We’ve seen the Edco Monoblock cassettes before, but these latest “Advanced” versions were always kept away from our cameras. Until now. The Monoblock cassette has always been machined from a solid brick of aluminum, which might sound bad at first. We’ve not had great luck with lightweight alloy cassettes in the past. But these are a special chrome-molybdenum enriched alloy that’s light like aluminum, but durable like steel. They say their top riders are getting 15,000km out of them, changing the chain 3x before they changed the cassette.
So, what’s new? The advanced version machines additional material out of the space between the lower five cogs. The originals didn’t have any open space between the cogs, but it was something they’d been testing for a while. It’s finally ready and shipping, and it saves up to 16g depending on size.
They’re available in 10- and 11-speed options only for now…with the standard version also available in Junior gear ratios.
The gold and black finishes are optional and purely cosmetic.
Weights in the left column are for the standard Monoblock cassette, the right column is the new Advanced version…which has the same €199 retail price, so, I think we all know which one we want.
A titanium version is coming in August, pricing is TBD. It’ll be 20g lighter, and will have a slightly tweaked tooth profile to make the shifting very smooth.
The Chronosports series is Edco’s higher end wheel line, using 8K woven carbon for the body and a higher weave on the brake track (for rim brake models). The latest is the Chronosports Simplon, a new 105mm deep aero wheel. It’s intended to replace the full rear disc wheel with something nearly as aero, but far more comfortable. So, you make up in efficiency what little you might lose in aerodynamics.
The Chronosports series wheels are also available in 85, 65, 45 and 28 mm depths. Mix and match as you like, they all run €2,299 for the pair. All are tubeless ready, and soon they’ll start shipping with tubeless tape preinstalled.
All depths except the new Simplon are also available in disc brake and tubular rim options.
Look for 23mm and 25mm inside widths coming soon to make them more relevant in the gravel and all-road market. Testing on those should begin early this winter, possibly with new rim profiles and depths, too.
Edco first showed wheels with the then-new Sapim carbon fiber spokes in 2015. Since then, they’ve tweaked the design and now use bonded metal inserts at both ends of the spoke.
They’re bladed to improve aerodynamics and can be trued just like normal. Look for them on the Julier, their shallowest rim profile.
