Most of these wont fit dungeons in the game, but are just ideas, I'm throwing a BUNCH out there.
I was just suggesting things xD If there were only four dungeons, then we'd obviously not use like 8 cogs, only four or five. The one thing that's not clicking with me for your method would be the reliance on something that is pretty much the equivalance of rolling, which is why I used it as an analogy. The spinner in TP sent you about as far (depending entirely on if you sat and charged it all the way up, or on the slope face you were on) as a roll. If KoT Link has the ability to roll, then it seems kind of silly to tie them to a secondary roll. In TP, the spinner had a defined purpose, which was, ride the gear tracks and spin mechanisms to acheive things like an open door.
What I'm failing to see in KoT, is how either of those would be incredibly useful, considering it would be a heck-of-a-ton harder to do, I mean, with square corners, you're going to have a fun time riding around Stallords circular room, for example. The doors thing could work, but from what I've read so far it doesn't sound like you're including that. Anyways, it, to me, just doesn't seem like a feasable item.
However, what you seem to misunderstand, is that I'm not suggesting new attacks, or power-ups (in a sense.) What I'm suggesting is more like tunics, the ideas I gave yesterday were rough and unfinished, etc.
In MC you got the power-bracelet to climb cliffs.
In OOT / "MM" / MC / ALTTP / etc you get a method of swimming.
In MC / OOT / OOA / OOS you got a method of jumping.
In ALTTP / OOT / MM? / etc you got a method of becoming stronger, so as to lift certain things.
What I suggest that the cogs do, is provide more of a passive effect when "equipped or whatever." That doesn't mean that when you use a "Spinner" with one up, it won't change its use; I'm just trying to cut down on the need for excessive quantities of items, while making the cogs significantly useful for progression to other areas. In OOT, you needed the tunics to enter and beat dungeons, and you needed the Power Bracelet and Goron Bracelet to enter and beat dungeons. In OOT, you could already swim, but in almost all of the hand-helds, Link can't, at least right off the bat.
What I suggest, is, instead of having a list that looks like this, of accessories:
Hover Boots - allows you to hover, making you have reduced friction as well.
Forest Cog - makes tornadoes for jumping and attack and increases the speed of the spinner.
Power Bracelet: lets you climb climbable cliffs.
Goron Bracelet - lets you pull of Bomb Flowers (and lift bigger rocks?)
Silver Bracelet - lets you pull massive blocks and stuff.
Stone Cog - lets you "raise and lower certain rocks" etc, while slowing the spinner, while causing an earthquake.
Iron Boots - makes you slower and heavier, enough to sink to the bottom of water.
Ocean Cog - lets you travel across water and through currents (a-la pokemon's Whirlpool?), while providing a water attack.
Zora Tunic / Flippers - lets you swim and dive in water that is deep enough.
Cloak of Shadows - lets you swap realities, obscuring the physical and revealing the ghostly aspects of stuff, also makes you
invisible.
Shadow Cog - does an attack that stuns enemies, and dispells illusions.
Granted, I made that sound as convoluted as I could, after just waking up, but my point stands. Rather than that, I suggest something along the lines of this V. However, when I say used, I'm thinking, the little "Jump" attack the spinner had in TP, not just getting on it (the Dash, as I refer to it.)
Forest Cog: Lets you climb vines, cliffs and other such things. It increases the Spinner's non-dashing speed. When the Spinner is used (the Dash) with this active, it launches a tornado in front of it, which moves, and slows down, and stops, before fading a second later. Useful for stunning enemies, or jumping into to access new areas. (The tornado would, if it encountered a hole, ie, Cane of Paccai, it would last longer, and be gone when you jumped into it.
Stone Cog: Allows you to lift, push and pull previously unmovable stones, and perhaps makes him sink in water. It decreases the Spinner's non-dashing speed. When the Spinner is used (the Dash) with this active, a shockwave pulses around the spinner, not too far, but far enough to be effective., causing enemies to be stunned, or if they're too cool for that, take damage. All enemies (except those immune) take knockback from running into this shockwave. This can also crack-split-then-shatter rocks that one might have needed Bombs for.
Ocean Cog A (assuming Link can't swim): Allows Link to swim. The spinner is now capable of travelling over water, though when the time runs out, you plop down into it. When used, the Spinner emits a whirlpool of watery stuff, allowing it to go faster (Dash) on water, and to break any whirlpools it hits / gets stuck in. This whirlpool of water stuff also knocks back enemies.
Ocean Cog B (Assuming Link can swim): Allows Link to swim BETTER!, ie, swim through PKMN-esque currents, and or Dive, allowing him to get stuff of the bottom and swim under obstructions. Same Spinner stuff applies, but it does damage and knock-back.
Shadow Cog: (I don't like the idea of this one too much, as a whole.) Allows Link to walk on "Ghostly Platforms", ones that you can't see without the Shadow Cloak up, and can now walk on - as well as either increasing the "Range" of the Cloak, ie, Lens of truth style 75% of the screen circle to 100% of it, OR increasing the light area around Link in dark places, a-la MC's Temple of Droplets. This allows the spinner to travel on "Ghostly Platforms" as well, and either does not affect the speed, or makes it go faster when the Shadow Cloak is being used.
That's all I have for the Shadow Cog, cuz I really just don't see that one working well =/ The water one all depends on whether or not Link gets something like flippers. That pretty much sums all the cogs up into a Link Bonus, and Passive Spinner Bonus, and a Spinner Dash Bonus.
And that way, all we really have is one item, with four (and a half) effects, + a neutral bonus for Link. Changing them shouldn't be much of a problem, unless you're a die hard, MUSTUSEWATERSPIN ALLTEHTIME person, and then you're kinda in for it, but other than that, I think it would work well with a hookshot, bow, boomerang if we have one, etc etc etc. What do you think?