Powercranks XTri Article
Last summer, the folks at Powercranks gave me a set to test. I knew that there was an adaptation period and was a little worried about how that might impact my IMC 2001 preparations. As a result, it wasn’t until the end of October that I started my test run. I’ve been riding the cranks for three months. What follows is one guy’s experience with the product.
A little bit on my cycling background. I’ve been riding seriously for three
years. My average weekly cycling volume
over the last three years has increased from nine to
My Ironman bike splits are summarized below. I’ve managed to achieve a gradual progression from six down to five hours – that’s an increase of 3.5 mph spread over 24 months of training. An analysis of these numbers is important for later.
|
Bike Split (112 mi) |
Avg Speed |
+/- Previous Race |
|
IMC, Aug 99 – |
18.9 mph |
n/a |
|
IMH, Oct 99 – |
18.9 mph |
None |
|
IMOz,
Apr 00 – |
20.8 mph |
+1.9 mph |
|
IMC, Aug 00 – |
21.7 mph |
+0.9 mph |
|
IMH, Oct 00 – |
20.3 mph |
-1.4 mph |
|
IMNZ, Mar 01 – 4:59 |
22.4 mph |
+1.9 mph |
|
IMC, Aug 01 – 5:00 |
22.4 mph |
None |
What I am going to discuss is:
· Things I like about PCs
· Things I think can be improved with PCs
· My views on various PC claims (pro and con)
· The three stages of early PC adaptation
· My overall views on the product
What I Like About PCs
The main aspect that I like about the product is the impact that it has had on my cycling economy. Economy is a tricky thing to evaluate because improvements in economy are often obscured by changes in fitness.
A friend asked me how I “knew” my economy had improved. Well, I don’t really “know” anything for sure! However, I have noticed two clear changes in my cycling over the last few months.
Dead Spots -- I
used to have a dead spot from
Timing – The PCs move independently, so I very quickly learned that I have difficulty getting my legs to fire correctly -- right up, left down. Three months later, my firing pattern is correct (in the saddle, out of the saddle, on the flats and climbing). The cranks have helped me learn proper stroke timing. When I started, one leg would either lag or get out in front. As a result, using the PCs on hills was extremely tough and climbing out of the saddle near impossible.
Things That Can Be
Improved With PCs
Nothing in this world is perfect and PCs are no exception. Here are three things that I think could be improved.
Marketing – The company’s marketing approach alienates a certain section of the market. I can only think of two topics that can provoke similar levels of cyber-debate (the 30-40-30 diet and Kona slot allocation). The company makes certain claims about the impact that the cranks will have on athletes. Many people take issue with those claims. I don’t think the validity of the claims matters for an overall product evaluation and explain why below.
Clutch Slippage – The clutch mechanism on the cranks slipped occasionally when I pushed a very big gear uphill. This happened most often when I was climbing out of the saddle. It was easy enough for me to fix (I swap the front derailleur back and forth a few times), but it impacted my confidence when I was riding really hard.
Clutch Engagement – The way the clutches are designed, they occasionally failed to catch when I was switching from the big to the small ring (on average once in a three-hour ride). This issue only appears to happen at certain cadences and I am learning to limit how often it hits. I can work around it and also use my “swapping” strategy to get the clutches to re-engage. Going from the small ring up to the big ring was always OK.
My Views on Various
PC Claims (pro and con)
Like I mentioned above, the company generates strong feelings amongst certain segments of their target market. Wrath would not be too strong a word for some of the posts that I have read. Still, many people seem to enjoy conflict so perhaps they are all having fun (in their own way). Here are the main topics that seem to come up:
PCs are merely an expensive way to do one leg drills – Remember those two benefits that I mentioned above? The first was closing dead spots. Traditionally, one leg drills (or isolated leg training) is the way that many cyclists worked on smoothing their stroke. I don’t know about you, but my problem is that one leg drills are boring! Just like stretching for the working athlete, while we know it to be beneficial, it’s not that much fun, so we tend to skip it.
PCs force you to improve – Without a doubt, the PCs forced me to pedal circles and, after the first stage of adaptation, I was able to improve while riding outside (bonus!). As well, the PCs forced my leg muscles to learn a correct firing pattern (left leg lift, right leg push). I may have been able to learn that firing pattern with a fixed gear bike or rollers, but it sure came quickly with the PCs.
If PCs are so good why don’t elite cyclists use them? Interesting point. My experience has been that the initial gains from the PCs have been gains in economy. Most elites have excellent economy and, therefore, might not experience the same improvements as me. I also think that elites will likely have even more adaptation fear than I did. There is probably more that the company can do to address this point.
The claims that the
company makes are ridiculous – Have a look at my improvement over the last
three seasons. I came to triathlons in
good running shape and have been able to achieve a 3.5 mph improvement since my
first IM (I was VERY focused). The
company’s website claims that the average athlete will be 2-3 mph faster if
they use PCs as directed. That strikes
me as very achievable for the average Ironman athlete willing to train
smart. It’s in line with my achievements
over my Iron-career (without using PCs).
My first effort at IMC99 was an overall time of
PCs increase your power output – I think this is a key statement made by the company because cycling is a power sport. As an Ironman athlete, I am not as concerned about maximal power. My main concern is effective power and power endurance (what Joe Friel calls muscular endurance). My goal is to maximize my effective power while training the ability to push a big gear for a long time. I want to ride a 112-mile time trial as efficiently as possible, and leave my legs in the best condition possible to run a fast marathon. By increasing my overall leg strength and cycling economy, PCs should help me get to the finish line faster. However, I can’t really say if I will ride faster or run faster – I just expect my overall time to fall. This next season will be an interesting test case.
PCs improve your running – As I mentioned above, over time I expect the PCs to improve my all-round leg strength, specifically the hip flexors and adductors. These muscles are important for good running economy. I coach a few athletes that tend to shuffle, drag their feet and/or run with straight legs (no lift). Two ways to help people overcome these issues are stairs and hill running (it’s quite tough to drag your feet when running uphill). PCs help train an athlete’s ability to lift their legs, and therefore, athletes with weak leg lift should expect to see an improvement in their running economy.
The Three Stages of
Early PC Adaptation
I’ve been riding the PCs for three months and noticed three clear stages in my development.
Stage One – I rode the PCs on the trainer for about eight sessions per week. Each session lasted between five and 20 minutes. I focused on frequency of use, short intervals and rest periods of between 15 and 60 seconds between intervals. The main changes happening consisted of my muscles learning a new firing pattern. I would become fatigued very quickly. Recovery was also quick as fatigue was primarily caused by neuromuscular fatigue, I didn’t have the skill to progress to real muscular fatigue.
Stage Two – In the second month, I started riding outside. Each week I did four to 10 rides of 20-30 minutes duration. I still experienced a lot of neuromuscular fatigue but my progress came quickly. Even when I took a break of a few days, I would seem to return better able to ride the PCs. I sensed that I was bringing some of the economy gains across to my race bike (which I rode throughout Stage One and Two).
Stage Three – Following my monster ride over Christmas, I decided to ride the PCs exclusively. I built up to a 120-mile ride that had lots of climbing (the things I do for my editor). Most of my rides were in the 90-180 minute range. At this stage, I am able to generate deep muscular fatigue, but it is different from “normal” cycling. It seems to be a “whole leg” fatigue and I finish my rides with plenty of “pop” left in my quads and glutes.
Based on my experience, I would recommend the following guidelines if you started using PCs:
· Initially focus on short frequent sessions.
· As soon as you are able to ride a 30-minute trainer session, consider taking them outside. Stick to flat, safe routes! Learning to turn, clip and climb takes time. Remember, you are going to be doing lots of technical “things” with both feet pointing straight down!
· Once you are able to ride a total weekly volume of 4-5 hours in shorter rides, start to extend one ride each week. Build your endurance slowly, in Stage Two, I rushed a bit and experienced some knee pain. I believe that this was brought on by a deeply fatigued long adductor muscle. It’s best to let the body adapt slowly.
If you do use the product, then I believe that a dedicated stretching program is essential. The PCs place stress on the weakest muscles in the cycling kinetic chain and it is quite easy to overload these muscles. Overall recovery will be enhanced by improving overall pelvic flexibility. As an added bonus, better pelvic flexibility will aid your running economy. I’ve been doing yoga as well as working with the PCs, they work well together.
My Overall Views on
the Product
Based on three months of frequent use here are my overall opinions:
· PCs have made me a more economical cyclist – I expect that this will help my overall times.
· In time, PCs should increase my overall leg strength – I expect that this will help my overall times. Riding PCs hard for 3-5 hours requires a lot of whole leg strength
· My comfortable cadence is significantly lower on the PCs – I normally ride 90-95 rpm and my comfortable PC cadence is currently 75-80 rpm. As a result, I have been using speed skills (primarily running strides) to ensure that I maintain muscular quickness. Athletes that tend to race with a below average cadences, should supplement their PC use with spin-ups (high cadence drills).
· PCs should improve my time trailing – One of my cycling limiters is the ability to push a big gear for a long time (muscular endurance). Pedalling lots of circles in a big gear should improve this personal weakness. As I move closer to the race season, I will want to combine harder PC rides with race specific training on my race bike. My PC riding position is a classic roadie set-up (saddle back, sitting up) and I will want to allow my body time to translate these gains into tri-specific riding (saddle more forward, chest down).
· Overall power – Remember my comment about my quads and glutes being fresh as I came off the bike? Well, that has me wondering whether the PCs might not be hitting these muscles as much as I need. Right now my strength training is blasting these muscles so it’s not a concern. However, I think some non-PC big gear work will be beneficial. Specifically, the type of work that can cause the clutches to slip.
At US$790 per pair, PCs aren’t cheap! That’s about the cost of a disc wheel or a pair of Hed-3s. Knowing what I do now, it would have been a worthwhile purchase for me when I was a working athlete trying to qualify for Kona. I’m also going to keep riding them and appreciate having been given the test drive.
Your mileage may vary!
See you at the races,
gordo