One of the best women's road, cyclo-cross and mountain bike cyclists, Marianne rode her Q-Rings to victory in the 2006 UCI World Road and Cyclo-Cross Championships.

Team Maxxis Cyclocross team on Q-rings. Geoff Kabush's new Van Dessel cyclo-cross bike.
(Photo: Courtesy Rob Jones, Canadian Cyclist)

Q-Rings offer some of the benefits of Rotor Cranks while enabling cyclists to use their current cranks. Q-Rings also offer a somewhat comparable solution to the inefficiency of the dead-spot, at a lower cost and reduced weight, over the Rotor System Cranks.

Q-Rings are unlike the asymmetric Bio-Pace and O.SYMETRIC chainrings inasmuch as Q’s are symmetrical.

Q-Rings are conceived and designed incorporating all the bio-mechanical knowledge and experience achieved by ROTOR CRANKS during recent years. The concept behind Q-Rings enables you to push an effective bigger gear while in the power down stroke when your leg muscles are able to apply more power and an effective smaller gear while in the dead-spots; while producing a smooth pedaling motion.  Riders report that “it is like dancing up the hill.”

The ROTOR patented OCP System (Optimum Chainring Position) enables you to customize the position of the  Q-Rings where they best suit your personal needs and desires.

Q-chainrings can be installed on most conventional cranks. They are available for most Road (130 & 135 BCD), MTB (104/64 BCD) and Compact (110 BCD) cranks.

How does Q work?

Q-Rings reduce dead-spot negative effects due to its effective variable gear oval concept.  The effective gear is lower at the dead-spot zone, so it is easier, faster and more comfortable (smoother) to pass through it. Once the pedal is over the dead-spot and enters the down stroke, the Q-Rings progressively increase the effective tooth size as more muscle strength is available.

As shown in this illustration, a 53T Q-Ring at the dead-spots is equivalent to a 51T, so it is easier to move through the dead-spot.  But as the pedal goes down and more strength is available you can see how the gear (effective tooth size) gets bigger: reaching the equivalent chainring tooth size of 56T during the power phase.

What’s different between Q-rings and previous non circular chainrings?

The most often asked question about Q-Rings is “how are these different from the Shimano Bio-Pace and other brands of non-circular chainrings?”  The short and simple but not so obvious answers are:

• The Q-Rings are elliptical; the Bio-pace and O.SYMETRIC chainrings are asymmetrical.  The specific elliptical shape of the Q’s provide a very smooth uniform pedaling stroke; there is no sudden acceleration movement.

• The Bio-Pace chainrings are designed so the maximum equivalent tooth size is at the dead-spots.  The Q’s have the minimum equivalent tooth size at the dead-spots.  This enables you to pass through the dead-spots quicker with less stress to your knees.

• The Q-Rings take into consideration the forces from your legs in static conditions and the inertias of the cyclist and the bicycle.  This maximizes the efficiency and comfort of conventional cranks.

• The ROTOR patented OCP system enables you to customize the position of the Q-Rings to suit your individual riding habits, body geometry, strength and position on the bike.

Ed Pavelka Review in RoadBikeRider.com, "My left knee hasn't felt as good in several years as it has in the last 700 miles on Q-Rings."

Q-Rings performance study by Liberty Team's doctor Alfredo Cordova shows a 5% power gain with 9% lower lactate.