Rotor Chainsets

Interesting. I'm keeping an eye out for a set hoping that people will be going for the power meter set and wanting to sell on the originals.

Tricky thing with changing a crankset is whether its just the crankset or the bottom bracket that is also changed (for example if moving from SRAM to Shimano crank)? Adds in additional factors that will affect flexure.

The most revealing example for me was switching from a Shimano tiagra 2-piece crankset to a Shimano Ultegra 6700 Hollowtech II crankset on the same frame (Specialized Tarmac SL2) using exactly the same BB (it was left installed).

The Ultegra crank was noticeably stiffer, especially when stood out of the saddle sprinting in the big ring - this felt rock solid 'like a platform'. The Tiagra in contrast felt 'soft' in the big ring. I actually switched it back to Tiagra to understand this, and that softness returned.

As a comparison, the 6800 Ultegra HT2 crank is rated as the stiffest crank Shimano currently make for road bikes.

Dura Ace is considerably lighter than 6800 but more flexible.

5800-105 is actually slightly lighter than 6800, but also more flexible (this comes from the large ring which uses a cheaper and lighter nylon inlay rather than carbon fibre used on 6800)

Interesting thread this. Has anyone upgraded from an FSA gossamer pro on BBRight to Rotor?

I bought a rotor 3d+ chainset the other week with the BB30 BSA and round rings. Its ace. Its dead light and just doesn't flex. I love it. Its so smooth that I ended up buying a new rear cassette and chain just so i could listen to the silence.

I run a set of 3D+ with normal Praxis Works rings which is attached to my Specialized. Very nice cranks, look good and are very stiff compared to the Campag Records cranks they replaced.

I do have an un-used Rotor PF30 bb at home if you need to buy one. Fully boxed etc.

I hired a bike with a Rotor crankset and Q-rings when I did some cycling in Spain a couple of years back.

Anecdotally, I really liked them. Not sure whether it was the oval rings or whether the crankset was generally good, but I felt very comfortable with them, riding both on the flat and particularly on the climbs.

Caveat: the whole bike was new to me so there are a number of factors at play in my enjoyment of the riding, and I was not specifically trying to evaluate the crankset vs. others I've ridden.

For reference, on my two usual bikes I have:
Race bike: FSA SL-K Light carbon crankset
Winter training bike: SRAM Rival crankset

I would very definitely contemplate/evaluate Rotor cranks (probably with Q-rings) for a future bike.

Perhaps someone with a more scientific view will provide experiences too.