Rotor Agilis Cranks Review - BikeRadar

By Paul Vincent

Manufacturers description

<< "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.

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