Sauser & Spec are to use Q Rings this year. Now I never used Bio-pace but with my old & somewhat fekked knees Id welcome anything that keep them working for a little longer!

Has anyone used anything like this? The science “sounds” good but does it work or is this just another gimmick?

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/news/article/christoph-sauser-and-specialized-team-to-use-rotor-q-rings-20888

I’m not sure if you realise it but your post is quite ironic as Shimano scrapped Biopace as it made knees somewhat fekked.

I’m sure Shimano cited similar studies with Biopace, but in reality it just led to tendinitis.

To be fair though the majority of Biopace nay-sayers were roadies who tend to pedal for longer durations at higher revs so it might work for mtb’s. It could just be that Shimano got the angles and amount of eclipticalness (that can’t be a word) wrong.

I used bio-pace, and i’m still riding. it never broke my knees

Now that I think about it I remember asking my LBS at the time & they said they didnt work but now the idea is back- so whats going on?

Sauser is no fool & wldnt use something that would be bad for him – would he?

rotor rings are the in-thing, sastre used rotor rings on the tour last year, and all the cevelo team are on them this year, i have a mate who swears by them, might borrow his and try’em……….

Another thought: You can get these very expensive custom insoles (Superfeet I think) which are meant to turn you into a gazelle like runner..Now I tried them & they went in the bin after a few wks – v uncormfotable! Q Rings/Bio Pace probably fall into the same category, they work for some but not for others.

Shimano got the oval the wrong way, they should have turned it by 90degrees. Rotor rings are adjustable though, so you can set them how you like. Sauser etc will be setting them up to give max power at a given heartrate, measured in a range of positions.

Chris Bell has been doing this sort of stuff for years, oval rings were around long before Shimano…

http://www.highpath.net/

Dave Lloyd (former pro, now a regular on the Sportive scene) swears by the Rotor cranks and Q-rings as well.
Biopace never really took off and (as mentioned breifly above), Shimano quite famously got the design the wrong way round, the oval should have been turned by 90 degrees.
Q-rings can be fitted to any chainset and are adjustable for your preference, it’s advised that you first use them in their most ‘gentle’ orientation before turning them to the ‘max power’ orientation once you’re used to them. Rotor cranks are those god-awful heaps of shite with a cam on them, it’s designed to minimise the ‘dead spot’ when pedalling, basically it allows you to be a lazy pedaller and the cranks will make up the difference. Unfortunately it feels dreadful under power and especially when cornering, it also weighs a fair bit more than Dura-Ace/Record/Force*

*delete as applicable

Maybe Rotor rings would have given Dave the power he needed to beat Reg Harris in the UK champs all those years ago ;0)

I am struggling to work out if they are compatable with a ss using horizontal dropouts/ebb. My initial feeling is no, but their might be some geometrical nuance that I cannot fathom.

Wise words from Sheldon:

“Ever since the chain driven bicycle was invented, elliptical chainwheels have been re-invented and re-abandoned for the same reason every ten or fifteen years.”

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/biopace.html

He does rate Biopace though and says they work on fixed/SS bikes.

Tonto – I think they would be, but again I can’t quite explain why…

Thanks tooslow.

Next question – UK stockist?

Tonto – yes they do work on SS and fixie – if you think about it, the chain covers half the teeth on the chainring regardless of the position of the cranks (Ok, there’s a very slight variation due to the angles of the chain above/below the chainstays but in practice it works fine)

works fine in SS I’ve got biopace on my old roadie, cant say it make much of a difference, cant feel any wanyway.

Next question – UK stockist?

They’re imported by Velotech. My LBS can get them (although he has no plans to do so). There’s a demo/explanation thingy about them here:

http://www.velotechservices.co.uk/rotors.htm

Be prepared for your wallet to take a battering though – prices for the MTB ones are over £400, road ones go up to £650 or so!

I used bio-pace, and i’m still riding. it never broke my knees

Ah well that’s ok then. Thorough scientific study.

crazy-legs – Member
Be prepared for your wallet to take a battering though – prices for the MTB ones are over £400, road ones go up to £650 or so!

I think you’re talking about the cranks rather than the rings on their own.

Is £165 according to the velotech site: http://www.velotechservices.co.uk/acatalog/MTB_&_XTR_Q-Rings.html

c-l thanks for the link
its the q rotors I am thinking of about £50 each, not the rotor crank.

Why not drop Chris bell a line, he did me an oval one for my SS years ago he reccomends no more ovality than 7% IIRC.

He’s a lovely chap and hi sproduct is first rate, and it’s UK made…

Though Chris Bell was eggrings??

Aaah, just looked, he still is!