Please school me on Ultegra chainrings for gravel.

[simplemind]

Originally Posted by saab2000

The 46 is much more useful in the real world.

That's what I was thinking.

[bewheels]

As with everything it depends ...

I have been running their out of the box 50/34 set up this year - a lot of New England gravel climbing and fast group rides - without any issues. Shifts great.
With my frame, I can run a cassette with a 36 rear cog using the di2 long rear D if/when needed.

So the good news is that you have options. You just need to sort out what works for you.

[Lionel]

Originally Posted by saab2000

At least it works well. And I think it does look good with matching rings. But the mismatched rings look terrible. Unfortunately there is no commercially available Shimano 9000 46-tooth ring. If there were I'd buy one.

To be fair, I'm not sure Campagnolo offers one either and it would be useful. I think the 50 is too big for a lot of gravel riding. I use an 11-32 cassette and a 50x11 is larger than a 53x12, which was the standard top pro gear until probably 15 years ago or so.

Anyone who is usefully putting pressure on a 50x11 on a gravel bike on unpaved conditions needs to be on a World Tour team. The 46 is much more useful in the real world.

I use my gravel bike on the road too, I like the 50/11 there.