Good friend of mine was one of the first to buy the Powercranks, for 3-4 months he was returning parts for replacements, perhaps the earlier models didnt have the bugs worked out? Anyways, after a years use, no 2-3 mph improvement, but "I feel much stronger on the run". One legged drills on the trainer are a "free" option, Lance says on his mega rides he's never bored cause hes too busy conentrating on form, thats free. Also, big rumor around here is that Powercranks was sued by athletes whose names were used as endorsers, and they never used them. Would be interested to know the story behind that if there is one. Good luck.

I think the PowerCrank website states that the average cyclist can gain 2-3mph in 6 months. That's "Average" cyclist. I gained some speed in straight Time Trials on the bike in 6 months (about 1mph), but, I was above average to begin with. However, I gained 2-3mph on the bike split in Triathlons, followed by 3-4 minutes faster on the 5K within 6 months. There are no absolutes here, everyone is different.

The only thing that is guaranteed is the 60 day money back option.

Depending upon your level of knowledge about training, a coach may be a very smart move.

Reliability has been a non-issue...I have almost 2000 miles on mine since December, zero glitches.

As far as the price....that's a personal question you have to answer for yourself.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

No lawsuits. A few years ago, one elite triathlete (former Kona winner) sent his pair back after a couple of months (with a note that it is a great device but that a good cyclist like himself didn't need it) because he didn't want me to use his name as a user. One other elite, after three years on the cranks (and many emails to me that he was "using them as much as he could", objected to my referring to him as a PC'er after he won the big dance in Kona. After that "incident" his brother started training on them (after a discussion of the earlier incident to make sure it wouldn't happen again). Oh, and the original complainee seemed to forget to send that pair he received 3 years earlier back for some reason.

No lawsuits though. Someone doesn't want me to use their name it is simple. They can send their reduced price or free pair back or they can pay full price.

Earlier models did have some problems. That is one of the reasons I offered a two year guarantee from the get go. I expected problems to show up as they got into use and wanted those earliest customers to feel comfortable they would get good value for their money. I have pretty much worked the problems out of the system. Whiile such a guarantee is probably not necessary to sell the cranks anymore, the failure rate is now low enough that I will not change it as it sets me apart from other manufacturers.

The 2-3 mph average improvement claim also requires one to train on them properly. A lot of customers don't (although the percentage doing it "wrong" seems to be much lower now than in the early days). In that instance, they will probably get better but it will be a lot less than the full potential of the device.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

The $700 you spend on the PC's could continue to benefit you for 10 years and they are additive to what you can get from a coach or all other devices.

The $700 you spend on a coach will benefit you, but in a different way and I doubt you could get coaching services for 10 years for that amount of money.

PC's really do not compete against any other performance aid. They are additive to and supplement them all. No other trainig or performance aid does what PC's do. Only you can determine if they are worth the price - one of the reasons I offer that 2 month money back guarantee. My return rate under that program is under 1%.

For what they do, at $700 I think they are a bargain. But, it is your money and you need to make your own determination along those lines.

Frank

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

If it's the dead of winter, take the $700 and get a gym membership, a good set of rollers, the entire Spinervals series on DVD and a Tour de France DVD and you'll probably get the 2-3mph by spring with enough change for a pizza.