Rotor displays Uno hydraulic road group, coming in spring 2016

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — For years now, Rotor has marched to the beat of its own drum in road drivetrain components, whether it’s offering oval Q-Ring chainrings or eschewing carbon cranks in favor of aluminum ones because it believes the material offers superior performance for the application.

So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Spanish brand is at Eurobike showing off its upcoming hydraulic — not mechanical or electric — road group, called Uno.

Developed over the past six years in collaboration with hydraulics experts at Magura, Uno was designed to move indexing away from the shift lever and place it as near as possible to the chain — at the derailleurs, which contain all the drivetrain’s moving parts. Rotor says the result is more precise and — due to the hydraulic actuation — smoother shifting. 

Braking duty is handled by partner Magura via the German manufacturer’s MT8 hydraulic disc caliper or RT8 hydro rim brake, depending on customer preference. Rotor expects disc to be the popular choice but wanted consumers loyal to rim brakes to have an option as well, said product engineer Carlos M. Carton. 

The system’s CND’d 11-speed cassette gets a harder, heavier steel for the smallest five cogs to handle the highest torque, a lighter steel for the next four and replaceable aluminum cogs for the largest two, allowing consumers to tailor gear range to their terrain, according to Carton.

Rotor is looking to release Uno in spring 2016, and pricing has not been set. The company was also mum on exact weights, but Carton said he expects it to be comparable to SRAM Red and lighter than Di2 for the full system.