Over the weekend a new premium component brand popped up, as QO debuted three lightweight carbon cranksets and chainring combinations. With dimpled aero tech for road Race & gravel Grava and reinforced impact protection for both Grava & MTB Rocks cranksets, QO is already working with top small-batch bike builders and will have aftermarket cranks available within the next couple months. Plus, they tease that cranksets are just the beginning, with plenty more components being prepared in the wings…
Where did QO come from, and where are the QOing?
Yes, pun intended, if you can call it that? QO meant the name as a synonym of GO, hence mention of the brand “QOing forward” in this introductory PR campaign, and over the weekend at Velofollies.
But while the name is new, the people behind the new brand are quite familiar. Qo founders Pablo Carrasco and Ignacio Estellés just happen to have also been founders of Rotor all the way back in 1996. That’s where the two pioneered tech like oval chainrings, single & dual-sided powermeter cranks, modular cranksets, even the very cool (if not commercially successful) Uno hydraulic shifting, and the 1st production 13-speed groupset for road, gravel & mountain bikes. Plenty of interesting drivetrain tech that saw the spotlight under multiple Grand Tour and World Championship-winning cyclists in multiple disciplines.
Carrasco left his role as head of Rotor R&D a few years ago, when the two started a utilitarian e-mobility company together. But they still carried on with Rotor as well until relatively recently. Now the two are back together with an all-new brand, leveraging much of their design, engineering & manufacturing knowledge to create an all-new premium component company.
Qo carbon crankset development
The first product range to come out of Qo is a series of carbon cranksets. That seems a fitting place to start, coming from their Rotor background as carbon cranks on- & off-road were some of the most recent innovations from the brand that had focused for decades in machined aluminum.
Qo says the new “state-of-the-art carbon cranks” promise to bring “real-world benefits to professional riders and passionate cyclists alike”. Their design goals seem to be a balance of “exceptional strength, weight, and durability”
Qo designs the new components in Spain, engineers them between Spain & Taiwan, and manufactures carbon in between Taiwan & China with carbon production partner YMA and machines chainrings in Spain.
Qo Race modular aero carbon road bike cranks
The highlight of the road Qo Race crankset is its aero dimples “inspired by aerodynamic principles… to improve airflow around the crankset“. The lightweight ‘Mitsubishi Pyrofil’ carbon arms promise stiffness, durability & vibration-damping with dimples on both inner & outer faces of its arms.
All of the UD carbon cranksets feature DUB-compatible 28.99mm spindles and a direct mount chainring interface. The direct mount is the same 45-tooth DIN spline as the OCP interface that allowed Rotor to clock oval rings to align with dead spots in your pedal stroke.
The road cranks add an aero-dimpled 7075-T6 alloy spider with Shimano-standard 4x110mm BCD. And there are aero-dimpled chainrings with “Smart Shifting” teeth & ramp designs and intricate rear machining. The road rings come in 50/34T, 52/36T & 54/40T pairs and the arms come in 160, 165, 170, 172.5 & 175mm lengths in both white or black.
A complete road Qo Race crankset is said to weigh 634g (170mm arms & 50/34T rings) – with 149mm Q-factor & 44.5mm chainline.
Qo Rocks modular carbon mountain bike cranks
The key feature of the Qo Rocks mountain cranks is its KevTex kevlar reinforcement in the ends of the arms for “maximum protection against rock strikes and trail hazards” for longer service life, plus they also get a rubber bumper, too.
Again the MTB cranks add Mitsubishi Pyrofil carbon for vibration damping. But here instead of dimples, the arms feature ‘MaxStrength Slots’, essentially external ribs mid-way through the crankarms to increase stiffness.
The carbon MTB arms come in 165, 170 & 175mm lengths, again with a DUB spindle & direct mount rings. Here the CNC-machined 7075 chainrings come in 32, 34, 36 & 38T sizes.
A complete mountain Qo Rocks crankset weighs only 440g (170mm arms & 34T ring) – with 174mm Q-factor & 55mm chainline.
Qo Grava modular aero carbon gravel bike cranks
The Qo Grava gravel bike cranks combine a bit of both – the aero from the road and the off-road KevTex reinforcement. There Qo delivers aero-dimpled carbon arms with internal kevlar reinforcement and rubber bumpers. And then, there are 1x direct mount chainrings, but with their own aero dimples along the outer edge.
The carbon gravel arms are offered in 165, 170 & 172.5mm lengths with a DUB spindle & direct mount 1x 40, 42 or 44T chainrings.
A complete gravel Qo Grava crankset weighs just 478g (170mm arms & 40T ring) – with 153mm Q-factor & 47mm chainline.
Qo carbon cranksets – Pricing, options & availability
Officially, the Qo brand announcement PR we received is just a preview of what’s to come – with more product launches still slated for 2025 . But the three carbon cranksets – Race, Grava & Rocks – are real products set to debut in a limited release already starting in March 2025. This first round is said to be available through traditional distributors in Europe, starting with their home in Spain and BeNeLux, France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland & the UK, plus China, Japan, Korea & Thailand.
Qo also named several early OEM partners who will spec their cranks (and future components) on small-batch & custom bike builds. We’re waiting for a list of partner bikebuilder brands, and will update here when we know more.
Not announced more broadly though, we have a good idea of expected pricing. Crankarm sets alone will sell for 550-570€. A complete road Race crankset with chainrings for 750€, complete gravel Grava crankset with 1x ring for 700€, and complete MTB Rocks crankset with a chainring for 650€. Qo also offers direct mount chainrings & the spider separately.
Check in with Qo directly in the coming months to then find your local distributor if you are one of those first countries to get access to the new cranksets. And we’ll keep you updated as Qo expands into more markets.
