Something new! Rotor QX1 Chainring

When looking for a product endorsement you can’t do better than the World Champion! Christophe Sauser won his third world endurance championship earlier this year. He did so using a prototype chainring from Spanish manufacturer Rotor. Sauser has been using Rotor elliptical Q-Rings since 2008. He is well known for being quite picky about his equipment and his technical attention to detail. So if he has chosen to use a piece of kit, it won’t be because of a lucrative sponsorship deal, but because he feels it offers a genuine competitive advantage.

 

Christophe Sauser - World Champ!

Sausers prototype QX1 chainring

 
Some of you may remember that I tried a Q-Ring myself around 12 months ago, with positive results (here). The elliptical shape is meant to help minimise the dead spot in the pedal stroke, by reducing the effective gearing when your legs are at the weakest point of rotation. I wasn’t able to substantiate the claims of increased power and reduced fatigue but I did feel that my pedal stroke was smoother, providing less wheel spin and better traction in slippery, muddy conditions. It also seemed that I could stay ‘on top’ of the gears for longer before changing down.

Earlier this year I switched to a 1x10 gearing set-up. Rotor didn’t offer a suitable single chainring so I swapped to SRAM’s brilliant XX1. The huge advantage of XX1 is the alternating thick/thin teeth, which retain the chain without the need of a chain guide. It works brilliantly and I haven’t had a dropped chain yet, plus I have all the advantages of the light weight and simple 1x10 set-up. I have been monitoring the Rotor website since then and just last week I finally saw that they had released their own specific MTB single ring called the QX1.


So I now have an oval ring back on the bike, and I am looking forward to trying it out this evening at the monthly South Downs Bikes shop ride.

My QX1 fitted last night!