Variable-temperature (VT) crystal structures, VT ¹H spin–lattice relaxation in static crystals, and DFT modelling of the rotational barriers of BCP rotators in crystalline arrays of a rod-like molecule containing two 1,3-bis(ethynyl)bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane (BCP) units demonstrate that a correlated gearing motion occurs in the limit of a weak coupling between two rotors in a pair.