as such don't require a chainring fitting to the cranks, so this might be something you have to figure out. The Kris Holm cranks have the biggest offset and also have a 6 bolt disc rotor mounting which might be something you could work with should you require a chainring.

Kris Holm Spirit - Crank Offset 28mm (this is a dual hole crank 127/150mm crank length and has a standard 6 bolt disc rotor mounting)

Nimbus VCX - Crank Offset 9mm

Hope this helps as a starting point.

Regards

Paul

Hi Dave,

The offset on the Kris Holm cranks are much more that the Nimbus VCX and also Nimbus Venture 2's. The Nimbus venture 2's fit best as you can see on the photos that @villho posted.

Please note: The Nimbus VCX will not fit unless you grind the crank arms down so the arm will clear the motor covers as they spin around so the VCX is not a good option unless you are good with a dremel or grinder.

If you can get Venture 2's from the Danish site this is a good option or try to get some Miranda cranks? Failing that, if you can wait a week or 2 while I test my new Kris Holm cranks I will send you my second hand Venture 2's to try. Failing that, if Rob does not get on with the Venture 2's I sent him I will get him to send them back and I will send those to you to try?

 

[ccrdave]

cool thanks Chris its the offset thats worrying me I like a wide QF and im worried the venture 2 will be a bit narrow for me. If you are willing to lend me a set when you are ready would be really good to try