I am curious if anyone has done tests with these or used them. I like the concept and it seems like more pros are using them these days:
http://www.rotorcranksusa.com/i1-q-rings.shtml
http://www.rotorcranksusa.com/i1-q-rings.shtml
Q-Rings by Rotor
- Thread starter velobob
- Start date
I ordered a set of these and should have them in a week or so. I am thinking of test protocols to compare them to my traditional cranks. I occassionally do a workout of 7 x 1min at 450W with 4min recovery. I figure I'll do the same workout and see how the power / heart rates compare. Any other ideas?
velobob said:
Hey velobob,
I've been testing Q-Rings for over a month now and am really starting to like them. Had some good results in the Tour d' Okinawa earlier this month. Here's a more detailed review I did at bikeforums:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=248074
Cheers! - nojiri
But did you test it with a power meter? Did you notice any power increase as a result of using it? As it has been said before, top pros or guys that can race their bikes very well do not pedal in circle. More like unweighting the other legs.
nojiri said:
BlueJersey said:
Hey BlueJersey. I would like to test it with a power meter, but the closest thing I have to that is my CycleOps Fluid2 trainer and a wattage output chart that Branford Bike used to have on their website. According to the data from the chart, my sustained tempo training with a 4.8 gear ratio at 80% max hr and a cadence of 80, I could sustain an output of 212 watts for 40 minute sessions. With the Q-Rings, I found that at the same hr and gear ratio, my cadence was averaging about 84, which calculates out at about a 234 watt output.
Yeah, I know what you're talking about with the circular pedal stroke. Even though I use that term, I know it's not really circular as in even pressure 360 degrees; with the Q-Rings it feels more circular than just pushing-unweighting. Besides this, all of these nuances are VERY subtle. Not like the rave reviews and 10%+ increases that I've read about. I can't buy that.
- nojiri
Why Power vs HR? I think a better test would be absolute power for a given duration (30 min.. 60 min?) done while rested with both rings and repeated 2-3 times with recovery days in between. It wouldn't be the most robust test (n=1) but it could still lead to some basic conclusions unless the Q rings have a "learning" curve.
Justin
Justin
That's pretty much what I was thinking. A two point CP Monod test with normal rings and Q rings within a relatively short time frame but both when well rested. No reason to correlate to HR or RPE, just see if there is substantial difference in the power you can produce with one system or the other.xcmntgeek said:
Yep, you could keep it simple and relatively painless by choosing say a 3 and 9 minute test protocol. Who cares if it over or under estimates AWC or FTP as long as the protocol including warm up and rest intervals are consistent you can compare the chainrings. A short protocol like that won't tire you out too much so you might be able to do them on consecutive days or at least alternate days. It does seem as though Q rings have an adjustment period so you might want to repeat the testing cycle after you've had them a while.velobob said:
-Dave
xcmntgeek said:
My observation is that they do have a "learning curve", and they do have an adjustment period. After over a month now of test-riding them, I feel like I'm finally starting to get the full potential out of them. In fact an article I read before mounting them talked about taking several weeks to get used to them and gradually building up before full power training. I didn't believe it and went all out right away and paid for it. I had sore knees for about 2 weeks till I backed off, let my muscles "learn" how to use them, and now I'm fine. Now I'm starting to see the performance increase other testers have talked about.daveryanwyoming said:
Look forward to your test results, velobob!
Cheers! - nojiri
I've had Rotor Q-Rings for an entire season and I actually think there is a very short learning curve. In fact, I think training with them much at all is a problem. It seems to me that riding with them all the time will eventually make you weaker and that you should train with round rings and only move over to the Q-rings about a week before a long road race or stage race (or bike tour). That way you've trained your hamstrings normally. The Q-Rings seem to keep your hammies "protected" until you really need them. They should be cycled on and off like... well steroids, I guess.
Just my ideas on them. I'll probably not bother with them next year.
Chris
Just my ideas on them. I'll probably not bother with them next year.
Chris
Now with the Q Rings:
9mins = 305W
3mins = 364W
They were very easy to get used to - pretty much no learning curve for me. The improvement on the 3min interval seems significant (4.6%) but the 9min interval is virtually the same as with the standard rings.
I am happy enough with this first outing to keep them on and train with them. I'll repeat the test in a couple of weeks and see what happens.
9mins = 305W
3mins = 364W
They were very easy to get used to - pretty much no learning curve for me. The improvement on the 3min interval seems significant (4.6%) but the 9min interval is virtually the same as with the standard rings.
I am happy enough with this first outing to keep them on and train with them. I'll repeat the test in a couple of weeks and see what happens.
velobob said:
Thanks velobob! Interesting that the 3min interval has a much greater increase than the 9min. Hmmmmm... Wonder what to make of that... Look forward to your re-test. After 6 weeks on the Q's, I'm going to try returning to the round rings on the trainer and road and see what happens.
BTW, there's an interesting discussion on oval rings going on right now on slowtwitch if anyone's intersted:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum....107;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;
Cheers! - nojiri
As a side note - I have left my small ring as the normal round ring and put the q-ring on for my big ring only and since I am using a computrainer I can apply the same wattage load regardless of which ring I am in. I was doing an hour at 200W and tried switching between rings in 10 minute intervals. While this is totally subjective I did notice that: a) with the q-rings I feel like I am pedalling perfect circles and when I switched to the round rings (after a couple of minutes for adjustig) I can feel my dead spots b) I feel a higher perceived exertion with the round ring (but my heart rate was the same). This was quite noticable actually - I could tell I was working to put out the 200W on the round rings while on the q-rings it just seemed effortless.
Not a plug just an FYI for anyone looking I found the best deal (by far) on my q-rings at Air Bomb:
http://store.airbomb.com/Itemdesc.asp?IC=CR0160&link=qbike
http://store.airbomb.com/Itemdesc.asp?IC=CR0160&link=qbike
velobob said:
Hey velobob,
Before going back to the round rings for comparison, I thought I'd try a monod test as well. This is only with a CycleOps Fluid2 trainer and the Branford Bike wattage output chart for that trainer, but hopefully it can give a decent comparison. Here are the results for 12-11-06:
With a 50T Q-ring:
Weight: 132lb.
3 min: 432W
9 min: 345W
I'll switch to a round 50T ring and repeat in 2 days.
Cheers! - nojiri
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