@Marius Van Zyl I changed from 175mm to 165mm and then to 155mm cranks in Sept/Oct 2025. My approach, I have to admit, was different. I did not change my saddle height at all; my rationale being that the position of the foot at max torque (3 o-clock) doesn't change with crank length. It took me (at 50 yo) a week or so (6 rides) to adjust to each step, and then I continued for another few weeks to see if/what would change and whether I liked it. Disappointingly, it wasn't a revolution - I barely noticed each 10mm step shorter. However, I did try going back to 175s and instantly didn't like it! So I guess my body is happy with the change to shorter cranks. Its left me with a follow-on dilemma about saddle height (see other thread).

@Jason Hurst Thanks for the response - really useful! Would you suggest doing the pedalling backwards test single leg or both feet clipped in? I tried this today, and with both feet clipped in it was pretty hard to sense what was happening in the leg at the top because of the other leg. When i tried single-leg it was much easier to feel for deadspots. Doing single leg backwards pedalling at 20rpm smoothly does require a little concentration!

@Jason Hurst Thanks again for your thoughts. This is predominantly where my interest lies (personally). I seem to have quite a wide range of acceptable saddle height, which may be because I'm lucky to have a lot of hip mobility. So, landing on the right saddle height might be a case of testing power production at different saddle heights in order to optimise? Although I expect some level of adaption to each saddle height might be required before testing/comparing is meaningful? Any other/different thoughts about how you could go about optimising in practical terms?

@Luke Bell I use zero float cleats and have been very happy on them for years. I did find it helpful to get one of those Ergon-style cleat alignment tools, as they're much more sensitive to alignment than floaty cleats.

I made my own DIY rocker plate a few years ago, and its been great. It has made a big difference to comfort for me. I felt like I had to mess around with the pivot point and "cushioning" to get it right, and this really made the biggest difference. Because I had made mine, I wasn't afraid to mess around and drill new holes or change the pivot; I have only used my own rocker plate, but (for me) being able to "tune" it was critical to making it feel right.

@Joerk Degener Sure, that's no problem, I'll try to take some photos and post them here if it helps you and others. I'd suggest anyone thinking about making/choosing a rocker plate to think about how they want the plate to work, and what the goal of having the plate is. For me, it was all about comfort and being able to tolerate 4h+ turbo sessions, seated all the way (I'm a TT rider). For others, its about trying to get the bike to move underneath them when out of the saddle. So, for example, if you want the bike to be able to rock side-to-side, you might put the pivot point down the centre, underneath both the front and rear wheel, and put the cushions out to the sides. The trade-off is that there is little-to-no vertical cushioning when pedalling sitting down. I don't think there is a right/wrong way to arrange a rocker plate, but I do think its worth being aware of the trade-offs if you are going to spend a lot of time on the turbo over the winter.