Offering a line of fully CNC machined cassettes, Black Mountain is looking to blur the line between ultra light and durable. Each cassette is primarily machined from a single piece of a aluminum with the last one or two cogs separate. Currently the company offers cassettes in just about every standard road and mountain configuration available with “bigger options in the works.”
Unlike the Recon cassettes which are called a “race day cassette,” Black Mountain cassettes are designed to be ridden daily but will have a decreased life span compared to a standard cassette. Mark with Prestige MTB, the US distributor of Black Mountain cassettes told us to expect about 4000 miles on the road, and 3000 miles for MTB as a life span.
What do they weigh? Find out next…
The inside of each cassette is hollow with two rows of cassette spine teeth on the main cassette piece. The hard anodized coating on the aluminum is supposed to improve durability.
The view from the back gives an idea of just how machined out the cassette is.
On the scale an 11-28 with the lock ring was 109g (!) and an 11-32 was 129g! Cassettes retail for $250 each regardless of size, and are offered in Shimano, SRAM specific designs. The company is currently working on a Campagnolo 11 speed road option as well.
