"Normal" Cranks from ROTOR???
Yeah, that's the response we usually get - sometimes followed by questioning
expletives.
So why would ROTOR make a conventional crankset after so many years telling
everyone that normal cranks have to many fatal flaws?
Quite simple; we decided
that there weren’t any conventional cranks out there that really did
the Q-Rings justice. Seeing as we had made Q-Rings, with proven and distinct
biomechanical advantages over standard circular chainrings, we decided to go
ahead and give the conventional crank a ROTOR twist, the result being the Ágilis
crankset and the Self Aligning Bottom Bracket (“SABB” – which
will also be available to retrofit to other crank manufacturer’s products).
Three models of Ágilis will be available: road 130mm and 135mm 5-arm,
as well as mountain 104/64mm 4-arm variants. No official weights have been
released as of yet, but expect them to be light... nice and light. Stay tuned
for more information…
What
makes the Ágilis different
from other integrated cranks?
ÁGILIS (Latin for light-weight) is an innovative conventional crankset
and bottom bracket technology developed by ROTOR that includes the normal "I
would never of thought of that!" and "why didnt they think of that
earlier?" type of innovations you have come to expect from ROTOR. ÁGILIS
technology incorporates hollow alloy cranks, an adjustable length semi-integrated
axle and self aligning bottom bracket bearings (SABB). The material for the axil
will be announced in the coming weeks. The buyer has the option of specifying
the spider to fit most popular chainrings (BCD’s). Ágilis cranks
are the first cranks to be offered with ROTOR Q-Rings, but can also be ordered
without chainrings.
Hollowminium technology
ÁGILIS Cranks are produced from billet aluminium, which is CNC’d,
turned, drilled and hollowed into a stiff, light crank arm. This process enables
us to maintain the strong aluminium molecular structure, preserving its outstanding
properties by maintaining the orientation of its fibers, which provides a greater
resistance to fatigue without the weight penalty. Many cranks are hollow, but
the ÁGILIS Cranks are hollow in a way that makes sense, allowing them
to be light, strong, stiff and structurally sound, which is referred to as HOLLOWMINIUM
technology.
Adjustable semi-integrated axle
Improving the already popular “integrated BB axle” concept, the
spindle’s anchorage to the left crank comes as a standard factory set
up, but with an innovative double threaded bolt, which allows for adjustments
in the spindle’s final length. The drive side end of the spindle has
a 7 face tapered anchorage, which allows the axle to be assembled and disassembled
easily while still maintaining it’s reliability. This allows the consumer
to align the bottom bracket, taking into account the actual dimensions of his/her
frame, getting a perfect installation every time and benefiting from the appropriate
strength distribution from the bottom bracket bearings.
Self-Aligning Bottom Bracket
(SABB).
The ROTOR bottom bracket uses external bearings, but the SABB system contains
a fundamental difference to every other outboard Bottom brackes system: the
bearings are set in cone-in-socket supports that allow them to swivel enough
to be absolutely parallel with each other. This allows independent self-alignment
to the frame to which they are assembled. This method guarantees the reliability
of the bearings despite of any possible frame imperfections: unparallel faces,
non perfect concentricity of the threading in both sides, etc. Moreover,
due to its user friendliness, the consumer can change the bearings without
the need of any special tool. Anybody who is tired of replacing their standard
BB cups from other brands can easily retrofit the ROTOR SABB system to thier
bike, guaranteeing thousands of kilometers of care free cycling. Click
here to read and see more about the SABB
