absoluteBLACK’s unique, single-sided HOLLOWcage oversize derailleur pulley system is arguably the most unique such upgrade on the market, and now they’ve made it a bit more “normal” looking by switching to a standard carbon fiber injection molding process for the mono plate.
It’s a new type of carbon (for them) with a glossier finish that makes it look more like carbon fiber. They say it’s the same material and process used on the SRAM RED AXS derailleur’s stock cages, just with a different (and dimpled) shape.
One of the benefits of this mono-plate design is that it can bend slightly, helping keep the lower jockey wheel pulley aimed more directly at the chainring, reducing lateral loading on the bearings.
Admittedly, the original looked a little like plastic, so this should help visually justify the €399 price.
They also now offer the lower lock-ring in colors besides the original’s flashy Rainbow/Oil Slick. Keep it a bit more subtle with black, titanium (color), gold, or red.
If you’ve never seen aB’s OSPW before, there are quite a few things that make it unique…
Rather than a standard two-piece cage that sandwiches pulleys between them, the HOLLOWcage uses a single mono plate with a massively oversized lower pulley that spins the toothed jockey wheel around a large diameter ring.
They use a full ceramic design, with bearing races made out of 100% Zirconia Oxide ceramic, and balls are made of Silicon Nitride ceramic. They verify the material composition using X-ray diffraction by Lucideon Ltd, a specialist in ceramics and materials science.
The upper guide pulley uses a special rubber ring around it to soften the chain’s contact with it, which they say reduces chain noise by ~5db, or about 40% over a standard Shimano Dura-Ace derailleur.
MSRP is $419 / €399, available for Shimano Dura-Ace 9250 only at launch. Original owners of the HOLLOWcage V1 can get a discounted upgrade. I’ve been riding the original for a couple of years and it’s been great, and it is indeed noticeably quieter than stock cages.
GRAPHENlube wax chainlube updates
If you’ve wanted to try their graphene-infused wax chain lube but been turned off by the price, they’ve just added a smaller 50ml bottle for $43.90 (€39.90). They still offer a tiny 14ml sample size, but the 50ml bottle lets you immerse the chain if you want, or get quite a few drip applications out of it…enough for thousands of kilometers of riding.
They’ve also recently updated the formula to last longer in wet conditions, claiming dramatically longer-lasting performance than their competition:
Here’s how they tested, in their words:
“All chains were prepared with single lube application according to manufacturer instructions. Friction test at 250W resistance, 100rpm cadence, 40km/h speed, 25deg C and 25% humidity. The test continued until the chain reached 8W losses. Chains and testing machine had a 5km warmup/break-in period. First 50km on the graph were recorded in DRY conditions. Without stopping the machine after the 50km mark chains were continuously sprayed with liquid to simulate wet road conditions. The liquid contains water, trace amounts of diesel oil and small amounts of micronized alumina powder to simulate the contaminants which get onto the chain when riding in the rain.”
I’ve been using their original formula for several years and really like this one, too. If you have the means, it’s worth a try.