not interested; what i really need is 1x14.

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

I feel like Rotor spectacularly missed the boat here. Rather than leverage the potential advantages of the tech to innovate they have just bodged hydraulics into a shift system.

If Rotor had wanted to really rock the boat they could have been built the system around cable junctions which support multiple shift points and/or brake points. Shimano already has this option for brakes so the tech isn't new. Then Rotor could have designed a master reservoir/junction which controlled the whole system and could be hidden in a Di2 junction box slot. Basically a single bleed point that can be fit into an existing frame standard which lets you get rid of the all the clunkiness of having to hide reservoirs in the sifters, mechs, brakes, droppers etc. Then you just run hoses to and from the junction box and can mix-and-match components across road, mtb, tri.

The obvious engineering challenge would be in the junction box but the end result would be a group set which represented a true advance. You would end up with multiple shift points like an electronic groupset but without having to put expensive electronics into the mechs, brakes, shifters etc.

I believe their closed hydraulic system effectively allows them to do this (use multiple shifters for the one derailleur). Sure I read that somewhere... would take some googlefu to find again. It's basically just pushing a slug of fluid along the lines to the derailleur where the mechanism is, so having two pumps instead of one isn't difficult.

This wont sell the price is stupid!

That would be a brute force solution for a product selling at an ultra premium price point. It still requires individual reservoirs at each actuation point (mech, brake, or dropper post). That is more moving parts, more weight and more ugliness. If you could move to a single master reservoir hidden inside the frame and run cables like you do for DI2 the whole system would become much more elegant. In reality you would run the front brake on a separate system as a redundant safety feature so you only need to couple the rear brake, rear mech and dropper post of mtb. Prior to the proliferation of electronic ride control super complex hydraulic systems were developed for cars so all the tech will exist it just requires Rotor to think outside the box for inspiration.

It doesn't need reservoirs.
(Not talking brakes, shifters only)

What u suggested reminds me of the hydraulic power transfer system of large construction gears like digger.

Those heavy machinaries have some kinda hydraulic hub you mentioned, which is basically different in its mechanism for they are electronically controlled. And this hub even has "constant input of power" from engine via mechanical coupler.

The hub is controlled electronically or digitally nowadays. Even with these two spectacular features I can not imagine how to make some kinda hydraulic hub in cycle-size scale.

First of all brake circuits must be separate from derailleur circuit for safety issue. Even front and rear brake have to be split. Then what's new in this case? compared with traditional hydro brake systems.

In the case of derailleurs, there must be 2 hydro split circuits for each derailleur even though they are connected at the hub point.

Otherwise it is more reasonable to use only electronic parts like Shimano's DI2. But then ...there's no difference between Shimano and Rotor.

I think Rotor guys failed at the very beginning(IMO Bike mech does not require tremendous power transferring system unlike heavy machinaries).

There are many reasons that small tools hardly utilise hydraulic power transfer sytem nowadays. Batteries, motors and chipset boards are much better in this case.

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Stay home, stay healthy.

Rotor made a clear decision with hydraulic that avoids all the patent problems they would have with electronic or mechanical.

As to the hydro shifting, you don’t need a fancy junction box, you just need a tee piece. In their setup (and again I’m talking the shift system, no wear compensation required) you just branch two levers and master cylinders to the slave cylinder.