Comments on: Giro Minutiae

By: brian

brian — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:49:35 +0000

Here’s that table (hopefully) better:

Rider Height Inseam Frame c-c Rings Crank
Bugno 5-9 34 56 41/53 172.5
Kelly 5-10 33.5 56 42/52 172.5
Guippomi 5-8 32.7 54.5 41/53 170
Argentin 5-8 32.3 52.5 41/53 170
Leoni 5-9 31.1 54 41/53 170
Breukink 6-3/4 33.9 56 42/53 172.5

By: brian

brian — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:35:59 +0000

Here’s some data circa 1993:

Rider Height Inseam Frame c-c Rings Length
Bugno 5-9 34 56 41/53 172.5
Kelly 5-10 33.5 56 42/52 172.5
Guippomi 5-8 32.7 54.5 41/53 170
Argentin 5-8 32.3 52.5 41/53 170
Leoni 5-9 31.1 54 41/53 170
Breukink 6-3/4 33.9 56 42/53 172.5

I was suprised how small the frames are. Example Breukink
who is over 6 feet yet rides a 56 cm frame. Everybody used
longish stems, 11-12 cm, and 42 cm bars or wider. Indurain
was listed at 6-2 with huge 180 mm cranks on one of his bikes
on a 59 c-c frame.

Note the lack of 39 rings (at least at this race) and Kelly
using a 52 ring.

By: Lucas Goren

Lucas Goren — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:04:32 +0000

Robbie uses the 170’s because it allows for higher leg-speed. You can achieve higher RPM’s using shorter cranks. If you look at track riders they will use cranks as small as 160’s not just because anything much longer would hit the track but because of the amazing leg speed they can achieve using these cranks.

By: John

John — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 19:01:35 +0000

Nothing stupid about using 170s. Honestly I think a lot of riders here use cranks that are too long. We hear all about pros using longish cranks, but remember those races tend to have pretty big, long climbs in them. Given the greater popularity of crits in the US, it seems to me that one would be better off going shorter - more cornering clearance and better acceleration. I think it goes along with everyone thinking they need an 11 to sprint, even though they can’t wind the gear up over 90 rpm.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 00:35:23 +0000

Dana-
The Ligurian Giro champion was Alfonso Calzolari way back in 1914.

My inseam puts me on the edge of 170/172.5 , but I’ve used 170s forever. I tried 172.5mm cranks for about a month, found I could climb a bit better, but felt like I had no snap. Maybe I should have tried them out for longer…who knows. That’s why I was so curious about McEwen and his choice of 170s…we’re just about the same size. I had heard from time to time over the years that I was stupid for sticking with 170s…whatever. Your body adapts to whatever you use regardless of what fits. Just look at how hunched up and uncomfortable Sean Kelly was all those years.

By: Dana

Dana — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 20:34:10 +0000

Great work Peter, this is really cool. I’m curious, who is the Ligurian Giro winner? I’ve used 175 and 172.5 cranks over the years, they both added a different dimension to my mediocrity.

By: sebastian

sebastian — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 19:38:49 +0000

Well I’ll be . . . Looks like Enrici died in 1968; perhaps if he’d lived into the Lemond era he could have raised a polite cough when people started talking about American “firsts.” Amazingly, English Wikipedia has an entry on him, but it doesn’t mention that he was born in Philly. Good ol’ Italian Wikipedia, however, does.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:59:54 +0000

170mm here. But then, I have a 28″ inseam.
I’m like a cycling gorilla.

By: Boz

Boz — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 16:44:01 +0000

Now we can call him Tommy “Big Crank ” Boonen. I think he’d like that.