Rotor already makes some of the lightest, stiffest cranks out there, with tons of power meter options. Now there’s two more: The all-new Kapic Carbon mountain bike crankset, and the new INspider power meter spider for virtually any type of bike…gravel, cyclocross, road, mountain, enduro, whatever. And it’ll work with 1x and 2x drivetrains, mounting easily to their modular crank family. That means it can be moved from bike to bike, and work with a variety of chainring sizes and types, with swaps taking just a few minutes.
Check those out in their Remote Otter 2020 video below, plus a new option for upgrading your e-bike…
Rotor KAPIC Carbon are their lightest MTB cranks ever
The KAPIC carbon mountain bike cranksets are designed to match the looks (and capabilities of modern XC and trail bikes. They’re strong, and rigid, but also very light. Claimed weight is just 429g (175mm arms w/ 32t Q-Ring oval chainring).
So, why move to carbon fiber? Rotor’s known for making amazingly light and stiff alloy cranksets, but modern mountain bikes posed a challenge. With chainstay yokes and designs getting wider to accommodate fatter tires, crank arms needed a more abrupt outward angle coming off their axle, something that’s harder to do with Rotor’s drilled design. At least, harder to do while keeping the “weight” part of their strength-to-weight ratio where they wanted it. Enter carbon fiber.
For the full specs, check out our original launch coverage here. Yes, they (and the INspider below) were launched during 2019, but the news is that they’re finally shipping globally. So, here’s a quick ICYMI catchup…the new new is at the bottom.
Rotor INspider Power Meter specs
We covered most of the INspider tech when they first showed up at Eurobike last fall, but here’s a quick recap on their most modular Powermeter option: Using their OCP mount system, the new INspider power meter slides onto the drive side crank arm, then you mount the chainring(s) of your choice to it. Using four sets of opposing gauges, it captures 3D power and torque measurements to give you a more complete power profile throughout your pedal stroke.
Basic specs and details include:
- Works with crank lengths from 150-175mm
- Compatible with 24mm and 30mm spindle cranks
- 1x and 2x compatible
- Round or Q-Ring Oval ring compatible
- Optional aero crown for triathlon and road
- 200 hours per charge
- Integrated rechargeable battery
- Bluetooth Smart and ANT+
- Highly water-resistant 7075 alloy body
- 110×4 BCD
- BB92, BB89, BSA, BB30 & PF30
- Claimed weight: 149g (add 49g if using Aero Crown)
- Retail Price: €649 / £585 / $649
Besides fitting virtually any bike, they also now have new 12-speed compatible chainring options to work with SRAM AXS. Chainring compatibility is:
- Road 1x – 40/42/44/46/48/50 (round or oval)
- Road 2x – 50/34, 52/36, 53/39, 54/42 (round or oval)
- MTB 1x – 34/36/38 (round or oval)
Rotor Fazua e-Road Bike crankset specs
OK, so first two items launched last year, but there is something entirely new from Rotor. Their forged-and-CNC’d alloy VEGAST cranks get a new design to be compatible with Fazua’s Evation e-road bike drive systems. Using a specific spindle interface, the design allows you to run Rotor’s lightweight 414g alloy (with an even lighter 285g carbon fiber version in the works!) cranks and chainrings on your e-road bike.
Why? Well, options for one. You can get different crank lengths and chainring combos…pick from their entire 110×4 BCD catalog of 1x and 2x rings. And they’re almost certainly a lot lighter than the stock crankset. Which starts to matter when you look at some of the featherweight e-bikes starting to come online. Crank lengths offered include 165/170/172.5/175mm.
What’s this Remote Otter thing?
Regular Sea Otter has been postponed until fall, but we know many brands still have new stuff to show off. So we asked them to make videos of their new stuff and send them in, and we’re sharing them with you so you can see the people behind the products and brands we all ride and use! Enjoy!!!
