> List of coaches in the U.S., Canada and other countries

“PowerCranks have come to my attention… and I see them … as a very good training aid… talked with Bjarne Riis … and he is very positive about the riders using your powercranks.” Scott Sunderland, ex pro road cyclist Sports Director for the "CSC Professional Cycling Team"
	“PowerCranks are a very valuable tool... Something that forces everyone, pro’s and amateurs alike, to be more efficient by forcing you to carry the weight of the up stroke leg and also maintain force through the entire range of motion...It’s something that nothing else forces you to do and it makes you do work that is without a doubt of benefit.” Dr. Max Testa, doctor for the, 7-Eleven, Motorola, Mapei & MG-Technogym cycling teams. Co-founder of the UC Davis Sports Performance Lab
"My clients have made great gains in efficiency using PowerCranks.  Their pedal stroke improves by 10% when assessed with the Computrainer.  I recommend them for cyclists and triathletes!" Curtis Cramblett, PT, CSCS Revolutions In Fitness Expert Level USA Cycling Coach

PowerCranks™ have gained a widespread acceptance in the cycling world, and are already in use by some of the top road and mountain bike professional cyclists. But dramatic improvements are not just limited to professional athletes, average cyclists have also experienced dramatic improvements.

PowerCranks™ are so different from anything previously available, there are still some people who doubt their revolutionary nature. But don't take our word for it, examine some of the reviews that have been written about PowerCranks™.

We have had a multitude of athletes from all spectrums of cycling improve their performance using PowerCranks™, here are some suggestions on how to get the maximal improvement for your cycling out of PowerCranks™

1. Specific Suggestions for Road Cyclists
2. Specific Suggestions for Track Cyclists
3. Specific Suggestions for Mountain Cyclists

For years many cyclists believed the way to to learn proper pedaling technique was isolated leg training. But, compared to PowerCranks™, this method pales in comparison. For instance, if you now ride 10 hours a week and spend 30 minutes of that week doing isolated leg drills to work on circular pedaling (15 minutes each side), with PowerCranks™ those 10 hours would still be there but now you would be doing 10 hours of isolated leg work (10 hours each side). Now, maybe you can understand why PowerCranks™ create such incredible improvements. For more on the mechanics of pedaling, and how PowerCranks™ improve pedaling, see "The Pedaling Problem"

I am a cyclist, talk to me about something real, speed and times!

The power required to move your bicycle at any particular speed is, generally, proportional to the cube of the speed. So, a 10% increase in power only increases speed about 3%. But, there are limits on how strong we can be and doing a lot of weight work does not help our aerobic performance. No wonder it is so hard to improve once you are well trained. But, there are two other ways to increase power. 1) Improve the pedaling efficiency (that is, change your technique to get a higher percentage of your effort to the wheel), or, 2) Increase the number of muscles used in the pedaling stroke (which allows for a better balancing of the effort, each muscle working at a lower percentage of the maximum but the overall whole being increased). PowerCranks™ does both of these. PowerCranks™ have been demonstrated to increase power to the wheel in a typical user by about 40% in about 6 months, although already elite users can expect somewhat smaller increases as their technique is starting at a higher level.

• Phil Holman of Seattle, a 50 year old track rider increased his top speed from 35 to 38 mph and his pursuit speed from 30 to 32 mph in only seven months . These calculate to be a 28% and 21% increase in power. At the end of this period Phil won a bronze medal at the 2000 World Masters Track Championships!
  
• Sam Whittingham, since starting training on PowerCranks™, has increased his own HPV World Land Speed record from 72 to over 81 MPH! Assuming no increase in aerodynamics this caluclates to a 41% increase in power. Sam has subsequently set the hour record, going over 51 miles in one hour.
• Ellen Van Vught set the womens HPV World Land Speed record of over 62 mph. This was faster than than men's record just 10 years earlier.
• Another user, in one year, increased his average speed for a 12 mile time trial he did in training once a month from 20 to 25 mph and, again, to over 27 mph in the second year and to 28 mph the third year. This calculates to a 170% increase in power over 3 years! We believe that it will be possible to, eventually – with a lot of hard work over 5 or 10 years, most people will be able to almost double the power obtainable now using conventional training techniques, through the combination of involving new muscle mass and improving pedaling efficiency.

1. Ride in a more open position in the beginning

At first, most users will find it very difficult to consistently raise the legs over top dead center of the pedaling arc, especially while in the fully crouched position. In fact, most will need to start out riding with a much more open hip angle (i.e., to be in an almost upright , "touring", position). Don't worry, after a few days you will be ready to try to assume a more aerodynamic position, and after several months you should be able to return to your present position, if you so choose. You may find it useful to raise your handlebars and slowly lower them as you adapt. A highly aerodynamic position will not increase your speed if it robs you of more power than you gain in aerodynamic benefit. Your best position will probably change as you develop your ability more fully.

2. Work on Endurance First

Road racing requires a combination of aerobic endurance and short periods of anaerobic acceleration and peak power. New PowerCrankers must first work on their aerobic endurance and learning a new movement pattern before worrying about acceleration. Therefore, the more time you spend riding with your PowerCranks™ the faster you will improve. This means, to see maximum benefits, one should do all bicycle riding on PowerCranks™ until 2 or 3 days before big races. This is psychologically very difficult for the serious cyclist because he/she will take a big hit in weekly mileage for awhile and they will be afraid of losing ground. However, this period of reduced mileage will not last very long and the very serious cyclist should be able to ride 50 - 100 miles after only a couple of weeks of dedicated use (although they won’t be pedaling the entire time and their speed may be reduced but they will be able to walk after the ride). The key to increasing distance is to pedal at low cadences rather than high cadences. This is because you have not developed the hip flexor endurance to perform the increased number of repetitions necessary for any given distance AND maintain the increased necessary acceleration of the pedals up the backstroke at higher cadences. This means you must ride in higher gears than you are used to until your muscles fully adapt. For those who are afraid of what this might mean to their fitness, we make cranks that will lock-up to regular cranks when your muscles fail, although we do not recommend them for optimal benefit. We, rather, recommend, biting the bullet and getting through this transition period as fast as possible.

Most new users report the cranks no longer feel strange to them in only about 2 to 3 weeks. However, do not expect any substantial overall power improvement for about 6 weeks. This has to do with the time it takes to see training effect in the new muscles you will be using. While some efficiency improvements will be seen at lower power outputs on short rides very early, the user must expect this process to take some time. Of course, improvement will continue to occur for many years. (How long have you been working on your quads?)

3. Push Big Gears

While it goes against the current common wisdom, you will find your speed improving much faster if you concentrate on pushing bigger gears (to keep the cadence down within those new muscle limits) while you develop the power and endurance to maintain increased cadences. As your power improves you will find your ability to accelerate will remain constant even though you are pushing somewhat bigger gears. With time you will develop the ability to ride long distances at increased cadences which will increase your speed even more as you will be in bigger gears.

4. Worry about cadence last

Once you have developed the ability to ride long distances easily in big gears, then you can start working on increasing efficiency at higher cadences for the periods of time when acceleration becomes an important part of the race. Soon you will be riding with the pack, using less energy than usual, being ready to use increased power reserves to match any acceleration efforts by others.

1. Ride in a more open position

Track riders assume some of the most aggressive, aerodynamic positions of all cyclists, but at first, most users will find it very difficult to consistently raise the legs over top dead center of the pedaling arc, especially while in the fully crouched position. In fact, most will need to start out riding with a much more open hip angle (i.e., to be in an almost upright , "touring", position). Don't worry, after a few days you will be ready to try to assume a more aerodynamic position, and after several months you should be able to return to your present position, if you so choose. You may find it useful to raise your handlebars and slowly lower them as you adapt. A highly aerodynamic position will not increase your speed if it robs you of more power than you gain in aerodynamic benefit. Your best position will probably change as you develop your ability more fully.

2. Work on endurance first

Depending on the event track cycling involves much more acceleration and top speed than 2 - 4 hour endurance. However, we recommend that track cyclists must first work on the endurance before worrying about acceleration. Therefore, the more time you spend riding with your PowerCranks™® the faster you will improve. This means, to see maximum benefits, one should do all bicycle riding on PowerCranks™® until one has enough endurance to ride reasonable distances, pedaling constantly and not having to think about the pedaling motion.

3. Work on being able to pedal out of the saddle early.

Make sure you learn how to pedal out of the saddle. Since maximum sustained acceleration is a most important part of your sport one should learn this skill as soon as possible even though you may never pedal out of the saddle in competition. The dramatic engagement of new muscles out of the saddle (something Powercrank users report) can substantially improve those moments on the track where a rider needs to accelerate from a standstill to their top speed in a huge gear.

Most new users report the cranks no longer feel strange to them in about 2 to 3 weeks. However, do not expect any substantial overall power improvement for about 6 weeks. This has to do with the time it takes to see training effect in the new muscles you will be using. While some efficiency improvements will be seen at lower power outputs on short rides very early, the user must expect this process to take some time. Of course, improvement will continue to occur for many years. (How long have you been working on your quads?)

4. Work on Cadence next

Once you have developed good endurance and good unconscious pedaling coordination, it is now time to work on increasing cadence and developing high cadence endurance. With time you will develop the ability to choose larger gears for races than you do now, without affecting your ability to accelerate but improving top end speed. Some track riders have worked on cadence first with good success. This is easiest if one has the adjustable length cranks, starting with very short cranks and increasing the length as the abilities improve.

1. Ride in a more open position

While aerodynamics is a smaller part of the mountain bike race because of the relatively slower speeds but still, mountain bikers who are having trouble adapting may benefit from this suggestion. At first, most users will find it very difficult to consistently raise the legs over top dead center of the pedaling arc, especially while in the fully crouched position. In fact, most will need to start out riding with a much more open hip angle (i.e., to be in an almost upright , "touring", position). Don't worry, after a few days you will be ready to try to assume a more aggressive, race oriented position, and after several months you should be able to return close to your present position, if you so choose. You may find it useful to raise your handlebars and slowly lower them as you adapt. An aggressive position will not increase your speed if it robs you of power you could be receiving from increased pedaling efficiency. Your best position will probably change as you develop your ability more fully.

2. Learn to pedal out of the saddle early on.

Mountain bikers tend to spend much more time out of the saddle than readies, due to the mountainous terrain and the need to avoid obstructions. Therefore, one should develop this PowerCranks™ skill as soon as possible such that endurance training better simulates races.

3. Work hard on Powercrank smoothness to improve technical riding

Smooth pedaling is essential to maintaining traction on steep, technical riding. In lab tests, several pro mountain bikers demonstrated even more pedaling efficiency than elite track riders who can spin at 220 rpm. This is because of the link between a smooth application of pedaling power and technical riding ability. There is nothing that is as effective in creating a smooth application of power to the wheel than PowerCranks™. Most riders are amazed how much it improves their ability to stay on the bike when the going gets vertical. It seems counterintuitive that something you do on the road or on the trainer would improve your technical riding ability, but that is exactly what adapting your legs to the PowerCranks™ motion can accomplish.

4. Work on endurance first, stay on the road

It would be very difficult to take your PowerCranks™ into extreme off-road conditions safely. In general, we recommend that mountain bikers do most of their PowerCranks™ training on a road bike (or their mountain bike on the road) while using regular cranks off-road. Don’t really worry about going off road until PowerCranks™ riding is very comfortable on the road and some reasonable endurance has developed. It would be best if one could start PowerCranks™ training in the off season as a road cyclist would, so substantial PowerCranks™ endurance can be developed before one needs to start off road training. During the season, one should try to ride on the PowerCranks™ immediately before off-road training rides and one should spend well over 50% of your riding time using PowerCranks™. Maintaining off-road racing skills while, at the same time, improving pedaling dynamics and efficiency will be a difficult balancing act and improvement may be slower than for other athletes, if you spend too much time off road.