Rotor’s Uno hydraulic groupset will make first pro peloton appearance in 2018

We first saw Rotor’s hydraulic groupset at the annual Eurobike show a few years ago - we even got to have a play with it - but things have been a bit quiet since then. But it’s set to make its professional cycling peloton debut next year with the WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling women’s team.

It will mark the first time a UCI registered team will race with bikes equipped with Rotor’s new groupset. They’ll be riding Orbea Orca OMR road bikes with Rotor also supplying its 2INPower power meters and Q-Rings and new Rvolver hubs.

ROTOR CEO Jose Manuel Banqueri commented on the announcement: “We’re extremely proud to be associated with WNT-ROTOR Pro Cycling team. They are pioneers in women’s professional cycling and we look forward to working together in both product development and competition in the coming season.”

The WNT-Rotor team will comprise of the following riders next season: Anna Badegruber, Lydia Boylan, Natalie Grinczer, Hayley Jones, Melissa Lowther, Elise Maes, Eileen Roe, Hayley Simmonds, Aafke Soet and Lea Lin Teutenberg.

Rotor's Uno groupset is very different to anything else out there.  Rotor reckons advantages of a fully hydraulic system are smooth activation, low maintenance and multiple shifting positions. Another significant benefit is the lack of batteries compared to current, and very popular, electronic groupsets. It's also light, claims the company, though doesn't offer any actual groupset weights

It’ll be interesting to watch the team closely and see how they get on with the new Uno groupset. The groupset battles have heated up in recent years with SRAM finally going electronic with eTap and FSA also throwing its hat into the ring. Rotor has taken a very different approach, trading electronic wires for hydraulic lines.

It’s not clear if they’ll use disc brakes, the groupset is compatible with disc and rim brakes.