Rotor 3D cranks - worth the upgrade?

Crispyapp

So, any of you have the Rotor 3D or 3D+ cranks and now you have them what are your thoughts over a conventional chainset, are they a worthy upgrade?

Thanks

APIII

I have the 3D. I can't say I notice much difference from the other chainsets I've used (chorus, Athena and FSA k force light). I do like the simplicity of the pinch bolt design though.

LegendLust

Are you asking for opinions about the crankset or the Q rings?

Crispyapp

Crankset. I've bought the r5 frame and now wondering which chainset to get for it. As its designed for cervelo I'm thinking that's probably my best route.....

LegendLust

I have the crankset with ceramic bearings. It's smooth, pretty light and stiff. Also a doddle to fit.

Main reason I got it though was to use the Q rings. Now they are an upgrade worth getting

Crispyapp

LegendLust wrote:

I have the crankset with ceramic bearings. It's smooth, pretty light and stiff. Also a doddle to fit.

Main reason I got it though was to use the Q rings. Now they are an upgrade worth getting

Thanks would you say there better than round rings then? And why?

ShutUpLegs

F***in stiff

napoleond

I have the 3D+ with ceramic bearings. The fitment is excellent and they are very light and above all stiff. Fantastic bit of kit.
That said, if they hadn't come with my frame I wouldn't have bought some and I don't think I'd be noticeably slower with any other cranks.
I've finally ditched the rings. I felt some benefit in the big ring but was worse in the small ring and shifting was a crock o' shite

LegendLust

Crispyapp wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

I have the crankset with ceramic bearings. It's smooth, pretty light and stiff. Also a doddle to fit.

Main reason I got it though was to use the Q rings. Now they are an upgrade worth getting

Thanks would you say there better than round rings then? And why?

Much more rounded pedal stroke, I use my hamstrings more in the stroke and the cadence went up. Less lactic acid build up as well. Beauty is you can change the OCD settings so you can tailor the sweet pot depending on your pedalling style.

LegendLust

NapoleonD wrote:

I have the 3D+ with ceramic bearings. The fitment is excellent and they are very light and above all stiff. Fantastic bit of kit.
That said, if they hadn't come with my frame I wouldn't have bought some and I don't think I'd be noticeably slower with any other cranks.
I've finally ditched the rings. I felt some benefit in the big ring but was worse in the small ring and shifting was a crock o' shite

I've never found the shifting to be a problem. And you should have changed the OCD setting on your little ring to match how you felt in the big ring.

napoleond

LegendLust wrote:

I've never found the shifting to be a problem. And you should have changed the OCD setting on your little ring to match how you felt in the big ring.

I did

I did

rozzer32

I had the Q rings, then got rid of them.

I didn't really feel any benefit with Q rings, maybe a tiny little bit.

But the shifting was f**king awful. That's the reason I decided to get rid of them.

Now back on round rings, can't feel any difference performance wise and the front shifting is spot on.

amaferanga

LegendLust wrote:

Much more rounded pedal stroke, I use my hamstrings more in the stroke and the cadence went up. Less lactic acid build up as well. Beauty is you can change the OCD settings so you can tailor the sweet pot depending on your pedalling style.

Ha ha! The marketing sure worked a treat with you

LegendLust

amaferanga wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

Much more rounded pedal stroke, I use my hamstrings more in the stroke and the cadence went up. Less lactic acid build up as well. Beauty is you can change the OCD settings so you can tailor the sweet pot depending on your pedalling style.

Ha ha! The marketing sure worked a treat with you

Obviously. Without the marketing I wouldn't have heard of Rotor and Q rings. And without marketing nobody on here would have heard of any of the companies or services you buy products from.

napoleond

LegendLust wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

Much more rounded pedal stroke, I use my hamstrings more in the stroke and the cadence went up. Less lactic acid build up as well. Beauty is you can change the OCD settings so you can tailor the sweet pot depending on your pedalling style.

Ha ha! The marketing sure worked a treat with you

Obviously. Without the marketing I wouldn't have heard of Rotor and Q rings. And without marketing nobody on here would have heard of any of the companies or services you buy products from.

Mine came free with my bike

amaferanga

LegendLust wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

Much more rounded pedal stroke, I use my hamstrings more in the stroke and the cadence went up. Less lactic acid build up as well. Beauty is you can change the OCD settings so you can tailor the sweet pot depending on your pedalling style.

Ha ha! The marketing sure worked a treat with you

Obviously. Without the marketing I wouldn't have heard of Rotor and Q rings. And without marketing nobody on here would have heard of any of the companies or services you buy products from.

I meant in terms of how great they'd be and the massive difference they'd make to your riding.

napoleond

wilo13 wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

Much more rounded pedal stroke, I use my hamstrings more in the stroke and the cadence went up. Less lactic acid build up as well. Beauty is you can change the OCD settings so you can tailor the sweet pot depending on your pedalling style.

Ha ha! The marketing sure worked a treat with you

Obviously. Without the marketing I wouldn't have heard of Rotor and Q rings. And without marketing nobody on here would have heard of any of the companies or services you buy products from.

I meant in terms of how great they'd be and the massive difference they'd make to your riding.

He has a point. How can you tell you have a more rounded pedal stroke (ironically on Q rings)? How do you know you use your hamstrings more and you have less latic build up? If they were that good why do 95% of the peloton use normal cranks such as Dura Ace and Sram Red?

It's the rings, not the cranks...

To be fair, Peloton uses what sponsors give them...

Crispyapp

Thanks everyone, I've got a good idea of what to expect if I get 1. I think I need to do a little more research on the Q rings.

mfin

NapoleonD wrote:

wilo13 wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

Much more rounded pedal stroke, I use my hamstrings more in the stroke and the cadence went up. Less lactic acid build up as well. Beauty is you can change the OCD settings so you can tailor the sweet pot depending on your pedalling style.

Ha ha! The marketing sure worked a treat with you

Obviously. Without the marketing I wouldn't have heard of Rotor and Q rings. And without marketing nobody on here would have heard of any of the companies or services you buy products from.

I meant in terms of how great they'd be and the massive difference they'd make to your riding.

He has a point. How can you tell you have a more rounded pedal stroke (ironically on Q rings)? How do you know you use your hamstrings more and you have less latic build up? If they were that good why do 95% of the peloton use normal cranks such as Dura Ace and Sram Red?

It's the rings, not the cranks...

To be fair, Peloton uses what sponsors give them...

And to be fair, the ones who do use q-rings don't appear to have front shifting problems, but maybe their bikes are setup properly eh??

napoleond

Heh
They think it's 'fine' until they try chainrings with decent ramps again.

mfin

That's true, I forgot all the guys with Q-Rings stopped at the side of the road kicking their bikes as soon as a hill got steep.

(I know the ramps on normal rings are superior shifting, but Q-rings aren't inferior enough to stop a decent rider shifting perfectly, or pros wouldnt ever use them)

napoleond

mfin wrote:

That's true, I forgot all the guys with Q-Rings stopped at the side of the road kicking their bikes as soon as a hill got steep.

(I know the ramps on normal rings are superior shifting, but Q-rings aren't inferior enough to stop a decent rider shifting perfectly, or pros wouldnt ever use them)

It was the upshift I always struggled with, although having said that it was MUCH better when I changed the Red front mech to Force.
I'm not a decent rider though either...