Replacement chainrings?

[cp43]

Last weekend, on a ride, I noticed I was missing a chainring bolt (only had 4 out of 5). I was almost done with the ride, only 3 miles left, and not knowing how long it had been missing, I decided to finish up the ride. About a mile later, I put a little power down, and I felt something in the drivetrain fail. It turned out to be the small chainring. It bent where the bolt was missing.

So, I'm in the market for new rings, it's about time anyway. I've heard good things here about Praxis rings, and Shimano rings.

I'm also not opposed to getting new cranks, if the price is right. The current cranks are 5ish year old SRAM Rival, 180mm. I've been happy with them, so I'd only go the new crank route if I can stay with the 180s, and it's cheaper than new rings.

If people are interested, I can grab a couple shots of the damage. I was lucky, the ring didn't bend enough to hit the chainstay.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks,

Chris

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by cp43

Last weekend, on a ride, I noticed I was missing a chainring bolt (only had 4 out of 5). I was almost done with the ride, only 3 miles left, and not knowing how long it had been missing, I decided to finish up the ride. About a mile later, I put a little power down, and I felt something in the drivetrain fail. It turned out to be the small chainring. It bent where the bolt was missing.

So, I'm in the market for new rings, it's about time anyway. I've heard good things here about Praxis rings, and Shimano rings.

I'm also not opposed to getting new cranks, if the price is right. The current cranks are 5ish year old SRAM Rival, 180mm. I've been happy with them, so I'd only go the new crank route if I can stay with the 180s, and it's cheaper than new rings.

If people are interested, I can grab a couple shots of the damage. I was lucky, the ring didn't bend enough to hit the chainstay.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks,

Chris

TA or shimano rings. Grease the CR bolts, make sure they are tight.

[kramnnim]

Quite happy with Praxis.

[gospastic]

Very underwhelmed with my set of praxis rings.

[Bostic]

I bought the 52/36 Praxis rings right when they came out and used them on Rival 170mm cranks. Fantastic shifting compared to the stock ones. After a year or so I moved them over to another bike with a Force carbon crank and also had great results. Last month I picked up a set of 50/34 Praxis for lower gearing and found that the chain drop pin on the 50 was too tall and when installed on the Force cranks it was uneven. I had to remove the ring and file down the pin quite a bit to get enough clearance to sit properly on the Force crank. A bit of a downer after forking out money on new rings but the bike does shift great. For whatever reason this new set of rings is noisier than the previous set.

[8aaron8]

Not really a recommendation for chainrings, though I have had great luck with shimano rings, but once I went on a ride with a buddy who rarely rides, it was supposed to be an 80 mile trip (40 out and 40 back). When we got to the turn around marker we noticed he had one chainring bolt holding his chainring on, it was a single speed. I was surprised it had held up so well being that he began with 5 bolts, but we decided I would tow him to a shop a few miles out to grab some bolts, however as soon as he put his foot on the pedal the chainring folded in half. I still towed him a few miles to find that the shop had no rings with the correct bcd, so we had to phone a ride. It was an interesting experience, good thing you still had another ring to ride

[Spinner]

... used to replace Dura Ace. TA rings provide a superior shift.

Cheers.

[cp43]

Thanks for the recommendations, I hadn't though of TA.

I was lucky, on that ride I was able to ride in on the big ring, very carefully.

I did a fleche last year (May 2013) on my fixie, and finished with 4 out of 5 bolts present, and 0 out of 5 tight. I was amazed I still had a chainring on the cranks at that point. I've learned from that to always use a torque wrench to get up to recommended torque for the chain ring bolts.

Thanks,

Chris

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by gospastic

Very underwhelmed with my set of praxis rings.

Why is that?

[gospastic]

Originally Posted by Keith A

Why is that?

They don't shift as well as I thought they would after reading numerous reviews saying they are the best aftermarket rings. I tried different chains too. Upshifts are just not as consistent and effortless as with the stock chainrings.

I have noticed that some sets are heavier than others. Mine are pretty light. I got them a while ago, maybe they have beefed them up since then. I wouldn't mind trying another set to see if mine are an anomaly.

[Keith A]

gospastic -- Thanks for the feedback.

[cp43]

Thread bump.

I bought the TA rings, 53-39, same as the originals. The look great, and the installed without issue.

I haven't ridden the bike yet, but in the stand, a shift from the big to small ring tends not to "land" on the small ring. It will end up offset from the teeth, and ride between the rings for a revolution or so of the cranks, then settle down where it should be.

My question is, does the orientation of the rings matter to shifting quality? Usually I orient the rings based on the pin on the outside of the big ring going behind the crank arm. The TA ring I got doesn't have a pin like that. Just an arrow printed on the edge. I thought that should line up with the crank arm, but it's lined up with a bolt hole, so I can't put it behind the arm. I ended up putting opposite the arm. Should I rotate the rings back by two holes, to get that arrow next to the arm?

Thanks,

Chris

[kramnnim]

Is there a threaded hole for a pin?

Return them and get Praxis...

[cp43]

Originally Posted by kramnnim

Is there a threaded hole for a pin?

Return them and get Praxis...

I didn't notice a hole for a pin. I'll check tonight.

If I can't get things working well, I might get the Praxis rings. I'm not ready to give up on these yet though.

Thanks,

Chris