# Biopace back after 17 years?



## High Gear (Mar 9, 2002)

I was watching the Rafael Valls at the end of stage 7 on his Fuji cranking up the last of the climbs. I noticed he was using elliptical chainrings. I remember the riders back then not liking them due to the fact that they did not allow for a fluid spin. I can see them coming in handy on a mountain stage. Who is making them again? Will they last longer than the under shirts and Breathright strips that pro riders flocked to in the near past?


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## muscleendurance (Jan 11, 2009)

they like anything are good and work well in the right hands, its hard to argue with how well and why they work.
No doubt there will ne someone to fill that void soon enough :wink5:


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## smartyiak (Sep 28, 2005)

*Rotor Cranks*

I'v wondered about Rotor Cranks and similar systems.

My question: do the same elliptical rings work (assuming they do work) for all riders OR does each rider have to have his own set made? Does one guys optimum shape work (because of human physiology or some similar human trait) OR is every person different? If you wanted to use elliptical chain-rings, you just buy stock OR do you (optimally) have to get custom one offs?

I hope my question makes sense as it's the best I can explain i.

-Smarty


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## muscleendurance (Jan 11, 2009)

the way they work is they have less teeth at the two dead spots of the chainring, so that when your are at those dead spots you are effectively using a smaller chainring for that portion of the pedal cycle and so making it easier to keep up the same power output when you pedal on the majority of the chainring [where there are no dead spots] 

I havce never actually used them Ive just heard them explained like this and it makes perfect sense IF THATS what your into, they work in theory just not enough for me to make it worth it, but if your the kind of guy who gets 'stiffer' crankis because they are 'stiffer' and deliver more 'power' then these are right up your street

I would say the reason they 'failed' 17 years ago is that the tech at the time wasnt sufficiently smooth to allow smooth shifting, but the tech nowadays is much better than then probably to cope better and make it more valid solution now.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

smartyiak said:


> do the same elliptical rings work (assuming they do work) for all riders OR does each rider have to have his own set made?


Both Rotor-Q and O.Symetric (the two major players right now) non-round chainrings can be oriented at different angles to the crank, allowing riders to set their prefered position after a trial-and-error period.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

muscleendurance said:


> ...
> I would say the reason they 'failed' 17 years ago is that the tech at the time wasnt sufficiently smooth to allow smooth shifting, but the tech nowadays is much better than then probably to cope better and make it more valid solution now.


no, the shifting is still a weak point.

also the design is different. it's true that both bio-pace and rotor are "non-round" but the shape is significantly different.


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

They are pretty darn heavy. They have an adjustment that you have to make to fit your pedal stroke. You rotate the chainrings to the position you want the eliptical shape to allign with your crank on the drive side..

Sort of a "refined" more custom version of the old bio pace cranks. I had bio pace on my first mtb back in the early 90s..... I liked them and always thought they had potential.

The whole Cervelo team is supposed to be using them..


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

i think biopace and the new-breed non-round chainrings are set up the opposite way. i think biopace was set up to have more teeth at the dead spot. i could be completely off though.

i have a set of biopace somewhere in teh basement...


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## Comer (Jan 13, 2009)

I thought bio-pace was from the eighties?! I don't remember it coming on any of my bikes in the nineties. I used it for awhile, but honestly it was so long ago I don't remember the benefits or lack there of.


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## Andrew1 (May 27, 2009)

I have rotor rings. They're a much less elliptical ring but it's enough that people you ride with will notice and ask question. Shifting isn't a problem as long as everything's set up properly. I don't think they actually do anything though.


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## High Gear (Mar 9, 2002)

Comer said:


> I thought bio-pace was from the eighties?! I don't remember it coming on any of my bikes in the nineties. I used it for awhile, but honestly it was so long ago I don't remember the benefits or lack there of.


Yes, they were first made in the early 80's and last produced in '93.


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## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

Andrew1 said:


> I have rotor rings. They're a much less elliptical ring but it's enough that people you ride with will notice and ask question. Shifting isn't a problem as long as everything's set up properly. I don't think they actually do anything though.


They don't feel any different?
One of the bike magazines (Bicycling mebbe?) just had an article on them and were saying some Swiss (?) lab reported a slight increase in watts. They talked to Sastre, who won the TdF with Rotor Rings, and he said it took a little bit to get used to.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

RRRoubaix said:


> They don't feel any different?
> One of the bike magazines (Bicycling mebbe?) just had an article on them and were saying some Swiss (?) lab reported a slight increase in watts. They talked to Sastre, who won the TdF with Rotor Rings, and he said it took a little bit to get used to.


spanish lab, and the authors did not provide any significant result which is why it was not published.
/edit statistically significant.


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## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

den bakker said:


> spanish lab, and the authors did not provide any significant result which is why it was not published.
> /edit statistically significant.


Ah. Of course.
Well, surely they're impartial and non-biased... just like their, um, never mind (don't want to get moved to the Doping forum).
Are Rotor Rings made in Spain?


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

RRRoubaix said:


> Ah. Of course.
> Well, surely they're impartial and non-biased... just like their, um, never mind (don't want to get moved to the Doping forum).
> Are Rotor Rings made in Spain?


You serious?


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## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

No, just joking.


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## Andrew1 (May 27, 2009)

RRRoubaix said:


> They don't feel any different?
> One of the bike magazines (Bicycling mebbe?) just had an article on them and were saying some Swiss (?) lab reported a slight increase in watts. They talked to Sastre, who won the TdF with Rotor Rings, and he said it took a little bit to get used to.


They do feel different, but not extremely so. They neither hurt nor help performance, IMO.


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