We know, there’s no such thing as a stupid question. But there are some questions you might not want to ask your local shop or riding buddies. AASQ is our weekly series where we get to the bottom of your questions – serious or otherwise. Hit the link at the bottom of the post to submit your own question!
You asked, Rotor delivered. As expected, the questions for Rotor ranged widely from their 13 speed groups to the specifics about oval chainrings, and more. Check out their answers below and check out rotoramerica.com for more!
13 Speed 1x Groups
Are there any plans for a 13 speed, 10-42 cassette? – Owen
Rotor: Hi Owen, no plans at the moment. We worked with several of our pro teams and professional riders to look at power/cadence relations to develop our gear steps and found the 10-39 or 10-46 to be our optimal ranges to start with.
I have DT Swiss 240 hubs. Is there a freehub driver available so I can upgrade to new 13 speed Rotor MTB group? What hubs are currently compatible with your 13 speed cassettes? – Evan
Rotor: Hi Evan, while there is no way to update your freehub body to work with the 13s cassette, you can run a 12s version of the group with any HG freehub body (using the same derailleur and shifter, just limit the derailleur to 12 speed), including those DTs. The cassettes use 12s spacing on a standard HG-type freehub body and a 10t cog sitting outboard of the freehub body for the 13th speed.
10, 11, 12, now 13 speed – where do we go from here? Can we really just keep adding more gears to a 1x drivetrain, or will something have to give for the future? Does Rotor have anything in the works along these lines?
Rotor: It’s always hard to say where the future goes from here, but we would offer that the industry is always moving towards more gears with smaller steps between them, to reduce the effects of fatigue when riding. One of the great advantages of the 1×13 groupo is the decreased tooth count between many of the gear options, and of course the unavoidable small steps between gears. (As opposed to how a 2x system makes for big jumps in the cassette, since we’re always looking to avoid using the deeply-fallible front derailleur.) Rotor is always developing innovations to increase cyclists’ efficiency and offer a better ride experience.
Have you had any failures of the hydraulic lines for your drivetrain groups yet? – Sarah
Rotor: HI Sarah, so far we have seen excellent durability of the hydraulic shift lines. While it certainly is possible to damage or even completely sever a line, it’s about as likely as slicing into a hydraulic brake hose. One of the more interesting features of our 1×13 derailleurs lies in the ability to position the derailleur throughout the cassette by hand, in the event of a complete sever. With the shift indexing located in the derailleur, you are able to manually move the derailleur up or release it down the cassette even without a shifter or line attached. So even in the case of a catastrophic line cut, you will be able to move the derailleur by hand to select gearing while getting back home.
I’ve personally run the MTB group for a while now as with the line routed under the BB right alongside my rear brake hose. Plenty of BB hits and rocky riding and the shifting has remained undamaged.
Rotor makes lovely components in Spain. What’s up with sourcing carbon cranks from Asia? – Cheese
Rotor: At the end of the day, our goal is to create the best quality product for our customers. Our Spanish production facility is set up to create a premium market product from start to finish- in aluminum. We source our carbon layup out of an expert facility in Taiwan, while the aluminum crank parts, final crank production, and finish work are done in our Spanish factory.
Power Meters
SRAM AXS Compatible Rotor Chainrings?
What’s with Oval Chainrings?
