inside.bike

absoluteBLACK's new Raven rotors float the friction ring and set weight limits by size

By insidebike

absoluteBLACK announced new-generation Raven SL and Raven GT disc rotors on 7 September, on sale now direct and via selected dealers. Both are two-piece: a stainless-steel friction ring floats on a 7075 aluminium carrier with titanium hardware and can expand as it heats, which the brand says limits warping.

The Raven SL weighs 81 g in 140 mm Centerlock, 94 g in 160 mm Centerlock and 85 g in 160 mm six-bolt. The Raven GT adds steel and more than 500 smaller holes for 108 g in 160 mm Centerlock, aimed at long descents. absoluteBLACK’s case is that the holes must keep steel evenly spread around the track, because a thin band overheats and glazes the pads.

The catch is the weight limit: 140 mm rotors are for rider plus bike under 82 kg and 160 mm under 109 kg. Heavier riders are told to use 180 mm, which the Raven range does not offer. The rotors are designed around absoluteBLACK’s own GRAPHENpads, and it recommends new pads with a new rotor.

Prices are $172 for either Centerlock model, $159 for the SL six-bolt, £129 in the UK and €149 in Europe. Brand-commissioned tests at EFBE Prüftechnik, with its own pads, matched a Shimano Dura-Ace reference for heat dissipation and gave higher torque at equal lever force; we have not tested them.

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