Last week we saw new light carbon bars & posts from Ceetec, then over the World Cup weekend the Swiss component maker debuted a new ultralight chainguide, adding to their catalogue. The new HDM bolted on a high direct mount option for their newly announced partnership with the elite women on the Kross Racing Team.
Lightweight Ceetec HDM carbon & aluminum chainguide
With the idea to support the Kross team, Ceetec needed to develop a chain retention solution for the carbon Level TE hardtails the team was racing. While the team bikes include a routing port for a Sideswing front derailleur, it relies on a band-clamp front derailleur, and the elite racers compete on SRAM Eagle 1×12 bikes. So Ceetec set out to develop a superlight band-clamp stiff-enough to support an updated version of the previous High Direct Mount guide.
They had already produced an alloy guide with carbon bands for Sabine Spitz last season, so that became a starting point for a more adaptable design. Now with the use of carbon sleeve shims around the seattube, Ceetec gets the chainline they need and builds in the ability to work with a larger number of seattube sizes.
It was a project they were already working on, adapting the adjustability and over-the-chain security of their 10g S2/S3 Adjust guide with the flexibility to use a direct derailleur mount or a band-clamp on frames with a round seattube.
Now being raced by Kross – including current World Champ Jolanda Neff and former champ Maja Włoszczowska – plus CST-Ameroican Eagle and JB Brunex Felt elite teams, and a number of independent riders like former 2x World Champ Sabine Spitz, you’ll find Ceetec’s tiny chain retention devices on the bikes of many of the top cross country riders in the world. And Ceetec seems pretty justified in saying the most successful chainguide comes from Switzerland.
The new guide is entirely produced in Frenkendorf, Switzerland, both carbon & alloy components. But light doesn’t come cheap. The S2/S3 Adjust retails for 108 Swiss Francs (~$115/93€). The standard HDM version won’t be much more than that (but more expensive than the previous simple version). Then when you add in that carbon clamp – still promised less than 20g – the full Kross Team setup is likely to be a good bit more expensive when the new HDMs become available later this year.
