Oval chain rings

S

sick_em_rex

Squid
where is the jury sitting on oval chain rings? Is it a placebo feeling that they give you more power when pedaling and in particular climbing or is there real science behind them?
If buying one do you stick with the same tooth qty or do you go higher or lower?
 
H

Halo1

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I am undecided. I have one of the HT and normal rings on the other bikes. I can feel a difference but I can’t tell if it is better tbh. Maybe if I did a swap on the same bike I could tell.
 
Isaakk

Isaakk

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I think I prefer them over round. Maybe. Does seem to be a little smoother on the climbs and I perhaps find it easier to keep a more consistent cadence. Hard to quantify though, there's not too much in it, at least to me.

I think you go 2t down. 32t round to 30t oval and so on. Apparently this is not the case.
 
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D

Daniel Hale

She fid, he fid, I fidn't
young us coach recently looked at this on youtube, will oval chainrings make you faster
science says performance gains when sprinting, eff no gain at tempo riding
i find them smoother like isaak, got onto them for single speeding, the more oval they are, better they are, according to your]tube above.

i don’t put out lots of power/wattage, so stick to the same size when running oval, i find an oval 30t is like a 29/31..not 2 teeth different

i have gone back to round on 1 bike as thats what i have, hard to notice the diff

there was talk about it being better for knee’s no study been done though

my advice, if you need to buy a new ring, try oval - if you want to change cos they;re great...not that big a diff , buy flowers for your wifeinstead
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
My best description is that you’re maybe riding a ring 2 teeth smaller. I ran one for 6 months without a guide. They can work with a guide, but it’s not ideal. I valued the guide more than the ring.
 
Oddjob

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
I've got oval rings with chainguides on all of my 1x bikes. It definitely makes it easier to spin and feels like a chainring 2 teeth smaller. The key thing is to get the orientation right.


Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
Oddjob said:
I've got oval rings with chainguides on all of my 1x bikes. It definitely makes it easier to spin and feels like a chainring 2 teeth smaller. The key thing is to get the orientation right.


Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
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Can you get it wrong with Cinch? GXP only fits one way. Yes, there are guides for them. I’m not a fan of the style. Busted a couple of those with chain jumping off on really rough trails. Maybe I’m a hack.
 
K

komdotkom

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Well that's news to me, I didn't realise guides were still a thing. I don't reckon I've dropped a chain for 5 years or more.
Keen to try an oval on my Banshee
 
Minlak

Minlak

custom titis
I run ovals - but not all ovals are created equal - I can fit a 32 Wolftooth on my Torrent but not an Abolsute Black as they are more elongated.
I went 1 size larger as well as I understood it would climb like a 30 and pedal like a 32 - so went from 30t to 32t - I didn’t think there was much of a difference until I went back to a 32 round.

Having said all that though I am currently on a 32 oval on the 11spd Hardtail - and 32 round on the 12 spd Ripley.
 
Dales Cannon

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
As above (mostly), oval +2 teeth over round. I run oval on all bikes now. Smoother pedalling and effort feels -2 to actual count.
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
komdotkom said:
Well that's news to me, I didn't realise guides were still a thing. I don't reckon I've dropped a chain for 5 years or more.
Keen to try an oval on my Banshee
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I said that for years....then started dropping a couple. Just wasn’t worth the stress in a race run.
 
Minlak

Minlak

custom titis
komdotkom said:
Lol, race run? I'm way to slow for that, they'd need a grandfather clock for the timing. Probably why I don't need one, the only KOM's I get close to are uphill.
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I don’t use chain guides and went through a stage of dropping chains on the fire roads - still don’t use in but I can tell you when you go to pedal out the other side of the gully and your feet free spin it freaks you out - especially as I ride clipped in :)
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
komdotkom said:
Lol, race run? I'm way to slow for that, they'd need a grandfather clock for the timing. Probably why I don't need one, the only KOM's I get close to are uphill.
Click to expand...
Oh, they still need one for me, don’t worry.
Even more so uphill.
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
Minlak said:
I don’t use chain guides and went through a stage of dropping chains on the fire roads - still don’t use in but I can tell you when you go to pedal out the other side of the gully and your feet free spin it freaks you out - especially as I ride clipped in :)
Click to expand...
So.....why don’t/won’t you?
 
cokeonspecialtwodollars

cokeonspecialtwodollars

Fartes of Portingale
I've run Absolute Black ovals for around six years now, coming from clips and round rings where you pull up with the back foot in the dead zone, went to flats and found was still lifting that back foot but it was coming off the pedal, installed an oval and found that the pedal would catch up to my foot. I realise none of that makes any sense now I've written it but can't think of a better way to describe it. Also running the Absolute Black chain guide and bash guard combo with zero issues.
 
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