AbsoluteBlack HOLLOWcage® for Sram ETAP AXS Red and Force 12 speed. The revolutionary mono-plate OSPW design is the quietest, best shifting, aerodynamic derailleur cage design created to date. It is a dawn of new era for rear derailleurs. HOLLOWcage ® OSPW has a carbon-polymer mono-plate construction with bespoke, oversized, full ceramic bearings and the most advanced silencing pulleys ever created.
Features
Why is OSPW Hollowcage so special
The new era of silent pulleys meet the silent XRING Pulley
Does it bother you when you ride in a really quiet scenery but you can still hear your bike’s chain engaging the pulleys? This familiar clunking noise has been accompanying us on every ride for decades. It’s time for a change
Common polymer pulleys are fairly loud, this has always been a norm. Aluminium pulleys are even worse as the material radiates the sound more than any polymer, making them louder. We are introducing a completely new generation of pulleys, which are able to reduce the sound level by 12-14dB when compared to stock pulleys. This corresponds to roughly 60% of the noise reduction. Practically speaking, the cage becomes very silent.
We use a patent pending solution, our special xring rubber suspended bands, that dampen the chain impact on the guide pulley teeth, therefore eliminating the engagement noise, which is the single biggest contributor to overall drivetrain noise. From now on, your ride is going to be more silent than it used to be and you will hear sounds that you haven’t noticed before. It's the new era of derailleur cages
Flexible OSPW cage is better than a stiff one
Contrary to common knowledge, flexibility is good as it allows the cage (and therefore lower pulley) align better with the angle of the chain when using the higher gears of the cassette. This means less friction (and less Watts lost) as the pulley doesn’t have to fight against the chain itself. Absolute Black have eliminated one part of the cage all together, creating mono plate cage that can dynamically adapt to the chain angle.
Stiffer guide pulley, not cage, means better shifting
Many companies try to convey that a stiffer cage is a better shifting cage. But the single most important factor that impacts the shifting is the upper pulley itself. Since the upper pulley is mounted directly to the rotating pivot axle, the flexibility of the cage plays very little role. It’s the upper pulley that moves the chain left and right enabling gear change, so making the upper pulley really stiff allows for greater shifting precision. Most oversized pulley cage systems use very small bearings, with a lot of lateral play at the teeth which in turn provide poor, sloppy shifting. HOLLOWcage®, unlike other pulley cage systems, use abnormally large, bespoke, full ceramic bearings that make the pulleys incredibly stiff. Lower bearing alone is actually big enough to fit 11T pulley inside of it.
Oversized OSPW cage is actually more aero
There is a general belief among some of the riders that oversized cages are less aerodynamic. Their larger surface area, when compared to OEM cages, must result in some power losses, which would offset the gains generated by the bigger pulleys. We have tested the market leading cage as well as original cage in a bespoke wind tunnel, designed for smaller objects. HOLLOWcage® proved to be more aerodynamic than the OEM (DA cage) as well as the other leading brand. However, the absolute difference is relatively small, proving that a bigger cage will not set you back and cause any meaningful Watt losses, no matter which cage you use.
The game of watt saving
There are four main components to the savings that oversized pulley system can provide. Bearing quality and its lubrication, the number of teeth in the pulleys, the cage spring tension and the ability of the lower part of the cage to align with the chain. We are using bespoke, shielded, oversized full ceramic bearings that are actually lightly greased not oiled (nor dry). The difference between special grease and oil is only 0.04W in real life conditions, under load, despite the fact that one pulley can free spin and another not at all with no load present. What we gain is great durability and reliability at a cost of 0.04W. Bearings, contrary to common assumption, are not the place of big savings (0.03-0.1W between a high-quality bearings). It’s the companies that sell them want you to think they are by comparing them to Acera level pulleys.
While most of the oversized pulley systems have very similar pulley sizes, the biggest savings mostly come down to the spring tension and the ability of the cage to adapt to the chainline. There is a linear correlation between spring tension and the power losses generated by the cage. Shallow pulley teeth paradoxically require higher spring tension to maintain reasonable shifting quality.
HOLLOWcage® is using lower spring tension than any other cage on the market, while still providing excellent shifting thanks to the unique combination of pulley stiffness and tall teeth profiles. In addition, it is the only cage that can dynamically adapt to the variable chainline, minimizing friction at the lower pulley.
How to mount Hollowcage and chain length adjustment
Please refer to the video instruction below for the installation of the Hollowcage in your rear derailleur . For service / maintenance instructions please refer to our FAQ page. To adjust the chain length, wrap the chain around the biggest sprocket of the cassette and the biggest front chainring, omitting completely the derailleur cage. Holding the chain under tension, pull the ends together so they touch. This is the base length.Depending on the drivetrain you need to add the following to the base length:*Extra two links for 10-28T & 10-33T cassette in 2X scenario.
Absolute Black offer 4 year warranty on bearings* (for more information please refer to our FAQ page)
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