We’re at the Tour Down Under and it’s already offering up a bevy of bike-based treats. Here you can feast your eyes on a prototype version of Rotor’s new 2INpower power meter, being ridden by Australian rider Mark Renshaw (Dimension Data).
Rotor has confirmed to BikeRadar that it's a dual-sided power meter, rather than left-side-only as the previous version was. It is however said to “share some characteristics” with Rotor’s INpower meter – though your guess is as good as ours what they might be.
Related: Groupset gossip from the WorldTour
Crank pinch bolt and bearing preload cap? Hmm…
Our photos from the Tour Down Under suggest that the left-hand side of the prototype 2INpower looks like a normal crank, as it appears to be a crank pinch bolt and bearing preload cap, similar to Shimano cranks. Take a look at our photo above, from Mark Renshaw’s Cervélo S5, and decide for yourself.
Either way, the new 2INpower will measure power at the spindle – rather than the crank, like the Stages system, or at the pedal, like Garmin’s Vector system. But the dual-sided measurement means it won’t be an estimate arrived at by doubling the power measure at the left crank.
Related: 2016 bikes of the Tour Down Under
ANT and battery life
A drive-side view of Rotor's new 2INpower cranks
As with its predecessor, it will almost certainly offer ANT+ for wireless updates, as well as unique graphical analysis tools – such as Pedal Smoothness, Torque Effectiveness and Optimum Chainring Angle – when paired with the associated desktop software or mobile app.
However, whether it will still run off a single AA battery housed in the axle (and offer around 300 hours of runtime) remains to be seen. Rotor says it plans to announce key new products in early March, when more info should be available. We’ll bring you all the latest confirmed information on this new power meter when we have it.
What do you think of Rotor's new 2INpower cranks? Let us know in the comments below.
