oval rings

[fogrider]

Who has been using them? do you have to use them on all you bikes?

[yashcha]

Originally Posted by fogrider

Who has been using them? do you have to use them on all you bikes?

I have been using it on and off since 2008. I like them so much that I have them on all my bikes.

[fogrider]

Originally Posted by yashcha

I have been using it on and off since 2008. I like them so much that I have them on all my bikes.

what does on and off mean? I was planning on building a gravel bike and was thinking of using an oval ring, can I leave my other bikes with round rings?

[false_Aest]

I'm going to run an oval ring on a SSCX-D should be interesting.

[JAGI410]

I have wolftooth oval rings on my FS MTB and my fatbike. I notice it on the FS bike when climbing. I notice it on my fatbike when spinning on pavement. Seems to smooth out my pedal stroke, and the fatbike isn’t as “bouncy” on the road.

[makoti]

Friend of mine just tested the AbsoluteBlack rings for Pez. He liked them, although he said he couldn't really tell a difference. So what was to like, if there wasn't a difference? Well, according to him, he COULD tell when he went from sitting to standing & vice-versa. Felt smoother. He ran them as 52/36, if that matters to you.

[yashcha]

Originally Posted by fogrider

what does on and off mean? I was planning on building a gravel bike and was thinking of using an oval ring, can I leave my other bikes with round rings?

I couldn't ride them for about a year when I went 11 speed because There were no compatible 4 bolt oval chainrings. I was in no rush because I loved how the new shimano chainrings shifted. Eventually i put oval rings on my road and gravel bike. I just feel ore efficient on them and have a little extra punch. If you have two bikes and one has oval and the other doesn’t, the non oval bike feels like you are pedaling rectangles when you get on them after getting used to the oval rings. But I think your body gets used to it after twenty thirty minutes.

[GRAVELBIKE]

I've ridden the absoluteBLACK and Wolf Tooth rings. The latter felt less oval than the aB rings. With the aB rings I found that I had to gear up to round out my pedal stroke/cadence. On the WT ring, easier gears/higher cadence felt better.

FWIW, my personal bikes currently sport round chainrings (1x11, 2x10).

[Bentley]

Originally Posted by fogrider

what does on and off mean? I was planning on building a gravel bike and was thinking of using an oval ring, can I leave my other bikes with round rings?

I have oval rings on most of my bikes. I don't have them on my older bikes but I one 1x on my road and cross bike and I feel that it works just fine, not sure if I'm getting the advertised benefit, but no issues.

[mistermo]

Another vote in favor. Whenever possible, I try to put them on bikes and they're on most of my bikes. I have two eTap bikes. One shifted fine with Absolute Black rings, while the other shifted poorly with Rotor rings and I had to go back to round. Obviously, I prefer the elliptical rings, but switching to round isn't a problem either. As the earlier poster commented, 15-30 mins and round feels normal again.

For me, it seems the greatest benefit comes when pedaling at a slower cadence, grinding slowly uphill, which is often the case in cross and some gravel riding. I notice the elliptical-ness less with higher, more normal cadence, but still notice a slight difference and still prefer it.

I had a 1x ring on my cross bike, a 46-30 on a 110-74 gravel bike, and 50-34s or 36s on all road bikes, except the aforementioned eTap bike and an older Campy Merckx bike.

This is a debate akin to Shimano vs Campy, or whether the extra $$ spent on EE brakes is worth it. Both work fine, but there's a small difference that some strongly prefer.

I had BioPace on my mtb back in the 80s and these rings are NOTHING like that travesty.

[Clancy]

I’ve noticed that I don’t strain my knees with them, use Rotor. If my weekly mileage goes above 140-150 miles, my knees would bother me, not so with the Rotor rings. Also helped to smooth out my pedal stroke

[yashcha]

Totally agree. These rings shine at ftp,subftp efforts at 70-80 rpms. I am looking at 10-15 more watts at the same HR vs round rings. Also, like another poster mentioned, alleviates knee pain.

Originally Posted by mistermo

Another vote in favor. Whenever possible, I try to put them on bikes and they're on most of my bikes. I have two eTap bikes. One shifted fine with Absolute Black rings, while the other shifted poorly with Rotor rings and I had to go back to round. Obviously, I prefer the elliptical rings, but switching to round isn't a problem either. As the earlier poster commented, 15-30 mins and round feels normal again.

For me, it seems the greatest benefit comes when pedaling at a slower cadence, grinding slowly uphill, which is often the case in cross and some gravel riding. I notice the elliptical-ness less with higher, more normal cadence, but still notice a slight difference and still prefer it.

I had a 1x ring on my cross bike, a 46-30 on a 110-74 gravel bike, and 50-34s or 36s on all road bikes, except the aforementioned eTap bike and an older Campy Merckx bike.

This is a debate akin to Shimano vs Campy, or whether the extra $$ spent on EE brakes is worth it. Both work fine, but there's a small difference that some strongly prefer.

I had BioPace on my mtb back in the 80s and these rings are NOTHING like that travesty.

[tombtfslpk]

Originally Posted by false_Aest

I'm going to run an oval ring on a SSCX-D should be interesting.

I have only used oval rings on my single speed mountain bikes. I don't know about applications for cyclocross, but they work fine for me on three different bikes. It's all I will put on my single speeds now.
The do feel different though, and it seems to feel "spinny" when I use the same tooth oval as my normal round chainring. My personal rule of thumb is to go up two teeth on an oval chainring or one tooth on the rear cog.

[pdonk]

I had rotors for about 2 years on my road bike. Once I got used to them, liked them.

I could tell when I rode my mountain bike, or a track bike that they had round rings. One noticeable sensation I'd get is that my legs felt like they came over the top of the pedal stroke extra fast - not sure if that makes sense, but it was the feeling I'd get.

If my crank had not broken, and I had not gone compact, I'd probably still be riding them. In no rush to replace the chainrings on my current crank, they work.

[tombtfslpk]

Originally Posted by JAGI410

I have wolftooth oval rings on my FS MTB and my fatbike. I notice it on the FS bike when climbing. I notice it on my fatbike when spinning on pavement. Seems to smooth out my pedal stroke, and the fatbike isn’t as “bouncy” on the road.

Re: Fatbike, Was that a 1x drivetrain? I get the same sensation at high(ish) cadences on my fatbike but mine is a 10 speed, I'm not sure I could get geared low enough with a single front chainring.