Strange Question - Asymmetric Pedals

[aeroperf]

In June 2022 we did a tour down the Canal du Midi in southern France.  In June 2022 it was 105 degrees in the shade in southern France - fires breaking out everywhere - but we had already paid, so we went.
Long story short, I got heatstroke and something called compartment syndrome, which resulted in an 18 day stay in a hospital in Carcassonne.

What’s my point?  I now pedal with the ball of my foot on the right side, and closer to the arch of my foot on the left.  So, since I have 170mm pedal arms… my right foot is happy but my left foot wants something a little shorter; maybe 165 or 167.5.

Has anybody else here felt the need, or maybe used, asymmetric pedals - shorter on one side than the other?  Is there a problem inherent with this (other than hassle of buying a new crank arm)?  Is there some kind of out-of-balance load that will crack my bottom bracket shell or some such?

Before I go off and buy a shorter Suguino XD2 crank arm, I just wondered if there are others who have had/solved a similar problem. 

[Bill Lindsay]

From the perspective of the machine, the machine won't care.  Use two different crank arm lengths if you want to do that.  I can't say anything smart about heatstroke and why simmering your brain makes you want to mid-foot pedal with one foot. That's between you and your brain.  

I have an anecdote about mismatched crank arms which I may have shared before.  I have one "shrine bike", a Hetchins that belonged to a deceased bike shop coworker, Shawn.  I loved Shawn and miss him all the time, but he was a con-artist when it came to his bikes.  He was always swinging deals to get himself stuff for cheap and ripping off suckers with his used stuff, much of it on-the-clock.  He got himself fired at the two traditional shops where I worked with him, and the third was a co-op so it was impossible to fire anyone.  God, I miss that guy.  

Shawn had a whole series of Dura Ace 7700 road bikes.  He sold one to DD, and DD brought it in to the shop for a free tune up.  DD wanted me to do the free tune up, which was weird.  I told him his business was with Shawn, so DD brought it back another time.  Shawn took the bike upstairs for a half hour and brought it back down and off went DD.  After hours that night Shawn had his own bike in the stand.  He pulled the chain, and the cranks moved in a way that was unmistakeable to me.  I went and looked at the crank arms and sure enough he had one 175 and one 177.5 crank arm.  I said "Shawn, you crook.  You took DD's crank arm because yours was scratched, didn't you?!"  Shawn said something about what a good deal he'd given DD, and went to the phone:  "DD, this is Shawn.  Hey, there's a Shimano recall and I don't think it affects you, but I have to check something.  Can you bring the bike back in?"  

I hope Shawn's ghost is embarrassed.  RIP

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA