LurkerBot

Thanks for the tip! Would I buy them again knowing what I know now? Yup. They promote a different riding style, and if you can stand really locking you feet in it is a satisfying feeling to accelerate. Something about it seems more...visceral...and the feedback you get from the increased pressure on your feet feels reassuring. Not better, but different.

*Shift, not short

I got the Voidcore Prime v2. I'm not a fan of pads that can't be dialed in perfectly. Up, down, in, or out an inch is a lot with these pads. I'm glad I can shuffle them around. The big benefit to having integrated pads front and back is that you have more Velcro surface area for adhesion.It isn't much of a big deal to me, though. I only weight 125.

Braking is decent. Not better, but decent. It may be that my feet aren't locked in enough, but on 20-30 mile runs, you really do want to short your feet a bit from time to time. I am seriously thinking about adding a brake pat up top, though. I ride a lot on streets, so more stopping power is always a good thing!

Oh yeah - I didn't purchase the powercore units. While I do believe they would be great for night rides, the $186 price tag ($260 with the pads) is just bananas in my mind.

I have. I am not sure they are all they are cracked up to be, but I am not sure that they are not. They tend to make you ride with your toes hanging off the front of the pedals, which isn't a bad thing at all, but it gives you a false feeling of quicker acceleration. Well, the acceleration is faster, but I believe that is only because you are further forward on the pedals. When I adjusted them so that my feet were in the normal position, I discovered that my acceleration was about the same as it was pre-PowerKnobz. Where they shine is in the transition from standing to seated.in fact, I never felt comfortable trying to transition until I got the PKs. It is beautiful and seamless. One con I noticed is they give you plenty of "wiggle room" for your legs. For me, it meant I have to clamp down on the sides of thewheel more when hopping curbs or riding bumpy sections of the Greenway. Previously, I relied on my pads much more than I thought. The result is kind of a "sloppy" ride feeling, which I assume will go away over time. On the other hand, some may find it liberating to have some help accelerating without relying on pads. I also noticed I tend to use my feet as a lever to control my speed, rather than having them be mere support characters. After a 25 mile ride, my feet didn't hurt as much as they do with regular pads, likely because I am using my foot muscles in a different way.

*Braking pads, not breaking pads.

I bought a pair after a ski injury to the shin and there are pluses and minuses, like anything. They are comfortable enough for shorter rides, but if you don't really like or do seated riding, they will require a bit more effort on longer runs. After all, you are relying more on your foot muscles. With that being said, the extra effort may come from how much easier it is to throw the wheel around. Tossing my Master was super simple because I wasn't relying on front pads to do...well anything. I only weigh 125, so that's a huge plus for me. Also, being able to do a squat without any interference was pretty awesome, too. It just felt more unencumbered and free. With that being said, it seems like placement has to be just right. Too tight or too loose and you're either uncomfortable or the knobz (?) are ineffective. You most definitely don't get the "part of the wheel" feeling you get with dialed in power pads, but it's more about what you prefer. If you want to play with the idea, you can just flip some breaking pads over and swap sides of the wheel with them. There won't be a heel lock but you'll get the idea. As far as aesthetics are concerned, I don't find them pretty but I don't care about that stuff. Wheels are more function over form to me anyway.