Standard and q rings.

golfergmc

Does anyone have bikes with both standard and q rings, if so can you tell the difference in the two and if there is a difference what is it.

Grill

Yes, not really, negligible if any.

golfergmc

Thinking of going for a rotor crank for my S5 and was going to go full hog and get the q rings.

Grill

Don't. Buy Praxis rings instead.

golfergmc

What's the difference.

Grill

Praxis rings are cold forged and the only aftermarket option that come close to DA shifting smoothness.

bernithebiker

Hate to disagree (and I have no experience of Praxis rings) but my Q rings shift butter smooth, certainly better than the Sworks ones I had on there before, and before that I had Dura Ace.

You do have to get the front mech position just right though.

DavidJB

+1 for praxis rings...never had front shifting so good!

Grill

Q's will never shift as smooth as DA or Praxis rings. Q's with friction shifters are just miserable (much better with Di2). Buying Q's for the perceived gains? Not convinced.

ride_whenever

From what I can tell it's a very personal thing. Some people like them, some hate them but most don't really notice a difference.

Try to find a second hand one to see if you like them maybe???

markynulty

I have Rotor Q rings with the 3D crank and an Ultegra front mech. I race and train on them and it always shifts perfectly smoothly. Its all in the position of the mech.

And yes, I do feel that they help me (have another bike with round rings). I live in a very hilly area and have found that they help in two main areas. Firstly, when climbing and secondly when sprinting in races. More so when climbing, but still every little helps in a race. When climbing, I like to spin over 90rpm and they seem to allow me to operate at a higher level of output for longer.

lef

If you're going to go oval then get the QXL (or look into osymmetric). Benefits are more noticeable at least for me but everyones different. There is a slight lag with QXL shifting, but not enough to cause an issue. As for Qrings, they shift perfectly fine if set up correctly. Setting up can be a little trickier especially with QXLs. Cable tension / mech position on QXLs definitely becomes more critical / finer margin for error than typical rings.

meesterbond

In answer to the OP, I've been using Q Rings for a while and tbh really didn't notice much of a difference (they were on the cranks I bought secondhand so thought I'd give them a go), that was until I installed my PM and I must have put the inner ring back on the wrong setting and now I definitely notice them - but not in a good way... it feels as if the back wheel is actually slipping at the top of the stroke. I'm guessing that the downstroke is moving too quickly (though the sharper part of the oval?) which makes it feel odd.

When I get a moment, I'll put it back to how it was so I can't tell it's a Q ring.

They shift perfectly adequately btw. Not the best I've used, but by no means the worst.