THM has dropped a shocking 1/3 of the weight off their already light carbon mountain bike crankset – down to a claimed 299g for the new Clavicula XC, with a claimed weight of just 299g using an integrated 4-bolt spider. At the same time, THM have a new integrated 1-piece Frontale cockpit that will replace your current bar & stem with just 222g of German carbon. And since THM is actually a part of Schmolke these days, there are also some new TLO bars for those looking to shed weight off more conventional 2-piece road and gravel bike cockpits…
THM Clavicula XC new 299g MTB crankset
After a few years under 3T ownership where they helped refine production of the Torno cranks, Schmolke bought THM just over two years ago, a couple of weeks before the pandemic hit. Stefan Schmolke tells us it made for a stressful transition, but both brands have come out of it stronger, being able to share resources and know-how as there wasn’t really as much product overlap as I would have expected. In the last two years the two have supported each other in development, often with Schmolke going ultralight & THM going more integrated.
But this new Clavicula XC MTB crankset update shows THM is still willing to go crazy light…
The new mountain bike cranks eschew the modular spider design of the popular Clavicula M3 MTB crankset and instead adapts the integrated road Clavicula SE spider design to come in at just 299g. That’s 31% lighter than the comparable 434g M3 mountain cranks, and even a few grams lighter than the classic road Clavicula, thanks to one less arm.
At first, it seemed an odd choice not to go for a Direct Mount solution as has become popular in the days of 1x chainring drivetrains. But really, THM’s integrated carbon spider is lighter and stiffer than anything you’ll get out of DM rings on the market these days, even with four chainring bolts.
The 1300€ Clavicula XC cranks feature Boost spacing, a 168mm Q-factor, 4-bolt 104mm BCD and are compatible with a minimum 32T chainring. THM offers bottom brackets (for an extra 70-110€) to fit all common BB standards. The ultralight carbon cranks are available to order now for autumn 2022 delivery in 170, 172.5 & 175mm lengths and rated for rider/bike/gear up to 110kg/243lb.
Interestingly, they are rated for X1-X4 mountain biking which covers from “Light cross-country terrain” all the way up to “Free ride, heavy terrain” – essentially any MTB discipline except “Downhill, extreme terrain”.
This 11 or 12-speed compatible Carbon-Ti X-Ring EVO ring is not included, but available direct from Carbon-Ti for 70€ and adding 27-57g (30-38T).
THM Carbones Clavicula SE PM is the World’s Lightest Power Meter crankset
About a year and a half ago THM debuted their 1975€ Clavicula SE PM, arguably the World’s Lightest Power Meter crankset at just 320g for compact, 329g for classic road 5-bolt. The power meter internals only add about 27g to the total crankset, while boasting +/- 2% accuracy from 0-1999W output.
The real interesting part of the story here now… is that the power meter internals are totally compatible with the new Clavicula XC mountain bike crankset. THM is already working on refining how the power meter turns raw torque sensor data into accurate power data to transmit to your device, so expect a Clavicula XC PM version in the near future, as well.
It will for sure be the lightest MTB power meter cranks when it debuts!
THM Frontale 1-piece carbon road bike cockpit
On the more integrated side of THM, their new 999€ one-piece carbon Frontale road bike cockpit combines a light carbon bar and stem to create an ultralight, ultra-stiff setup. At just 222g (42cm wide x 100mm stem), the Frontale lets buyers pick from 90/100/110mm effective stem lengths, 40/42/44cm bar widths, AND customize your desired stem angle.
The standard combo is designed around a -6° stem, but THM adjusts each bar to the buyer’s preference so you get the perfect setup to match the actual headtube angle of your steerer tube – at no extra charge!
The bar features 119mm drop, 77mm reach & a subtle 6° of flare at the drops. It gets internal cable routing and a 1 1/8″ clamp, so it will only be fully internal for some setups. It also has a direct mount for an out-front GPS mount under the bar.
Schmolke TLO ultralight carbon gravel & road bike bars
Schmolke has been building carbon bars since 1992 too, although from the beginning the molding process was a bit more primitive than what we see today. But that was good enough for Jan Ullrich and a second place at the Tour de France back in 2003, so I guess Stefan Schmolke knew what he was doing then.
Now molds are more likely to be machined out of big blocks of metal, but inside you still get lightweight carbon bars made in Germany.
Gravelbar TLO
The newest addition to Schmolke’s TLO – The Lightest One – family is their new Gravelbar TLO.
Available in 40/42/44cm widths (outside-outside at the hoods), the gravel bars get a 20° flare in the drops, and another 6° at the ends to come out to 51/53/55cm wide overall – 115mm drop, 75mm reach.
Starting at a whopping 495€, the Schmolke Gravelbar TLO lets you pick from 3 rider weight categories to get the lightest bar, with or without reinforcement to be compatible with clip-on aero bars, a 1K weave or UD finish, optional internal cable routing, and this standard White edition graphics or stealthy Black edition (like the road bar below)… up to 555€ depending on options. Claimed weight for this super gravel bar is just 170-180g.
Roadbar EVO TLO
Compare it on the road-side to the Roadbar EVO TLO from 495€. Options are pretty much the same for the 40/42/44cm bars (o-o), except these are even stiffer & lighter from 135-155g, and can climb as high as 605€!
Roadbar EVO SL
But if your handlebar budget isn’t quite as extravagant, you can get almost the same weight & stiffness from the more ‘affordable’ Schmolke Roadbar EVO SL. From 165-180g, it’s not much heavier and gets all of the same features. And its price is a bit lower but still super expensive at 380€.
You’ll have to decide for yourself where to make your cost savings. If you just bought the expensive, but surprisingly not astronomical new 5-6kg Schmolke complete bike, maybe it makes sense to go TLO, too…
