10speed chain on Rotor Q Rings?

pilot_pete

Hi all

My TT crankset has developed a problem with the non-drive side crank arm (Zipp 300) in that the arm has become loose on the ISIS BB. It is not the splines, nor the bearings, the carbon part of the arm appears to have come loose where it is bonded to the metal splines in the crank arm. Bike shop removed and re-tightened to no avail so it is junk.

Unfortunately Zipp don't make them any more so I need a complete new chainset, left crank and BB. I have been looking at the Rotor Flow TT crank with Q rings. As I am running 10speed Campagnolo Record groupset I am trying to find out about compatibility.

Rotor tech dept have replied stating that all their rings run 11speed chains. That's all they will tell me, so question is does anyone know if I can run 53/39 Q Rings with my Record 10speed front derailleur and 10speed chain? Will it work? Will the shifting work? Are 11speed rings ever so slightly closer together than 10speed?

Having just put the bike on the turbo for a session I noticed the problem immediately and it is fast turning into a very expensive problem....!

Help please.

PP

schlepcycling

I use compact Rotor Q rings with a 10 Speed Shimano Dura Ace set up using a KMC 10 speed chain and have had no issues.

StillGoing

I run Q rings with SRAM 10 speed without issue. Purchased direct from Velotech in October last year.

neil.s

I currently run Rotor Q Rings with my 10spd Campag Record, absolutely no problems whatsoever.

Until the end of last year I also ran Rotor Q Rings with 11spd Campag on my good bike. Again, no problems whatsoever.

pilot_pete

Brilliant, thanks all. Should ask now, do any of you run Q rings on one bike and round on another? I have 3 bikes and am only looking at fitting the TT bike with them at present, but read that you should allow 500km to adapt. Would I be causing myself problems not running Q rings on all bikes?

PP

StillGoing

I found there was no need to adapt at all. Turning them on the work stand after fitting, my arm felt like it was playing catchup with the pedals during parts of the rotation, but actually riding the bike I haven't experienced any issues. The only problem I have is I prefer riding with the Q rings over round. Whether it's psychological or not I have no idea, but it's going to cost as I now want Q rings on both bikes.

bernithebiker

philthy3 wrote:

I found there was no need to adapt at all. Turning them on the work stand after fitting, my arm felt like it was playing catchup with the pedals during parts of the rotation, but actually riding the bike I haven't experienced any issues. The only problem I have is I prefer riding with the Q rings over round. Whether it's psychological or not I have no idea, but it's going to cost as I now want Q rings on both bikes.

Q rings here on DA9000 11 speed now, was on 10 speed DA7900 before. Works great.

What OCP position are people here using? I kicked off on the suggested 3 of 5, but found my quad muscles tired quicker than usual, so went down to 2 and that feels perfect.

StillGoing

I stuck them on the recommended setting and whilst the quads do get tired, I just persevered and am happy at the moment. I may try adjusting the setting as the year progresses just as an experiment.

pilot_pete

Thanks all,

Pulled the trigger yesterday on a Flow crank with aero rings in 53/39 at Royles in Wilmslow. Dropped the bike off at 3pm and they said probably ready for Saturday, yet today at lunchtime I got a call saying it was ready! Unbelievable service; 24hrs and that included them ordering the parts from Velotech. Can't speak highly enough of both companies.

So, they have fitted the rings at the 3 position and having read up on them it recommends a starting point of 4 for a TT bike, so I will have to get the Allen keys out and have a fiddle before I go for a test ride....

PP

StillGoing

How come you didn't fit them yourself? Anyhow, the 3 position is the average for something like 70+% of riders which is why they recommend starting in the 3 position. I'd try it first to avoid changing back if you aren't comfortable in position 4.

pilot_pete

I didn't fit them myself as I didn't have a tool to remove the Isis BB that the Zipp cranks were mounted on. I knew they would be a little tricky to get out as it was the original BB (bike dates from 2008) and the BB had never been removed before, the bike stood for over two years unused before I bought it and I thought the BB threads would probably need recutting and the frame facing.

Other than that the fitting would have been straightforward! Plus Royles gave me £50 off retail prices for the parts and did all the work for £30 which I thought was very reasonable and I got the bike back quicker than waiting for the parts and then fitting in my spare time...

The position 3 seems to be recommended starting position for a road bike, not a TT bike, which they recommend as 4. I must admit the documentation is not very clear on fitting the rings, but I think I have worked out the permutations...

PP

StillGoing

4 would seem logical. To try and put it in terms of feeling; 4 is as if lying forwards with the pedals being pushed behind and 2 is as if sitting back pushing the pedals forward. 3 is somewhere in between. Position 4 is 180' opposite of position 3 and both rings don't have to be on the same setting in case you weren't aware.

pilot_pete

Brilliant, cheers Philthy.

PP