so i first heard of powercranks in a previous thread on training devices. one brother is pounding the table about how great they are; but he pales in comparison to the claims made by the website www.powercranks.com .
please… if you have used them, let me know your opinion…
the concept seems sound, and i would like to give them a try, but price to play requires no fooling around.
if they didn’t work for you, anyone want to sell an adjustable pair?
First, do a search for “power cranks” or “pc” using the “search posts” feature on this forum and you will get more information about this than you ever dreamed possible–you might even crash your computer.
Here’s my experience. I’m a 3 year triathlete in my first year of really dedicated training. I have ridden pc’s exclusively, with the exception of racing, since mid-December. I am a much, much stronger rider now than I ever was before. I cannot tell you how much of that is due to the pc’s and how much is due to training longer and smarter. My running has also improved substantially, although I am still slow compared to others. I have moved from the back 1/3 of the pack in sprints to the top 1/3. Again, I can’t say how big a role pc’s played in this vs. training improvement. In my opinion, however, pc’s have been a big help and a lot of fun to ride (after the initial, painful adaptation period). I’m not selling mine to anybody.
If you are suck in your bike development I’d suggest looking into a pair.
By this I mean if you’ve been riding a long time, doing a well laid out plan and your bike speed still seems intractable; you should really look into a pair. Breaking through a plateua usually requires shaking up your training.
Powercranks definitely will shake up your training.
And they are partly a hoax.
THERE IS NO FRANK DAY.
“Frank Day”, is an artificial intelligence program that responds to posts on the internet by itself. It was designed in a secret navy project in the mid seventies.
I mean, come on, have you watched the videos on his site? Blurry, grainy, monotone delivery and virtually no movement by “Frank”.
It’s pretty obvious they set up some sort of dummy and matched a voice synthesizer to it. That’s why the video is so bad, so you can’t tell the difference.
I have been riding PCs for about 20 months. Over that period I have seen pretty significantly improvements. They are a ton of work and certainly not a “silver bullet” to make you a top rider. However they certainly encourage hard work & good technique. They also seem to make my running much, much stronger.
If you want more specific info about my experiences with them, drop me an email at the address in my profile.
damnthehoaxterhasbeencaughtasiamreallynotapcerandhavebeensettingthesede
batesuptogettheairtimeandwhenthathappensallsortsofbadthingshappenstothep
rogramanditisclearthePCfdayvideosimulationprogramhasalongwaytogotoc
atchupwithhollywoodeventhough"frank"washopinghisimagewouldattractyou
ngfemalegroupiesitisclearitwonthappennow. . .
I was just at a bike swap meet this weekend and Greg Lemond’s agent was there selling some PC’s. He wanted $200. He even had the reciept that showed that they were given to Greg. I offered him $100 and he refused. He took them home. I wonder if you could find out who he is and buy some used from him. I already have a pair and thought about putting a second pair on my comuter bike. But of course that would have required $200. His were not the ones with the various lengths though.
I’ve tried them. They worked. I’m faster cycling and running. I’m a believer. And yes, I do sell them (NOW I do). They hurt, but if you stick with it, they work. You’ll be impressed with the results, especially for running.
I think where most people that have a problem with the gains claimed on the PowerCranks site have to do with the statement about the average rider gaining 2-3mph in the first year. I don’t know exactly what the quote says, but I do know it says AVERAGE rider. Look at the times of the average rider…yes, it is very believable that the average rider can increase their speed that much in a year. My speeds indicate that I am above average, and I will be able to tell you how much (if any) PC’s increase my speed, because we have a very interestingly almost flat, somewhat sheltered circular TT held 7-8 times a year at Lowe’s Motor speedway. I know what my times were last year, and will run this TT 4-5 times this year…if PC’s help my speed, it will be relatively easily documented. I can tell you I was 7 minutes faster on my bike split on the only race I’ve done this year compared to last year’s time, and I’d only been riding PC’s for 3 months. My run was 4 minutes faster. Was I in better shape this year? Maybe, but my swim time was unchanged. Also, my training logs don’t show an increase in training times over the winter compared to the year before.
Here’s the kicker. 60 day guarantee or your money back.
if i might pick up on yaquicarbo’s post - the 60 day thing might answer monkey’s question right there. monkey, you can try them yourself for 60 days and see what you think ! oddly, most of their (PC’s) critics have never done this. i was one such critic and then i triied them and i ate crow. moreover, not too long ago mr day posted how many guys have taken him up on the return policy, and it was not many. most everybody who has them and commented on them thati i have read has said “i am not selling them, period”.
i rode mine for 4 hrs today, after a hard 2.5 mt bike ride yesterday. it was a blast. the mt bike yesterday was also telling and interesting, if you want to hear yet another anecdotal tale. i rode the PC’s from last july to nowish almost exclusively. this year i have decided to go back and mt bike more ( on regular cranks ). the loop i was riding is very hilly and i have been around it a bazillion times. i know what gear i use and how i go in that gear on every hill. i have been mt biking since the sport was invented almost. yesterday i was sitting or standing and using a PC pedalling technique and simply scooting up hills which used to be a major struggle. sounds like nothing but the difference was dramatic. some of these hills are multi-stepped and kinda long, and they wear me down normally - no more. i can’t wait to ride with the fella’s on that loop - they are gonna be surprised.
bottom line - i suggest you if you are interested get some and try them out ! as kevin sez be prepared to hurt like a mofo - and to have your training shaken up. i commend you for asking to hear from people who have actually used them - the things are vastly experiential in their effect and nature and put most bluntly if somebody has never triied them they do not have any frame of reference from which to speak, IMHO - nevertheless, speak they will. as i say i myself did just that. keep an open mind, and be sure to ride them lots when new so you can get past the intial adaptation period as quick as possible. read the directions. really. even if you end up not liking them it will be worth ten times the postage to send them back ( which i doubt you will do) just for the lessons on pedalling they will painfully give you - and you thought pedalling was simple !!! have fun.
thanks for the thoughtful insight. my interest is piqued.
as i think about it… was frank (assuming there is in fact a frank day =>) at im wisc? i think i recall he (or one of his peeps) may have had a bike setup on the overpass above T1? as i walked by, i thought they were simply power reading cranks. but… you were there, weren’t you frank? dang, if that was you, i wish i tried them.
anyway, i’m close to pulling the trigger, but i still laugh when i see the claims. frank… i hope you are right, and as for you yaquicabo (sp?)… keep us posted on the data.
Twas I (or my double - Saddam is not alone in these things you know) and now that you have met my fellow hoaxters I hope you give them a try.
One of my problems at expos is a lot of people think I am selling spin bikes or power meters or hype. The hardest thing about the expo is getting someone on the bike.
Frank
Being a relatively new PCer, one of my riding buddies knows how I’ve struggled adapting to them. So, when I showed up on a ride with them, he said, “You’re not going to try and ride those today, are you?” I haven’t been riding around other people much at all with PC’s on. I don’t know if he thought I couldn’t keep up, or what. But, after riding together this one time, I don’t think he’ll ask that question again…I wait on him when I get too far ahead, usually by taking loops up a side street and coming back around behind him and passing him again. Partly this is because he’s not in his top form, yet, but the point is, after a little time (and a lot of very hard work), you will see benefits.
Oh, I did get behind a fellow the other day at the end of a 60 mile ride when I was pretty fried. This was my first “drafting” situation on PC’s. I noticed my bike surged forward on each pedal stroke. It was because my hip flexors were so tired I was getting a little out of sync…with each leg! Maybe only PCers understand that, but what happens is: when the right leg clears the top and stomps down hard, the rising left leg is just a tad late getting to the top (that’s one surge), then as the right hip flexors are struggling to get back up to the top, the left leg has stomped (the second surge) and started it’s rise) just a tad sooner than the right clears the top. I would pedal 4 strokes, coast a little, surge 4 strokes, coast a little. I was cooked, but had no trouble keeping up with this guy in the mid-upper 20’s by drafting him this way. If he would have been going faster, I wouldn’t have had to coast. This illustrated to me how much power would have been wasted lifting the rising leg like is commonly done while on normal cranks…especially when tired. It also illustrated to me why I don’t yet race on PC’s…I couldn’t hold a halfway decent aero position on them this far into a ride. We had a bit of a headwind but I was sitting straight up while drafting this guy. Before we met up, when I got “aero” into this headwind, I had to drop my rpms so much that I was slowing down. I expect to make this adaptation sometime this year. If I don’t, I’ll hopefully make it by next year. This “aero position” adaptation is the only thing I’m waiting on before I begin racing on PC’s…unless I find I’m just as powerful on regular cranks…even when I’m tired.
I talked to “Frank” at Ironman Florida.
The unit remembers internet screen names impeccably (another tell-tale sign). Handles phone calls reasonably well also.
But the personality module still needs some work.
I’ve been investigating who is really behind this project. i think its Francois and Mike Prevost. I suspect that Mike dug up the “Frank” files at the navy lab he works in. He called Francois to tighten up the code.
As a lark, Mike was working on a way to work the entire circle of the pedal stroke. Between mike’s physiological know how and Francois’ computer skills; they came up with “Frank Day” and have used it to sell Mike’s Powercranks.
Unfortunately the real Frank Day died in 93 under mysterious circumstances. He had told friends he was going to “blow the lid off” of the navy’s experiments with using lsd to make the enlisted men think that swabbing decks was actually fun.
This is my story and I am sticking to it.
Last year 12:29 at IMFL. Best mile time 6:36. Computrainer 10 mile flat TT on 1/2/03 at average watts of 184. Best 8 mile bike TT outside at about 22.
PC’s went on the bike 1/3/03. A lot of hard work both with PC’s and otherwise between then and now.
Two weeks ago same flat 10 mile CT TT ride at average watts of 264. Sunday did a 1/2 mary in 1:44, Tuesday 8 mile bike TT at 23.2 mph. Last night mile run in 5:59.
I might still suck but not near as hard as I used to.
Powercranks are a clever marketing tool to draw responses on this forum. Alternatively, this is a actually a stealth powercrank forum. Sorry to let the secret out Frank!
jpo’s post did it for me. your watts improvement on your ct put you behind me to in front of me, and i’m sorry, i just can’t let that happen.
i drank the koolaid and ordered a pair.
i talked to frank. the ‘frank day’ module within the matrix performed beautifully. he covered all points without any glitches… small talk, tech talk, biz talk, and he closed the deal. nice module.
wouldn’t that be funny if frank=yaquicarbo=t t n=Kevin in MD=jpo=c2k… etc… and it is actually a hoax? but if i’m just a module in the matrix also, then why should i care if i’ve been had?
really though… i will post my progress in the fall. i hope to be frank’s biggest fan.
Hey Frank, don’t you owe me a kickback for this. Oh wait, I am Frank. There are just too many of us in here to keep straight.
Seriously though, I have put in a boatload of work and I sincerely believe that the PC’s are a good piece of it. They are not a magic bullet, they are a way to really work yourself hard. If you don’t put in the work with them they won’t make much of a difference.
I must have drank from the same koolaid, 'cause I also ordered a pair yesterday. They’re going on the bike as soon as I get back from Wildflower. This gives me almost 4 full months until Vineman, so I’m not expecting miracles but I’m curious to see what improvements I can make in that short time. Only slight interaction with the Frank module via e-mail, but very polite. The real test will come at the Wildflower booth. We’ll see if all the rain interferes with his electronics.
I saw a guy racing with them at Ralphs. 4 spins and he’d coast. 4 spins and coast. Not sure why he was doing that. I’m intrigued by PC’s. I suspect you’ll get flexors like Flo Jo. I do plenty of single legged drills on my CT to build those. As far as exclusive training on them, I’d question that.
Problem I see is that they’re so damned much money. I’d have snapped up a pair in a heartbeat at $200. At the price they want, I’ll stick with single legged drills in my garage thankyouverymuch.
If he was doing the 4 spins/coast routine, he probably hasn’t had them very long. It takes awhile to be able to coninuously turn those puppies, particularly on a flat course. I still have to do that when drafting in a group ride to keep from running over the guy in front of me. Until your really adapted, you can’t just drop to an easier gear to stay in the draft and keep spinning–too hard on those wussy hip flexors. It’s easier on a hilly course, because you can rest a little on the downhills if you need to.