PowerCranks revisited. Making a good marathoner very good

Go back to Slowtwitch!

You are an idiot.

GTFO and take your snake oil with you. Thanks.

yes. please, please go away and leave dumb letsrunners to be morons. it would be awful to learn about another method to stay fit when too much running keeps leading to injury.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2003/reviews/PowerCranks

so all I need is a bike and then I can buy your pedal things for $1,200?

perhaps you should try posting on the joggersworld forum instead

if you're talking to me, i have not used the pedals and have no idea if they work well.

what i am telling you is that most of the posters here are slow morons who certainly don't have any idea how beneficial these cranks could be for someone who is injured too much to run consistently. maybe they would be great.

there is no reason to automatically insult this guy or his product unless you have some reason to believe the idea is crap. if so, state your reason.

of course, this is letsrun. so it's silly to expect much more than insults from a bunch of slow morons.

frankday wrote:

Awhile back I posted some information on my product, PowerCranks, as to how they can be useful to help runners in improving speed, form and reducing injury. What I was trying to say was pretty much met with disbelief. Anyhow, I now have an interview with a 2:45 marathoner (who is also a triathlete) who reports improving his PB to 2:34 in a short time on them and also feels, after 18 month on them) he is now 2:27 capable on the right course and right day, despite cutting his weekly mileage 30%. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNJgOJ1n644

I look forward to your comments and feedback.

A few DI schools use these when runners are injured or injury prone. Where I went to school the womens team used them all the time, and they were very good.

frankday wrote:

Awhile back I posted some information on my product, PowerCranks,...met with disbelief. Anyhow, I now have an interview with a 2:45 marathoner...who reports improving his PB to 2:34 in a short time on them and also feels, after 18 month on them) he is now 2:27...

Why don't you develop and carry out a study that would actually give us some good data to judge your product. Your trying to convince us with one interview?

Actually, I would love to see a study or two (or more) on running, not so much to see if we make people better, because by and large we do, especially in the "average" runner but more to look at the mechanism of the improvement. Unfortunately, most of the studies that have been done or are underway look mostly at the cycling aspect of the cranks.

So, while I don't have a study to "prove" their effectiveness this is what I do in that absence. I give a 90 day money-back guarantee. Most of our triathletes are reporting the running improvement starts in 2 weeks and I would guess that 80% of them have set a running PR within 3 months. So, if they don't work for you then not much is lost if you send them back within the 3 months.

And, I am not trying to convince anyone from one interview. What was unusual about this interview from our "average" customer is he is way above average for a marathoner let alone our average customer. Yet he still saw "huge" improvements in both speed and injury reduction by incorporating the product into his workouts.

Many runners think the reason these may work in triathletes is most of them are pretty awful runners. Not many would say that about this guy who now does a 33 min 10k and 2:34 marathon. If you want a second "testimonial" checkout the video by Aaron Thigpen talking about the PC's and running form. Aaron has been on the PC's for several years and is the current American holder of the 40-44 100 m record. He ran a 10.34 at the age of 38 4 months after starting on PC's because of injury.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD8REUBsj0M

I'm a runner and a cyclist and I will happily test a pair out if you want to give me (or loan me) a pair, without me having to worry about the 90 day period.

So, this guy says he started using powercranks in the beginning of 2007. Are you sure you wanna quote this guy?

http://triresults.com/triathlon_athlete.cfm?participant_id=111269

Looks to me like powercranks made him slower. LOL you may want to take that part out of your infomercial.

Have you got any actual evidence that riding a bike w/ very expensive cranks will help RUNNERS? More than just running more, that is.

I'm not going to say they do or don't work first of all. My tendency is to say that if a runner is stuck on a bike, they will probably help the runner stay in shape.

But...my guess is also that some of these people have probably been injured and proactively looking for a solution to stay healthy. When they purchase the PC's they were probably motivated enough to actually get on a bike and ride for cross training (considering they want to get their money's worth). Also, a lot of people get injured when they turn up the intensity getting closer to race/peak therefore coming when they come off the bike after some cross training they are ready to run fast after a few tune up workouts.

Most other people who are injured get frustrated and just don't run or give the bike a half effort.

All this is my opinion and a hunch. If you've got 1200 to spend...why not go for it with the money back guarantee???

The idea of the cranks is to develop co-ordinated, balanced pedalling action for cyclists. Many triathletes have reported improved running as well as improved cycling when using them. I think the improved running was not part of the original concept of the cranks but a by product of them.

The evidence is far from overwhelming but there certainly are plenty of positive anecdotal reports. For an elite or potentially elite runner who struggles to stay injury free they may be a worthwhile investment. Having an open mind and a preparedness to take on board new ideas is a factor that often seperates the stars from the also rans.

Just to clarify, no I don't have power cranks and as a 49yo recreational athlete I'm reluctant to spend that sort of money. But for those 30min guys or 34min girls out there it might be something that can help get you to the next level.

I've been using PowerCranks for three years, but I'm a fair weather cyclist, so I don't get a year around benefit. In my first year, I could tell a noticeable improvement. They really strengthen the hip flexors. After a couple of months, I placed 3rd in the USATF Masters Championships in the 800m in my age group. After three months, I won my age group in my first duathlon... no way I could have ridden that hard before the PowerCranks. Most of the guys who passed me on the bike leg were 20 years younger on $3,000 bikes, so I believe the PowerCranks made a big difference in that race.

I had some injuries that prevented me from cycling until recently and my times have really suffered this summer. I've resumed riding this month, so hopefully I'll see results by fall.

Anyway, I have a question. I have the basic PowerCrank model in 172.5mm on my old Bianchi, but I find them harder to spin at 90-100 cadence than the 165mm regular cranks on my other Road bike. I'm 5'5". Should I be using the 165mm PowerCranks instead? I recall that someone told me that as a runner, I should go with the longer cranks. What's your opinion?

If we were talking about a $100 product, I'd be more open to maybes and anectdotal reports. For $1000, show me some evidence! My "open mind" only goes so far..

BTW, how long have these special bike cranks been around? Are there any elites using them in place of regular training to any degree?

Thanks.

I think there is a substantial difference between running a stand alone marathon and a marathon immediately after swimming 2.4 miles then riding a bike 112 miles in who knows what weather conditions.

Whether standalone marathon or as part of a triathlon, results interest me more than testimonials. Actual evidence of benefit is best, obviously, but apparently that doesn't exist for your expensive product.

So I looked up his results and saw a decline in performance. But I suppose you will just tell us that weather conditions were best in 2006.

We believe cyclists should be using the same length cranks they race with but we believe runners will get more benefit from longer cranks as they stress the HF's more (for you that extra 1.5 cm they are making you lift your foot doesn't sound like much until you consider you are trying to do it 5-6000 times an hour).

So, I would stay with the longer cranks and start pushing yourself to ride them at your running cadence, or higher. As you get to that point the running improvements should start to become very substantial. If riding them at high cadences was easy they wouldn't have much effect on your running. As you develop the ability to ride them at high cadences "easily" the running improvements will be there.

nobody on slowtwitch even wants frankday there. this product is absurd. he talks about a 1:50 runner, who should now be able to easily run a 1:46 (from using powercranks). and then the race where he is suppose to do this "easy" 1:46, he runs a 2:02!!!!