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Setting The Q Ring Position Based On Rotor InPower Ride Data

Rotor InPower Cranks Provide Crucial Insight

Rotor InPower OCP 1
Rotor Q Rings help make small improvements to power with every pedal stroke, but it’s on sections where terrain is steep, and traction is necessary, that they make the biggest difference.

I’ve been using Rotor products since at least 2000, when the RSX Cranks first became available. I have been a student of the original concept, and I use Q rings on all of my bikes these days. In 2012 or thereabouts, Rotor began building their own power meters. Specifically, they did it with the intention of providing data for the Optimal Chainring Position. Optimal Chainring Position, or OCP, looks at a rider’s power curve and helps determine where exactly the Q ring should be located.

Why is this important? Well, the Q ring acts like a crowbar, using something called “Moment“. This is a term in Physics. A bicycle crank at 12 o’clock has no moment. I bicycle crank at 6 o’clock has no moment. But a bicycle crank at 3 o’clock has a moment equal to the radius of the crank. In my case, that is 165mm. When the Rotor InPower software takes into account Moment plus Inertia, it allows Physics to provide an edge in the power output. For road cycling on flat terrain, I usually ride at OCP 4 or even 5. Until this week, I rode the mountain bike at OCP position 3.

What Changed

Rotor has software for their InPower and 2InPower cranks, as well as their most recent power meters, that runs as an app on a cell phone. I used this app in real time, as I rode up my favorite trail. While I had figured that OCP 3 was optimal, what I realized over the course of the climb was that the steeper the terrain, the more the Rotor software wanted me in OCP 1 or even 2! I was surprised by this revelation, but in review, it makes sense. When a cyclist is climbing, the “Moment” is still optimal at 3 o’clock. However, inertia is altered due to gravity, friction, and cadence. Placing the OCP at 1 brings that ‘Crowbar’ effect back.

I made two videos connected to this post. The first is pre-ride, when I was making my change to the crank and chainring. The second is post-ride analysis. I felt the change in torque IMMEDIATELY, and while I am not nearly as fit as I was two years ago, I am excited about the change, and hope to duplicate the lesson on my road bike in the near future.

Rotor has SCIENCE to Back Up Their Claims

While I’m not a qualified scientist, I do count myself as a certain Mad Scientist. That is, I rely on PhD’s and MD’s and DO’s to perform the studies that prove or disprove what I’ve ‘seen’ over the decades that I’ve been coaching. One of my absolute favorite scientists on Q Rings, who is also a highly skilled athlete and racer, is Dr. Christie O’Hara. Here is a short link to an article about her studies with Q Rings. She’s moved on from Rotor to other ventures in Academia, but her work stands and is seminal to the theory. The gains are small, but consistent, and in a sport where small gains are critical, Q rings in the Optimal Chainring Position can make a difference for any road or mountain bike cyclist.

Enjoy the videos and don’t hesitate to leave some feedback. I’m enjoying the process and as always, ENJOY THE RIDE!

 

Intense MTB Ride Number 4 With the ShockWiz

ShockWiz Shows 84 Points on the Rear With Just 49% Confidence In the Values

Rear Suspension 84 Points
Not sure why the Confidence Interval was so low, but hey – it means I get to ride more!

One of the most important things to remember when you purchase a new, high end mountain bike, is that it can take 20 – 50 hours for a suspension system to ‘break in’. It’s like buying a new car – everything is tight. Over time and with terrain, the suspension seals settle in and the ShockWiz starts to reveal more consistent numbers.

That said – right now, I fully expect ShockWiz scores and recommendations to be a bit scattered. We’ll know more in two to four weeks.

Initial Values for Sag seem Really Close

I set the rear suspension for about 30% Sag, and for the front, I set it for about 10% sag. Generally speaking, most rear suspensions start around body + gear weight. I’m REALLY heavy right now, so I set the rear suspension at roughly 178 psi. Sitting on the suspension with the ShockWiz app open showed a sag of about 30%, and I’ll make changes based on this.

For the front, I followed the directions on the fork; 80psi or thereabouts. Sag was about 10% and the shock really performed poorly per the Shockwiz data.  I am almost certain that I will need to add spacers to the front fork. I have those on order, but I will not install them until after the 20 hour mark.

What Is “Pogo”?

Pogo is a term that means the suspension can’t keep up with the terrain.

The ShockWiz showed that my rear suspension is suffering from “Pogo”. This is a term that means the suspension is not keeping up with terrain on rebound, and is instead ‘bouncing’ off the rocks and ridges.

Ideally, a rear and a front suspension have no pogo. Instead, they react to the terrain, absorbing hits and rebounding for the next hit. To be honest – this is terrain and speed-specific. I may get more “Pogo” over the next several days as I ride, and I won’t worry about it unless it shows up consistently.

Ironically, the front fork is also showing some “Pogo” from this ride, though the ShockWiz score went up to 84, equal to the rear. Again, I’m not going to worry about this too much, unless it shows up consistently after 20 hours of use.

14% Sag on the Front

The Front Fork recommendations from ShockWiz asked that I take air out of the front fork. I lowered the front by about 3-5psi, and this is what led to the 10 point improvement over the previous ride.

Use of Segments

This may be a bit controversial, but I decided to put the suspension to the test on a new ‘segment’ that I created. I used Garmin Connect for this because I do not want to generate controversy over speed and safety with other, more popular segment programs. I AM BY NO MEANS A HOT DOG. In fact, I really am NOT FAST on descending. Why? Well, I have the world’s worst health insurance, and there’s no doubt that speed, in my case, might kill. That said – if I can measure Time and FLOW in Garmin Connect, this MIGHT give me some better ideas about how the suspension is helping or hurting.

Here’s the segment; it is public, but I don’t expect anyone to to really care, and if you do break my times, bravo; you’re braver and more skilled than me.

Here’s the Garmin Connect Segment

That’s really about it – I’m going to head out and ride some more. I’ll keep you posted on the results!

Are you enjoying this series? Please feel free to buy me a Cup of Coffee!

Intrinsic Insights – How What I Look At Applies to YOU

"The information I'm collecting right now is an attempt at revealing the INTRINSIC phenomena of exercise. When a bike ride starts, heart rate goes up. Muscles get squeezed. Breathing rate rises. Oxygen travels and Cardon Dioxide gets expelled. The bicycle moves forward. Calories are burned, Kilojoules are expended. The mind literally turns on extra channels to increase situational awareness, body position and risk assessment. I love this stuff!"
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DFAa1 Ride In the Evening – Did That Improve Monday Night’s Sleeping Pattern?

I Changed my Workout Schedule To An Afternoon DFAa1 Ride

Yesterday’s DFAa1 Ride occurred around 4pm. Normally, I ride in the late morning, but I have been multitasking on several fronts, and fell behind. I also did not get to enter in my 60 minutes, instead riding in the afternoon. This was also an attempt to determine whether an evening exercise bout would improve my sleep pattern.

The Rides this Fall are all about DFAa1. I use FatMaxxer software, broadcast from an Android phone to a PC screen, and either increase or decrease my intensity when cycling to try and stay between 0.75 DFAa1, and 1.00 DFAa1. Using this number, instead of watts, gives me a highly accurate, day-to-day method, of measuring intensity and optimizing my Aerobic Capacity.

Dfaa1
A Good Night’s Sleep can lead to a better BASE ride.

But I’m finding that a good ride requires a solid night’s rest. Monday evening’s ride actually did not go quite as well as I had hoped. The DFAa1 dipped “Below” 0.75 several times, and I also ran out of time. Therefore, the workout was just 45 minutes long, and the intensity was probalby too high.

But when bedtime came, I was pretty tired. I went to bed around 8:50pm, after a FULL meal of steak and sweet potatoes, and promptly passed out around 9:06pm. I had the Pink Noise generator on, and I had limited my alcohol intake to one glass of wine. I was hydrated, but tired. I ended up sleeping for FIVE STRAIGHT HOURS, which for me, is a recent record. But some time around 2:30am, I woke up, and did not get back to sleep until I had moved rooms, and changed beds. Then I slept for another few hours.

I am noticing a trend with this sleep; I get more DEEP sleep before I wake up, and I get more REM sleep after I fall asleep the second time. This may be anecdotal, but I do think the Pink Noise is helping. Now, I just need to get 7 or 8 straight hours of sleep.

The Garmin Connect platform is really interesting. I’m starting to understand it just a bit, but I’m going to keep working within that ecosystem of fitness, to explore features and become adept at the information it’s revealing.

Here’s the video. Thanks for reading, thanks for watching, and ENJOY THE RIDE!

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Sometimes Ya Gotta Get Some SUN!

I Went Mountain Biking – And I Trapped ALL of the Data!


The purpose of this exercise and series of blogs is to share my thought processes, as a coach, on how to interpret data from instruments. With that data, I can then make more informed decisions on my own training, recovery, and performance. When the cold snap hit, I went indoors; it’s a controlled environment. But when I moved to Nevada, we specifically purchased a home right next to some of the best mountain biking trails available. We’re at 5200′ MSL. The peak behind my house, which I can ride to from my front door, is at 8400′ MSL. My mailbox signals the end of a Strava and RWGPS segment that equals a Cat 4 Climb for roadies.

In other words, we moved here so we could RIDE! Today, after a lot of distractions and work on other projects, I pulled out the mountain bike and just RODE!

The ride included the following:

  • Vo2master with display on my iphone in realtime.
  • Left Shoulder Moxy Muscle Oxygen
  • Right Rectus Femoris Moxy Muscle Oxygen.
  • Left Vastus Lateralis Moxy Muscle Oxygen.
  • Polar H10 recording in BLE on Garmin 1030.
  • Quarq ShockWiz on both Front and Rear Suspension.

And MAN, did I get some good data!

The temps were perfect, the trail a little less dusty thanks to some rain and snow last weekend, and the sun was on my arms and back as I rode one of my favorite anti-clockwise loops.

Here’s the fun part: I hit a 57 Vo2max, and climbed steadily just below 20% of Smo2 for the first hill, and then just above 20% SmO2 for the second hill.

After the descent, I took a look at my Quarq ShockWiz data. Front Suspension was at a 96/100, and rear was at a 92/100. The descent was my 3rd-fastest ever on that segment.

I know I was not ‘feeling it’ this morning. But I needed to free my soul. This ride provided that, and more.

Here’s the video:

Thanks for reading, thanks for watching, and as always, ENJOY THE RIDE!