Object of Desire: Rotor ALDHU Carbon cranks

Cyclingnews takes a closer look at Rotor's lighter, stiffer and sleeker-looking carbon crankarm solution - the ALDHU Carbon

What is a hands on review?
Rotor ALDHU Carbon cranks
(Image: © Aaron Borrill)

Early Verdict

Rotor has upped the ante with the ALDHU Carbon cranks - a lightweight, modular system designed to improve pedalling stiffness and minimise power loss

Pros

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    Lightweight

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    Carbon aesthetics

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    Modular, self-extracting design philosophy

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    Multiple crank length options (165/170/172.5/175mm)

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    Easy installation

Cons

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    Pricey initial outlay but the modular system makes upgrading parts relatively affordable down the line

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Rotor's ALDHU abbreviation is a dead giveaway when it comes to understanding where this nameplate sits within the brand's component hierarchy system. ALDHU stands for Alpe d'Huez - the mystical climb in the French Alps where Rotor secured its first Tour de France stage victory under the propulsion of Team CSC-Saxo Bank's Carlos Sastre in 2008 - and adorns Rotor's lightest and most performance-focused products.

Four years in the making, the ALDHU-branded crankarms you see here mark the company's recent investment in carbon composite construction - and have been designed to offer another layer of integration to its crankset systems. This notion of modularity means the carbon crankarms will play nicely with any of Rotor's current drivetrain configurations - mountain bike systems included.

Rotor

View the ALDHU Carbon crankarms at Rotor

Aaron Borrill

Aaron was the Tech Editor Cyclingnews between July 2019 and June 2022. He was born and raised in South Africa, where he completed his BA honours at the University of Cape Town before embarking on a career in journalism. Throughout this career, Aaron has spent almost two decades writing about bikes, cars, and anything else with wheels. Prior to joining the Cyclingnews team, his experience spanned a stint as Gear & Digital editor of Bicycling magazine, as well as a time at TopCar as Associate Editor. 

Now based in the UK's Surrey Hills, Aaron's life revolves around bikes. He's a competitive racer, Stravaholic, and Zwift enthusiast. He’s twice ridden the Cape Epic, completed the Haute Route Alps, and represented South Africa in the 2022 Zwift eSports World Championships.

Height: 175cm

Weight: 61.5kg

Rides: Cannondale SuperSlice Disc Di2 TT, Cannondale Supersix Evo Dura-Ace Rim, Cannondale Supersix Evo Ultegra Di2 Disc, Trek Procaliber 9.9 MTB 

What is a hands on review?

'Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view.