Rotor System Crank General Info

What is a Rotor System crank?

The Rotor System is an innovative crankset that uses an ingenious cam system to accelerate the rising crank past the upper "dead spot". This mechanism eliminates the power void that occurs with conventional crank sets when the cranks are oriented vertically, whilst simultaneously optimizing the rest of the pedal stroke.

The mechanism works because spider's point of rotation is offset (forward and down) from that of the crank arms. By placing a linkage arm between the spider and each individual crank, the varying distance between cranks' linkage anchorage points and those of the spider causes the links to pivot inward on the upstroke (accelerating the crank) and outward on the downstroke(decelerating the crank). As such the cranks are given pedalling dynamics independent of each other and dependant on the spider (being the regulativeelement with a constant rotational speed). This makes the effective chainring size each leg pushes vary constantly.

Varying the rotational speed of the legs may sound a little odd at first, but it actually makes a lot of sense. No matter how perfect your spin in, certain muscles in your legs far outpower others. A spin compensates for this, but alongside "simply" eliminating the dead spot zones where no real power can be produced, a Rotor System enables the cyclist to both spend more time in the max power zone and magnify the feeble power produced in weaker zones of the stroke. The variance in individual crank rotational speed is subtle to the rider, making the Rotor Crank System easy to adapt to. Individual leg accelerations and decelerations, do little to effect efficiency because energy is transferred from one leg to the other, not lost. In any case, all potential losses incurred by rotational speed variation are minute compared to the power generation gains.

What do Rotor System cranks do?

This conventional crank dead point that the Rotor System eliminates limits a cyclist's performance, causes tendonitis and injuries to the knee, is a significant source of lactic acid buildup and causes a major discontinuity in traction with each pedal revolution. The Rotor System prevents this slowdown the cyclist experiences in the dead spot because it eliminates the moment at which neither leg can transmit any useful power . The Rotor System provides the definitive solution to this inefficiency, innate to conventional cranksets. This dead spot power void happens 180 times a minute and 10,800 times an hour in a 90RPM ride. By using a small percentage of the force from the pedal down stroke to accelerate the rising crank through the last "lame" 50 degrees of the pedal revolution and throw it beyond the dead spot, the Rotor System enables the rising leg to apply more power earlier. This leads to a net gain in power output. This has two positive consequences:

· Better performance & recovery: The elimination of the dead spot results in explosive acceleration and improved endurance for sprints and climbs, and less lactate buildup. This allows precious time gains - even as much as the difference between being 1st instead of not even being on the podium in many races. How? The elimination of the upper dead spot allows the rider to "permanently push" the cranks in extreme situations, giving more torque and a higher wattage output. The constant variation in effective chainring size make much more efficient use of your legs, simultaneously improving the cyclist's lactate threshold. This provides you with a noticeable performance benefit due to less pain (!) and lowers the concentrations of lactic acids busily breaking down your muscles. It alsoensures fresher legs to make the next attack, or for tomorrow's ride.

· Improved comfort & health: Those who do high mileage, or suffer from a dull ache in the knees, or ride with luggage, who would like to have fresher legs for the next ride stand to gain a lot from a Rotor System. Why? Because a bent knee can't handle much strain, and the exertion required to get a bike with conventional cranks moving after the dead spot is considerable. The more a knee bends, the higher the strain that is placed on the tendons and the knee for any given load is. By throwing the crank past the upper dead spot, the legs are given much more leverage, thus reducing internal strain. This reduced knee and muscle strain optimizes the power use, increases comfort, and creates a healthy pedal stroke. With the Rotor System you can ride more miles or heavier loads with comfortable knees and fresher legs.

In summary By virtue of its mechanical linkage, the Rotor System allows the cyclists to spend more time generating power per revolution, whilst generating less lactates.

The Benefits provided by Rotor System have been shown in scientific studies carried out by prestigious international universities. The results demonstrate that Rotor achieves a real increase in power of up to 16% (potentially equivalent to an advantage of 3 minutes in an hour on flat ground), as well as a reduction in lactic acid and cardiac effort.
The three main benefits are:

· A reduction of lactates: Rotor System reduces the concentration of lactates in the blood thanks to greater muscular efficiency, thus reducing fatigue.

· A reduction of cardiac demand: Consequently, as a result of the reduction of lactates in the blood, the demands on the cyclists cardiovascular system are lowered.

· A mitigation of knee injuries: Conventional pedalling subjects the knee to great articulatory stress when the leg is pushing on the upper dead point. By eliminating the dead point, Rotor reduces the typical knee injuries of the cyclist, due to less stress on the knee tendon. Thanks to the variation of the gear ratio during the cycle, the push is more progressive and the articulatory stress is more uniform.

A Rotor System crank can be fitted to almost all frames and accessories commercialised on the market (see the compatibility section of this website), and is available in road (double and triple) and mountain bike versions. Rotor can be adapted to any user's requirements, whether leisure or competition, thanks to an exclusive regulation system.