Powercranks

I've used them. In fact, I got a "free" set to use for a year, and I got them mainly so that I could transition back into running after foot surgery. Or more properly, not lose as much run fitness.

Yes, they'll kick your a$$ handily. I never got to where I could just go an hour on them without needing a break. I'd have to stand up, give myself a short rest, and then keep going. I think the record for doing a century on them is two weeks after receiving them (by Tim-the-Nurse of the old TNO forum, and he rode almost exclusively on a fixie).

I did notice that it seemed I was putting a lot more pressure on the saddle. YMMV.

And one tip -- DON'T try to use them on a Softride.

I am a huge fan of PowerCranks and I am convinced the benefits are substantial. They helped my running also.

Perhaps the greatest endorsement is that I leant them to a buddy of mine who did 9 Tours de France and her kept them...  

gsmacleod - 2011-10-21 3:39 PM I would not suggest investing in a set of PowerCranks; beyond n=1 there is nothing to indicate that they work and every attempt to quantify improvements has been unable to do so. If you want to learn more about PowerCranks and the attempts to show gains, head over to SlowTwitch and search for Powercranks and/or Frank Day. Then settle in for the evening and enjoy Shane

I wish I still had the picture of the Cat yelling "POOOOWWWWEEEERRRRCRRRAAAANNNNKKKKSSSS!!!!!"

It's going to be pretty hard for any single person to quantify improvements due to PC in any convincing way.  When your study is N=1, there's no control.  That's why people are suggesting that the convincing evidence should be in the form of a proper study.  (I've got nothing against people saying "I think they helped me" -- that's great.  I just don't find it to constitute a reason to think that they'd help me.) 

Here is my opinion...I bought a pair of ebay for $500 bucks and tried, kept them for 3 years.   I used them sporadically and they were very challenging to master.   Over time  I learned to ride them on the trainer only in the winter.  It showed some weaknesses in my cycling stoke and revealed some major imbalances that I knew were there and I think it help make me stronger - but I can't point to actual increased speed improvement (a lot of this is my own fault, not training enough or consistently).   

PC are a tool in your tool box.   While I don't think they are a magic bullet to turn you into a great cyclist I do believe that if you use the tool and you ride more you will improve.   Really this is the same for any tool - a HR monitor, a computrainer, etc...they are tools, but at the end of the day you still have to do the work.

The beauty of most of these tools, you can try them, use them and then sell them...I sold my Powercranks on EBay for $380, so for three years I got to use them for $120, a say it was a good investment.

x10000000

Seriously. That's awful.

Read the entire year-long series of posts. He had about 5 years of power data before he got PCs. He used them for a year and got no improvement. Frank Day explained that was because James hadn't used them "exclusively" (James rode a regular crank for races and usually for his weekly hammerfest ride).

http://james-p-smith.blogspot.com/2009/08/powercranks-final-verdict.html