Rotor to release electronic groupset later this year – here’s what we know so far

Rotor will release a groupset for road, gravel and mountain bikes later this year, BikeRadar can reveal. 

The brand is best known for its chainrings and power meters, and previously made hydraulic groupsets.

Its new groupset will be electronic and will borrow technology from Wheeltop, a challenger brand which has a range of wireless electronic groupsets. 

What we know so far

BikeRadar learned of Rotor’s new groupset at the Eurobike trade show, where the brand shares a booth with Wheeltop.

The new groupset will be launched in September at Sea Otter Europe and will be called Uno, the name Rotor used for the brand's first groupsets. 

Rotor has worked with Wheeltop for its new groupsets, but a spokesperson said Uno will be faster and lighter than Wheeltop’s technology.

As with Wheeltop’s groupsets, you will be able to use a range of cassettes with different speeds with Rotor’s groupset, which will be configurable via an app.

The brand says a shift on the derailleur will take 150 milliseconds.

While Rotor initially developed the Uno with Wheeltop’s internal electronics, the spokesperson said the company is now developing its own, and the groupset will therefore be made in Europe.

Uno will be compatible with Rotor’s INSpider power meters and you’ll be able to upgrade the aluminium cranks to carbon.

It is unclear whether Rotor will have different names for its road, gravel and mountain bike groupsets, or what specific components they will include.

The context

While it’s best known for its power meters and chainrings, Rotor first released a groupset in 2016 after six years of development. 

The groupset was unusual in that it used hydraulic shifting, and was said to combine the best aspects of mechanical and electronic groupsets.

This was followed by the Rotor 1x13, which launched at Eurobike in 2018, and was designed to work across disciplines – which may be true of the new Uno, too.

This is because Wheeltop’s range of groupsets already use the same technology across disciplines.

Challengers, assemble

Wheeltop first launched an electronic groupset in 2022, and its new Wheeltop EDS OX 2.0 mountain bike groupset shares the same derailleur as the brand’s road and gravel drivetrains. 

Rotor isn't the only brand to have an electronic groupset in the works. Microshift Cypher, the brand’s first and unreleased electronic groupset, is also steathily on display at Eurobike. 

Elsewhere, L-Twoo and Magene have their latest electronic groupsets on display, which seek quite brazenly to disrupt SRAM and Shimano’s dominance.

We’ll have to wait and see whether or not these challenger brands succeed. Rotor has had limited success in this area to date, and FSA, another European componentry brand, struggled to make in-roads with the electronic K-Force WE groupset.

Shimano and SRAM's stranglehold on the market is so tight (not forgetting Campagnolo, too), that any challenger needs significant time, money and clout – as well as a very good product – if it is to gain any real traction. However, we look forward to seeing what Rotor has up its sleeve this time round.

BikeRadar has reached out to Rotor for comment.