Retul Fit = New Bike Build = Q(ring)uandary…..
Discussion
So, had a Retul fit this week and it has to be the best value spend on cycling ever.
The results confirmed I have the body shape of an orangutan, and peddle like a dressage house. The list of mods to bike and technique were astounding, including - discovering that despite barely touching 5ft 7, and riding a 53cm frame, I needed to increase seat height 5cm! (touching the ground seated is now a struggle), new cranks (165s), bar width down 2 sizes etc etc.
Anyway, the purpose of the fit was to pick a new bike build (the shop's 1 only Ltd edition Venge I wanted is too small, grrr). Although I have another appointment to discuss build(s) next week, we started a tentative chat and I wanted to get some PH opinions / experiences (as took advice from here on wheels) if anyone is using Rotor cranks and Q Rings.
Anyone using these? Any horror stories?
I'll probably be mating them to the new 11 speed Dura ace, derailleurs etc etc (I'm comfortable with my current Ultegra set-up and don't want a difference in shifting methods). It's a Sunday best bike (my current BMC is / will be the winter beater), will be used for a bit of race training / point to point timed rides I set myself. Max distance will probably be the odd 100k sportive (my normal weekend rides are 30-50milers).
(and yes I realise that I don't really need this set-up, it's about a million % more bike than I need etc etc; but I want it)…
The results confirmed I have the body shape of an orangutan, and peddle like a dressage house. The list of mods to bike and technique were astounding, including - discovering that despite barely touching 5ft 7, and riding a 53cm frame, I needed to increase seat height 5cm! (touching the ground seated is now a struggle), new cranks (165s), bar width down 2 sizes etc etc.
Anyway, the purpose of the fit was to pick a new bike build (the shop's 1 only Ltd edition Venge I wanted is too small, grrr). Although I have another appointment to discuss build(s) next week, we started a tentative chat and I wanted to get some PH opinions / experiences (as took advice from here on wheels) if anyone is using Rotor cranks and Q Rings.
Anyone using these? Any horror stories?
I'll probably be mating them to the new 11 speed Dura ace, derailleurs etc etc (I'm comfortable with my current Ultegra set-up and don't want a difference in shifting methods). It's a Sunday best bike (my current BMC is / will be the winter beater), will be used for a bit of race training / point to point timed rides I set myself. Max distance will probably be the odd 100k sportive (my normal weekend rides are 30-50milers).
(and yes I realise that I don't really need this set-up, it's about a million % more bike than I need etc etc; but I want it)…
stongle said:
So, had a Retul fit this week and it has to be the best value spend on cycling ever.
The results confirmed I have the body shape of an orangutan, and peddle like a dressage house. The list of mods to bike and technique were astounding, including - discovering that despite barely touching 5ft 7, and riding a 53cm frame, I needed to increase seat height 5cm! (touching the ground seated is now a struggle)
the bit about touching the floor seated is quite interesting. I would assume that when the leg is fully stretched and the pedal is at the bottom, your foot is about 5-8 cm from the floor. Surely if you can touch the floor whilst seated, you wont be getting the most from the stroke? I plan to have a fitting in Jan/Feb so will be interested in the results...The results confirmed I have the body shape of an orangutan, and peddle like a dressage house. The list of mods to bike and technique were astounding, including - discovering that despite barely touching 5ft 7, and riding a 53cm frame, I needed to increase seat height 5cm! (touching the ground seated is now a struggle)
cant help with Rotor stuff!
pablo said:
Surely if you can touch the floor whilst seated, you wont be getting the most from the stroke?
I think you're probably bang on. But it's disconcerting when you're not used to it / and commute in London. Just something new to learn!It's well worth doing though, and at most places you get the cost back if you spend on new shiny stuff.........
I'm 5"7 and never remember ever being able to touch the floor with my feet , whilst on the saddle! I commute 15 miles each way through city start stop and never really find it a hindrance, so I wouldn't worry about it mate
I currently have a Medium Wilier which is bit too big (54.5), hopefully the shorter stem I just ordered will help
I currently have a Medium Wilier which is bit too big (54.5), hopefully the shorter stem I just ordered will help
stongle said:
I needed to increase seat height 5cm!
5cm? You didn't need a Retul for that, surely someone could have pointed that out to you.
You are lucky you didn't screw up your knees with you're saddle that low.
With regard to the q-rings: If you couldn't tell that your saddle was way too low I doubt you will notice the improved efficiency of pedal stroke because of the oval rings, the difference will be marginal.
The jury is still out on whether they improve power output.
Sounds like you are building a nice bike. Best of luck with it!
Haven’t got actual first-hand experience of Q’rings, although they do intrigue me and I have been contemplating them for a while myself.
A couple of the chaps in the club I ride with have these and swear by them. They don’t claim that they make them any quicker, but both have said that they appear to reduce fatigue over a long ride. The issue with them dropping off the ring, when shifting at the front doesn’t seem to have afflicted them either, but there are enough comments elsewhere to suggest that this can be an issue. Therefore it’s probably best not to be too ham fisted with the shifts!
If you are going that route, then from a purely aesthetic point of view the Rotor cranks are a good shout - have yet to see them look right when installed on any other manufacturers crank sets. One of the chaps has them on a Dura ace crank set, and frankly they look a bit odd.
A couple of the chaps in the club I ride with have these and swear by them. They don’t claim that they make them any quicker, but both have said that they appear to reduce fatigue over a long ride. The issue with them dropping off the ring, when shifting at the front doesn’t seem to have afflicted them either, but there are enough comments elsewhere to suggest that this can be an issue. Therefore it’s probably best not to be too ham fisted with the shifts!
If you are going that route, then from a purely aesthetic point of view the Rotor cranks are a good shout - have yet to see them look right when installed on any other manufacturers crank sets. One of the chaps has them on a Dura ace crank set, and frankly they look a bit odd.
The issue I've had is being so prone to injuries in the past through running, I'm not sure what sensations I should be feeling. After the retul, it was obvious that seat height was screwing up my pedal stroke and my current cranks are too long.
I think I may not notice a significant benefit on the q rings alone, but with dropping crank length I hope to even out potential power loss there (or so goes my man logic anyway).
I plan to run a chain catcher just in case of the known issue, but was curious if any users found other quirks. I heard out of saddle climbing might feel weird, but I guess normal peddle stoke will feel weird for a while.
After the retul it's difficult to even think about buying a bike of the shelf again. With every contact point needing adjustment, this will be an interesting build. Hopefully will update further.
I think I may not notice a significant benefit on the q rings alone, but with dropping crank length I hope to even out potential power loss there (or so goes my man logic anyway).
I plan to run a chain catcher just in case of the known issue, but was curious if any users found other quirks. I heard out of saddle climbing might feel weird, but I guess normal peddle stoke will feel weird for a while.
After the retul it's difficult to even think about buying a bike of the shelf again. With every contact point needing adjustment, this will be an interesting build. Hopefully will update further.
I've had Q Rings for the last two years. I like 'em. They took about a month to get used to - some odd aches that appeared initially then faded. I'd agree that they fatigue you less on long rides.
Indexing the FD is tricky, but once done properly there is no need for a chain catcher. The secret is to get the FD bolted into place as close (vertically) as you dare to the largest part of the big ring. Once you've done that, it's plain sailing.
Indexing the FD is tricky, but once done properly there is no need for a chain catcher. The secret is to get the FD bolted into place as close (vertically) as you dare to the largest part of the big ring. Once you've done that, it's plain sailing.
Coming from Denmark, a country of cyclists almost on par with Holland, I have noticed that cycling seems very new to the UK. Almost everybody seems to look hugely uncomfortable on a bike and ride with their saddles so low they look like little kiddies on toybikes.
I guess the Retul was an eye opener, but this is also a system that sets you up for for maximum efficiency, so no wonder you have been shocked by the differences required.
Also, are you sure the Venge is too small?? if you ride a little 53cm then it makes me curious what size the shop have bought in. surely they would have gotten a size in that most average people can ride, so unless they wanted to to sell to a women, then it must be really small or the shop simply took whatever the Spesh rep had left..
Dont worry about reaching the ground, worry more about bar height as it is annoying having a backpack hitting your head and not seeing traffic if you have too aggresive and low handlebar height
I guess the Retul was an eye opener, but this is also a system that sets you up for for maximum efficiency, so no wonder you have been shocked by the differences required.
Also, are you sure the Venge is too small?? if you ride a little 53cm then it makes me curious what size the shop have bought in. surely they would have gotten a size in that most average people can ride, so unless they wanted to to sell to a women, then it must be really small or the shop simply took whatever the Spesh rep had left..
Dont worry about reaching the ground, worry more about bar height as it is annoying having a backpack hitting your head and not seeing traffic if you have too aggresive and low handlebar height
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Re Q-Rings 
OKGO!
Yeh I have them on my powermeter cranks, they seem fine; i could notice a little difference in the early days as my OKGO!Commuter has normal rings. But now I don't notice anything different.
I might switch to the next most aggressive setting, or try some of the osymentrics that wiggins rides.
okgo said:
Yeh I have them on my powermeter cranks, they seem fine; i could notice a little difference in the early days as my
Commuter has normal rings. But now I don't notice anything different.
I might switch to the next most aggressive setting, or try some of the osymentrics that wiggins rides.
What PM are you running? I've got a Quarq, which requires the OCP3 variant of the Rotors and so leaves me with only one setting - 3. Commuter has normal rings. But now I don't notice anything different.
I might switch to the next most aggressive setting, or try some of the osymentrics that wiggins rides.
okgo said:
Same as you.
Didn't know that, sounds like I won't be changing them then
I dunno - you may be able to. I bought the Quarq Saturn as soon as it was available with Q Rings. That was before SRAM bought Quarq, so it may be that the later models are not restricted to the OCP3 rings. Didn't know that, sounds like I won't be changing them then
What I do know is that with mine I'm supposed to have it recalibrated if I fiddle with the spider bolts. Quarq had no Q Rings in stock when I bought, and when I suggested that they send me the PM and I mount the Q Rings, I was told nocando. So I had to send the Qs to them and they built the whole unit.
Well worth dropping them an email about yours though, I'd've thought. The guys in Spearfish are incredibly committed and helpful.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 3rd November 17:10
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