Testimonials

"LE PROGRES"

“The Tour du Nord Isère was hell this year, despite that, I immediately understood that it was revolutionary. During the first stage, I found myself in 50th position before the last corner. I did not participate in the sprint and yet I finished 11th. Only this crankset could allow me, with my enormous 38 * x 11 gear, to accelerate in this way over the last 500 meters. I really felt like someone was pushing me behind my back! (* 38 = 54.7). On the last day, in the climbs, everyone seemed exhausted to me. As for me, I felt like I still had reserve in my legs. I am so impressed that I encourage my teammates to try it. "

Interview with Vincent Templier (Team AC Val d'Oise) - 2005

"TRIATHLETE" MAGAZINE

Pedaling becomes smoother, top and bottom dead points have almost disappeared and acceleration is easier. The crankset requires less physical effort.

"VELO VERT" MAGAZINE

This dissociation of the rotation of the cranks and the chainrings makes it possible to obtain an identical development on the ground with smaller chainrings, thus making the pedaling more compact. This technology aims in particular to level the dead points, those famous critical moments of pedaling where the cranks are almost vertical. For this, the crankset takes advantage of the speed and inertia generated by the advance of the chainrings in relation to the cranks. Another advantage of the system: acceleration is facilitated by the increase in the ratio between the length of the cranks and the diameter of the chainrings, which increases the leverage effect.

Serge PERROUD

I think people react like those who still don't understand that you can throw a 90D alone. There is a false mentality in cycling which clings to old principles like F. Coppi!

Having a 40 D (or 57.5), asks me as much power as a traditional 53, but with a disconcerting ease to take this gear. As for raises.

The 40 D is perhaps more intended for people with little pedaling cadence, but it allows in false flat amounts, to play on the pinions, to keep the 40 D without burning the legs well used.

To tell the truth, for the moment, I have not done enough long (more than 130 km) with the 40 D. I will have the answer in a few months. But I'm sure it will be OK. Some know how to drive at 35 km / h at 95 rpm, others at 35 km / h at 75 rpm, which is my case and it's my best compromise with this crankset which greatly limits my muscle fatigue, not to mention cardio.

Régis FAGOT

Felt after testing and using the crankset ''Ultime" and cycling.

From the first minutes of use, a feeling of fluidity in pedaling. Impression of "going round"

After a debriefing, this feeling can be explained. Consequence of a reduced angle (5 °) of the neutral point compared to conventional cranksets.

On the use of the different reliefs (false flat uprights, ribs, flat) the system gives its full performance on an "active" pedaling (pushing, lifting). I notice that it is possible to keep a rotation speed (revolutions / minutes) higher than normal.

In the absence of technical information readings (power in watts and pedaling frequency in revolutions per minute) I cannot verify a gain in speed, the drop in my heart rate ... But the possibility of being able to carry out developments greater than usual use shows the effectiveness of the concept.

One of the most striking facts is verified on an end-out use. Usually, and after 1 hour 30 minutes at a moderate to sustained pace, muscle fatigue is felt.

The consequence of this energy expenditure leads to muscle fatigue. This results in difficulty in maintaining a pedaling frequency and therefore constant power. To my surprise my impressions of power and my pedaling frequency seemed to be the same at the start, middle and end of this ride.

During this test several phases were carried out above my aerobic threshold (165 of Fc) hence the appearance of lactic acids.

In conclusion:

I tried the concept ignoring all a priori (negative or positive) with a need to acquire a feeling and a "field" analysis.

I was positively "surprised" by the fluidity of the pedaling but also and above all by the results at the end of my ride. The observation of maintaining a state of muscle freshness is almost destabilizing.

I think that the concept of the crankset and the added value that it generates is aimed more at sports / sport cycling use than at leisure.

It would be interesting to analyze more precisely the use of this crankset, on a precise and reliable database.

Dominique ANDERSON

Here is a brief overview of my first experience with two rides on a bicycle with its ingenious epicyclic gear crankset.

Regardless of the wheels and the frame, the crankset ''Ultime'' allow to have an incredibly "fluid" pedaling.

Day 1: I did 66 km on the bike at an average of about 30 km / h on a 15 km circuit around the roads of Villefontaine (Isère - FRANCE).

I immediately felt the stiffness of the customer wheels made by the society , in 80 mm carbon tubular, with high hubs and flanges and ligated spokes, especially on the front. For my riding style, I was surprised by the impact of such a level of wheel stiffness on the dynamics of the bike. I had never raced with such stiff wheels in my 30 years as a top level Elite racer.

Regarding the effort, I felt it was easy to pedal at a higher cadence for a given speed. The effort or feeling of passing the top and bottom dead spots felt significantly diminished, resulting in the feeling that it is easier to turn at a higher pace.

Day 2: I had the pleasure of riding around 103 kilometers with the local group of 6 runners from La Verpillière. The wheels have been changed to the more traditional, 30mm carbon rims with tires and hubs '' MGT '', with a change of saddle (an SMP saddle). The whole thing resulted in a much more comfortable bike to ride. The comfort and increased stability allowed me to better exploit my strengths and weaknesses with the crankset ''Ultime'' . Again, I found maintaining a higher cadence to be more reasonable and easier. At one point I found myself spinning on a long solo with a good headwind at over 50 km / h, something I haven't done in a very long time with my racing bikes.

On the low cadence, I find that with the increased leverage provided by the crankset, I was able to maintain a cadence of 36 rpm on a long climb of one kilometer with the equivalent of a 53 x 13. In my experience when doing long intervals of speed with great development on such a steep incline, usually I stall at a cadence of less than 55 rpm, and not having the strength in my legs to push a such development. With the pedal ''Ultime'', not only was I able to maintain such a low pace under stress, but I was able to accelerate to the top of the climb without downshifting. The amount of leverage provided by the bottom bracket cranks ''Ultime'' compared to standard 172.5mm cranks is substantial and simply impressive.

I couldn't go for a walk the next day, coming home plus going back to Versailles with a 4 hour drive, but without the slightest irritation or heavy sore legs.

With only two outings with the crankset, I really enjoyed the experience. I feel like I can easily maintain a higher cadence for a much longer period of time, and get acceleration more efficiently over bumps. I also felt I could count on some extra horsepower or torque to easily accelerate. I believe that these feelings would translate well in road and track races and I hope one day to take advantage of these good feelings to better deepen on the final of a race, to accelerate more quickly and to maintain a given speed more easily on the track. ................