Quote History Originally Posted By Fourman:
I have a few on my team that have the AB oval. Overall I have heard mix reviews from them.....
Here is the main issue that I have heard and even seen while in a ride/race. If you have a higher cadence (90 or more) many times the oval chainring just does wild stuff to your pedal stroke.
I have a high cadence (sprinter here) so I have kept with round rings.....and it is cheaper to just spin more to easy the hit on your legs/knees.
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Largely this. They were a thing years ago that sort of sprung up when I raced. I know of a few guys that used them but it was kind of a mixed bag. One of the best pieces of advice that I ever got when I moved up into the pro ranks was from a guy by the name of Ned Overend that raced for Specalized.
He told me to learn me to make the smallest circle possible when you pedal. The idea is to go around the spindle of the bottom bracket not the outside edge of the pedal. It takes a little getting use to but eventually you get to the point where you’re much more efficient, top out your gearing faster, use less energy, smooths out your pedal stroke and makes it much easier to spin a higher cadence. Once I mastered this I picked up a couple of miles per hour on my average.