ROTOR will offer a limited edition, ‘Cobo Bison’ 3D crankset to commemorate GEOX-TMC’s Juan Jose Cobo victory at the 2011 Vuelta a España.
The Spanish manufacturer will offer 1,000 cranks for worldwide sale in 2012. “This is the second time a ROTOR product has won a grand tour and we want to commemorate this exceptional victory,” said Ignacio Estelles, ROTOR ceo, in a prepared statement.
Cobo’s 2011 Vuelta victory is the third major title the 3D crank design, behind the 2009 Tour de France green jersey, 2010 road world championships. Carlos Sastre’s Yellow Tour de France crank and Thor Hushovd’s Green Jersey crank were ROTOR’s first customized cranks, and were made just for the athletes.
To mark this latest victory ROTOR designed a special red crank specifically for sale. Cobo’s personal ‘Cobo Bison’ red crank, which was used in the final stage of the 2011 Vuelta, was simply painted, where as the commemorative version features a richly anodized red finish. The anodized finish will likely wear better than the original painted version. In addition, the crank features an image of Cobo’s mascot ‘The Bison’ taken from cave paintings in his home region of Cantabria, Spain.
Cobo's bison is emblazoned on the crank arm
Each crank will be individually numbered in the series of 1,000. The initial production of these special cranks has shipped from the ROTOR factory and will hit stores this month.
Roughly 300 of the commemorative cranks will be available in the US, while a few dozen are slated for the UK. The cranks will be available in 170mm through 175mm lengths with 110mm or 130mm spiders, both of which are replaceable, thus allow use of the red commemorative arms with a Quark power meter.
The commemorative crank is of ROTOR’s 3D design—which uses a 24mm steel spindle, not the newer 3D+ with 30mm spindle—and sells for US$500 without rings or bottom bracket; the standard 3D costs $400, also without rings or bottom bracket.
