http://www.cyclingnews.com/...tech/2006/news/08-04 Tech News – August 4, 2006
Edited by John Stevenson, James Huang and John Kenny
Got tech? Send press releases, news, and tech questions to the Cyclingnews tech desk.
Semi-integrated
Rotor's Ágilis arms 
After drilling. 
It looks like a standard external BB. 
Rotor's new complete crankset. 
Rotor's elliptical Q-Rings now available as a complete crankset
By James Huang
The company that brought you the unique Rotor crankset and the elliptical Q-Rings now brings a conventional crankset to the table. The new Rotor Ágilis incorporates some unique features, and for the first time, allows consumers to purchase the company's Q-Rings as part of a complete package. As such, Q-Ring purchasers will not have to resort to retrofitting another manufacturer's crankset which often results in the removal of a perfectly good set of round rings right from the get-go.
The Ágilis crankarms start out as extruded aluminum bars which are then lathe-turned, CNC-machined, and centre-bored in a process dubbed 'Hollowminium'. This effectively yields hollow arms that retain the stiffness of the outer shape, but removes the extra material from the center that would otherwise just add mostly useless mass. Not surprisingly, most high-end crankarms are now filled with nothing but air for exactly that reason.
The Ágilis crankset will be a 'semi-integrated' crankset, with a pseudo-permanently fixed aluminum spindle attached to the non-drive side with a double-threaded bolt. This unique style of attachment will allow for slight adjustments in spindle length to accommodate variations in bottom bracket shell width. The driveside arm will attach via a seven-sided taper.
In keeping with current industry trends, an external-style bottom bracket will be used, but with a novel twist. The cartridge bearings in Rotor's Self Aligning Bottom Bracket (SABB) are housed in spherical supports that automatically keep the bearings parallel to each other, resulting in reduced friction and increased bearing life. This shouldn't be a replacement for proper facing and thread-cutting, but improved bearing alignment can hardly be faulted.
Three chainring spiders will be available including road 130mm and 135mm 5-arm, as well as mountain 104/64mm 4-arm variants, and cranksets will be available with or without Q-Rings. Target weights for the complete Ágilis, including Q-Rings, are 720g and 780g for the road and mountain versions, respectively. Rotor's new crankset has yet to hit production and suggested retail pricing is yet to be announced, but production is slated for later this fall.
For more information see www.rotorcranksusa.com
Edited by John Stevenson, James Huang and John Kenny
Got tech? Send press releases, news, and tech questions to the Cyclingnews tech desk.
Semi-integrated
Rotor's Ágilis arms After drilling. It looks like a standard external BB. Rotor's new complete crankset. Rotor's elliptical Q-Rings now available as a complete crankset By James Huang
The company that brought you the unique Rotor crankset and the elliptical Q-Rings now brings a conventional crankset to the table. The new Rotor Ágilis incorporates some unique features, and for the first time, allows consumers to purchase the company's Q-Rings as part of a complete package. As such, Q-Ring purchasers will not have to resort to retrofitting another manufacturer's crankset which often results in the removal of a perfectly good set of round rings right from the get-go.
The Ágilis crankarms start out as extruded aluminum bars which are then lathe-turned, CNC-machined, and centre-bored in a process dubbed 'Hollowminium'. This effectively yields hollow arms that retain the stiffness of the outer shape, but removes the extra material from the center that would otherwise just add mostly useless mass. Not surprisingly, most high-end crankarms are now filled with nothing but air for exactly that reason.
The Ágilis crankset will be a 'semi-integrated' crankset, with a pseudo-permanently fixed aluminum spindle attached to the non-drive side with a double-threaded bolt. This unique style of attachment will allow for slight adjustments in spindle length to accommodate variations in bottom bracket shell width. The driveside arm will attach via a seven-sided taper.
In keeping with current industry trends, an external-style bottom bracket will be used, but with a novel twist. The cartridge bearings in Rotor's Self Aligning Bottom Bracket (SABB) are housed in spherical supports that automatically keep the bearings parallel to each other, resulting in reduced friction and increased bearing life. This shouldn't be a replacement for proper facing and thread-cutting, but improved bearing alignment can hardly be faulted.
Three chainring spiders will be available including road 130mm and 135mm 5-arm, as well as mountain 104/64mm 4-arm variants, and cranksets will be available with or without Q-Rings. Target weights for the complete Ágilis, including Q-Rings, are 720g and 780g for the road and mountain versions, respectively. Rotor's new crankset has yet to hit production and suggested retail pricing is yet to be announced, but production is slated for later this fall.
For more information see www.rotorcranksusa.com
