Power Cranks
I first heard about power cranks from a colleague a few years ago. I had just come back from my first Terrible Two and was talking with Dave. Dave said that his brother who was also a serious cyclist had tried them. On his first ride with the cranks, he pedaled out 8 or so miles and then had to call his wife to pick him up, the cranks had just kicked his ass.
Power cranks, are basically normal cranks with the big exception being that the crank arms are connected via ratchets to the bottom bracket and must be peddled independently. The basic idea, is that you are forced to pedal correctly in circles, theirs no cheating. The neutral position for the crank arms is for both of them to point straight down, so yes you can descend with your feet straight down.
Flash forward a few years, all last year I kept thinking to myself, I should really try power cranks. But because all the literature indicated that it would take a few weeks to adapt to the "correct" pedaling style and while adapting ones power might decrease and finally that the power gains from the cranks might take up to six months to really materialize. I decided I would wait for the season to end before starting anything radically new. In August, I ordered my cranks; my goal was to be able to ride my regular rides on the cranks by September. The day my cranks arrived I slapped them on my race bike, the install is easy, and I proceeded to TRY and ride the rollers. It took me about half an hour to just get clipped in. The tricky part is that pedaling one side does nothing to the other crank arm so both feet must be clipped in at the bottom. Finally after getting clipped in, I found that I couldn’t pedal for more then 5 min, before my hip flexors were on fire and screaming.By the end of the week, I was able to ride the rollers for about an hour, and I decided to venture out side. Over the next few weeks I gradually increased my distance, first 20 miles, 30, and then 50, all over courses I regularly train on. At the end of doing the 50 mile route, it wasn't so much that my legs were tired, as my hip flexors had tightened rock hard and I could barely pick my legs up. The next morning, it felt like I couldn't get out of bed, I have never hurt so much the day after riding.
Eventually after about two months on the cranks, the pedaling action just started to become natural. The only real thing of any real note is my max cadence was much lower, and that when really hammering with a high cadence I would tire faster then when on normal cranks.
A lot of people, have asked, do I think they are making a difference? In some ways, it’s hard to tell. After about 2 months on them, I road my final double for this year, the Knoxvill double down in CA. For the double I used my normal cranks, I felt over the entire ride like I had more endurance and powers then I have had in the past, so I think the cranks are helping. Also when doing single leg drills on the computrainer, I'm definitely much stronger then I was before.
Power cranks, are basically normal cranks with the big exception being that the crank arms are connected via ratchets to the bottom bracket and must be peddled independently. The basic idea, is that you are forced to pedal correctly in circles, theirs no cheating. The neutral position for the crank arms is for both of them to point straight down, so yes you can descend with your feet straight down.
Flash forward a few years, all last year I kept thinking to myself, I should really try power cranks. But because all the literature indicated that it would take a few weeks to adapt to the "correct" pedaling style and while adapting ones power might decrease and finally that the power gains from the cranks might take up to six months to really materialize. I decided I would wait for the season to end before starting anything radically new. In August, I ordered my cranks; my goal was to be able to ride my regular rides on the cranks by September. The day my cranks arrived I slapped them on my race bike, the install is easy, and I proceeded to TRY and ride the rollers. It took me about half an hour to just get clipped in. The tricky part is that pedaling one side does nothing to the other crank arm so both feet must be clipped in at the bottom. Finally after getting clipped in, I found that I couldn’t pedal for more then 5 min, before my hip flexors were on fire and screaming.By the end of the week, I was able to ride the rollers for about an hour, and I decided to venture out side. Over the next few weeks I gradually increased my distance, first 20 miles, 30, and then 50, all over courses I regularly train on. At the end of doing the 50 mile route, it wasn't so much that my legs were tired, as my hip flexors had tightened rock hard and I could barely pick my legs up. The next morning, it felt like I couldn't get out of bed, I have never hurt so much the day after riding.
Eventually after about two months on the cranks, the pedaling action just started to become natural. The only real thing of any real note is my max cadence was much lower, and that when really hammering with a high cadence I would tire faster then when on normal cranks.
A lot of people, have asked, do I think they are making a difference? In some ways, it’s hard to tell. After about 2 months on them, I road my final double for this year, the Knoxvill double down in CA. For the double I used my normal cranks, I felt over the entire ride like I had more endurance and powers then I have had in the past, so I think the cranks are helping. Also when doing single leg drills on the computrainer, I'm definitely much stronger then I was before.
Labels: Product Review, Race Across Oregon
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