Three hub sets in different price and quality classes kick things off. The top model is assigned to the X-9 group. The 9 mm axles for standard quick-release skewers rotate in sealed industrial bearings. The hub body has been generously machined to keep the weight as low as possible. A steel freehub with three pawls should ensure reliable power transmission from the cassette to the entire wheel.

The two simpler MTH-506 and MTH-406 hub sets are primarily intended for original equipment on complete bikes and rotate in adjustable cone bearings. The main differences between the two models are better seals, smoother running bearings and a weight-reduced hub body on the MTH-506.

All three hub pairs have a disc brake mount for 6-hole attachment, which are already milled flat at the factory for good concentricity of the disc. The hub flanges for 32 spokes are raised on the brake side, which improves stability and balances the spoke tension between the two sides. Sram supplies the matching quick release skewers with every hub set. As usual with Sram, they come with a two-year warranty. Exact weights, delivery dates and prices have not yet been announced by Sram. However, the manufacturer has announced that production will start this October and that the different hub pairs will cost between 48 and 125 dollars in the USA.

Sram is not entirely new to the business of hubs for off-road bikes. Until 2002, the component manufacturer already had mountain bike hubs on offer, but these were only slightly adapted parts from Sachs, which had been acquired shortly before. The fact that Sram is now re-entering the hub business after a long break is a clear sign that the Americans really want to offer all bike parts except the frame from a single source. The hubs presented here are almost certainly just the first step. Lighter hubs that fit the XX and X.O top groupsets, those for thru axles and complete wheels, such as those Sram already offers for road bikes, are probably only a matter of time.

www.sram.com