S
Seth Jayson
Guest
I've got a set of Ti Rotocranks on my RANS rocket (magazine review...) so I thought I'd offer some
first impressions.
Now Rich Pinto and Frank 'Frankenspeed' Geyer have put thousands of miles on these, so they can give
a better opinion from a fast guy's point of view. I'm more of a gutter bunny, putting on about
100-150 miles a week, most of it in bumper to bumper city traffic.
Frank told me not to expect to go any faster on these, and I trust his judgement. But I've been
looking through my mileage logs, and I *have* been faster on these, about 3 minutes per ride on a
commute of about an hour each way. (Today I hit a record average speed of 16.8 mph over my 15.7
miles to work, and remember, that's with at least 3 or 4 stops per mile.) That's what, 5%? Roughly
equivalent to the improvement claimed by the studies cited in the rotor literature. I'm not a HRM
kind of guy, so I've got no reliable base line for effort. But I've been surprised by these speed
increases, because over the past couple weeks, I've been consciously trying to relax more on the
ride, and I've been getting faster anyway.
Of course it could just be coincidence, too.
On an even more subjective level, these cranks make my pedaling a lot easier, and a lot easier on my
legs. I could feel that immediately -- or after 30 seconds of feeling odd. I get no knee fatigue
with these. I do get a bit of that with my usual cranks.
Something I did not anticipate was the increased acceleration I'd get off the line. I don't run
stoplights (they're a chance to do some sprints, man). I noticed pretty quickly that the canting
forward of the rotor crank seemed to give me an advantage in power, especially on the second and
third strokes (the clip-in strokes) as I take off on the green.
Are they worth the price? You'll have to decide that one on your own. The steel option is a couple
hundred less than the Ti, but only weighs around 100g more. I think they're definitely something
worth considering for people who put on a lot of miles. And there's a money-back guarantee.
If anyone on TOMRV wants to peer at them, just flag down the tall skinny guy on the red rocket. I'll
be putting along with the incorrect gearing (the available chainrings don't offer an optimal setup
for a 20-inch drive wheel.)
first impressions.
Now Rich Pinto and Frank 'Frankenspeed' Geyer have put thousands of miles on these, so they can give
a better opinion from a fast guy's point of view. I'm more of a gutter bunny, putting on about
100-150 miles a week, most of it in bumper to bumper city traffic.
Frank told me not to expect to go any faster on these, and I trust his judgement. But I've been
looking through my mileage logs, and I *have* been faster on these, about 3 minutes per ride on a
commute of about an hour each way. (Today I hit a record average speed of 16.8 mph over my 15.7
miles to work, and remember, that's with at least 3 or 4 stops per mile.) That's what, 5%? Roughly
equivalent to the improvement claimed by the studies cited in the rotor literature. I'm not a HRM
kind of guy, so I've got no reliable base line for effort. But I've been surprised by these speed
increases, because over the past couple weeks, I've been consciously trying to relax more on the
ride, and I've been getting faster anyway.
Of course it could just be coincidence, too.
On an even more subjective level, these cranks make my pedaling a lot easier, and a lot easier on my
legs. I could feel that immediately -- or after 30 seconds of feeling odd. I get no knee fatigue
with these. I do get a bit of that with my usual cranks.
Something I did not anticipate was the increased acceleration I'd get off the line. I don't run
stoplights (they're a chance to do some sprints, man). I noticed pretty quickly that the canting
forward of the rotor crank seemed to give me an advantage in power, especially on the second and
third strokes (the clip-in strokes) as I take off on the green.
Are they worth the price? You'll have to decide that one on your own. The steel option is a couple
hundred less than the Ti, but only weighs around 100g more. I think they're definitely something
worth considering for people who put on a lot of miles. And there's a money-back guarantee.
If anyone on TOMRV wants to peer at them, just flag down the tall skinny guy on the red rocket. I'll
be putting along with the incorrect gearing (the available chainrings don't offer an optimal setup
for a 20-inch drive wheel.)
