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Oval Chain Rings


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I have watched a ton of youtube videos on these the last few days, and I am really interested in potentially putting them on my 2020 Giant Trance.  A few questions:

1)  Overall thoughts on Oval rings?

2)  Any particular brand/model?

3)  What number of tooth?  30? 32? 34?

4)  Anything I need to know?

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1. I have tried them and didn't notice a difference. sticking to round rings. I ride singlespeed, so I stand and mash in "the wrong gear" all the time, so my experience might differ from others. yes, an oval ring works fine on a SS drivetrain. if the ring is made right, the teeth are co-centric all the the way around so there is no significant change in tension.

2. tried two Absolute Black and an MRP ring.

3. keep the same tooth count that you use now if that is working for you. don't go up or down from what works, unless you find that you want a little more range up or down.

4. be sure to "clock" the ring in the correct orientation on the cranks. the ring should have some sort of marking on it to indicate where to orient it.

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1. Love mine.  Most claim it's easier to climb with, I notice it more coming out of a corner, right when you start to apply power again.  Bike just wants to launch.

2. I have Absolute Black on my bike, no way to mount it incorrectly

3. I was running a 30 round, went to a 32 oval.  Actually feels better then the 30 round. If I had the legs, I would think about a 34 oval.  All depends on how big a cassette your using, I'm using an E-thirteen with 50 - 9 gear ratio's.  If I didn't do most of my riding at RPR, I would already have the 34

4. Do it, you won't regret it!!

 

I took about 6months off last year from riding, started back up basically the first of this year.  Rebuilt my bike while I was off of it, and put the 30 round back on it.  Just about 3 weeks ago put the 32 oval back on it, felt my legs were up for it, climbed to the peak at RPR up Decision point Trail, with out stopping or having to push my bike, I really think the oval helped with that!

 

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1 hour ago, Ericbike6 said:

1. Love mine.  Most claim it's easier to climb with, I notice it more coming out of a corner, right when you start to apply power again.  Bike just wants to launch.

2. I have Absolute Black on my bike, no way to mount it incorrectly

3. I was running a 30 round, went to a 32 oval.  Actually feels better then the 30 round. 

4. Do it, you won't regret it!!

 

2nd the above.

I have them on my SS and on my geared bike.  The biggest difference is climbing on loose over hardpack.  The torque to the wheel is more even so I don't slip as much.  I think it does raise efficiency for me (same RPE = faster).

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1)  Overall thoughts on Oval rings?

I have an AB ring that I've installed on two different bikes and love it. Improved traction, accelerating out of corners but my favorite is on techy climbs I stall out less.

2)  Any particular brand/model?

Absolute Black and no-name ebay is all I have experience with. The AB is TOP notch in quality.

3)  What number of tooth?  30? 32? 34?

Still figuring that out, overall I think I am ~2 teeth higher than I had in a round ring. 

4)  Anything I need to know?

I think as others have noticed or not noticed it doesn't feel any different when peddling and cruising. It's specific to some of the items above where I KNOW it's improving/covering my lack of technique and finesse. 

Edited by RedRider3141
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I've been using oval for years now. The first thing I noticed was that there is no dead spot/loss of power in my peddle stroke like with round rings. They also really help while climbing in the saddle. As far as ring size that depends on your gearing and what feels comfortable to you. A 32t oval will feel like a 34 at the top of the oval or power point and more like a 30 in the relaxed point of your stroke. 

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Absolute makes great stuff. Stay with the size you currently have unless you are looking for more crawl.

I've had good luck with nearly every chainring manufacturer except the ones from blackspire. 

Edited by ATXZJ
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1 hour ago, horncpa said:

Got this in today.  Now I just got to get it on.  Bike shops are stacked up for weeks.   Went and bought a torque wrench, but got to admit I'm a little uneasy about it.

 

pic not working (?) 

 

lots of people on here can walk you through install. which crank?

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35 minutes ago, ATXZJ said:

pic not working (?) 

 

lots of people on here can walk you through install. which crank?

I have a Sram SX Dub.   Sadly I can’t find a YouTube video that shows that specific crankset disassembly.   However.  I now own a torque wrench, torx bits and loc tite so the sky is the limit.  Lol. 
 

Hopefully I install tomorrow or Friday.  Will definitely post pics.  The red metallic is beautiful. 

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From watching the videos.  I am most worried about how in the world to torque the torx bolts to only 5-7 newts.   The 3/8 torque wrench I bought today starts at 20.    The wrench will be fine for the 8mm main bolt, but I have no idea how to torque those little ones.

 

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10 hours ago, horncpa said:

From watching the videos.  I am most worried about how in the world to torque the torx bolts to only 5-7 newts.   The 3/8 torque wrench I bought today starts at 20.    The wrench will be fine for the 8mm main bolt, but I have no idea how to torque those little ones.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like there are only a few places on a bike that would ever require more than 20 nm of torque (a few suspension bolts, maybe).  20nm is the highest on the torque specs for my bike.

I'd see if you can return the torque wrench you bought and get one that's better suited for bikes.  Most of the stuff is going to be in the 5-10nm range.  Something that maxes out at 25 or 30 nm would be sufficient.

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So the torx bolts that attach the chain ring to the crank need 5-7nm, however the main 8MM hex bolt for the crank needs 54nm.  

So basically I need the 1/4 inch small torque wrench and a bigger one for the big bolt.   Am I thinking about this right?

 

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