Rotor Q Rings (2)

Triathlon Forum
1

These have been out for a while…I even have a set…what’s the current opinion?
Worthwhile or not?

2

Opinions have been out a while too … you can search here and read plenty. They “seem” to work best for mashers and in the hills - perfect for tri bike riders it seems.

3

i have a set and it seems to make me faster and less strain on knees

Andy
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4

I used a set last year, I didn’t see any noticable improvement from them.

I’m back on regular rings this year and don’t notice a difference.

jaretj

5

Highly subjective, but I thought they helped on hills.

6

These have been out for a while…I even have a set…what’s the current opinion?
Worthwhile or not?

I have not been on mine long enough, but as others have mentioned, climbing seems to be improving.

7

I climb thousands of feet every day, I have no choice : )

I can turn a 53/25 Q ring as easily as a 50/25 round ring going up the same hills. Climbing is definitely improved as the larger ring equals greater speed as long as cadence remains the same or faster. There is an improvement climbing. I “feel” they also improved my race speeds and some of those are flater races.

8

I’ve used them for 6 months and am sold on them. They maximize the moment arm on the pedals where you naturally have more power, and vice versa. I’ve personally seen better power output and better efficiency (faster on a course with the same power). In my athletes I’ve seen knee soreness overcome, better more powerful climbing, and overall quick adaptation. I have seen a few people ‘try too hard’ on them and have some initial quad soreness, but if you try to ride them normally and not think about having them, you’ll adapt more quickly.

9

It sounds like you had some success using Q rings. Out of curiosity, why did you sell them?

10

Here are the numbers from the weeks when I switched (in march). Both were done on the same route:

Week 1:
Circular rings
First workout of the day
~+5 TSB at start of workout (Hadn’t ridden in 3 days)
2x20 mins w/ 2 min rest
1st was 282/285 AP/NP
2nd was 278/282 AP/NP

Week 2:
Q Rings, same bike/position
Second workout of the day (1 hour EZ run in the AM)
~+7 TSB, but was carrying some fatigue from the run
1st was 292/294 AP/NP
2nd was 295/298 AP/NP

Week 2 was actually the fourth week of 2x20 workouts, so my body/brain should have been adapting to the stress. The first 2 weeks were around 275-285 for all the 2x20’s and done at similar TSB’s. The other thing I noticed was my back didn’t get as tight in the aero position as it had before. I’d never want to ride them in a road race or crit because the shifting can be a little squirrely. I think this could be fixed with a better shift ramp design though, so hopefully they’re working on it.

As for “worth it”? I think they’re way over priced. But for me, they are still definitely worth it for both the quantitative and qualitative aspects.

11

I was so impressed I became a dealer. I’ve got a couple sets laying around.

12

I’ve personally seen better power output and better efficiency (faster on a course with the same power).

Amazing.

13

So, not to make a raging generalization, but would you say that these would provide greater benefit for someone whose style is high spin rpm but happens to be racing in a hilly topography?

How long does it take to get used to these rings? Something one needs to train on all season or a “switch on, switch off” solution?

Cheers

14

  1. Very generally, probably

  2. It took me about 2 minutes to get used to them, but then again I had been riding Rotor Cranks on all my bikes for the past 4 years. I now have 1 road bike with Rotor Cranks 180mm and my Tri bike with the 53-40 Q Rings 175mm cranks. The only reason I no longer have the RC’s on my tri bike is its a Look 596 with the proprietary ZED Cranks…so I put on Q Rings. I like them better then the RC’s.