Let me make this clear, if around your middle, you can pinch any amount of fat that could correspond to the outline of a groupset component, you may not be quite ready for uber light Tune components. Your body is 80 percent of your success on the bike. However, if you don't have the equivalent of a short cage derailleur sleeping in the fat between your pelvic bone and rib cage, read on.
At Interbike, I talked with Sarah, the US distributor for Tune, to see what uber light components the German company were going to make available in 2008. First, the Tune 2008 catalog is a welcomed work of graphic creativity. The components are all photographed in different medical operating room settings. And it appears the employees of Tune have taken it upon themselves to dress up as various types of surgeons. This is not your typical bike parts catalog filled with typical bike parts. Next, I asked Sarah what the purchase-to-thrash rate was for these parts. Light in the bike world is usually bleeding-edge technology. She had no good stories for me. Evidently, her husband, sporting an athletic but non-hummingbird build, has also repeatedly tried to destroy Tune components to no avail. (If you have a story to tell, post it. You know I love a good story.)
But, let's get to the point. If you spend $272 on MIG 45 in the photo on the left; 16H, 18H, 20H, 24H, or 28H; with carbon flanges and carbon axle, you will be riding on a 48-gram front hub, which, children, weighs less than half of your Halloween chocolate bar. For mountain goats who love the simple life, Tune for 2008 is releasing two new single-speed hubs. (Weights and prices galore after the jump.)
MIG 45 front and MAG 180 rear hub photos taken by Wheelgirl in Vegas 2007
Rear road and some mountain hub prices and weights are as follows:
- (See previous paragraph for the MIG 45 specs)
- MIG 70 front hub for road or mountain ($75 gms $168)
- 16H, 18H, 20H, 24H, 28H, 32H radial ok except in 32H
- MAG 150 road rear (156 gms $780)
- Left-side carbon with carbon flange 16H-36H, black or gold only
- MAG 160 road or mountain rear hub (168 gms $606)
- Special bearings + carbon axle Titan freewheel 20-36H no radial lacing
- MAG 180 road rear hub (formerly MAG 190) (186 gms $374)
- Special bearings + aluminum axle, road only 20-36H, no radial lacing
- MAG 180-Ti (formerly MAG 190) road and mountain rear hub (200 gms $480)
- Special bearings + aluminum axle, Titan freewheel, 20-36H, no radial lacing
If you are a mountain goat, see the MAG 160 and MAG 180 rear hub previous info., and the following disc hub weights and manufacturer suggested retail prices:
- Princess front disc hub 17mm-axle 24H, 28H, 32H (118 gms $219 msrp)
- King front disc hub 15 mm 28H, 32H cross country and freeride (140 gms $198 msrp)
- King MK front disc hub (Markus Klausman tested) 32H (156 gms $219 msrp)
- Kong-Ti rear disc hub Magura, Shimano, Hayes Titan-freewheel body 32H (240 gms $510)
- Kong MK rear disc hub 12 mm thru-axle, 150mm, Titan-freewheel body (248 gms $606)
And yes, you uncomplicated mountain goats, Tune is releasing two single-speed mountain rear hubs:
- Singlespeeder disc rear hub 32H for $606 msrp (I don't have a published weight)
- Singlespeeder V brake rear hub 32H for $606 msrp. (Again, no weight yet in print.)
The weights and prices are taken from Tune's published materials. Check out the Tune website for more info. Numbers don't always match. So, check a few sources. Or call your lab rat friends who own highly calibrated digital scales or a card-carrying weight weenie weigher to verify the grams if you have any questions. Also, currency fluctuations do have a bearing on pricing. So, remain somewhat flexible, and regardless of your spiritual belief system, if you plan to buy bike parts from Euro-hip manufacturers in 2008, you may want to light a candle for the US dollar.
