One of the more impressive products to be presented at this year’s Eurobike was the Power crankset from Rotor. The Spanish company, most famous for its elliptical Q-Ring chainrings - which are currently used by WorldTour ProTeam Garmin-Sharp and ProConti teams Saur-Sojasun and Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator - appears to have created something that many have been attempting for some time: a crankset that can accurately measure the individual power of the left and right legs.
To achieve this, Rotor has taken the simplest possible route, and put a separate, integrated power meter in each crank, but has done so with only a 30 gram weight penalty over its standard 3D+ MAS (Micro Adjust Spider) crankset. Four strain gauges in each crank arm - eight in all - gives, claims Rotor, accurate, clean, noise-free data, and avoids spiking on rough roads and sprinting.
In addition to data reading power levels from either leg, the meters can gauge a rider’s Pedal Smoothness, to help develop a smoother action; it also registers Torque Efficiency, where the strain gauges detect negative force applied by the trailing leg, which can impede the action of the leg applying the positive force.
The two meters are fully ANT+ compatible, so it will work with both the Garmin Edge 500 and 800 GPS bike computers; and also means that it is in direct competition with Garmin’s pedal-based Vector system. Maintenance is also said to be simple, with the common-sized CR2477 battery being simple to change without tools, and the firmware updatable with a standard ANT+ dongle.
The Power crankset will be available in both road and MTB versions; a 30mm Universal bottom bracket axle makes the system compatible with almost any bike.
As well as the Power crankset, Rotor presented its new aerodynamic crankset, dubbed Flow, which shares a similar looking closed spider and MAS system. Its crank arms have a far more aero profile than standard Rotor cranks, and it comes in a claimed 10% stiffer and lighter than most of its competitors.
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