Rotor is how I Roll!

Rotor has made the all the difference for me in this past race season. This review is long overdue, because I wanted to get through and entire season before I gave any report. I read the research on the website. I went through every single pdf file explaining the improvement that was to be expected. I felt like it really made since, so I contacted Gary and was given a sponsorship.

I was nervous about changing something to drastic like my pedal stroke. The only potential problem was if my legs would adjust. After grilling Howie I decided to put the Q-rings on my Titus Racer X, and my Felt F1C. The next day I went out to Oleta State Park to give the mtn bike a spin. The first thing I notice is the “Speed up, Slow” in my pedal stroke. The second thing is much better traction when I’m climbing. The third and most important, was my legs felt fresh for a much longer period. Ok, this wasn’t a hype, it really was true. I didn’t really push close to my HR threshold because I was riding with guys that weren’t that fast, but the day was a huge success.

Because of Hurricane Ernesto, most of South Florida was give the day off of work. I decided to go up to my boy’s Wes house and do a road ride with them. That was when I really saw the benefit of the Q-Rings. I don’t have a power meter, but I could clearly tell that I was putting out more power. And what was even more shocking was my HR was WAY low. I was taking pulls about 3mph faster than anyone else, and my pulls were more than twice as long. The acceleration was incredible, and I would maintain my sprint speed for a much longer time. Wow, now I’m a real believer in the Rotor Q-Rings. I have to get back on my mountain bike and put in some laps at race speed to see the full benefit.

On the Wednesday “Drop Zone” ride, the Q-rings did not disappoint at all. This is a 10-15 group of racers, and they go race speed, and I finished 3rd all three laps. I even went out and did another lap by myself. Normally, I would not be able to even finish this lap after going full bore for 3 laps, but my legs were not even close to being tapped out. When I downloaded my workout, I was amazed that my overall HR was 6bpm lower than normal. I never really went into the “Red” during these laps. OK, I can’t wait to race now.

My training ride only got better as the season approached. To sum the season up, IT WAS AWESOME. I totally exceeded my expectations. I had 2 season highlights that confirmed that the Q-Rings is how I’m gonna roll, FOREVER. Last season Average speed for my race at Razorback in Ocala was 10.94mph, and this season my Average was 12.05mph. The course last year was 24 miles, and the course was 30 miles this year. So with an even longer, more jagged course I was over 1mph faster. Last season my Average heartrate at Tom Brown Park in Tallahassee was 11.77mph, and this season it went up to a whopping 13.11mph. That was an improvement of over 1.4mph, and I didn’t lose any weight, I didn’t do anything different at all. The only thing that was different was the 23-33-45 Q-Rings that was on my bike. I didn’t have a race win in the Expert Division, but my improvement was so big that I was satisfied with that. This improvement was so drastic, that I know that it was not from just the training.

I decided to try my hand at road bike racing this year, since my performance was more dramatic on my Felt with the Q-Rings. In the Cat 4 Rosewood series in Miami, I won the Green Sprinter's Jersey, and the Yellow Jersey in the first 5 race series. That was the first time in the 7 year history of the Series that a rider won both jersey’s in the same series. The promoter said that no rider has ever had the stamina do get points in 2 intermediate sprints, and then finish top 5 for the final sprint. The second series I decided to just go for the final sprint, and I won 2 out of the 4 races I did and was winning the series. So my legs were even more supercharged when I saved myself for the final sprint. I know I owe that to the Q-Rings. I would have won the 2nd Series, but I was in Las Vegas getting married on 07/07/07. I have since moved up to Cat 3.

So what’s on tap for 2007? I’m going to go all the way Rotor with the Agilis Crankset with the self-aligning bottom bracket. I’m going from 23-33-45 on the XTR, to 24-34-44 with the Agilis Crankset. I’m looking forward to the extra teeth in the middle ring.

The only way for you truly understand the improvements is to put the Q-Rings on your bike. Cycling is a sport of feel, and if you want to feel the difference between wining and losing, then Rotor is the way to go.

I’m happy to be a Rotor System’s sponsored athlete, and as long as I’m racing bikes, Rotor will be my equipment of choice.

Brian Pace
Expert Mountain Bike Racer
Cat 3 Road Racer