According to your theory: "
A person who paid an absolute fortune will train harder to justify the expense and will perceive the training benefits as a direct result of their investment" I will ride faster with a
Colnago Carbonissimo than with a Trek.
Cool, I'm off to the store! Got a PR to break.
Rotor Cranks Reviews/Testimonials: 
"Over a period of four months I got John to ride the same 10km TT regularly on his normal cranks and he improved from mid 18 minutes to low 18 minutes for the course but never managed to break the 18-minute mark. Three days after installing the Rotors we got John on the same course clocking 17:30. John has subsequently repeatedly matched the same time and even gone marginally faster. At this pace he still is not going to break any world records but it is undoubtedly a significant improvement that he would not have gained otherwise."
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2004/reviews/rotor_rs4 
"I meet loads of people who think there opinion about something they have never tried is important. I have been using the Rotors for over 2 years & I am climbing faster than I could on my road bike 4 years ago. Guys & packs that used to drop me on climbs are now easy for me to hang w/ or drop. Another benefit to me is that the Rotors have rehabed my right knee. It had really been bothering me after straining it on BMB 1200K, 2001. I had been running 165 cranks to soften the stress on my knee but prefer 175's which are on the Rotors. They aren't cheap but are well worth the cost to me. Might not be any riders in the Tour of Lance riding 'em but I expect to see some Olympians w/ 'em ( Tri- atheletes esp). Gtr "
http://p206.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm12.showMessage?topicID=873.topic 
"I've only got about 15 hours on my RC's, but half of that is on hills as steep as 15+% in the Glendora Mountain Road and Baldy region. At this point I feel the advantage is on hills, and the steeper they are the greater the advantage.
In the saddle, I feel that I can use my hamstrings more effectively, and get on top of the pedal better to make use of my quads. I hadn't heard many people mention greater use of the hamstrings with RC's. It seems like a misconception to me though, now that I've used them for a bit. You see, because less time is spent on the hamstring part of the stroke people assume you are not using that muscle as much, and instead using the dominant muscles on the front of your thighs. Makes sense. But, what seems to be going on with me however is that the stroke is simply quicker for the hamstrings, as if the instantaneous RPM on that part of the stroke is 10% higher, or maybe X% would be closer to the truth. Anyway, that X% increase makes it easier to make power with the less powerful thigh muscles. We are used to seeing riders who make less peak power spin higher cadences, so it sits nicely in my head that the muscle with less peak power is spinning at a higher instantaneous cadence. If this doesn't really make sense I could try to explain it differently, just ask.
Out of the saddle, which I don't feel the need to do nearly as much as with my Ultegra's, I feel much smoother. MUCH smoother. Maybe I wasn't that efficient to begin with?, i'm not sure as I've never had a spinscan number to look at. Whatever the case may be, when I'm out of the saddle climbing an 8+% hill I feel much more like I do when I'm running. It just feels more natural. "
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=162372 By: Espen Wagener Translation: Torben Bergland
At the end of March 2004 I picked up my new Cervelo Soloist Team from Probike at Vikersund [Norway]. I was sure the bike would satisfy my every need, both for training and competition. If it is good enough for Kurt Asle Arvesen and CSC, then it should be good enough for me! But there was one thing I was very curious about – Rotor System.
Rotor System is an innovative product that eliminates the dead points in pedalling. By eliminating the dead points the riders power is used more efficiently, giving better performance, more comfort and a lesser risk of knee injury.
I read what there is to read of information and tests before I got the bike and was fascinated by the idea. Biomechanically there is no doubt that it has got to be a great advantage as the power will be better distributed through the pedalling. And average power output will also be significantly better.
But how would it work in the real world? And what would the quality of the product be like?
I was eager to test the effect as soon as possible. Generally I am sceptical to product innovations, but this one a believed in. Through the winter I have been using a Polar 720i heart rate monitor with Polar’s Power Output Sensor. I mounted it on this new bike and did the same threshold efforts as I had done on the old bike. I cannot be certain in regard to some effect on the calibration when moving from the old bike to the new one, but I rode at the same speed with the same wheels, tires, air pressure and resistance, so I do not believe that any difference would be significant. What did I find? At threshold heart rate I rode with an average speed 1.5 – 1.8 km/h higher than on my old bike!
I have now ridden 3255 mm on Rotor System and I am convinced. There certainly is something to it and it has made me a faster cyclist and triathlete.
I used 10-12 days to get accustomed to the feeling of the crankarms. Actually, I was surprised how soon I got used to riding them. I have read tests stating 3-6 weeks of adjustment time. It felt a bit weird in the beginning as a result of the upper pedal actually being over the top when the other is at the bottom. It made me feel I was riding at a cadence too high, so after a few rides my cadence had decreased. I now ride with a lower cadence, especially when riding in the aerobars. The reason is a significantly higher power output, something I especially notice when riding rolling hills. Where I used to stand up I now stay seated tucked into the aerobars. When standing up for hills I ride more aggressively with a slightly higher cadence. This works very well with a sensation of having a small engine turning the legs.
When it comes to comfort, there is no doubt that the pedalling is much smoother when you get used to Rotor System. After a while you no longer notice it, but once I tried a bike with “old fashion” crankarms, I can assure you that the dead points where noticeable!
Rotor System claims an improvement of 1.5 – 2 minutes per 40 km time trailing. This isn’t an exaggeration. On my test rounds I have at least measured this difference compared to last year. I rode these crankarms in Ironman Lanzarote and never have the transition to running worked better!
The quality of the product is excellent! The crankset weighs slightly more than a Shimano Dura-Ace crankset, but in my opinion it certainly is worth it. The design is very good and it is available for both road bikes and ATB.
With the soon upcoming Norwegian National Championships you’ve got an opportunity to get an edge on the competitiors. I know what I would have done. I will never ride any other cranksets again!
http://syklingensverden.com/baglercms.php?articleID=4337&ID=25&catID=1&catna "Undoubtedly! I can tell you that whatever the spinscan number says it doesn't change the fact that I climbed smoother than ever today with my Rotors. It was my first time riding Mt. Baldy with these on, and actually only second ride with them on, and it went fantastic. The route had 16 miles of hills that ranged from 4-15%. Did an out and back and I've never climbed out of the saddle in such a smooth fashion. I felt the need to get out of the saddle MUCH less often as well, in fact the only time I jumped up was for the 10%-15% switchbacks."
http://www.rotorcranksusa.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=45 "I recently put Rotorcranks on my TT bike. I've only done two races on Rotorcranks...one was on 5/23 when I was emerging from three weeks of being sick with pneumonia/bronchitis, and there were only two good things about that race: 1)I didn't die, and 2)my bike split was fine (my swim and run were awful). The other race was a 9.2 mile TT on 6/13 that I won (this time, I'm talking about overall, not AG, but, it was just a local bicycle club affair...no big dogs here), and I improved my time 1:30-something compared to doing the same race on 4/24 on regular cranks. (I don't know how to factor in the 3 weeks of essentially no training due to my lung problems between those two races.) I have another triathlon this Sunday, and a TT at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Wednesday, on Rotorcranks. I'll be doing the TT on sub-optimal (for me) rest. However, I believe that I will set a PR at that TT on Wednesday on Rotorcranks, even when tired. Unlike many people that report Rotorcranks to help their climbing, I think I see better benefits on the flats...and Lowe's is pretty flat. I've never been able to use a 54X11 on the flats before now, and although I have to have a slight tailwind to use this big a gear on the flats, cruising in the upper 20 mph range is a new experience for me. My history of TT results at Lowe's is verifiable, official, in the books, on the internet. My result on Wednesday will be just as verifiable, good or bad. "
http://forum.slowtwitch.com "I will relate my experience in that I tried shorter cranks and spinning it is not comfortable. I turn around the 85-95 and have pushed as high as 135-140 RPM that is not the norm. I can go longer faster with the 85-95 RPM range and still get plenty of power to the ground. I have 172.5mm I am 6 feet tall and a 32" inseam. Now as to the expense of the Rotors you have 30-day Money Back guarantee so if you have resources and feel they would benefit you why not try them. The worse case you have take them off and send them back and are out just a small amount of cash. Rotors are not going to make you super race rider they will enhance your own ability and they may help reduce some knee discomfort if pedaling your bike is the root cause of that discomfort to begin with. But I would not anyone to think that Rotors alone are going to make you a world champion because that is not the case. In fact the advertising of said Rotors perturbs me just little I cannot totally advocate that they make YOU more powerful. They may and do make your pedal stroke more efficient but not necessarily more powerful. So they take the power you have at the fitness level you are at and put more to the back wheel so that less of your input is wasted. Kind of like a well designed TF it makes you faster because it handles and decreases an otherwise inefficient external force. They help but they are not going to make up for poor conditoning or low performance muscle groups."
http://p206.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm1.showMessage?topicID=4281.topic "the benefit is real not just some perception or placebo effect. As I said in another thread without actually riding them you cannot form an opinion that has any validity. I rode the Screamer last week 55 miles with my wife we pushed hard my knees were killing me. I went out the next day and rode the VK2 with Rotors the pain was less severe than the night before and my speeds were significantly higher. I like them I have rode many miles on them and the little bit of weight they have is insignificant in the large scope of things. "
http://p206.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm1.showMessage?topicID=4281.topic "For Gerritt, and anyone else interested, the differential relationship between pre-Rotor, and post-Rotor cadence/HR/lactate threshold is quite noticeable--very visceral. As noted, it was an odd feeling (in a very pleasant way results-wise) to have my breathing at a point that I previously perceived as at or above threshold (perceived exertion in the 16-17 range), without burning out. I'm expecting to be readjusting my training to accomodate these new perceptions, and expect that I will be significantly faster as a result. I know I'm faster on hillier courses. It remains to be seen if that's true on the velodrome--Kenosha will tell I have noticed that I seem to be more comfortable at a slightly lower cadence with the Rotors--80-95 instead of 90-105. But am pushing a much bigger gear, and w/o knee stress. Anecdotal for now."
http://p206.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm1.showMessage?topicID=4281.topic "I have my Rotors for some time now, but it is only now that I can render an opinion. They were originally installed on a newly acquired VK 2. This was a mistake because there were too many “new” things and a comparison to my Baron Clone with regular cranks was too clouded. I still have not got the VK 2 dialed in yet (for whatever reason) so the rotors were removed and put on the trusted BC which is still my bike of choice. I now have some 6-700 miles with the Rotors and feel comfortable with my analysis. I cannot add anything new that has not been said before. They are most definitely a help in my style of riding, which is mostly pace line riding. My top speed has not increased, but my endurance has. To explain, on our pace line the rolling speed has variations depending on who is pulling. A recumbent is somewhat at a disadvantage because you are accelerating a good deal of the time and being heavier than the weight weenies that I ride with can cause expending excess energy to get the mass moving (only to brake by drifting into the slipstream). The RCs took the edge off this effect and I find that I have more energy at the end of the ride, and/or I can go farther with less exertion. My 63 year old knees feel much better and while I have not increased my sprint speed, I can hold the top sprint speed for a longer time. "
http://p206.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm12.showMessageRange?topicID=670.topic&start=21&stop=33 "Woo-hoo! I just podiumed at a provincial TT! I thought I was having an off day, as I was originally aiming for a PR and fell off the pace when the wind proved to be harder than I thought. In the end it was enough for 2nd place (Masters A)! This is my highest placing at the provincial level ever, and I definitely credit a large part to ROTORS (and a good, consistent training program). The guy who won also won the provincials last year, and will be hard to beat, but I am super-motivated. I'm off to ride... Dave"
http://forum.slowtwitch.com "Just got back from a ride. Those things actually work. If only I had had them at Kaneville ... I'm sold ... Those poor souls who don't have them."
http://www.recumbents.com/monkeyisland/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=362 "I am getting ready to leave for the week of biking in Mn. I ran off some stuff on my Trimuter and the Rotor Crank. People always stop me and ask me about the trike. I ran off the Larson story on the Rotor Crank. At the end of the article, they asked for more feedback on the Rotor system. I sent them what is below. You can use it in your promotions. I did not find anything in your many testimonials about its implications for use on trikes, so I guess this is your first. Again I state - all trikes should have it!!!!!!!
All our bike trails are under water just about, and more heavy rain called for tonight. Rainy forecast for Iowa and Mn. for the next week. Hope we get to ride some. Kirk"
"I am 63 and I have a tadpole trike almost identical to a Greenspeed. I had a bike accident 5 years ago, and messed up my right ankle (dislocated 90 degrees). This also messed up the knee. I limped for 18 months, and this put stress on the good knee (plus a lifetime of jogging). I now have two touchy knees that hurt with biking. It take more work to peddle a trike. I ride it about 3000 miles per year, leaving the knees hurting much of the time. I then heard from a friend about the Rotor Crank system. I read everything I could on the system. I personally talked with Howie the US sales person in Colorado. He was very helpful, and not at all high pressure. Rotor Crank is very expensive, but they offer a 30 day trial test period. Rotor Crank said that it would give greater speed, allow one to use higher gears, that it would make hill climbing much easier, one would be less tired after a ride, and would be a life saver for creaking knees. I decided to give it a try (it turned out, at least for me, that all of these sales points were true).
The first ride was up a steep driveway of the friend that installed it for me. On reaching the top, I knew I would not be sending it back!! I did not find it at all hard to get used to. It did not feel weird - it felt great. This may have been in part, that I had over 10,000 miles behind me riding recumbent trikes. I found myself going up hills in my middle gears (or even big chain ring), instead of gearing down to my lowest granny gears. I can push higher speeds with less effort, and praise the Lord and pass the ammunition - it was much much easier on the aching knees. Longer hills that I used to dread, are now no problem!!
Every trike owner should have this on their trike. I had a two wheeled recumbent in the past (the one I was injured on). The big disadvantage of recumbents, is they are harder to get up a hill. I would think that almost all recumbents would be much more enjoyable with the Rotor System installed. I have seen people on the web kabitching about the high price (yes it is high) and that it weighs more. The weight is a non factor due to what one gains by eliminating the dead spot. It took just a few rides with it to see just how much of a pain the dead spot really is. 99% of the bikers out there don't have a clue how much the dead spot affects their riding!!!!!! These same people would not think of ordering their next car without power brakes, air conditioning, or power steering (all of which cost much more). I am retired. I spend far more time riding the trike than I do driving our Outback or Astro Van.
I would love to ride an expensive road bike, or mt. bike with this installed. They should fly!!!!!!!! The Lance Armstrong Wantabee Club should love what I think this system would do for their times (their ace in the hole for whipping the sorry buns off their biking buddies!!
Seldom have I ever bought a highly hawked product and found it to be even close to the pre-hype bull. In the case of the Rotor Crank, it was everything that the Rotor Crank literature said it would be. I had two previous conventional bikes (road bike, and Mt. bike) with the Biopace system. I could never tell that it did anything (wasted money).
The first ride my wife took on my trike (she also has one identical to mine - Trimuter). She had not ridden it even a quarter of a mile before she said "I can see why you like this so well". She is 12 years my junior, and her knees are fine. If she were also retired, we would for certain put it on her Trimuter (we both love the Trimuter also).
You can give out my e-mail address if anyone wants to contact me.
In closing, I love the Rotor Crank system!!!!!!!!!
Kirk Brill "
"I haven't talked to you in a month so I thought I would visit with you and give you an update on my experience with the Rotor System. Remember, I'm 54 years old and have one arthritic knee I earned in 1970 and a hip replacement that was done in May of 1999 and I started riding a recumbent in May of 2000. This may seem a bit trivial but it's part of the story. I am a new recumbent rider. Till 2000 I rode uprights and what I had learned about bicycle adjustment I learned from experience or from bicycling magazine's. Recumbent set up is realativity new to me so I am always learning. The first ride with the RotorBike system was glorious. I have already documented this to you. Since the first ride I had an accident in gravel and the next several rides were awful. My knees hurt, my back hurt, everything seemed wrong.
The problem with my knees was the very front, it seemed I was extending my knees when I rode. Well, guess what? I was. I found that my seat had moved back from it's original position about an 1/8 to a 1/4 inch and I moved it back to its original position before the accident. Guess what? On 6-6-04 I did 50 miles with no discomfort at all. Not the first bit. I was holding back because I wanted to see if the change of seat position made that much difference, and I can tell you I think it did. Now, at times I felt I could push more or spin more as the case may be but I did not.
I shall work on this seat adjustment thing, but I think I am again turned in to the Rotor system. For sure I can tell you that I believe the Rotor Bike system is smoother. I can also tell you it really works my legs both quads and hamstrings. I am truly sore. Since we last communicated I have probably put on about 200-300 miles on the RotorBike system. Since I have had a seat adjustment issue I shall be careful about anything else.
But I will tell anyone that the system is smoother and more user friendly than what I have had. I told my wife, who bought the system, that if it extended the use of my arthritic knee then the expense was worth it. As a sidebar to this e-mail, there are times when I sense and feel the system really take hold on a ride. I am still adjusting to both the recumbent ride and to the Rotor Bike System but I am still excited about the possibilities. Now if I could only make my Rans V-Rex move like my former upright. Thanks Bob Gay"
"Rode my Catrike Speed (trike) for the first time today with the Rotor Cranks. There is suppose to be a learning curve to get used to the cranks, but I never noticed any difference at all. They did not feel broken as some have describe. YMMV. Now, first thing I did notice was how much smoother my cadence was. On my 37 mile loop the first 17 miles is fairly flat and I really did not see much difference except for the smoother cadence. When I hit the hills on the last stretch is when the difference really showed up. I could climb in taller gears than before, which means the speed up the hills was higher. I never got the feeling I was bogging down, felt great. My average speed on the 37 mile loop was up nearly 1 MPH faster! They are definite improvement over the stock cranks. Are they worth what they cost? Only you can decide that, but I am happy with them! James Catrike Speed #61 "
http://p206.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm5.showMessageRange?topicID=534.topic&start=101&stop=108 "I bought a pair of RotorCranks in April. I ordered 165mm crank arms, and they took almost a month to arrive.
I put them on my stock Bacchetta Strada. I've never done anything mechanical to my bike except fix a flat and adjust the derailleur, so it took me about 4 hours to install the cranks (plus two trips to the bike store to buy some tools). The instructions could be a lot better, but they got me through it.
Bottom line: The RotorCranks are wonderful. Besides switching to recumbents, it's the best thing to ever happen in my cycling life. I can climb hills in second chainring that I used to climb in the very lowest gear. When I get to the top of a climb, I don't feel like my heart is about to pound out of my chest. Where I used to dread the hills, now I don't mind them at all.
I'll probably get flamed for my positive opinion. I read the Bacchetta group over on Yahoo where some very rude person trashed RC's and anybody who likes them. All I know is that they work for me.
There's a reason why they're selling so well at $600+ a pair: They're worth it."
http://p206.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm5.showMessageRange?topicID=1181.topic&start=21&stop=23 "Well after 9 weeks of riding the rotors, I am starting to be a believer. By the way, this is no scientific study, no power meters, no heart rate monitor, just a start & stop button & a maximum effort on a 4 mile climb. The bottom line is that I am now consistently 10 to 15 secs quicker up the climb & my last 10 mile club TT was a 22 second PB. Not huge gains, but gains nonetheless. Not sure if there will be any more improvement, but I am already a little bit quicker & my knees are the best they have been in years. Dan. "
http://www.duathlon.com/forums/Talk/8547?page=2 "The Rotor felt completely natural to me, right from the start. It feels very smooth and takes the hop out of the dead spot. The hop I believe is also eliminated by the arch I built that goes from the boom tube to the 'down' tube. Hence the M5_exp_. Pictures and story soon. What I noticed, and this was more after the fact, was that I didn't redline as soon as I thought I was going to. There are a couple of tough sections of this ride, greater than 10% for more than a quarter of a mile. I preferred a 22 inch gear previously for these sections, but was able to make it up with a 30 inch gear, though at times I would have appreciated a lower gear. But what I noticed in retrospect was that I wasn't redlining as I expected I was going to. This was only my second ride of the season on this bike, so I kinda' expected this ride to hurt much more than it did. When it did hurt, it didn't hurt as much as it had previously. ... "
http://p206.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm12.showMessageRange?topicID=670.topic&start=21&stop=22 "I got mine 28th March ... and found i adapted to them in 13-14 days. But the last couple of weeks I have improved a lot, and never have been riding stronger! Think they might save me 8-10min on the IM Lanzarote course ... "
http://www.coachgordo.com/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=59918 "So far it appears that recumbent riders may actually get even more benefit from Rotors than an upright rider would. Furthermore, it seems that the higher the bottom bracket, the better the results ... after 200 miles on them I do honestly feel like they are worth it for me. I've struggled with knee problems and my spin for years now. Anything that will make my knees last a bit longer and help me go a touch faster is a bargain in my book."
http://www.bentrideronline.com/Vol5.3/rotor_cranks.htm "the thing was heavy in comparison to a set of Carbon cranks I had my eye on, I thought I would try it then send it back....But after riding 10minutes I immediately felt stronger & I could see that I was obviously generating more Power then normal"
http://turbovids.net/Rotor.htm "I have them, and i like them. The more I ride them the more I like them. I have been on them for about a month now. I feel stronger climbing on them, and I dont consdier my self a climber. The funny feeling has gone away, and the cranks feel normal. As race season gets closer, i cant help but believe that I will be faster on them. When I ride my Cross bike with normal cranks, I can really feel a difference on th e hills and I also feel real ineffiicent and choppy on them. "
http://www.duathlon.com/forums/talk/8547 "The product is the RotorCrank...costs $700-800, adds 1 lb. to your bike, has noticably more friction than your existing crank....sounds like a poor testimonial....huh? I rode it for 2.5hrs. and I bought 1 and will soon be buying another. The best comparison I can think of is when I changed from old , straight, snow skis to a ski with a parabolic cut. I thought I had just completed a year of training by the amount of improvement it made. Almost the same with the RotorCrank. First off let me say I can't wait to hear from all you closed-minded, traditionalist, weight weenies. And Laggard ...I think I found another good controversial topic. I am sure that I will get lots of fun comments from those who haven't tried a RotorCrank. They will tell me about Power Cranks, and why aren't the pros using them...yada yada yada. This product is the real deal...I believe that Leonard Zinn nominated it "Best of Show" at inter-bike in 2002. Is there anyone else out there who has tried it...let me know. Look up a web site as I'm too computer illiterate to post a link. The product eliminates the dead spot in your pedaling stroke...I know, I know, just learn how to spin....right? I actually have a pretty good spin, and now it has power too. I now believe I am a faster rider and I know I am smoother and will increase the distance of my rides due to the increased efficiency and comfort. After my club ride next week will know how much faster. Lets get some comments here. I don't work for the company, don't make any $ from the product, but I bet that within 4-8 years 50-70% of you will be riding a version of it...any takers? "
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=53722&page=1&pp=25&highlight=rotor+cranks "After nearly 800km on them and many adjustments I can say Rotor Cranks, I LOVE EM. This morning I passed a bunch of maybe 40 riders at 62.9km/h my previous best speed at that point was 56km/h On the hills I can stay with my roadie friends before the Rotors I could not I’ll keep putting the Ks on em and keep playing with the settings, who knows I might get some more speed yet "
http://pub152.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm12.showMessage?topicID=666.topic "Very nice! Excellent workmanship, not hard to install if you read the directions! I only rode them 5 miles on my trainer, but I could not tell the cranks were different from regular cranks, except my speed on the trainer was slightly higher at the same HR as regular cranks (I ran two miles to warm up). Noticeably abscent was the feeling of a "kick" on the rising foot...I'm sure it's because of all the PowerCrank riding I have done. I'm hoping to put a big ride on them tomorrow to see if issues of muscle fatigue occur due to adaptation issues...but I don't think there will be...they feel absolutely normal to me. Actually, they felt so normal, I checked them three times to make sure I have the set point correct. "
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/ "Rotor-Cranks on the other hand are directly measurable. Within 2 weeks (quite often on the very first ride) you can see a change in power, HR or speed. This is exactly why I think they are such an essential item - it is verifiable advantage."
http://www.rotorcranksusa.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=31 "Rotor Cranks work, plain and simple. They work very well, and I am faster than ever before."
http://www.bike.com/template.asp?date=9/24/2003&lsectionnumber=6 "I still stand that the rotor crank was the best investment so far on my bike."
http://www.recumbents.com/monkeyisland/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=353&whichpage=3&ARCHIVE= "This was also my first race using Rotor Cranks after training on them for about a month. I feel that once I settled in and started to ride them the way I was supposed to, they were a definate advantage. Over the 13 mile course, I think they were worth about 45 seconds advantage. Just my rough figuring though, very hard to quantify at this time, but I've been riding long enough to know my limitations and what to expect and think that this is a fair judgement. Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports "
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/ 
"My best time on this course to date was 30:22. Within just three months of riding on Rotor Cranks (Aug-Oct), my time dropped to 29:18. I believe that this speed increase was the direct result of riding and training on Rotor Cranks."
http://www.timetrial.org/rotorcranks2.htm "Overall I will say that I am extremely pleased with the top-notch service that I have received from Rotor and from the outstanding benefits that I have found through using the system. I highly recommend Rotor Cranks to any rider looking for the benefit of increased power and lowered lactate levels. For me it was worth testing out the system, as they came with a 30-day money back guarantee to ensure that the system would work with my riding style. I know that they will likely be the best UCI legal time trial equipment investment I have ever made. With a 2-3 minute advantage over 40k, they provided me more speed benefits than both an aero frame and aero wheels combined! "
http://www.timetrial.org/rotorcranks3.htm "Rotor cranks not only needed a very short adaptation time (intermuscular coordination), they also improved the pedal stroke efficiency (intramuscular coordination) by over 10% in this case study."
http://fact-canada.com/Rotorcranks/CaseStudy.html "I would probably say they are worth around 1.5 - 2 minutes an hour "
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/?id=2002/reviews/rotor_cranks "I have been using ROTOR cranks for three months now on my mountian bike, mainly for racing cross-country. The first six weeks felt really weird, but now the motion is fantastic, you are always pushing a gear. When I go back to ordinary cranks, I really feel the 'TOP DEAD CENTER".
http://groups.google.com "In my case the benefit of Rotors has been real good I suffer far less knee discomfort and do have better performance."
http://pub152.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm12.showMessage?topicID=670.topic "I have gained quite a bit with them, basically the power at the same heartrate went up, or the heartrate went down for the same power"
http://www.recumbents.com/monkeyisland/topic.asp?whichpage=1&ARCHIVEVIEW=&TOPIC_ID=353 "My bike split was almost 2 minutes faster than my previous years performance!"
http://www.triendurance.com/Rotor%20Cranks.html "These cranks are a serious and obvious piece of innovation."
http://www.singletrackworld.com/article.php?sid=722 "So I am convinced that the Rotor cranks are the goods and it appears that the extra weight and stiction of the system is no problem in the real world. There is some original thinking here and the designer has put in a lot of effort."
http://www.bsusb.org/bsusbpressrotabike.htm "make your pedal stroke smoother and more efficient"
http://gallery.consumerreview.com/mtbr/gallery/files/IMG_0065.asp "[Rotors] work for me, and for far, far better athletes than I am. And I'm happy I bought 'em and use 'em"
http://www.bicyclesports.com/Snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=192 "ROTOR system reduces the risk of knee injuries"
http://www.gizmo.com.au/public/News/news.asp?articleid=2282 "If you get back on a traditional set of cranks after riding the Rotor for a while, they feel herky-jerky, and the dead spot is very noticeable. In contrast, the Rotor feels like it lets your legs put down smooth, seamless power."
http://205.147.231.149/gear/article/0,7994,7402_602,00.html "The Rotor crank is a clever way to address inefficiencies in the pedal stroke"
http://www.roadbikerider.com/pr8.htm "At first when starting with the rotors they are more fatiguing......but after some miles on them it gets easier. I was faster [on the] first run on them by quite a bit."
http://www.recumbents.com/monkeyisland/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=323 "I think that Rotor cranks are a real advantage "
http://www.insidetri.com/train/bike/articles/1340.1.html " would recomend RotorCranks (
http://www.rotorsystem.com) They wil make u 1-2min faster on a 40km time trial belive me! Been training with them since late february, and my tests show I`m 1,5-2km/h faster on Anaeribic Tresshold (AT) than i was with normal cranks!! They weigh about 350grams more than DuraAce cranks but it`s worth it!! Looking forward to saving 6-8min on the bike in IM Lanzarote with my RotorCranks...:) "
http://www.coachgordo.com/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=59208 "Will it make you faster? I believe so. What if it doesn't? There's a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee"
http://www.bobozone.com/rotor_cranks.htm "By eliminating the dead point, the Rotor system maximizes performance"
http://www.fact-canada.bc.ca/Rotorcranks/Rotorcranks.html "I found that it was possible to surpass trails I had never thought I could have"
http://www.totalbike.com/reviews/rotor.html "They have helped many recumbent riders improve their speed "
http://www.bentupcycles.com/rotor_cranks.htm "In everyday use, I got a 5 percent decrease in the time required for my 30-mile ride"
http://www.windycitysportsmag.com/story.cfm?story_id=5248&departmentID=4 "I've been using Rotor for more than 2 years now and love them. They really work for me."
http://www.bicycle-forum.com/tech/rotor_cranks_408129.html "The adaptation of the knees to the Rotor system during three consecutive days with distances completed of 80 to 100 km at average speeds of 37 to 42 km/h was much better than that of the three previous experiences with the normal crank set."
http://www.senkirol.com/paginas/articulos/2003/analisisrotorvnavara007ingles010.htm "“We aren’t sponsored by ROTOR and we must stress that our findings are preliminary at this stage. However, after two sets of trials it appears the rotor cranks system improves performance.” John’s preliminary research revealed that lactate and oxygen consumption were lower for a given workload than with a conventional system. This was true for power outputs of 150, 200,250 and 300 watts. "
http://www.torq.ltd.uk/pfm_disp.asp?newsid=12 "The elimination of dead point leads to more natural knee exertions and movements"
http://www.actasport.com.au/Rotor_performance.htm "And then I made another test with a regulation at 85-90 degree about. In this position, the gain at slow rpm was a bit less, but it was better at high rpm. All in all, I am almost certain that I am faster in almost every conditions (sprint, flat, uphill) The best gain is probably uphill. But not by much... An improvement from 14 minutes down to 12'45" seems really huge... Because I did not have any comparison like a particular track, I can not really say by how much I am faster, but I think that a 0.5 to 1km/h gain is about what I can expect. May be slightly more in short sprint top speed (2-3 km/h). Beside, it's true that it's better for my knee, for sure."
http://pub152.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm12.showMessage?topicID=670.topic "On performance alone, if you do a lot of climbing I would definitely say that the advantage more than compensates for the extra 250 grammes or so weight penalty"
http://www.adrenalintrip.net "CONCLUSIONS: 1. BETTER TIMES WERE ACHIEVED WITH THE ROTOR SYSTEM IN THE SAME DISTANCE "
http://www.senkirol.com/paginas/articulos/2003/analisisrotor005ingles008.htm "The more I ride the cranks the better I like them. I honestly feel that the rotors are going to make me a faster cyclist. I believe they will prove to be money well spent. "
http://www.trinewbies.com/phorum2/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=24090&mid=256788#M256788 "I wouldn't worry about the weight. It is not an issue. These Cranks will make you a faster cyclist. You would have to ride a pair to actually see what they are like. They are really something. I would rather spend my money on these over race wheels. I have ridden them in the fall on a friends bike a few times, and just had my ownpair installed yesterday. Well worth the money in my opinion. Jason"
http://www.trinewbies.com/phorum2/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=19898&mid=210841#M210841 "I have been using rotor cranks since October and have been very impressed with them. It is easier and more comfortable to maintain a higher cadence than before. Installation was fairly easy for anyone with basic bike maintenance skills. I am thinking about a set for my mountain bike "
http://pub152.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm1.showMessage?topicID=3096.topic "After almost a year of trying to figure it out I have made the decision on which system is the best. The winner is ... Rotorcranks. I believe Rotorcranks do as advertised. What I realized was is that cycling is a mechanical sport. The modifying of a crank to help minimize the dead spot went hand and hand with the sport. Also [other crank systems] have a steep learning curve that Rotorcranks don't have. With Rotorcranks you just slap them on and in a few rides you have it down. [other crank systems] train and exhaust small muscles to do a job that they didn't evolve to do. So you have sometime where you have to ride for very short periods and rest. I just want to ride. "
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/ "I have used these for a short time and definitely felt an improvement. While they are heavier than standard cranks, the improvement in efficiency more than makes up for it. They are very customizable in terms of crank length and chainrings, and come with a 30-day money back guarantee."
http://pub152.ezboard.com/fbentrideronlinefrm1.showMessage?topicID=3096.topic "I have used rotors now since July and they have made a difference for in my ironman races. I had a PR in the ironman FL leg of the bike by 22 minutes. My run was also very strong and fast enough for me to grab a Kona slot. I find that they allow me to slow down my rpms some which in turns allows me a faster turn over for the run. I have also used them for the Mt Washington hill climb (7 mile climb with an average grade of 12%). I was able to push a larger gear but my time was about the same."
Steve Fluet ESTS Coaching Coaching Advisory Panel- Degree IM Project Online Training- Ironmanlive USTS Level 2 Coach
http://www.bicyclesports.com/Snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=192
Letter from Scott Bowers, May 2004 First real ride. Temperature is 87 and it's breezy. I have a nagging cough and a fever of 99.3, but, I'll just take it easy and see how it goes. Three Endurolytes and lots of water and I'm out the door. Rotors just feel, well, normal on the warm-up. I stop to make sure they haven't "slipped" from the middle setting...all looks fine.
Resume the ride after this position check and being warmed up a little, and my internal conversation went something like this. Oops, I spun up to 105 fairly quickly....gotta keep those rpms down or I'll be toast, so I click a couple of gears and settle in just under 90. Hmmm, I usually have to gear down going up this slight hill...must have less of a headwind than usual. Hmmm. I'm usually climbing this hill in a 23 cog, and I'm in one less gear. Hmmm. I'm just not having to shift gears as much. Well, it feels fine cruising along comfortably on the flat, and, why not wait just a second before shifting to go up this rise like usual...I don't have to shift down? Is the wind changing direction? The whole ride went similar to that conversation, interspersed with boughts of coughing up small bits of lung tissue. I wore my HR monitor to make sure I wasn't working too hard, and kept my HR below 150, just like a usual ride on this route.
The tendency to shift less was obvious. I would spin along comfortably in the low 90's trying my best to think "pick your foot up over that log" (like I do when I don't have PowerCranks for feedback as to whether I am pulling up enough), and I would just put the power down as my rpms dropped to the lower 80's to go over hills instead of shifting down one gear and STILL dropping to the 80's. I simply went up hills a little faster. It seemed that Rotors were worth about the equivalent of one rear cog in speed.
When I finished (it was only a 26 mile loop, I was coughing too much to be sane about continuing), I had averaged 0.4 mph higher than I usually do for a normal ride around this loop. My legs don't feel different than usual, but, I didn't try and run off the bike. I probably shouldn't have even ridden...but, I wanted to try the Rotors. I think I've adapted. I think PowerCranks really made a giant difference in allowing me to adapt so quickly...because since I'm already pulling up, I don't feel the "kick" so many non-PC'ers report to feel.
My plan is to ride Rotors any time I am working on high-end power and speed, and to race on them. PC's will be used for all other riding (including recovery rides), especially for form rides, and in place of a lot of the running that some people do. I don't think you can beat what PowerCranks do for some aspects of the pedal stroke, and especially for running. But, I already seem to be faster on Rotorcranks, even on a hot day, even when I'm sick, even on my first ride, even at my same heartrate as usual, and Rotorcranks are what I'll have on my racing hound.
- Scott Bowers
Letter from Richard Burkholder to CyclingNews.com, March 2003 I really enjoyed Ben Larsen's review a few months back of the Rotor Cranks system. I'm passing comments on my own experience with Rotors thus far, and hope others will as well.
First, a few caveats.
* It is winter here in the USA's "mid-Atlantic" region (and what a winter it's been!). I received and mounted my Rotor cranks on Dec 21st, and (due to the weather) all my experience thus far with them has been indoor training, with my TT-bike mounted on a Cateye CS-1000 trainer. But, as so few riders are yet using this system, I thought it might be worthwhile to provide feedback based on two months of indoor use.
* My sole intended/desired application for the cranks -- and thus, my entire calculus for their utility -- is time trialing. In fact, its even narrower than that -- it's short (10k to 40k) TT's on relatively flat, out-and-back courses. So if you primarily ride crits or climb mountains, even the little experience I have with them may not be relevant to your interests.
* One final disclosure: on flat TT's, I am a big gear "masher", and I use long (180 mm) cranks. For those who are high rev spinners, the adjustment to the feel of the Rotors will no doubt take more getting used to than it did for someone with my approach.
On the other hand, I do have quite a few years' worth of structured winter indoor training data against which to compare this winter's experience with the Rotors. It's therefore apples-to-apples ("ceterus paribus") info. that I can impart here. I.E., same frame, trainer, rear wheel and tire -- and because it's indoor performance I'm assessing, weather, temperature and wind are definitely not factors in the mix.
Now the good news... For me, the Rotors have thus far yielded impressive benefits. If it ever stops snowing here, I hope to validate all this on the road relatively soon (my first season TT is April 5).
Objective data
The performance gains I've noticed for maximum efforts of 1km, 4km, and 40km, respectively, are on a par with those you recount in the "Testing" section of your own review.
Leave aside the fact that the CS-1000 trainer's readouts are clearly quite a bit exaggerated (or else I'm an as-yet-undiscovered combination of Arnaud Tournant and Kent Bostick!), and use the following for comparative purposes only. All times "flying starts":
Best time 1995-2002 Best time winter 2002-2003 180mm DuraAce cranks 180mm Rotor cranks 1km 62.1 secs 58.0 secs 6.6% 4km 4:34.3 4:21.2 4.8% 40km 49:45 48:46 2.0%
Subjective data
The immediate effect I noticed -- aside from getting more 'result' from a given amount of sustained effort -- was that the location of post-maximal-effort soreness shifted, particularly in by upper and outer quadriceps.
It wasn't more painful -- just a slightly different locus. If you've ever done heavy squat work in the weight room, I would compare the sensation to that you might get from altering the position and width of your feet, or doing your squats with you heels on a slightly raised platform. A natural byproduct of stressing a different (and no doubt more powerful) muscle area, I would think.
Summary
Again, this feedback is necessarily preliminary -- if it ever stops snowing here, I hope to validate all this on the road shortly (first season TT is April 5).
But I have done nearly 50 workouts using the Rotors, and frankly am very impressed with what I've experienced. I don't think my overall fitness level at this point in the calendar is any different from what it's been in past years -- so if I'm getting more output "bang for the buck" from the Rotors indoors, that ought to lead to palpable gains on the road as well.
Thanks for your very helpful review. I'll keep you posted.
best regards,
Richard Burkholder Stockton NJ USA (New Jersey state individual TT champion, masters age group: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) Wednesday, February 26 2003
