Rotor Q rings vs QXL

MikeBrew

I've been running Q rings for a few months now and am very impressed with them. I'm now thinking of investing of a set of the more oval QXL rings, and interested to hear the experiences of anyone who has tried them, especially anyone who has also used Q's. I have read that QXL's work better for riders whose cadence is up over 80rpm, whereas the Q's work better below that.
I have noticed that my cadence has dropped to just over an 80rpm ride average since switching to non-round rings. On round rings it was typically high 80's to low 90's rpm. Thanks in advance for any experiences/info....

StillGoing

MikeBrew wrote:

I've been running Q rings for a few months now and am very impressed with them. I'm now thinking of investing of a set of the more oval QXL rings, and interested to hear the experiences of anyone who has tried them, especially anyone who has also used Q's. I have read that QXL's work better for riders whose cadence is up over 80rpm, whereas the Q's work better below that.
I have noticed that my cadence has dropped to just over an 80rpm ride average since switching to non-round rings. On round rings it was typically high 80's to low 90's rpm. Thanks in advance for any experiences/info....

Average cadence doesn't necessarily mean anything unless the ride is completely flat for it to be a true reflection of what you normally have a cadence at. How often do you coast coming to junctions or descending, or have a lower cadence going uphill for instance.

MikeBrew

I don't think that you thought that reply through at all. You appear to be confusing average power with average cadence.

stueys

The reply made sense to me, most people's cadence will drop on climbs. If a ride is lumpy then your cadence will fall. Personally my average cadence sits at 105 on s trainer, around 88-94 outside and will drop to low 80's on a hill repeat ride.

Re the rings, I ride q-rings and like them. I find my cadence is slightly higher on them, they have a more natural spin feel that tends to lift my avg up. Rotor have a nifty table somewhere on their web site that shows the differences between qxl and q rings, from memory more explosive riders should to qxl and more sustained efforts (climbing, etc) q-rings but I could have recalled that incorrectly. Google it and check it out, there is also a good cycling tips article where they reviewed the two.

stueys

The reply made sense to me, most people's cadence will drop on climbs. If a ride is lumpy then your cadence will fall. Personally my average cadence sits at 105 on s trainer, around 88-94 outside and will drop to low 80's on a hill repeat ride.

Re the rings, I ride q-rings and like them. I find my cadence is slightly higher on them, they have a more natural spin feel that tends to lift my avg up. Rotor have a nifty table somewhere on their web site that shows the differences between qxl and q rings, from memory more explosive riders should to qxl and more sustained efforts (climbing, etc) q-rings but I could have recalled that incorrectly. Google it and check it out, there is also a good cycling tips article where they reviewed the two.

stueys

The reply made sense to me, most people's cadence will drop on climbs. If a ride is lumpy then your cadence will fall. Personally my average cadence sits at 105 on s trainer, around 88-94 outside and will drop to low 80's on a hill repeat ride.

Re the rings, I ride q-rings and like them. I find my cadence is slightly higher on them, they have a more natural spin feel that tends to lift my avg up. Rotor have a nifty table somewhere on their web site that shows the differences between qxl and q rings, from memory more explosive riders should to qxl and more sustained efforts (climbing, etc) q-rings but I could have recalled that incorrectly. Google it and check it out, there is also a good cycling tips article where they reviewed the two.

MikeBrew

In the original post, when I say that my cadence has dropped I believe that most readers might reasonably infer that I am comparing ave cad' of like-for-like rides/routes. As said already, it has dropped from high 80's early 90's to just over 80 since fitting the Q rings. Mainly I was after some feedback from actual QXL users though, rather that the astounding insight that cadence is likely to drop on hills. Next someone will be informing me that night follows day. :roll:

timothyw

The only oval rings I've ever used are Biopace, however if you are shopping it might be worth looking at the Doval rings on eBay which are a fraction of the price and come in a range of options and degrees of ovality.

StillGoing

MikeBrew wrote:

In the original post, when I say that my cadence has dropped I believe that most readers might reasonably infer that I am comparing ave cad' of like-for-like rides/routes. As said already, it has dropped from high 80's early 90's to just over 80 since fitting the Q rings. Mainly I was after some feedback from actual QXL users though, rather that the astounding insight that cadence is likely to drop on hills. Next someone will be informing me that night follows day. :roll:

Touchy aren't we? I'll take note to simply ignore you in future. :roll:

MikeBrew

That would be just grand !