Poor man's Powercranks? (PPC)

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That would be one, not a few. How about some more.

Out of these simple training tools rank them in order of preference.
A single product (Power meter, wheels, your product, food, etc.)
A library (any and all books and the ability to fully utilize any recomendations from the books)
A coach (the ability to fully utilize all recomendations provided from the coach)Depends upon the specific needs of the athlete. In most instances the most important "tool" an athlete can use is a commitment to put in the time and hard work to get a good athletic base. Until then, all this other stuff (including PowerCranks), is pretty much a waste of time if one is trying to reach the highest level. If one has a good athletic base and is a cyclist or triathlete I would put PC's as #1 on the cost effectiveness scale for further improvement.

I would have thought a PM would be the next on the list after a well planned training program combined with personal desire :confused:

Depends upon the specific needs of the athlete. In most instances the most important "tool" an athlete can use is a commitment to put in the time and hard work to get a good athletic base. Until then, all this other stuff (including PowerCranks), is pretty much a waste of time if one is trying to reach the highest level.I forgot who I was dealing with, sorry. I was taking it as a given the athlete wanted to improve and would put forth the effort to do so.

If one has a good athletic base and is a cyclist or triathlete I would put PC's as #1 on the cost effectiveness scale for further improvement.Figures. Library free, at least in the US with the public library system.
Coach, access to extensive library and tools, instant feed back, stratagies, diets reccomendations, etc...

A product, wothless unless applied correctly and no feed back from it.

After a year or so there is no more room for improvement from your product. As for a coach - unlimeted. There is a lot of coaching that can be had for $1,500US

I would have thought a PM would be the next on the list after a well planned training program combined with personal desire :confused:Lots of top athletes ride and train without a power meter. Including I know for sure, Xterra World Champion Conrad Stoltz and Multiple Ironman World Champion, Natasha Baddman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD1homja40U (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD1homja40U)

A PM only tells you where you are at. It can be useful but certainly is not necessary to achieve big improvements.

A PM only tells you where you are at. It can be useful but certainly is not necessary to achieve big improvements.
I think for me a PM will be my next step.
I want to know for sure where I am at rather than go by perception like I am currently doing.

I come from 25 year background in training with weights. It was nice to know when I picked up a weight from the rack that it had a number on it so I knew if I were training 70, 80 or 90% of my maximum. I would kind of like to know these type of things when cycling. Maybe I am poor at reading, but it seem like a number of folks on this forum have made drastic changes while training with a PM.

Depends upon the specific needs of the athlete. In most instances the most important "tool" an athlete can use is a commitment to put in the time and hard work to get a good athletic base. Until then, all this other stuff (including PowerCranks), is pretty much a waste of time if one is trying to reach the highest level. If one has a good athletic base and is a cyclist or triathlete I would put PC's as #1 on the cost effectiveness scale for further improvement.



Frank, for a beginner, what is the most difficult area of the Powercrank pedalling circle ?

Frank, for a beginner, what is the most difficult area of the Powercrank pedalling circle ?Other than the endurance in the new muscles we make most use for probably about 95% of new users there are two areas that cause them difficulty with the coordination aspect.

The first is almost everyone finds themselves hesitating somewhere between 6 and 9 o'clock waiting for the leg to be "helped" up. So, the crank will stop moving somewhere on the backstroke.

The second is people have trouble coming over the top by either anticipating the downstroke before they are over the top or just having almost zero endurance for this and soon just can't lift their leg that high.

Other than the endurance in the new muscles we make most use for probably about 95% of new users there are two areas that cause them difficulty with the coordination aspect.

The first is almost everyone finds themselves hesitating somewhere between 6 and 9 o'clock waiting for the leg to be "helped" up. So, the crank will stop moving somewhere on the backstroke.

The second is people have trouble coming over the top by either anticipating the downstroke before they are over the top or just having almost zero endurance for this and soon just can't lift their leg that high.


I was expecting the upper 9 to 1 o'c sector to be the most difficult. As for that too early anticipation in this area, this proves the body can be ready willing and able for an earlier start to the main power stroke, only problem is the brain does not have the vital information of what muscles to use and how to use them. Instead the circular or PC technique fights this idea and forces the hip flexors etc to waste time and energy lifting the leg up and over the upper dead spot when it could be well into the main power pedal stroke through 12 o'c by then. For that lower 5 to 9 o'c area, drawing back the shoe from 5 will automatically raise the knee, little extra effort is all that's needed for that clearance or unweighting effect between 6 and 9. From 9 upwards that anticipation and preparation for earlier application of power at 11 removes the disadvantages of not unweighting in this most difficult area. Those are the main differences in the objectives of circular v linear pedaling. But having said that, there is a suitable time and place for all three techniques, circular, linear and the mashing/stomping method.

I was expecting the upper 9 to 1 o'c sector to be the most difficult. As for that too early anticipation in this area, this proves the body can be ready willing and able for an earlier start to the main power stroke, only problem is the brain does not have the vital information of what muscles to use and how to use them. Instead the circular or PC technique fights this idea and forces the hip flexors etc to waste time and energy lifting the leg up and over the upper dead spot when it could be well into the main power pedal stroke through 12 o'c by then. For that lower 5 to 9 o'c area, drawing back the shoe from 5 will automatically raise the knee, little extra effort is all that's needed for that clearance or unweighting effect between 6 and 9. From 9 upwards that anticipation and preparation for earlier application of power at 11 removes the disadvantages of not unweighting in this most difficult area. Those are the main differences in the objectives of circular v linear pedaling. But having said that, there is a suitable time and place for all three techniques, circular, linear and the mashing/stomping method.I personally don't have a clue what you are talking about when you talk about linear pedaling (and I suspect I am not alone here). Further, I don't think you have much of a clue as to what PC's do or what they "force" the rider to do. Can you show us what you believe a pedaling force diagram would look like for someone pedaling the optimum "linear" style? I can certainly show you what I think is an "optimum" "circular pedaling style" pedal force diagram

Can someone explain to me why the "poor man's powercrank" wouldn't just be one-leg pedaling exercises?

Can someone explain to me why the "poor man's powercrank" wouldn't just be one-leg pedaling exercises?One-legged pedaling has two drawbacks that make them relatively ineffective at really changing pedaling style.

First, few do them for more than a few minutes at a time and only a few minutes a week, maybe 1% of their training time. How is it beneficial to train one group of muscles you would like to use only about 1% compared to the other muscles you will be using?

Second, one-legged pedaling doesn't train the two legged coordination.

PC's make the entire ride a one-legged pedaling exercise for both legs at the same time so you are training all of the muscles equally in both time and intensity and you are training the two legged coordination. There is no substitute.

I personally don't have a clue what you are talking about when you talk about linear pedaling (and I suspect I am not alone here). Further, I don't think you have much of a clue as to what PC's do or what they "force" the rider to do. Can you show us what you believe a pedaling force diagram would look like for someone pedaling the optimum "linear" style? I can certainly show you what I think is an "optimum" "circular pedaling style" pedal force diagram



PC's force a rider to lift the pedal from 6 o'c up to and over the 12 o'c spot, more like the "ankling" style which is a more extreme version of the relaxed circular style. The objective in ankling is the attempted application of continuous effective tangential force to both cranks at all times. Now in your
opinion, does the PC objective differ from that "ankling" explanation which I have given. The problem with trying to explain the linear style to a non believer is that while mentally the application of power and drawing back is a simple V shape, to any onlookers it appears as a circular style. If you were to stand on the pedal at 1 o'c when out of the saddle, while your pedal feels as if it is going straight down, it is in fact descending in a semi circle style. With greater use of ankle, calf and other muscles, the linear style uses this type of idea for extension of main power stroke and the power generation technique from hip to sole of foot is completely different. That's why a demonstration with the explanation is a necessity.

PC's force a rider to lift the pedal from 6 o'c up to and over the 12 o'c spot, more like the "ankling" style which is a more extreme version of the relaxed circular style. The objective in ankling is the attempted application of continuous effective tangential force to both cranks at all times. Now in your
opinion, does the PC objective differ from that "ankling" explanation which I have given. The problem with trying to explain the linear style to a non believer is that while mentally the application of power and drawing back is a simple V shape, to any onlookers it appears as a circular style. If you were to stand on the pedal at 1 o'c when out of the saddle, while your pedal feels as if it is going straight down, it is in fact descending in a semi circle style. With greater use of ankle, calf and other muscles, the linear style uses this type of idea for extension of main power stroke and the power generation technique from hip to sole of foot is completely different. That's why a demonstration with the explanation is a necessity.PC's only "force" the rider to have some positive force on the pedal around the entire circle. That force is usually quite small on the back stroke but it can never be zero or negative or the cranks will not come up. The PC's don't care what style one uses to do this. PC's don't "force" any particular style but do require complete unweighting on the backstroke.

The problem with your description of the linear style is you don't even attempt to try to explain it. What do the pedal forces look like around the circle, in your opinion, when someone is using the linear style? That should be pretty straight forward.

Can someone explain to me why the "poor man's powercrank" wouldn't just be one-leg pedaling exercises?It is not different.

The diference comes when you do the entire ride doing ILS on both legs at the same time. Is is necessary to do 100% of your training in ILS?

The PC's don't care what style one uses to do this. PC's don't "force" any particular style but do require complete unweighting on the backstroke.

The problem with your description of the linear style is you don't even attempt to try to explain it. What do the pedal forces look like around the circle, in your opinion, when someone is using the linear style? That should be pretty straight forward.


Of course they don't care what technique is used but when the brain has a clear picture of the objective and the best way to do it, it makes pedaling an easier task. I have explained the forces of the linear style many times. Each leg attempts to apply continuous equal power to the pedal for only 180 degrees of the pedaling circle, from 11 to 5 o'c, and that can be max power when required, giving almost 360 degrees of continuous power application. Almost 360 degrees because there will be very brief interruptions as power application switches from one leg to the other.

One-legged pedaling has two drawbacks that make them relatively ineffective at really changing pedaling style.

First, few do them for more than a few minutes at a time and only a few minutes a week, maybe 1% of their training time. How is it beneficial to train one group of muscles you would like to use only about 1% compared to the other muscles you will be using? So your solution is to do ILS 100% of the time. That is pointless as well.

Second, one-legged pedaling doesn't train the two legged coordination.Who cares? Once you are on a real crank the two legged coordination is there. It is not real hard to unweight a peddel.


PC's make the entire ride a one-legged pedaling exercise for both legs at the same time so you are training all of the muscles equally in both time and intensity and you are training the two legged coordination. There is no substitute.If you can spin each leg independetn how can this be? I can either let one leg rest at 6 o'clock and keep peddeling with the other. Or I can pull the other leg at 10% effort and not put any rotation on the bottom bracket. The clutch does not know. Unless the only place it works in at 6 o'clock.

The PC's don't care what style one uses to do this. PC's don't "force" any particular style but do require complete unweighting on the backstroke.


I forgot, I believed the objective of PC's was to teach a rider to perfect the circular pedaling technique by forcing him to use it. So what is the real objective of PC's.

One-legged pedaling has two drawbacks that make them relatively ineffective at really changing pedaling style.

First, few do them for more than a few minutes at a time and only a few minutes a week, maybe 1% of their training time. How is it beneficial to train one group of muscles you would like to use only about 1% compared to the other muscles you will be using?

Second, one-legged pedaling doesn't train the two legged coordination.

PC's make the entire ride a one-legged pedaling exercise for both legs at the same time so you are training all of the muscles equally in both time and intensity and you are training the two legged coordination. There is no substitute.


I disagree. Frist off, it's a "poor man's" so it'll never be perfect. Aside from that, though, the point of power cranks is to improve the muscles that pull up the foot on the back of the pedal. I don't see how doing intervals of 1-leg pedalling (you can even do them on hills) won't achieve this. And from my personal experience, it DOES work. When i added in 1-legged hills, I noticed that my left leg got tired way before the right. After a few months, they were pretty much equal and I noticed that after long rides (which used both legs) that my left "up-pull" muscles were much more fatigued than in the past - an indication of a change in pedaling technique.

I forgot, I believed the objective of PC's was to teach a rider to perfect the circular pedaling technique by forcing him to use it. So what is the real objective of PC's.Many think the term perfect circles means equal forces around the entire circle. That is essentially impossible. To me the term "perfect circles" simply means zero negative forces around the entire circle. That is all the PC's require. We also suspect we change the forces to be more tangential, but that is yet to be proven. Other than forcing zero negative forces around the entire circle there is lots of room for variation depending on the needs and style of the rider.

The real objective of PC's is to make the athlete better than they otherwise would be using standard training techniques. We do that by making them use more muscles in training and, at the same time, changing the coordination pattern such that the pedaling efficiency goes up, both of which will result in more power.

Can someone explain to me why the "poor man's powercrank" wouldn't just be one-leg pedaling exercises?
Because that doesn't cost anything. :D