Hi All,
Can someone please explain to my why the Rotor Q-Rings do not work?
These are non-round chainrings with many mounting holes so you can
adjust where the non-roundness is. The idea is that with a say 53t
chainring, at 12 o'clock, the leverage is similar to a 51t ring, while
at about 4 o'clock it is more like a 56t ring. Obviously the gear ratio
for a complete stroke is not altered, but it seems it is supposed to
focus where the work of the stroke gets done to the portion of the
stroke with the most strength.
I wonder how it affects sub maximal efforts? All-out efforts are
limited by the supply of O2, but sub maximal efforts are limited by the
build up of lactic acid. (obvioulsy an oversimplification...) I wonder
if the rings could allow for sub maximal efforts to acheive higher
power outputs for a given total-stroke effort by not stressing the
muscles in ways they are not well suited. As a thought experiment, if
you take an extreme example of only ever pedaling on the up-stroke
(regular chainrings), what kind of power could one expect? Not much I
suppose. Would the build up of lactic acid happen at much lower HR or %
of VO2max? Would then the riders LT be at a quite low HR due to the
inefficiencies of the stroke? Is it possible that this is also
happening with regular pedaling, just at a much smaller scale, and
perhaps these rings could help mitigate the inefficiencies? In other
words, might lactic acid build up at sub maximal efforts be to some
degree from using muscles in a way that demands too much of them at
their weakest (top of the stroke) and not enough of them at their
strongest?
Just wondering, with winds raging at 27 meters per second outside, not
much else to do.
Joseph