Back in the middle of January we caught a glimpse of Rotor’s new two-side power meter at the Tour Down Under mounted on a Dimension Data Cervelo S5. Rotor was mum on the details then, but now they given us more detail on how they decided to add right-side measurement to their axle-based INpower system. Take a closer look at the new dual-side 2INpower setup after the break, with pricing and springtime availability details…
Pronounced “twin” power, the new 2INpower crankset takes the same low-profile power metering that we’ve seen in a range of aluminum Rotor cranksets and reworks it to truly measure dual-side power output. Rotor has joined the dual-sided individually measuring power put into each pedal as a metric to determine precise power balance and individual side power output to help serious athletes work on improving their pedaling performance.
As the simply updated name suggests, 2INpower is an evolution building off the prior INpower tech. By adding right crank arm strain gauges to the left-side INpower bottom bracket axle sensors, Rotor gets dual-sided power.
The right side measures power through two new pairs of strain gauges in the driveside crankarm, while the four carry-over strain gauges integrated inside the axle measure power being produced in the left leg. Obviously measuring in two different load paths made it a bit more complicated, so Rotor had a good task to work it out and balance the data outputs. But in the end the 2INpower solution makes for a clean and durable installation that outputs accurate and reliable two-sided power data.
2INpower transmits power, cadence, balance, torque effectiveness, and pedal smoothness data for each leg via standard ANT+. Rotor also offers left/right independent and/or combined pedal analysis using their Optimum Chainring Angle (OCA) and TOR QUE 360 software to help improve pedal stroke and optimize the timing of their non-round Q-rings.
New to 2INpower, Rotor will also add Bluetooth Smart functionality for compatibility with even more cycle computers and app-based tracking solutions, although it isn’t clear if full BT functionality will be available at launch, and may require a later firmware update. 2INpower also gets a new built-in rechargeable battery over the previous coin cells. The new 30mm axle 2INpower cranksets will first be available only in 110BCD in 165, 170, 172.5 & 175mm lengths. The 148mm Q-factor cranks weigh 645g in a 172.5. The Rotor 2INpower cranksets will be available from April 2016 for 1500€.
