I'm sure you will love them. They have really made a difference for me and I've really improved my time trial times since I started using them in August 03.

Here's what you will likely experience in the first 12 weeks of use:

Weeks 1-2.

During this introductory period you will likely train your new muscles and adjust to the 'strange' feeling that the Rotors bring. If you use multiple bikes to train (Rotorized and non-Rotorized) you will immediately notice the inefficiencies and choppy pedaling that traditional cranks bring. Your heart rate will remain lower than usual because of the lack of a dead spot in your pedal stroke and the lower cadence. Your leg muscles will feel a bit more fatigued after riding, kind of a 'deep' fatigue, not specific to any single leg muscle group.

Weeks 3-4.

You will be able to raise your heart rate back up to race levels, but not for extended periods of time. You will notice that you are pedaling a bit lower cadence and higher gear. The fatigue will lessen but still be present after long riding sessions. The 'strange' feeling of riding the Rotors is gone, they feel like normal traditional cranks (but without a dead spot).

Weeks 4-8.

You can now raise your heart rate back to normal levels and be able to ride at your LT for normal periods of time. The extended fatigue has faded and is not noticeable. You are still pedaling at a slightly lower cadence and higher gear, but you are returning to a lower gear and higher cadence (if that's what you normally rode at). You notice significant speed increases when riding or racing. Any previous pedaling related knee pain is subsiding.

Weeks 8-12.

Your heart rate, cadence and gearing have now returned to 'pre-Rotor' levels. You notice that your wattage at Lactate Threshold (LT) has been raised significantly [mine rose 60 watts!] and you can ride at a higher heart rate before accumulating excess lactic acid in your blood. You ride at a normal cadence and gear but the reduction of a dead spot allows you to continuously apply power to the rear wheel, allowing for speed increases. You experience no unusual fatigue from the Rotors. Any previous pedaling related knee pain is virtually non-existent.

I just ordered some from Howie. I should have them this week, and look forward to using them. I am excited to see what difference they will make for me.

Jason

Good update for those of us that are interested....I wasn't aware you had knee pain, though. Hopefully, that will be something most people don't have to worry about.

I'd love to be able to get back to a good training schedule soon, and, hopefully, I'll be able to do that. On PC's of course. But, I'd like to try RotorCranks in addition to PC training.

RotorCranks work by allowing the big pushing muscles to do more of what they do best...push. PC training teaches the athlete to AT LEAST remove the watts generated by the pushing muscles to lift the weight of the rising leg/pedal/crank, so that these watts can be applied to the chain instead. I see no reason that it would not be an additive effect to train on both. I'll always train on PC's because of the running benefits, though.

Keep us updated!

PS, I was in San Diego last week and got some good hill running in...if I would have had any extra time, I would have tried to catch you for a ride! Maybe sometime in the future....

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

maybe the next time you come down this way you can test ride a demo Rotor Test Bike that I am building up, for riders who want to try the benefits of the Rotors before purchasing them - even thuogh they come with a 30 day guarantee.



I'll have the test bike at a shop, was supposed to be Bicycle Sports Encinitas ... but ... [see other threads]