Rotor Q-Rings

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lqdedison
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:51 am

by lqdedison

Wookieopolis wrote:lqdedison, it is interesting to hear your experience as a number of people here have switched to Q-Rings specifically to help knee problems (myself included). Would you mind elaborating on what sort of problems you experienced with the switch to Q-Rings?


Sure...

I had really sharp pains at the front of my right knee and occasionally behind the knee as well. I've been riding a for about 16 years and had knee pain only one other time when I first started riding.

It got to the point with the q-rings that after only an hour of riding I had to turn back and head home. I hadn't changed anything else on any of my bikes, only the Q-Rings. I took them off and then took about a four week break. I haven't had any problems since.

Before I took them off I tried floating cleats, different saddle heights, different cleat positions, different positions with the q-rings themselves, just about everything really. In the end I put everything back where it was and took the Q-Rings off as that was really the main change that I'd done this season.

I wish I knew what really started my problems but I'm pretty sure it was the Q-Rings.


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ModernMonkey
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:57 am

by ModernMonkey

Personally I use Osymetric but havent tried Rotor and from what I can tell the real benefit comes from the lack of "pulling" up on the back stroke from around 7-10 on the clock face. That pulling is where the knee pain bandit seems to make an appearance its the part of the stroke that oval chainrings try to minimize.

I personally feel Oysmetric does a good job with this and Rotor is more of a 1/2 solution that emphasizes the power zone but doesnt necessarily change the dead zone. So basically on a ring labeled 52T you push a 54 through the power and a 52 through the dead zone, where as Osymetric you push a 55T in the power zone and a 51T through the deadzone.

Since the deadzone is not minimized you simply use an easier gear which lowers the deadzone while the elipse raises the power through the powerzone....with Osymetric you can push a bigger gear because the deadzone has less effect on the power needed to complete the circle.

In my opinion the new QXL rings with their larger oval shape could be amazing but still might fall short of osymetric in terms of pure efficiency. The added ring quality + ramps/pins + adjustable angle might win out though

PLuKE
Posts: 219
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:26 pm
Location: Suffolk, UK

by PLuKE

Hi folks.

I have been looking at the Rotor Q Rings. I have been doing some research about them and I would like to try them for myself.

Now 90% of my riding routes are done on the front big ring, as there are only a few short hills.

Thus meaning I would buy the 50T chainring as I feel that would make the most benefit?

Or would the 34T help a lot more on my small climbs?

Luke

IchDien
Posts: 674
Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2012 12:23 am
Location: Veneto

by IchDien

If you're mostly on the flat surely 53/39 so you'd actually use the inner ring on the flat when training?

If you're more comfortable with a compact then 52/38, 52/36 or 50/36 would be great options as you wouldn't really need the 34 if the climbs are so short (obviously depending on your ability). A 34 inner is great if you've got a 27km climb with some tough gradients and a long route through the dolomites but practically useless on the flat and for short climbs unless running a 11-23 or something.

For the flat terrain around me I was considering even going 53/41 QXL...

Raineman
Posts: 185
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:03 pm
Location: Kent, UK

by Raineman

I would recommend getting both rings as I don't like moving between my osymmetics and the round rings on my commuter so I can't imagine doing that repeatadly for whole ride.

I would agree with going for slightly bigger rings unless you need that low gear. I moved from a compact to 52/38 and now use my low gears less despite the higher ratios.

PLuKE
Posts: 219
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:26 pm
Location: Suffolk, UK

by PLuKE

I am fairly new to cycling, so my ability is still fairly low so would keep the inner the same, I guess for climbing a inner Q Ring would make a small benefit for my short climbs.

My thinking is right I guess I have answered my own question regarding a big ring Q Ring to be a better improvement for my riding.

I sometimes find a 50T to low.

Luke

Geoff
Posts: 5395
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2003 2:25 am
Location: Canada

by Geoff

On one of my many long-term tests, I rode the 'Q' rings for a couple of seasons. I found them quite good. I logged quite a good set of data and could compare vs round. The manufacturers claims are a bit steep, but I think I can say that there is an advantage for certain applications (short, high-powered efforts).

With respect to the negatives, I think they don't feel quite as good as round rings (which is one of the reasons I am back on round).

Don't listen to people who say that you will have shifting problems or that the set-up is difficult. That is baloney. They are just as easy to set-up as round rings and they shift just fine. They are not as good as the 'factory' rings with their marvelous tooth shapes, dimensions and pins, but they work just fine. If you run Di2 or EPS, they are slightly flexy, but not bad.

Because of the way that they feel (different than round), I would not recommend mixing rings on one set. Even if you are changing between different bikes, you notice the rings.

PLuKE
Posts: 219
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:26 pm
Location: Suffolk, UK

by PLuKE

Thank you for your input.

Luke

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wheelsONfire
Posts: 6283
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:15 am
Location: NorthEU

by wheelsONfire

Don't know if this matters much to your question of Q-rings. If you buy Rotor 3D+MAS or Flow crank, you have 10 positions to the rings instead of 5 of the ordinary cranks.
This means you can use ½ step settings.
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Method01
Posts: 69
Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:43 pm
Location: Belgium

by Method01

I gave the Q rings a try, they felt different but I cannot say it was beneficial to me. They were not better or worse than round rings so I sold them.

NiFTY
Posts: 1493
Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 11:26 pm

by NiFTY

I have been on Q rings for years. I got them as I was having knee issues on round rings and the Q rings fit them. They helped me spin. Can't comment on power/lactate improvements but they certainly work for my knees. I have tried to switch back to round (excersize bikes at hotels when on holidays) and the same knee pain re-occurs.
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KWalker
Posts: 5722
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:30 pm
Location: Bay Area

by KWalker

Geoff wrote:On one of my many long-term tests, I rode the 'Q' rings for a couple of seasons. I found them quite good. I logged quite a good set of data and could compare vs round. The manufacturers claims are a bit steep, but I think I can say that there is an advantage for certain applications (short, high-powered efforts).

With respect to the negatives, I think they don't feel quite as good as round rings (which is one of the reasons I am back on round).

Don't listen to people who say that you will have shifting problems or that the set-up is difficult. That is baloney. They are just as easy to set-up as round rings and they shift just fine. They are not as good as the 'factory' rings with their marvelous tooth shapes, dimensions and pins, but they work just fine. If you run Di2 or EPS, they are slightly flexy, but not bad.

Because of the way that they feel (different than round), I would not recommend mixing rings on one set. Even if you are changing between different bikes, you notice the rings.


I think I would agree with you. They felt really good on the trainer/rollers or in a fast paceline. I can't say they made a big difference in terms of power production or anything and the data showed no real differences in my abilities on either. I ended up with a 4 bolt PM and had to switch off of them abruptly during race season and didn't really notice.

I had Q-rings with Ultegra di2, Campy Record/SR11, and DA9000 and they shifted really well actually. A hair less crisp than my perfectly adjusted, newly-cabled 9000 rings but not enough to really care. I don't know about QXL. I used OSys for a month at one point and shifting was fine with 7900. Took a bit to figure out the cage angle and spacing, but it wasn't as bad as some people have claimed.

I would never mix rings. The benefit seems to come from a specific effort/cadence, which you will experience on all types of challenging terrain.
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grouk
Posts: 232
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:29 pm

by grouk

i have qxl and shifts perfect but you have to use chain catcher

by Weenie


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weenie
Posts: 88
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2013 6:48 pm

by weenie

I've an absoluteblack oval 34t ring (http://www.absoluteblack.cc/oval-104bcd-chainring.html) on a MTB here, 1x10 setup. It's not been long (these were out a little under 2 month ago) but I certainly like them. It doesn't seem like it affects performance much indeed, but I like the feeling, fatigue does seem lower. They've make remounting on steep hills (MTB-steep...) easier, whereas on a round ring + lower gear the crank quickly goes to the bottom and you've to clip in really fast, the oval ring makes this easier hehe.

In the end I'm keeping it because I like the way it feels quite a bit better, even thus like others i can't spot a significant performance difference.

I'm therefore now looking at double oval rings for my road bike and there seems to be quite a few options (q-rings, q-rings-xl, osymmetric, doval in particular).
Has anyone a good idea or comparison between all of them? I figure q-ring aren't as oval the 3 other kinds but other than that... :)

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