Win, win, win…We give you the chance to go faster! When people spend money on training aids they usually expect lighter, faster or more instant bling.  We have found a training aid that will make your bike heavier, you will ride slower (at first) but they do come in gold.

So why should you try PowerCranks? (REGISTER HERE TO WIN)

They come in every color as long as it's gold

What are they?

Despite the name, PowerCranks do not measure power and do not require batteries. PowerCranks are designed to fix a simple problem – the fact that most cyclists only apply power to the pedals during the down stroke, when the crank arm is between 2 and 5 o'clock. In fact, many cyclists go one step worse, and actually weight the pedal when the arm is between 7 and ten o'clock, forcing the other leg to lift the foot. They quite literally use one leg to make the other leg work harder.

An extra lite model fitted with a SRM Powermeter

To imagine how they work simply do one legged riding, now imagine this at the same time on both legs. With 'normal', fixed (that is, dependent) cranks, when you press one pedal down, the other pedal is brought up. That doesn't happen with PowerCranks: unless you actively pull the pedal back up and round, your foot will remain at the bottom of the stroke - there's no help from the other crank.

Each crank drives the chain but not the other crank with each leg working independently from the other. This is achieved by a unique clutch mechanism in each crank arm, and means that you use more muscles to make the rotation, and the weak spots in your pedal stroke are 'trained out', resulting in a stronger, more balanced and efficient cyclist.

See the diagram below for normal force application on the pedals.

The differences in force between regular and PowerCranks

The advantages of pedalling using this “full circle” pedalling technique?

1. It uses more muscle mass, increasing peak power potential.
2. It distributes the work around more of the pedal circle which means using more muscles, allowing any one muscle to be further away from its lactic threshold for any given power.
3. These changes together have the potential to greatly improve pedaling efficiency, VO2max and sustainable power.

See the diagrams on the right comparing actual pedaling forces changes seen in a single rider between regular cranks and PowerCranks. With these changes this rider is actually “pushing” less hard to generate the same power despite the fact he is riding at a lower cadence.

Who uses them . . .

A number of Pro riders train on PowerCranks and some triathletes are so use to them they have completed the Hawaii Ironman.  They have also gained strong following with runners and sprinters due to the raining of the hip flexors and can be found in hospitals and medical centres to help recovering patients with co-ordination and rehabilitation.

Remember when accelerating or climbing at low cadence, you should be pulling up on the pedal. Especially in mountain bike races, the ability to generate power through the backstroke is critical, part of why pro MTB racers test out as having the roundest pedal strokes.

My experience …

Like most people who have tried PowerCranks I was very sceptical if they would make any difference as other riders had told me I had a smooth pedal stroke.  The first ride lasted only 10 minutes until my hips had declared that they no longer whished to be associated with the rest of my body as they screamed in pain.   Dedication and not having another bike to train on saw me return to these little torture devices until six months later I was riding 3 hours on them.  There are sceptics who doubt if all this helps but I know they work for me and to quote Tour de France winner Greg LeMond:

"if I had used these when I was racing I would have won a lot more time trials in my career."

Fitted and ready to go, thsi could be your bike (Courtesy PEZCyclingNews)

And now it’s your turn…

We are offering one reader the chance to experience the joy of PowerCranks.  Our aim is to get the Cranks out on Asian roads and see how they perform, and if they do make a difference to an established road cyclist.

There are however some conditions:

- You must be a regular cyclist (i.e. training on your bike 3 or more times per week)
- You must be willing to write regular updates for 6 months
- You must be willingly to publish your power data on a monthly basis
- Write a full review at the end of 6 months

We will fit the cranks to your bike and offer training advice but you must have the tenacity to suffer through the initial sessions.  PowerCranks do not offer short term gains so you must be willing to work hard.

If you want to turn heads with a great new training aid at the next group ride then This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and tell us why you should be our winner.  Be quick entries close on 10th June 2010

Next week we talk with the inventor of PowerCranks and the Pro riders who use them. (YOU CAN ALSO REGISTER HERE TO WIN)

More information – www.powercranks.com

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