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SOC18: Rotor debuts affordable road, ultralight MTB & direct-mount INpower meter cranks

2019 Rotor Vegast road bike cranks are affordable and have modular chainring combos and 1x options for easy swaps
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The new modular cranksets from Rotor give them options for every rider, from price conscious upgraders to those looking for sleek integrated power meters and mountain bikers wanting one of the lightest cranks out there.

2019 Rotor Vegast road and Kapic mountain bike cranksets with new INpower power meter spindles

Starting with the road, the all-new VEGAST cranks blend the name of three famous climbs -VElata, GAlibier, STelvio – and is their most affordable crankset to use the modular chainring design. The arms are forged AL6082, which saves some costs, but still get their Trinity internal machining to reduce weight.. They’re available in 165, 170, 172.5 and 175 mm lengths, retail is $450.

2019 Rotor Vegast road and Kapic mountain bike cranksets with new INpower power meter spindles

The arms connect with any of their single or double chainrings, which also fit their higher end Aldhu arms (which also have a power meter option). The spindle is modular, too, so you can mix and match to get the combo you want and that fits your bike. And there are lots of options:

2019 Rotor Vegast road and Kapic mountain bike cranksets with new INpower power meter spindles

Choose from round or oval, double or single, or even a spider on which to mount other chainrings and sizes. Their spindle has small notches to let you clock the ovality to your favorite position, which you can see below on the new mountain bike cranks.

2019 Rotor Vegast road and Kapic mountain bike cranksets with new INpower power meter spindles

Their one-piece double chainrings provide light, stiff alternatives to bolting individual rings to a spider. These, too, are available in both round and oval, and in various tooth combos. There are a lot of options, check their website for all of them.

2019 Rotor Kapic & INpower Mountain Bike Cranks

2019 Rotor Vegast road and Kapic mountain bike cranksets with new INpower power meter spindles

The new Rotor Kapic (named for the Cape Epic) is now their top of the line mountain bike crankset.

2019 Rotor Vegast road and Kapic mountain bike cranksets with new INpower power meter spindles

The mountain bike cranks are also modular, giving you standard, Boost and fat bike spindle lengths, and easy swaps between sizes, round and oval chainrings. While it uses the same OCP (Optimal Chainring Position) interface for their direct mount rings, it gets its own lighter spindle compared to what ships with their Hawk and Raptor cranksets. Claimed weight for the Kapic is 536g without chainring, but with the bumpers installed.

2019 Rotor Vegast road and Kapic mountain bike cranksets with new INpower power meter spindles

Price is $390 and includes a direct mount 1x ring, making it one of the more affordable lightweight cranksets out there.

2019 Rotor Vegast road and Kapic mountain bike cranksets with new INpower power meter spindles

New Rotor 2INpower & INpower power meters

2019 Rotor Vegast road and Kapic mountain bike cranksets with new INpower power meter spindles

Rotor’s single-sided INpower power meter system is now transmitting on the driveside, a redesign for both road and mountain bike versions. It’s still measuring your left leg, using two strain gauges inside the spindle, but the electronics are all point to the right to create a more consistent look with their dual-sided 2INpower sets. They run off of a single AA battery for ~300 hours of use. It’s a sealed system, so it’s very waterproof, and transmits. The more practical reason for the redesign was to make it compatible with their direct-mount chainrings, helping them move to a completely modular universe. Retail is just $799 for the arms with spindle, claimed weight is 510g without rings. Check this post for the technical details on how INpower measures your watts.

Their 2INpower cranks (not shown) receive a similar update to become direct mount chainring friendly, but upgrade to four strain gauges inside the axle and four inside the right arm, giving you separate right and left leg measurements with up to 200 data points per second. It also gets a rechargeable LiIon battery for 250 hours of ride time.

2019 Rotor Vegast road and Kapic mountain bike cranksets with new INpower power meter spindles

The INpower mountain bike crank arms also run $799 and are 1x compatible only. Same details as the road version otherwise, weight is 544g without ring. They ship with black bumpers, but red and blue are available separately. Both road and MTB versions transmit in ANT+ and Bluetooth.

RotorBike.com

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Ben
Ben
6 years ago

Judging by the surprising number of scratches and scuffs on the satin cranksets and chainrings, the finish doesn’t look particularly durable.

Rotor Bike
6 years ago
Reply to  Ben

Yes, sadly these got waylaid in the UK for a few extra days while en route to Sea Otter. We’ll have a chat with those customs fellas. ; )

Johnny
6 years ago

Rotor need to license someone else’s spider interface or they need to bribe some of the aftermarket chainring manufacturers to start making a chainring for their interface. Wouldn’t buy a Rotor crank currently due to having my hands tied on chainrings…

Rotor Bike
6 years ago
Reply to  Johnny

Hey a Johnny, there’s also a asymmetric 4 bolt spider mount option. Cheers!

Pinko
Pinko
6 years ago
Reply to  Johnny

So you think the aftermarket chainring that are a bad copy of rotor( ie crack prone absolute black), are better than rotor rings? You are totally missing the point on oval rings. The mounting style of Rotor is the only one that make sense. So you can’t rotate the ring according to your position on the saddle and pedaling style. Otherwise is like not being able to rotate handlebars or saddle to suit you.

Johnny
Johnny
6 years ago
Reply to  Pinko

Let’s play a little game called you’re in BFE on your dream bike vacation and you damage a chainring. What are your options? Go to the nearest shop and pray to all the bike God’s that you can buy a Rotor chainring or drop $600 on a total crank and possibly bottom bracket so you don’t spoil your vacation… Lets be honest, the bike shop penetration of in-stock Rotor parts is limited at best, so you’re buying a new crankset (or sitting the rest of the week out). This is a mountain bike crankset. Stuff is going to happen. I want options…

Pinko
Pinko
6 years ago
Reply to  Johnny

Do you prefer oval chainrings to round and other asymmetrical shapes?
Then you need the rotor interface. Anything else is just no-sense sold by marketers to clueless people.

Take a spare on your “dream vacation”

It doesn’t look like you have an understanding of how it works.

Johnny
Johnny
6 years ago
Reply to  Pinko

When you have the equipment available that will actually let you tune the clocking on your oval ring in some actual measurable inteligent way let me know… Technology always sounds great on paper or in a cad system to 6 decimal places.

You’ve likely adopted super boost already as well?

Rotor Bike
6 years ago
Reply to  Johnny

Hey Johnny, we understand your concern. That’s why we make cranks/spiders with every interface for our riders’ convenience. For those that are most concerned with adjusting the oval ring position, the direct mount has the most options. For everyone else, the assymetric 4 bolt spider is a great choice!

Moby
Moby
6 years ago

Q factor on the mtb 2INPower (non boost)? I love my 2INPower cranks on my 3T Exploro. Great 1x chainline, accurate, and no need to zero every ride. But need a narrow q factor for my xc race bike.

Rotor Bike
6 years ago
Reply to  Moby

169.5mm. Cheers!

Durianrider
6 years ago

these vegan?

Rotor Bike
6 years ago
Reply to  Durianrider

Super vegan. Tested only on pack animals like Dimension Data. ; )

badbikemechanicx
badbikemechanicx
6 years ago

800 for a full crankset with power meter isn’t bad.

Smale Rider
Smale Rider
6 years ago

Only thing rotor uses these direct mount rings is to push oval rings. The 46/30 rings they have for 3d+ is a fluke, rather than alternatives to the full, semi, and compact offerings. They have also abandoned making their shorter cranks. Why buy rotor? They now provide nothing over sram/shimano.

Rotor Bike
6 years ago
Reply to  Smale Rider

Hi Smale- we make cranks from 150mm to 185mm (in power options, also!) so we can suit riders of every stature. Hit us up and we’ll direct you to a shop that can help you out. Cheers-

Rotor Bike
6 years ago
Reply to  Smale Rider

Hey Smale, ROTOR makes cranks & power meters from 150mm up to 185mm to be sure we can accommodate every rider. Hope that helps! Feel free to reach out if you have questions. : )

Smale Rider
Smale Rider
6 years ago
Reply to  Rotor Bike

Aldhu direct mount 160 cranks has a $200 price premium over dura ace. There is no 2inpower 160 cranks. Your chain rings run from full to compact sizes. The 30 mm spindles prove incompatible with a sizeable of bike frames. There isn’t a compelling reason to seek out your cranks when you provide nothing different than shimano 105, 160mm cranks, other than lightness. Frame compatibility, power meter availability, and gearing options prove more value.

Smale Rider
Smale Rider
6 years ago
Reply to  Rotor Bike

I correct myself in full abandoning of short cranks. Aldhu comes in short crank. My gripe is that there is no short crank (160mm in my needs) 2inpower.

Rotor Bike
6 years ago
Reply to  Smale Rider

Hi Smale, sorry to abandon the thread for a while! So we have INpower in 160mm for you. Hope that helps!

briannystrom
briannystrom
6 years ago
Reply to  Smale Rider

What is this 46/30 ring combo; I don’t see it anywhere on their website? I’d love to have that option on the 3D+ crank!

Kevin Kitura
Kevin Kitura
6 years ago

Also, I want the power meter on the crank arm out of harms way like Stages or 4i.

Rotor Bike
6 years ago
Reply to  Kevin Kitura

Hey Kevin, we’re on the same page! The INpower meter is all completely internal, so that’s why we have an IPX 7 rating (waterproof/submersible to 1m for 30 seconds! Top rating.) It’s one of the best places to hide your electronics, inside the axle and/or crank arms. It literally can’t get any more protected than that.

Dont call me Francis (@mtn_rcr)

Is there one with a 24mm spindle for my Trek?

Rotor Bike
6 years ago

See below! Sorry, posted it as a separate comment. ; ) Cheers!

Rotor Bike
6 years ago

We have cranks for 24mm spindle, but no power option, since we secure our strain gauges in the spindle to keep them safe from harm & protected from the elements.

JimmySan
JimmySan
6 years ago

If the PM’s and crank work with a subcompact 46/30 direct mount chainring that would be great. Has anybody figured out if that is one of the combo’s that works?

Smale Rider
Smale Rider
6 years ago
Reply to  JimmySan

Rotor 3d+ crank and the just last year older spindle 3d+ 2inpower work. New direct mount rings are only standard, semi, and compact rings.

JimmySan
JimmySan
6 years ago
Reply to  Smale Rider

Bummer that they have gone away from sub compact sizes with the new DM rings!

jxjjd
jxjjd
6 years ago

i can get a very ridable bike for 800usd. how us that affordable as a powermeter ..

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