Melasma

What is melasma?
Melasma (muh-LAZ-muh) is a common skin problem. It causes brown to gray-brown patches, usually on the face. Most people get it on their cheeks, bridge of their nose, forehead, chin, and above their upper lip. It also can appear on other parts of the body that get lots of sun, such as the forearms and neck.
One of the most common treatments for melasma is sun protection. This means wearing sunscreen every day and reapplying the sunscreen every 2 hours. Dermatologists also recommend wearing a wide-brimmed hat when you are outside. Sunscreen alone may not give you the protection you need.
Women are far more likely than men to get melasma. It is so common during pregnancy that melasma is sometimes called "the mask of pregnancy." Hormones seem to trigger melasma.
Who gets melasma?
Melasma appears on women’s skin much more often than men’s skin. Just 10% of people who get melasma are men.
People with darker skin, such as those of Latin/Hispanic, North African, African-American, Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean descent are more likely to get melasma. People who have a blood relative who had melasma also are much more likely to get melasma.
What causes melasma?
What causes melasma is not yet clear. It likely occurs when the color-making cells in the skin (melanocytes) produce too much color. People with skin of color are more prone to melasma because they have more active melanocytes than people with light skin.
Common melasma triggers (what starts it) include:
* Sun exposure: Ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun stimulates the melanocytes. In fact, just a small amount of sun exposure can make melasma return after fading. Sun exposure is why melasma often is worse in summer. It also is the main reason why many people with melasma get it again and again.
*
* A change in hormones: Pregnant women often get melasma. When melasma appears in pregnant women, it is called chloasma, or the mask of pregnancy. Birth control pills and hormone replacement medicine also can trigger melasma.
*
* Skin care products: If a product irritates your skin, melasma can worsen.
* Vascular changes in the skin
* Drugs
* Genetic

Therapeutic Guideline for Melasma
* In mild cases: Broad spectrum sunscreens+camouflage+topical compounds
* In moderate cases: or if no response to basic measures. Can try chemical peels
* In severe cases: Laser and Light therapies

Laser Hair Removal

What is Laser Hair Removal?

Laser hair removal is a noninvasive technique that uses highly concentrated light to penetrate hair follicles. The laser light is absorbed by the pigment(melanin) in the hair shaft in the follicle-generating heat which damages the follicle to inhibit future hair growth. 

Why Laser Hair Removal?
Laser hair removal is used to reduce unwanted hair. Common treatment locations include legs, armpits, upper lip, chin and the bikini line. However, it's possible to treat unwanted hair in nearly any area, except the eyelid or surrounding area.

How many treatments do I need?
Laser hair removal usually requires a series of three to six treatments to achieve significant hair reduction. The interval between treatments will vary depending on the location. On areas where hair grows quickly, such as the upper lip and under arms, the treatment might be repeated in four to eight weeks. On areas of slow hair growth, such as the back, the treatment might be every 12 to 16 weeks.

Is it safe?

Laser hair removal is safe if it is done by medical professionals certified in use of lasers. Possible laser hair removal side effects include:

• Mild swelling around the hair follicles
• Pigment changes may occur, especially in those with darker skin. These changes are usually temporary
• Slight redness of the skin
• Temporary irritation resulting in blistering, crusting, scarring or other changes in skin texture

A beam of highly focused light is absorbed by hair in disabling unwanted hair follicles. There is some mild discomfort that last a few seconds. People with white or gray hair may not have enough pigment target to be a candidate for laser hair removal.

Hairs do not fall out immediately, but you will shed them over a period of days to weeks. This may look like continued hair growth. The repeated treatments are usually necessary because hair growth and loss naturally occur in a cycle, and laser treatment works best with hair follicles in the new-growth stage.

Advantages of Laser Hair Removal at NeugLow

Can be used on all skin types
Fast and effective results
Permanent hair rediution
Minimal discomfort

Personal impressions of the Asics Gel Kayano 20 running shoe

A little digression from my usual rant on cycling.

The Asics Gel Kayano 20. The fact that this shoe is already in its 20th iteration must mean something. I did my first run with it this morning and these are my initial thoughts. In terms of support for the foot, ankle and arch, this shoe has probably the most "cushiony" feel I have experienced in my life. The advancement in technology over the past years have certainly produced a top notch shoe with all the support u need in today's running age. My last shoe with support was a Nike air max many many years back, and in the past few months, I have started running again but with minimalist shoes in line with the minimalist movement into running. The minimalist or barefoot runner advocates the use of the forefoot or midfoot to strike the ground first as opposed to the heel. Traditionally, the heel toe technique have been the way we have been running since childhood and the change was to say the least, radical, at least for me! But this technique of running revolutionized the way I run in a good way, and combined with the concept of an ideal running cadence , I feel my running form has become more efficient, superfluous and less prone to running injury! 

So in my mind, the question was, is it the shoe or the technique that is important? The minimalist advocate says that to do forefoot mid foot running, it is better to use minimalist shoes or maybe even bare feet, to run this way. The heel toe drop for these minimalist shoes are much less than the normal running shoes we are used to. This forces you to land lightly, and sensibly toward the front part of your foot which is more flexible to absorb the impact, failing which every reverberation from the impact on the ground will be felt upwards and magnified. If you strike with your heel first, you can be sure your knees and hip will complain almost immediately. The minimalist shoe maker would make u believe that it's the shoe that makes u run like that without striking the heel. In fact some even go so far to say that these shoes develop the muscles for you to run without a heel strike. I tend to believe its rather the technique of mid or fore-foot running that helps develop these muscles than the shoe. The shoes do help in obliging you to use this technique though. However more often than not, the over enthusiastic minimalist novice lands with too much force on the forefoot or lands too stiffly, on a shoe without much or any support..this results in development of some other unanticipated foot problems. Seems to me it's probably some marketing genius at work here trying to capitalize on the recent trend towards forefoot running. Anyway, midfoot or forefoot running opposed to heel strike actually works and complements well with a high running cadence. Don't need to get minimalist shoes for this!

Upon using them the first time, I felt the Asics Kayano was really comfy. Walking with them, it felt like you were walking on cushion. Running with them made you feel secure and the feet felt very protected from the ground and it's irregularities. There was a bouncy feel to them too as the feet impacted the ground. I did not have any difficulty executing a mid foot strike running technique but for a person learning this technique the first time there will be a tendency to land heel first. Shouldn't be difficult to overcome though. If you have been running with a fore or mid-foot strike all along, the transition should be seamless. Coming from the NB Minimalist running shoe, this shoe however felt heavier and more clunky. So much so that it took me a while longer than usual to reach my usual running cadence of 180 per min. Having reached that however, I felt that my strides became naturally longer because of the bounce effect and more secure support upon landing of the foot. This is good because it helps you propel forwards and encouraged you to push yourself that little bit harder. However, if you are just starting to run and are not conditioned yet, you may find that it will push you a little too hard without you knowing it. The shock absorption capabilities are so good that, that the warning signs of over training are literally removed. I think I might have done that today because my timing was much better and I'm not sure if I'm ready to push so much so soon yet. The tenet of leaving enough for the next training session  is an important maxim for me. For example, if you planned to have a training session the following day and this session made you skip the following session, then you have over trained. If you planned one day rest, and the day's session made you take 2 or 3 rest days, you have over trained again. Today I think I went a bit harder than I should have, not that I could not but the shoes shock absorption capability made it seem I did not have to hold back much, but I think it will force me to recover a bit longer than I wanted. 

Price wise, this is not a cheap pair of shoes. At $200+, it probably is one of the more expensive running shoes around. For $100 less, you could get a Saucony Guide 7.

The rave reviews by friends who have tried the Kayano and the fact that its already a proven market leader swayed my decision. You probably don't need a shoe with so much stability and support if you do mid-foot running, but it did feel good thinking that you are running with one of the best stability shoes in the market, any pain or discomfort had to do with your technique or a wrong shoe fit. A shoe fit is as important as a bike fit. This is where an assessment must be made on the size, shape, width, arches of your feet, and also a dynamic assessment that includes whether your feet tend to overpronate, oversupinate or are neutral. There are some advocates with regards to using custom made insoles to help solve some of your running issues, but I have not gone into much research on this so I cannot comment.

In conclusion, I have no regrets getting this shoe as of this preliminary stage. My recommendation would be for new runners to get a shoe fit, make sure your size and width of shoe fits you, and get a shoe with some support, rather than a minimal support shoe. A minimal support shoe however, does have its place, in improving or enhancing your fore-foot or mid-foot running technique, but I do not advocate these for long distance running in the long haul or for those runners who weigh above 70kg. Despite a good technique, cumulative impact coupled with a heavyset body, does eventually have its repercussions though not obvious immediately, so why not make use of what technology has to offer and minimise all these. How many Zola Budds can the world produce en masse? My current pairs of Vibram 5s and NB minimalist, will still be put to use however, but I will keep these runs short. For the record, I do not have any real issues or pain that resulted in me changing my shoes, but my science tells me that it does make sense to prevent harm if possible. For those of you already on stability shoes, like the Kayano or similar, go ahead and try to convert to a mid-foot or fore-foot strike type of running style. This will help prevent further damage to your already weakened knees. Also focus on improving your running cadence, it goes hand in hand with this technique and with persistence, I am pretty confident you can complete your first marathon sooner than later!

Here are a few videos to help you get started:

Midfoot Running Playlist

Let's Go!

1. CONSISTENCY is the key.
2. ALWAYS leave enough behind for tomorrow's session!
3. BUILD up your base - Add miles in bank, not speed.

INJURY PREVENTION is EVERYTHING!

The Art of Souplesse - The importance and joy of good pedaling form

A rider with good souplesse appears to spin beautifully instead of hammering away at the pedals.

A rider with good  souplesse will seem to dance up a steep hill with the bike just like an extension of his own body.

Souplesse is about fluid motion, without wasted effort. Efficiency, power and style blended together.

The 3 performance training parameters that I often look at are: Endurance, Power and Economy. Endurance and Power have been the core of many a training program and there are many articles and books that can help you structure a training plan to help improve these. Economy is however a more abstract sort of performance ability. Some of us call this "cycling form" or "technique"or "cycling efficiency". Economy to a cyclist means exactly the same thing as economy to a car driver: the ability to do a certain amount of work using as small amount of energy as possible. You want to conserve petrol in your car. You want to use a lower percentage of your VO2 max at a given cycling speed. Both examples represent economy.

In my opinion, economy is probably the most important determinant of success in competitive cycling or for that matter, even recreational cycling...

"If two cyclists have similar VO2 max profiles, the most economical cyclist will win most races. Even if a cyclist has a relatively low VO2 max, he can often defeat other cyclists, because he may ride at a lower percentage of his maximum at any given speed." Physiotherapist, US Olympic Cycling Team.

In other words, if two cyclists are riding at the same speed, the more economical cyclist uses less oxygen to ride at this speed.

I often regard myself as a lazy cyclist. If possible, I would rather ride and go for events without training. Unfortunately, I am not blessed with natural talent, and I think my proportion of slow and fast muscle fibre are in the worst possible ratio. Hence, I need to train to enjoy the sport.  I have put in some effort in training for power and endurance, but in today's time strapped environment, I find it hard to improve these tremendously without going full-time haha. I have to be more economical or more efficient! This is when I started looking at improving my pedaling mechanics. Making your equipment or bike lighter, use of ceramic bearings, more aerodynamic positions, may also help improve performance economy but these are for another post (hee…). For today, let's talk about the art of pedaling in improving efficiency. Learning to pedal smoothly and correctly can help your pedaling be more effective. In other words, improve your pedal force application from top dead center, through the bottom of the pedal stroke. Practice pedaling smoothly and learn how to spin rather than pushing big gears. Learn to be more economical on the bicycle. 

This is where the art of Souplesse comes in. 

Noun
Souplesse (French)
-Definition: suppleness, softness, flexibility, adaptability, fluidity

Its hard to describe the concept of Souplesse. This article tries to explain it --> http://tri-alliance.com.au/tri-101/2013/05/07/understanding-the-pedal-stroke/

Red Kite Prayer sums it all up pretty well.

"As we get older, and top end speed ebbs away, souplesse becomes a new pleasure and a way to distinguish ourselves. How steady a line do we hold? How neatly do we skirt obstacles? How still are our hips? How easy our grip? Do we mash, or do we stroke?"

"Souplesse connotes style, but it also hints at a deep-lying efficiency, an elimination of non-essential movement. Much has been made in recent years of incremental improvements, the sorts of time gains made in wind tunnels and in customized nutrition plans. Souplesse has that same incremental value, except that it comes from within the athlete."

I profess I am not an expert in the art of Souplesse, but it is one of my goals. Many strive but never ever attain this cycling style or form. To me, Souplesse is not about speed, speed is over-rated! haha.. It's about being economical, being efficient, it is about finding the sweet spot, its about looking effortless and looking pro. 

"Souplesse is the ability to ride smoothly, to keep a straight path and maintain composure. No wobbly clip ins, no mashing on the pedals, no unneeded movement on the bike. Just stylish efficiency."

It is not my intention in this post to define or determine the best technique or style that epitomizes Souplesse, this only you can determine yourself what suits you the best.  There are so many articles and arguments about the best pedaling style and technique that its hard to determine what's best. I just hope that by looking to be more efficient or economical, we can have more fun cycling. This video by Joe Friel is probably the best example I can find. Global Cycling Network has another useful video. There is also an old video here, but still very relevant. This video shows that even without elliptical rings, the pedal stroke is already not fully circular to be efficient.

Other factors waste energy without propelling the bicycle forward will affect economy. Fighting the bicycle, holding the handlebars too tightly, using a lot of upper body energy while climbing and riding is an unaerodynamic position during time trials or break-a-ways will affect your economy. Finally, you can improve your economy by increasing your interval and tempo training. The theory behind this is that by practicing fast cycling, you naturally become more economical and relaxed while riding fast. Once you've trained your body to respond economically at these speeds, it will most likely be even more efficient at the slower speeds during long road races.

Use of rollers

I'm hoping that my recent purchase of rollers will help me attain this goal. So far I've managed to increase the time spent on the rollers without support, and I think it will be 2 or 3 weeks yet before I become confident at this rollers thingy. Rollers are excellent for increasing cadence and fluidity in the pedaling stroke because the primary resistance to keeping the wheels moving is the friction between tire and roller, and there is very little mass to store the energy of the pedaling. In other words, its very very road like. This combination results in immediate feedback to the rider in the form of a smooth whirring sound if the stroke is smooth, and forces you to work at your core muscles and balance, all essential in Souplesse nirvana.

The Q ring

Despite my recent rant about the oval rings being inefficient or akin to "pedaling in squares", I do advocate them to riders to help improve their pedaling stroke. The ovalised rings do help you to understand the concept of the dead spot when you pedal, hence it forces you to apply force on the pedal at the appropriate part of your pedaling stroke, a crucial concept in performance economy. Unfortunately, for me I find that these rings hinder the progress towards Souplesse, simply because the so-called "dead spot" is not static.

Reflections 2013

Time for me to reflect and take stock of the milestones for the cycling year and to look ahead to the new season. The cycling season, at least for me, has but ended with the culmination of Tour de Bintan. I’m sure many are glad to hear this cos, here comes the smelly flower rides haha.

The cycling year began in November/December 2012 around which time the conversion from PCN to regular road cycling began. During this period, I started joining the Joyriders morning 5am rides, which was really timely cos we had started to get real serious into cycling. At that time, most of us were still on foldables and our only serious foray into joining events was participating in LCSG’s annual KOH on November 4 2012. That was perhaps evoLV’s first serious event participation and thus bringing the hobby from recreational to serious cycling.

2012

Nov – LCSG’s KOH. This gave us our first encounter with the Southern Bumps. Learnt much from this event. Hill climbing technique. Cadence vs force on pedals. The spinner vs the masher. Weight as a penalty in hill climbing. Importance of using appropriate equipment and leveraging on technology.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.454388691268966&type=1

http://www.strava.com/activities/26871173

Dec – A recommendation by David Low saw me joining Joyriders and their morning 5am rides from LH.  This greatly improved my weekly mileage and knowledge of riding in a peleton.  The bunch of riders that meet in the early mornings are so highly motivated and willing to train day in day out. Joining these rides really inspired me. The training certainly brought me to another level of cycling. Subsequently, Vincent and Richard joined the rides and were quickly promoted to JR newbie leaders.

Granfondo KL/Ampang. My baptism of fire! Having conquered the previous month KOH, and becoming a regular JR rider, I was brimming with confidence and so decided to join Kaye for a Granfondo event in KL. Wah!..this one suffer haha. I managed to complete the route but was really taxed, during which I had a puncture after riding across a deep and giant pothole while going downhill!! Thankfully I didn’t fall and managed to continue after a quick change of the tire. You can see my strava here à http://www.strava.com/activities/32642817

2013

Jan – OCBC KL. Probably the last time we took the foldies out for an event. We had already registered to take part in this the previous year with foldables. Also at this time, most were still on foldable bikes. This one was a bit of a disappointment as roads were poorly maintained and there were many crashes. Thank goodness we came out of this unscathed. A nice experience but unlikely to go again.  http://www.strava.com/activities/38093586

Feb – CycleFest Guiness World Record at ECP. A total disaster of an event. Got up very early and waited such a long time. Organised by people who weren’t cyclists. Most disappointing event for 2013. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.504262466281588&type=1

During this period, I was still doing my weekday/weekend rides with JR 3-5x/week clocking about 10hours a week. Team evoLV’s  weekend rides also kinda became a regular feature around this time.

Mar – Cameron Highlands with JR. This trip practically made all evoLV members JR members as well lol. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.507701715937663&type=1
We had been preparing for this the past month with rides and loops at Telok Blangah and Mt Faber. http://www.strava.com/activities/41796894
I think David did 15 loops one siao day on his own. This trip leveled everyone up. I was particularly impressed with Francis who overnight became a hardcore cyclist. With the experience of Ampang behind me, I was prepared for this Tour de Cameron and enjoyed the trip. I think the others suffered a bit haha. Experience does matter for cycling!  If no experience, it helps to simulate in training too!
http://www.strava.com/activities/42924336
http://www.strava.com/activities/42924384
http://www.strava.com/activities/42924316

Apr – Barelang. Together with Team Cyclenauts, we made our first trip to the famed 6 bridges. Braving the most severe of thunderstorms, we came back with many stories and well-earned battle scars!
http://www.strava.com/activities/49930433

OCBC Singapore. Prepared for this by doing more trainer workouts to simulate race conditions. The sufferfest videos are great for these. Unfortunately, I went into this race with a gastric flu. After the first 20mins, adrenaline kicked in and felt good enough to finish respectably.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.528764927164675&type=1

http://www.strava.com/activities/51074880

May – Tour de Kulai. The first Team evoLV organised trip. This was a training ride for The Kuantan Century Ride in June. Overall a nice ride despite missing a turn on the way back and having to battle the JB city traffic!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.538822712825563&type=1

http://www.strava.com/activities/55964318

Jun – Highlight for this event was the Kuantan Century Ride. Having trained on Barelang and Kulai, I went into this event comfortable and confident. Enjoyed the ride throughout.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.543868168987684&type=1
Steven Cheng was the star rider at this event. Levelled up by leaps and bound while training for and taking part in this event.

http://www.strava.com/activities/57755708

Jul – Tour de Frasers Hill. Another JR organised trip. I was having a lull in my training program bringing my weekly totals down from 10hours/week to about <5h/week. So I went into this trip a bit less conditioned than I would have liked. Although I managed to complete the tour, I suffered a bit, as Lim Wee How will testify. Arguably, perhaps also because I was pedaling in squares! Haha.

http://www.strava.com/activities/68745792

http://www.strava.com/activities/68745824

http://www.strava.com/activities/68745675

Aug – The lull in my training continued. Training trickled down to 1 ride a week. During this period I put on like 5kg over a month! Lol. No events this month.

Sep – Suddenly the thought of TdB looming up in a couple of months struck me! Started to increase my mileage again and get on the trainer. Boy! Its easy to lose fitness quickly and slow to build it up again. It is said that for every time you lose fitness, it takes double the time to get into condition again.  Good thing I could ride the F1 circuit to motivate me.

http://www.strava.com/activities/83996378

Kulai. Our 2^nd trip to Kulai was a good primer for me to get back in shape. Loss a bit of steam halfway through the ride. Here was where I realized how lacking my long distance stamina had become.

http://www.strava.com/activities/85962179

Oct – Barelang. 2^nd Tour de Barelang for Team evoLV this year. This one fully in-house arranged. Good training for TdB, the elevations and tyoe of terrain correctly simulates TdB. I tried also to put in more long distance rides this month to improve stamina, but I think too little time too late.

http://www.strava.com/activities/89808752

Nov – The climax of the year Tour de Bintan. This event is the closest a non-pro cyclist can experience to UCI like event. It was a difficult race, and I had cramps in the last 35km of stage one, but overall I enjoyed it. Perfect as a end-season race.

http://www.strava.com/activities/94261472

http://www.strava.com/activities/94261379

The Year Ahead

I write the blog to hopefully inspire and motivate those who want but dare not try. It helps when you join events as it levels you up as you train. It is of my contention that, it is the training that you undertake for an event that levels you up and not the event in itself. Anything can happen as you work towards the event, an unexpected injury, a sudden illness, or something even on the event day itself. For example, a crash or puncture that disables you from finishing the event/race. So many unforeseen things can happen, but the training consistency levels you up to fight another day. I personally think cycling is one of the most comprehensive and rewarding hobby you can dwell into. For health! For fun! For gear acquisition syndrome! For technology geeks! For the serious athelete! Unlike many of  the other sports like golf, tennis, football etc where a high degree of skill and talent is needed, cycling allows the ordinary person with the correct aptitude and mental toughness to perform relatively well within the realm of a reasonably structured training programme, as in all endurance sports. Unfortunately, in all endurance sports like swimming and running, the ability to endure some form of suffering, and hence mental toughness, is a hallmark of the sport.

Joe Friel, in his book, The Triathlete's Training Bible, said, "athletes continue to improve for about ten years, no matter what age they start training". Age is not an advantage! Hahahaha...

I haven't given much though exactly about my year ahead yet but some things are pretty much on my mind already. So as a rough estimate, my initial objectives are

1. Tour de Cameron

2. Tour de Taiwan or elsewhere untested

3. One event a month...Kulai, Barelang, Ipoh, Kuantan etc

4. Dualthlon

5. Sprint Triathlon

6. Tour de Bintan

Jan-Mar 

Foundation / Endurance Training. Long steady distance. Training will be progressive and intensity will be low. Objective is to build a strong base to build on. During this period will work on some weaknesses, maybe incorporating gymwork for strength building. 

Apr-Jun

Strength Training. Increasing intensity of workouts. FTP improvement.

Jul-Sep

Consolidation with endurance/intensity workouts. 

Oct-Dec

To be cont'd

Gearing up for Kuantan

Enjoyed my century ride yesterday. The unplanned and unexpected recent purchases did definitely make the ride more enjoyable haha. I felt good, relaxed and comfortable throughout the ride. Happy.

First, the wheels. By some stroke of fate I discovered two spokes of my current Mavic front wheel had splintered. These were proprietary carbon spokes and had to be replaced. Time and cost to replace these may not be worth the while. Whatever the case, this was a reason to look at a new set of wheels, perhaps with a more aero design. These new wheels are by far the most expensive and aero wheels I have used to date. When I first upgraded my stock wheels to the Mavic R-sys, I thought that the power transfer and effciency improvements was already tremendous. It felt like I had changed to a faster and smoother ride immediately, almost 3x better than the stock wheels. Perhaps, then I was a weaker cyclist haha. Guess what, changing to the Enve 3.4SES gave me that same feeling over the Mavic!! The power transfer, smoothness and "addictive" buzz of the CK hub makes the ride just delicious..hot knife on butter is the feeling mates! LOL.

Second, Power Meter. One thing always leads to another and in the bicycle world, this is no different. I have been using the Cycleops Powertap Pro for some time now. This is a power meter that is based on the rear wheel hub, as a result of which, if I were to use this power meter, I will be obliged to use this "training" wheel exclusively. This makes the purchase of the Enve pretty obsolete haha. However, I was prepared to forgo the Powertap for Kuantan 160 contrary to popular belief heh, as in OCBC Singapore where I also did not use a power meter. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Lim Wee How and Serene Gan had time to meet me for lunch on Friday and the rest is history lol. For some reason, Wee How was in a buying mood. The Power2Max is one of the newer crank-based power meters in the market. It is made in Germany and is a direct competitor to the Quark system. First time using it in Kuantan, I felt the power readings pretty uniform, consistent and fairly quick. It also measures cadence. In addition, an advantage of this system is the ability to read left and right crank separately, making use of your Garmin's latest firmware upgrade. I am happy with it and in so save some money from getting the SRM system hahaha.

Lastly, the most important upgrade discovered by chance - the Rotor Q-rings!! The Power2Max system comes packaged with the Q-rings, although u can buy either separately. I have been reading a little here and there about them but haven't really researched much into them. So when it came packaged with the Power2Max, it was the deal clincher! Here, I was with a chance to test two systems out, yeah! go for it!...Wee How was but all too eager and didn't help lol..Did it help for Kuantan? I'd say hell ya!..the Q-rings work by eliminating or reducing your dead spot during the pedaling execution and this is really evident when climbing hills. I found the climbing more easier, some of which also contributed by the new wheel I guess, but significant from the ring. On flats, the feeling is like you are on a 0.5% decline. I'm convinced they work and would advocate all of us to try them out. They however, do come in various sizes and settings for which I am still trying to figure out. As such, I cannot recommend the best size or setting for u and I myself am not convinced I have the right size or setting. A little more rides over the next couple of weeks I should be clearer. This is one upgrade I think will help most of us here, not only for the more efficient hill climbing pedal stroke, but also to help improve your pedal form and technique.

Here is an article on the Q-rings which is pretty close to how I feel about them. Knock yourself out guys!--> http://bespokecycling.blogspot.sg/2012/07/rotor-3d-and-q-ring-review.html — with Lim Wee How.



October 2013 Update:

After using the asymmetrical rings for the past 4 months, i found it was inefficient...the "square" rings depend a lot on applying the pedaling force on a sector/phase of the ring whilst relaxing in the other phases, but I realized when I accelerate or attacking a hill, this particular sector of the ring changes for me so become inefficient lor....haha....its good if your pedaling technique still not ideal cos it forces you to learn how to pedal but if you have good pedaling technique already then it restricts you pretty much....again in my opinion only..I've given up on them literally and I think the round ring is perfect shape liao, no need to be square


i want to pedal in circles not pedaling in squares hahaha