I'll bet you adapt more quickly than most, too! The choice of color is duly noted...and probably ignored ;-)

Keep us up to date with how you find they may affect your performance.

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

Over an hour for a first ride is way above average. You were also somewhat different than most enjoying the downhill. Most really don't like the feeling even though it does lower the center of gravity and should make descending easier, if one can ever get used to it.

Have "fun"

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

Also, if paint doesn't work, try magic marker!

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

[reply][reply]
Have "fun" [/reply]
OK, here is something else that is weird. You tend to say have "fun", using quotes as if it's somewhat sarcastic on one level or another. Before riding them I also was perceiving that people were having quite painful experiences. Now, I'll admit there was some nice burning in my hamstrings I normally don't feel, but what suprised me most was two things...my hip flexors never caught fire like my hamstrings, and these cranks were legitimately FUN. I was laughing and grinning almost the entire ride. Regular cranks seem so static in comparison, and obviously they are. I felt like I was dancing out there on your cranks Frank. It's quite a liberating feeling.[/reply]

Actually I many here would agree with you, especially including ttn and Titan who have written similar feelings in the past. I think most find them really really fun after they are through the transition, which doesn't take nearly as long as most people fear, even though I think your transition is going to be smoother and faster than most. The serious athlete will find any challenge fun. The not so serious tend to think of challenges as work.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

Sojo, part of the fun is riding in a group that has never seen them. The first time you drop one foot to the bottom and do a few strokes with just one leg, they assume you've unclipped one foot. It also really freaks them out if they see you do a dolphin-kick stroke or two....great ab workout, BTW.

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

One last thing because i am sure it will come up later.

I presume those were your PT numbers for your PC ride. How do those numbers compare to your regular crank or rotor crank numbers? I assume they are less.

I and others will be interested in how long it takes you to get back to where you were and then, of course, how fast and how much improvement you see with time.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

Joe,

I think it's time for you to start writing the marketing materials from Frank!!

Now GO TO BED!!

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TheBikeRacer.com

"You mentioned a guy talking about a side-effect of using Powercranks was that his sex life improved, and I now I see why. (Frank you ought to be marketing these things to the devotees of yoga, taoism, and the sex industry in general. I can see it already...40% harder erections!) The difficulty for me is learning how to breathe in a fluid manner with this extra tension in my core, but I believe it's possible. "

Now I understand the reason for the condoms in your bike bag!

You're a very interesting fellow, and a much better biker than I. It sounds like you already had a very good pedal stroke (very much unlike I had when I first tried PCing). I've often wondered how much benefit very good riders get from PC's...don't hear too much directly from riders that were already very good pre-PC. I know someone with problems like I had will benefit...that's a no-brainer.

Given your natural bent toward imagery and "the big picture", although I look forward to hearing how PC's affect your biking (and running), I also look forward to hearing how PC's affect other aspects of your life. Ride on, have fun!

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

[reply]You're a very interesting fellow, and a much better biker than I. It sounds like you already had a very good pedal stroke (very much unlike I had when I first tried PCing). I've often wondered how much benefit very good riders get from PC's...don't hear too much directly from riders that were already very good pre-PC. I know someone with problems like I had will benefit...that's a no-brainer.

Given your natural bent toward imagery and "the big picture", although I look forward to hearing how PC's affect your biking (and running), I also look forward to hearing how PC's affect other aspects of your life. Ride on, have fun![/reply]

Regarding the "very good bikers" and what they say and can expect let me say this. Feedback we get from the very elite seems very similar to more ordinary folks, all over the place. Many of the very elite actually have pretty awful mechanics from old injuries they didn't give enough time to heal. Damon Kluck (US Postal) has said we straightened him out from the very first ride and "saved his career" when he got on them after being sent back from Europe to recover from injuries that were affecting performance. Christian Van de Velde made a similar remark.

Elites tend to have a higher percentage of people who can get on them and ride an hour the first ride or 2 hours quickly, similar to what Joe is reporting. However, that doesn't mean they don't have room for improvement. Magnas Backsedt rode Cioni's pair that Cioni took with him to Qatar to continue training with them (the first elite I am aware of who has done this, although I think there is another now with his at team camp in Mexico). He said he felt like he was learning to pedal all over again when he emailed us to get on them.

So, how much benefit an elite rider will see probably depends more on where they are at now pedal stroke-wise than how fast they are. Unfortunately, they can't know what is really wrong until they get on a pair.

Anyhow, I have enjoyed Joe's imagery. We'll know we have succeeded for him when he applies for a new career in the porn industry. :-)

Frank

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

sojourner. i was able to ride PC's just fine at first - could go as far on them over as many hours as i wanted to pretty much from day 1. my cadence was slow, but not in the 50's, i do not think. :) anyway, in the off-season i mostly xc ski, but for the bike i took the big ring off the cranks, and rode rollers with zee-ro resistance in the small ring for a few months . . . . . that seemed to do the trick, cadence-wise. it was fun.

The cadence thing is a bear. I simply pedalled at about 70 +/- for as long as I could, rested 15-30 seconds, repeat. It's perfect for the hills I ride, because the downhill coasts do the trick. I don't recall ever powering along at 50-60. If you're going uphill, you don't have a choice, of course. As far as out of the saddle climbing...I've never climbed out of the saddle for 10 minutes at a time on ANY cranks! I don't stand much, really, unless it's a sprint...and then...only if I have to. Nice image about the glide at the bottom being like skiing....let me know if you ever get that hitch out of your giddyup...I'd like to know how to do that...it seems it would be a good strategy to apply to regular cranks. I think Rotors address this at least partially, since the upper crank is ready to go a bit sooner than on regular cranks. Keep us informed!

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