Rotor founders launch new component brand with carbon cranks

KORTRIJK, Belgium (BRAIN) — Pablo Carrasco and Ignacio Estelles, the co-founders of the Rotor Bike Components, launched a new component brand called QO at the Velofollies bike show in Belgium last week. 

QO is described "a powerful partnership" between the two Spanish entrepreneurs and YMA, a Taiwanese carbon fiber manufacturer. QO's first products are carbon fiber cranksets, with models for road, mountain bike and gravel. More products are in the pipeline.

The QO road crankset features a dimpled surface said to improve aerodynamics, while the gravel and mountain bike cranks feature Kevlar reinforcement "armor" at the pedal ends to protect against rock strikes. 

"We are thrilled to launch QO with this state-of-the-art carbon crank as our debut product, and they are just the beginning," said Carrasco. Estelles added, "Our mission is to push the limits of performance, and to give form to ideas we have been wanting to develop for years. The QO brand is focused on delivering real-world benefits to professional riders and passionate cyclists alike."

The QO brand comes from the Latin phrase "Quo Vadis," which means "Where are you going?"

QO launched with multiple European distributors lined up and is seeking a U.S. distributor. The company said products will be available for consumers in early March. The brand's initial distributors are Velotech Services (UK), Alternativsport (France), 2Moso (Benelux) and QO in Spain. 

Industry veteran Phillip Lucas has joined QO as sales and marketing manager. Lucas, the owner of Netherlands-based UpShift Sports & Mobility Consulting, has worked with a variety of brands including Enviolo, Niner, Boyd, Eddy Merckx and Gates. He was with Rotor from 2006 to 2014, concluding his time at the company as USA Brand Manager. 

Carrasco and Estelles founded Rotor in 1994, with an oval chainring its first product. The two welcomed a private equity investor in 2014. They left the company a few years ago under a non-compete agreement that recently expired. (Unrelatedly, the Chinese component maker Wheeltop announced last fall that it had taken a minority investment in Rotor.) 

Separately, the pair also are the co-founders of MOOEVO, a Spanish micromobility startup. 

Who is YMA?

A QO representative told BRAIN that YMA is both a manufacturer and "an important stakeholder" in QO. YMA, based in Taichung, Taiwan, is a carbon fiber manufacturer founded in 1968. It's owned by J-Star Holding Co., a Taiwanese holding company that also owns a share in the French bike assembler Cycles Services Loire. According to its website, YMA has manufactured products for Colnago and other bike brands. It gets about 60% of its business making bicycle products and the most of the remainder making carbon rackets. 

J-Star has filed to make an initial public offering on Nasdaq under the YMAT symbol. An IPO prospectus the company filed with Nasdaq in November said J-Star plans to use some proceeds from the public offering to open an automated production line and R&D center in Houston, Texas, by December 2025. The prospectus also said J-Star would launch its own brand of e-bikes and other sporting equipment this year. 

J-Star had 2023 revenues of $23.7 million and profits before taxes of $1.03 million that year.

The QO website is qobike.com. Interested distributors are being asked to contact Lucas at phillip@upshiftsports.com.