There was only one way that I started, and that was to do them for a minute of two, like 5 times a day. After I few days I could be 15 minutes before I was dead.

After a week I could be an hour.

Dave

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

no trick really....just ride until you can't and then repeat. I've been on them a couple of years and can ride indefinately on them now. But I started with 2 and 3 minute increments. It took 2 weeks to get 20 mins non-stop. It got considerably easier after that. Just don't give up. I'm sure that there are cranks in a closet because people got frustrated with them. You'll see running improvements before you see cycling improvement. Have faith!

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Doug in Michigan

Thanks Guys. I can see how people can get frustrated....today was my second day on them...on my a trainer I rode 15 min total with a few short breaks...felt like a huge workout, but I can see how they will work if I stick to it.

The 1st few weeks i would try and ride them in the morning, at lunch at work on the turbo in the car park and then in the evening. I did Small intervals at 1st trying to see how long i could go. Then at the weekend I did a couple of 20-60min road rides on quiet lanes with lots of free wheeling!

you're doing fine. A real sign you are adapting is the muscle growth in the hip flexor area. I was surprised by it but I knew I was doing things right when that happened.

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Doug in Michigan

I just did my first "ride" on the trainer with powercranks- the toughest 20 minutes I have ever been on a bike. I have a long way to go. Glad to see my experience is normal.

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Suffer Well.

Impressed if that was your ride PC use. I was happy when I got to 2 minutes.



Dave

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

It was 20 mintues of of 30 sec, 1 minute and 2 minute use followed by 10 to 15 sec recovery. Climbing steps this morning was not fun.

I think I did too much too soon. I will give it another shot tonight.

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Suffer Well.

Like anything, the rule of thumb is 10% increase per week. So, I did not let myself get beat up by them. Took it for a minute of two, many times during the day.

Again, by the end of 1 week, I could go an hour with no issue.

Another data point, is this was being very slack and no aerobars. The few times I tried the aerobars, nothing worked. Figured I had a long way to go.

Practice makes perfect.



Dave

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I put them on the road bike, and found I did better if I sat straight up -- even leaning forward on the hoods made a difference.

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Suffer Well.

I have mine mounted permantly to a road bike hooked up to a computrainer. I alternate between the top bars and the hoods. Again..no issues now. Big issues when I started.

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Doug in Michigan

I was trying to have an ego. Yes, I sat up a lot. :o(



Dave

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

i put em on, and rode around the neighborhood.

next day, i rode around an hour in the morning, and an hour at nite.

third day, i got up early, took the morning off work, and went 100 miles on those rascals - that hurt. back to work by 1:00.

after that i went wherever.

I'm impressed.

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Suffer Well.

Do you need a 2nd bike in order to start using the PowerCranks? I'm curious about trying them. Once you've mastered them, are you able to use it daily on your long rides without issue and would you advise that?

[reply]Do you need a 2nd bike in order to start using the PowerCranks? I'm curious about trying them. Once you've mastered them, are you able to use it daily on your long rides without issue and would you advise that?[/reply]

Maybe half my customers have 2 or mor bikes. So, to answer your first question, No, you do not need two bikes.

Once you have "mastered" them you can do anything on them that you do on regular cranks. The only question and main variation seems to be how long it takes people to "master" them. TTN is at one end of the spectrum (100 miles on day 3) Most are at 100 miles (albeit with some difficulty) in a month or so, and some, at the other end of the spectrum, take much longer to get there. No one knows where they will be until they try.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

On the TTN light program I just started using them and went as far as possible. First ride something like 10x2min, then I got up to something like 4x5min, then 20 min straight. Did that for 2.5 weeks and then did the Boston marathon. After Boston, did, 45 min, then an hour, then 3 hour for my mid week 90K ride, then every weekend I added an hour to get to 6 hours (100 miler in the hills) in around 4-5 weeks or so (can't remember all the details)