Read an article on these in a recent triathlon mag where they were reviewed on a MTB and am thinking of trying one out with a 1 x 10 on the summer bike. Anyone tried the eliptical rings and will they work on a FS bike?
barge poles and touching come to mind! very 80's and were never much cope ime
The old biopaces were sl. eliptical IIRC - Wouldn't bother myself 🙂
You have to marvel the power of marketing!
They were 'De rigueur' in the 80's (my current winter hack, well turbo hack TBH) has Bio-pace oval chainrings; SX400 group-O LOL....and I thought 'Ice Grey' was new back in '06 🙂
It went out due of fashion to the 'then' current research that, in fact, oval chainrings make Fudge-all difference...now they're back. I'd like to predict that within 10-15 months they'll be 'proved' a waste of time...again.
The cycle of life continues.
The real debate is; full sussers are an utter waste of time, we should all ride fixie's with no 'springs' at all 🙂
I love being stuck in, don't you?
Biopace was 'wrong' by 90 degrees, both Osymmetric and Rotor Q-rings have the fat bit to help you get through the dead spot, not accentuate it like Biopace did.
They've been used by a number of high profile pros, more notably on the road. The problem with running one as a single ring is the varying distance between the chainguide and the ring, means it's far more likely to come off- see David Millar in the TdF Prologue a few years back. I know a few people who use, and like them, but wouldn't bother on the MTB myself, more notable benefit on the road I reckon.
I've been running a single rotor q-ring for over a year now. It's worked out really well. Spinning feels much smoother and i find honking up hills smoother as well, reducing that left leg/right leg jerking forward to a smoother spin.
I have to use a chainguide (Rohloff) otherwise the chain falls off regularly, despite being as short as possible.
I've still go a Biopace on a 1993 M-Trax, very peculiar.
However, a couple of team-mates have Rotor rings on their time-trial bikes and they both like them.
I thought the Cervelo team ran Rotor's (before they disappeared)? I'm thinking of getting one for my commute - ££ though...
work perfectly on a single speed and they are top banana so for a 1x9 it'll be spot on.
Rotor are bringing out a SS specific, taller teeth version for nest year and they have one for track bikes as well.
honking up hills if definitely smoother and faster which helps my fat arse get up hills 😀
one word...........'biopace' 🙄
yes, but biopace where horrible I flippin hated mine when I had it years ago.
I thought rotor Q rings would be equally cack until I actually tried a bike with them and was impressed enough to spend my money based on a ride on a test circuit I know well rather than just dismissing something out of hand as hype.
research test jobbo thingy on silly odd shaped rings, shows that they make naff all difference and it's all psychosomatic. It's the bike equivalent of a powerband 😀
or if you actually read the report there some benefits
make you own mind up 😆
I used to have one and quite liked it. [url= http://www.highpath.net/ ]Highpath Engineering[/url] make them. It's worth reading his explanation of how they work - I don't think he makes any extravagant claims.
I appreciated them most when lugging uphill: a sort of halfway house to a fixed gear; you still had a dead spot but got through it quicker! But wasn't really 'life-changing' tbh.
They ruin your spin. They theoretically get you through your deadspot quicker at the expense of having an awful pedal stroke. Don't even think about it on a full susser, you'll be bobbing around like a nutter.
Biopace
Still as good as new...
[url= http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3198/2849978774_616acc6062_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/druidh2000/2849978774/ ]2008-07-23 15-40-12[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/druidh2000/ ]druidh_dubh[/url], on Flickr
yeah had biopace on mi shogun 🙂
I run them on both MTB's. Definately feeling it on my Singlespeed, im sold on them even know they are way too $$$
They ruin your spin. They theoretically get you through your deadspot quicker at the expense of having an awful pedal stroke. Don't even think about it on a full susser, you'll be bobbing around like a nutter.
Christoph Sauser racing a full suspension bike with a rotor Q ring, he's very famous for his bobbing like a nutter pogo stick style of riding.
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I take it you haven't [u]actually[/u] used them have you 😉
Size, thats what matters
Rotor's are very popular over here on road and mtbs, well their offices are just down the road, and the feedback seems to be that they work. I'm not at all sure I'd spend the money myself as my riding level isn't high enough to either justify the expense or make that much of a difference to my racing...
talking to a mate about em yesterday(V fit rider on full suss fuel)..loves em and got em on all his bikes, I tried his bike briefly and felt fine to me!
re ruining your spin...how often can you spin on an mtb?...fire road climbs maybe but the rest of the time I'm half in and out of the saddle...hard to spin on anything technical I reckon!
Retrodirect - Member
They ruin your spin...
Spin? I go stomp stomp, so they sound perfect.
I'm running Biopace on my commuter/tourer. Don't notice much of difference over circular chainrings tbh apart from having to spin slower when moving up to the large ring.
They don't ruin your spin, thats a complete load of garbage. They are designed to enhance your spin because you cannot spin smoothly biomechanically - thats why the good ones like Rotor offer variable positions to alter the position of the "gearing change" for each user.
If they ruined your spin I wouldn't have managed aset of 130rpm intervals on rollers at the weekend !
(Snow's great isn't it? by the end of this winter I'll be able to stay upright track standing in a gail force wind and spin pedals round faster than anyone else in the world - I will probably fall down dead from exhaustion however on anything longer than a 2 hour ride!)