Rotor’s latest hydraulic shifting 13-speed groupset might not be only for road, gravel & mountain bikes soon. In a week’s time Ironman Worlds descend on Kona again, and Rotor is prepping with several triathletes who will race their latest INspider integrated powermeter & Aero Oval chainrings. But a side note lurking in the Kona lead-up suggests extending that further – possibly to 1×13 – in a collaboration with Ventum bikes & Profile cockpits.
Rotor Triathlete Aero 1×13 project with Ventum & Profile Designs
For the time being we have just a few strategically blurred drivetrain photos that focus in on the Rotor Flow alloy cranks attached to the new INspider integrated power meter and its solid Aero Oval single chainring. We’re also not sure who, if any of Rotor’s athletes will compete on the new Triathlete Aero 1×13 groupset, although the group being shown on an Orbea somewhat rules them all out due to other bike sponsors.
Looking deeper into the blur, we can definitively pick out the distinctive shiny silver flat outside edge of the Rotor 1×13 b-knuckle and the similar finish on the outer parallelogram link. Plus, there is the characteristic oversized barrel adjuster and thin, but smoothly looped hose of Rotor’s hydraulic shift lines (notably, most all of Rotor-sponsored triathletes raced on Di2 last year, which can be easily differentiated, even in blurry photos.)
What else we know is that Rotor plans to debut some still-secret triathlon-focused “concepts for a new way of understanding speed, endurance, precision and biomechanics” at the event. The project is a partnership with Kona bike sponsor Ventum (who also sponsors Rotor triathlete Lesley Smith) and aero cockpit component maker Profile Design, that could see sleek new integration of Rotor’s hydraulic shifting system in a race-ready tri bike.
Rotor says of the project, “We believe we have created something special so the world’s elite endurance athletes can benefit from the highest accuracy in measurement of power and shifting, advanced aerodynamics and fine-tuned ergonomics to maintain the best performance for the maximum possible time.”
