There was a time when the name Middleburn caused a severe case of salivation amongst the mountain bike fraternity, but the British company has been a bit quiet the past few years. That said, I think any quietness has been down to lack of self promotion more than anything else because they’ve never stopped making some of the best chainrings that money can buy, or their legendary cranks. Anyway, all the talk about chainrings these days seems to be about narrow/wide ones, and now these new Middleburn Mono TT (they’ve gone thick/thin rather than narrow/wide) rings can be added to that chat. With so many different options out there now though why should you consider these rings? Well if you’ve ever had the pleasure of using a Middleburn ‘Hardcoat’ ring before you’ll know that these things outlast any other rings by some considerable margin. Middleburn reckon the ceramic/PTFE coating results in ten times less friction and four times the wear resistance when compared to a regular anodised chainring, and I wouldn’t argue against that, they really are very good indeed. The only drawback of this coating is that it’s only available in the grey finish that you see above, but if that really bothers you then Middleburn are also offering a slightly cheaper black anodised version.
These Mono TT rings are available in 32, 34 and 36t sizes to fit regular 4-bolt spiders, but knowing Middleburn we wouldn’t be surprised if they offer more sizes and fittings before too long. We think these rings should be high up on your potential shopping list if you’re looking for a new narrow/wide chainring, especially the Hardcoat version. After all Middleburn certainly know their chainring onions and these are made right here in the UK and are competitively priced. What more could you ask for?
Keep an eye out for more Middleburn news in the near future because it sounds like they’ve got a whole load more new stuff in the pipeline…
Price: Black £45.00, Hardcoat £47.50
Middleburn Components 01420 520 223
www.middleburn.co.uk
Try more chain related options here:
Blackspire add Mono Veloce ‘Narrow/Wide’ Chainrings to their lineup
