training with QXL

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Post Reply
grouk
Posts: 232
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:29 pm

by grouk

i use for a year a go a oval chainring, today i move to QXL
first train today 50k, firts impressions out of sadle have a greater feeling of power but in flat
full throttle 95rpm+ seems that when I press the pedal there is no resistance (is hard to explain for more in another language)
the OCP is in position 3, i have a one issue with my powermeter and have to send it to warrabty so i dont have power information.

increase or decrease the ocp really makes a difference?

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



tinozee
Posts: 764
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:53 am

by tinozee

I think it does depend on where you like to sit when you lay down the most power. I have tried the big qxl ring in pos. 3 and also forward one more. When it ti forward it's better for tt type of effort on the rivet. In 3 it was better in normal road position sitting in back of saddle. Some people might like it even furhter back than that.

I would suggest you try both and that you should feel some difference. Testing your body position vs ring positions with a PM is going to give the best answer.

tinozee
Posts: 764
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:53 am

by tinozee

There was some Rotor pdf with an illustration that sort of showed the ocp power positions.

grouk
Posts: 232
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:29 pm

by grouk

I've already read this pdf think what I'm feeling is what they say feel power to late, they recomend ocp position 2 but they said to to wait 10 hours of training between alterations of OCP

Zigmeister
Posts: 938
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 8:09 pm

by Zigmeister

I prefer power later personally if you feel anything. It should be a smooth rotation around the stroke, that is the design theory.

But, If you move/slide forward and get your knee (KOPS) going slightly ahead of your pedal, all of the sudden, the power zone comes slightly sooner in the downstroke. Which makes you feel like you are spinning through the bottom.

As a sprinter, when you get out of the saddle and drops and start a sprint, if you spin through the middle of the stroke and don't get the power later, it really makes a mess. I run regular QRings, and have been afraid for this reason to move to XL version...but who knows, I assume if I get it set correctly, it might work as well in that scenario.

User avatar
J0s3m4
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:59 pm

by J0s3m4

I usually have my daily workout on a indoorcycling bike and also I often do a ride on road, I have two road bikes but only one has qrings installed (my BH g6 ,in OCP two) . I noticed that my pedal stroke is rounder (also better) on my G6. Even so, I try to do my best when I ride rounded chainrings.

It is said that there's no hardly difference between OCP 1 and common chainrigs. Nevertheless, I have never put my qrings on OCP 1

grouk
Posts: 232
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:29 pm

by grouk

i move to ocp 2 today 5h training and i think is ok now, I can already stay at cadence 95+ without slipping to the tip off the sadle and that weird sensation of power cames power come too late disappeared.
as i said before I'm momentarily without powermeter so relatively to power i cant say nothing,and even more the fact of being in a low form, but the sensation when you get out of sadle and stand o cranks is much more powerful and today with training partners when I left the wheel and attack the sprint or small climbs i have a better feel of power

User avatar
J0s3m4
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 10:59 pm

by J0s3m4

I move to OCP 3 yesterday as I think I was pushing more hard at "4 clock point" instead of 3pm that I used to have. In addition I think OCP-3(also ocp4) fits better to climbing profiles. I need some extra effort to climb but it's fine for me now.

grouk
Posts: 232
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:29 pm

by grouk

i am still in ocp2 and i think is my position. today i am a the lbs i was talking with a friend that is a national champion of xcm and i was in spain for competition and the garmin team was there and he noticed that the whole team is using 2 and 3 ocp,
the thing is that since I made the change i am with a slight pain in the Vastus medialis ( google and wikipedia source), not a big pain or influence the performance but is there and have passed 7 days since the change

is normal?
Image

tinozee
Posts: 764
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:53 am

by tinozee

Just for the record same here. I started with them in pos. 2 and settled on 3. It's been 2 years on these rings, they feel great and my power is at it's all time peak. I also ride the regular q rings in pos 3 on another bike.

User avatar
Mario Jr.
Posts: 2174
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2004 8:49 am
Location: Denmark
Contact:

by Mario Jr.

From the sound of things, it sounds like you have not really understood what the settings do?

Pos. 1 is (in general terms) for people with either extreme setback or who ride with extremely low cadence. This is because the maximum power is generated earlier from your legs in these circumstances. Then gradually go to a higher number the less setback you have and the higher cadence you ride with. So triathletes in extreme positions sometimes use Pos. 5, because they are sitting so forward that their max power delivery comes very late. Jerome Coppel is (or was, anyway) actually using what is "Pos. 6" on his TT bike. (A un-numbered hole)

So for most riders (statisticially) with average setback and cadence on a roadbike, Pos. 3 is probably right, but this is individual. I am mostly a sprinter, so I prefer to have my max a little later, so I have my QXL's set in Pos. 3.5 (I have a MAS spider on my Rotor Power). I just got bikefitted again, and have moved my saddle forward, so I will try Pos. 4 this weekend.

tinozee
Posts: 764
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:53 am

by tinozee

Yeah pos 4 is the more forward, i keep confusing that with pos. 2. You can definitely feel the power or tall part of the ring move forward imo. I liked it a lot in 4 for TT type efforts but not so much on long rides with long climbs. For a while I kept the big ring in 4 and small in 3. Pos 2 would be too far back for me.

grouk
Posts: 232
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:29 pm

by grouk

my trainning zone is very hilly. i love TT ride but do more clims then TT. i didnt try the 4 pos. i am a low cadence guy. in 6% climbs i ride 77/83 rpm in 9% 10% 11% i cant spin faster then 72/74rpm even with 28 cassete. i train harder cadence but when when the gradient is high i simply not spin faster.

with this problem what is better 2 or 4

jo.k
Posts: 196
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 11:39 pm
Location: Norway

by jo.k

Mario Jr., is it possible to use QXL rings for CX also? The reason I'm asking is that I decided to abandon these rings as the transition to round rings just took forever, and I ended up not using the CX bike at all during road season since it felt like pedaling squares.

FWIW, I used mine on OCP 3, but changed to 4 later on and liked that as well. I did not however get the FD to shift as good as I would have liked, but that could be just down to incompetence on my hand ...

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



refthimos
Posts: 411
Joined: Fri May 25, 2012 6:02 pm

by refthimos

grouk wrote:my trainning zone is very hilly. i love TT ride but do more clims then TT. i didnt try the 4 pos. i am a low cadence guy. in 6% climbs i ride 77/83 rpm in 9% 10% 11% i cant spin faster then 72/74rpm even with 28 cassete. i train harder cadence but when when the gradient is high i simply not spin faster.

with this problem what is better 2 or 4


For low cadence 2 is likely to be better than 3.
EVO1 | 5.37kg
EVO3 (sold) | 6.51kg
EVO4 | build thread coming soon
S5 Disc
SystemSix (sold) | 8.01kg
P5 Disc | heavy but fast

Post Reply