Rotor Aldhu

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Post Reply
lewolive
Posts: 160
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:10 pm
Location: Gien, France
Contact:

by lewolive

Hi, I wanted to share with you a short review on Rotor Aldhu. Please excuse me if you feel it's not a fair review. I want to describe the real advantages and drawbacks of the product.

This crank is coming in replacement of my 2Inpower powermeter. I need power data but I consider riding this for a few long rides this year as it's features are interesting.

The weight measured is 564g including a 53/39 spidering. Thats lighter by 50-80g over top of the brand Shimano and Sram in that length of axle. The spindle is long enough to accept all BB, so it cannot be really compared with true BB30 cranks. It'll compete with PF30/BBRight/BB86 and BSA frame cranks.

The geometry is similar to 3d+/Flow/Inpower cranks. It requires 30mm BB. On my Canyon, it's a 41/30 BB. The installation has been very quick. I chose the rim brake axle. If you choose to buy later a disc brake bike you can just change the axle and convert the crank. That's convenient and not expensive ($60).

The advantage was for me to select the precise OCP, given by my 2Inpower software. I know that on flat rides, my OCP would be 1,5 to 2. The Aldhu spider is allowing to select 1,75, that's awesome ! For me, Rotor is over promoting Qrings, saying they are better than round in any case. For me the truth is that Qrings are always better than round ONLY if your have the good OCP. And the best way to measure OCP is to measure OCA first with a Rotor Powermeter. I don't trust the Qring guide, it's not a scientific method to adjust Qrings. I love the measures of the Rotor powermeter, that's a scientific measure.

On the first rides I have loved the ratio weight/stiffness. The 12,5% oval spidering is properly adjusted with my Sram Yaw derailleur and no noise is observed, even on 53/28. On high power levels, the product remains very efficient: I tried a 950-1000W average on a short climb of 30s and stiffness was good enough. In order to feel less stiffness than 2Inpower you really need to reach higher levels, let's say 1200-1300W. But for me, 2Inpower is actually too stiff, nobody needs a such stiff crank and it would be inteesting to reduce weight of the 2Inpower. Adlhu is probably a very good compromise, because it's well known that most of cyclists are making the difference in a large gap of 250 to 1200W.

Honnestly, I regret a few things:
-Aldhu should be available in a 24mm spindle, because Rotor should think about Shimano users and it's easier to keep an original 24mm BB than changing for a 30mm BB.
-12,5% ovalty is high, I may prefer keeping standard Qrings with 10% ovalty.
-BB86 is performing better with 24mm spindles. I have found the solution with a good ceramic 41/30 BB but it remains hard to find and expensive.
-No powermeter features...

At the end it's a well engineered product. The price is very competitive and it's a serious upgrade for Ultegra or Sram Force users. For DA and Red owners, who have already spent much money on cranks, it's a lighter improvement. For those who build their groupsets by themselves, It's a fantastic opportunity. The last good news is that it's available in short arm lengths (150,155,160 and 165mm).
Attachments
IMG_4292.JPG
IMG_4297.JPG
IMG_4299.JPG

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12444
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

I love the feel of oval rings too. My pedaling style heavily favors the downstroke from about 2 o'clock to 5 o'clock so it makes sense to increase the bias to that peak power phase. That's pretty much what OCP3 does.

However I have never gotten Q-Rings working properly with eTap. No matter what I try, the chain occasionally gets thrown over the top on upshifts. Iv'e tried vertical gaps of 1mm, 2mm, 4mm. I've tried all angles of yaw. I've tried high-limit gaps of .1mm, .5mm, 1mm, 1.5mm. Literally everything...nothing works. The only thing I haven't tried is the extra large QXL shim that Rotor sells. I have tried the SRAM one though. Shimano FD don't seem as troublesome.

eTap is more crucial to me than Q-Rings, so I made the choice to go back to round rings for now. When 1x14 or whatever happens, I will go back to oval rings.

exctasy
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 4:34 am

by exctasy

@lewolive i recalled seeing that there's a new 2inpower dm for aldhu rings. I've been on rotor inpower for 2yrs and happy with their product. Thinking if i should get the 2inpower or 2inpower dm aldhu for a new bike.

exctasy
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 4:34 am

by exctasy

lewolive wrote:
Tue Apr 10, 2018 5:35 pm

-No powermeter features...


Thanks for the review!
i recalled seeing that there's a new 2inpower dm for aldhu rings. I've been on rotor inpower for 2yrs and happy with their product. Thinking if i should get the 2inpower or 2inpower dm aldhu for a new bike.

NiFTY
Posts: 1493
Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 11:26 pm

by NiFTY

Much lighter than the media articles would suggest. What crank length is that for? I am a q ring user forever too. My sram red exogram bb30 172.5 w stages spindle, stages carbon nds, ocp3 rings and chainring bolts and a custom spindle spacer is 560g.

Tobin i also can't get yaw to work w qrings (mechanical) so i use a sram 10 speed force fd - its perfect in either 10 or 11 speed groupsets - big ring no rub all gears, little ring smallest two sprockets only.
Evo 4.9kg SL3 6.64kg Slice RS 8.89kg viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12444
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

NiFTY wrote:
Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:14 am

Tobin i also can't get yaw to work w qrings (mechanical) so i use a sram 10 speed force fd - its perfect in either 10 or 11 speed groupsets - big ring no rub all gears, little ring smallest two sprockets only.

It's so ridiculously frustrating and I wish I had the option of using a different FD. It worked "ok" with my Swiss Cross. I'm too lazy to find the perfect shim geometry to make it work. It might also be the 410mm chainstays vs 425mm on the Swiss Cross.

Also re: OP
Also while I do lament the lack of 24mm spindle options, it was a conscious choice I made to go with Trek/BB90. In hindsight I should have given it more weight when deciding between bikes, but whatever.

lewolive
Posts: 160
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:10 pm
Location: Gien, France
Contact:

by lewolive

NiFTY wrote:
Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:14 am
Much lighter than the media articles would suggest. What crank length is that for? I am a q ring user forever too. My sram red exogram bb30 172.5 w stages spindle, stages carbon nds, ocp3 rings and chainring bolts and a custom spindle spacer is 560g.

Tobin i also can't get yaw to work w qrings (mechanical) so i use a sram 10 speed force fd - its perfect in either 10 or 11 speed groupsets - big ring no rub all gears, little ring smallest two sprockets only.
This is a 172,5mm

lewolive
Posts: 160
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:10 pm
Location: Gien, France
Contact:

by lewolive

exctasy wrote:
Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:49 am
@lewolive i recalled seeing that there's a new 2inpower dm for aldhu rings. I've been on rotor inpower for 2yrs and happy with their product. Thinking if i should get the 2inpower or 2inpower dm aldhu for a new bike.
Yes, the DM is available with 2Inpower. But for me, the solution is to use Qarbon outer ring as it's lighter and stiffer than regular Rings. Of course the DM will be lighter than Qarbon, but I also love the design of Qarbon. During long rides in the Alps I have the position 2 on my Qarbon for the valley and position 1 on my 39T for climbs, this is perfect.

lewolive
Posts: 160
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:10 pm
Location: Gien, France
Contact:

by lewolive

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed Apr 11, 2018 2:49 am
I love the feel of oval rings too. My pedaling style heavily favors the downstroke from about 2 o'clock to 5 o'clock so it makes sense to increase the bias to that peak power phase. That's pretty much what OCP3 does.

However I have never gotten Q-Rings working properly with eTap. No matter what I try, the chain occasionally gets thrown over the top on upshifts. Iv'e tried vertical gaps of 1mm, 2mm, 4mm. I've tried all angles of yaw. I've tried high-limit gaps of .1mm, .5mm, 1mm, 1.5mm. Literally everything...nothing works. The only thing I haven't tried is the extra large QXL shim that Rotor sells. I have tried the SRAM one though. Shimano FD don't seem as troublesome.

eTap is more crucial to me than Q-Rings, so I made the choice to go back to round rings for now. When 1x14 or whatever happens, I will go back to oval rings.
My mount is the following: FD Sram Force 22 Yaw, Shifters Red Ergodynamic. Outer ring is the 53T with 12,5% ovalty. Frame is Canyon SLX. FD is mounted at the top of the insert without rotor hanger and without chain catcher. All shifting is perfect and I'm satisfied with this mount. I like the Yaw derailleur. Shimano is a lot easier to adjust but I see the Shimano tec as a on/off solution whereas Yaw is more a custom solution.

RivetRider
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 12:17 pm

by RivetRider

I'm not sure whether the manufacturing tolerences are just really far off but when I purchased my ALDHU crankset it weighed 620g (170mm cranks, semi compact). Also after considering all the potential pitfalls of running a 30mm axle in a BB86 frame I sent it back and opting instead for a DA or Red chianset. Really dssappointing :(
have you tried riding your bike harder?

tomtom
Posts: 351
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2010 9:01 am

by tomtom

30mm in a BB86 frame is always a problem....barings cannot cope with such little room :-(. But the Aldhu looks stunning :D !
Canyon Aeroad CFR
Canyon Grail CF

TiCass
Posts: 257
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2016 1:13 pm

by TiCass

tomtom wrote:
Tue Aug 14, 2018 12:17 pm
30mm in a BB86 frame is always a problem....barings cannot cope with such little room :-(. But the Aldhu looks stunning :D !
I'm doing precisely that since last year, not problem so far.

dcorn
Posts: 427
Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2017 4:21 pm
Location: NoVA

by dcorn

Just to update this thread, the ALDHU crank is now available with a 24mm spindle that is a direct replacement for Shimano cranks, plus Power2Max now makes the NG power meter to replace the Rotor spider.

drexel75
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2018 8:01 am

by drexel75

dcorn wrote:
Wed Dec 05, 2018 6:18 pm
Just to update this thread, the ALDHU crank is now available with a 24mm spindle that is a direct replacement for Shimano cranks, plus Power2Max now makes the NG power meter to replace the Rotor spider.
This was what I was thinking of doing. Power2Max Ngeco for the spider/PM and Rotor ALDHU24 cranks and axle with Rotor rings. Not sure if I fancy Q or not. Would this work? I currently have a Shimano BB92 and Ultegra R8000 crankset.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



dcorn
Posts: 427
Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2017 4:21 pm
Location: NoVA

by dcorn

drexel75 wrote:
Wed Dec 05, 2018 6:52 pm
dcorn wrote:
Wed Dec 05, 2018 6:18 pm
Just to update this thread, the ALDHU crank is now available with a 24mm spindle that is a direct replacement for Shimano cranks, plus Power2Max now makes the NG power meter to replace the Rotor spider.
This was what I was thinking of doing. Power2Max Ngeco for the spider/PM and Rotor ALDHU24 cranks and axle with Rotor rings. Not sure if I fancy Q or not. Would this work? I currently have a Shimano BB92 and Ultegra R8000 crankset.
As far as I know, yes. I have the same BB and just replaced my R8000 crank with the Rotor 3D24 crank and attached P2M NGeco. Mine had Praxis rings, but that doesn't matter either way. The crank was a direct swap, pulled out the Ultegra, slide the Rotor straight in. The 24mm spindle on the ALDHU crank should work the same way. I considered the newer crank, but I didn't want to spend the extra couple hundred bucks to save a few grams of weight.

Post Reply