Hey - loving the new upgrade quality in your videos - looks great and professional now, well done! I use Absolute Black Oval on my Surly Bikepacking Rig, noticed the difference within seconds and love the feel of always being "on the Chain" :)
Great video as always! This is very useful information. I own three bikes, and I primarily ride AB ovals. On my full suspension, I have 32t (gold color!) with SRAM eagle XO1. On my hardtail, I use 30t on XTR crank and 10x45 XT cassette. On my gravel bike, I have 34t 96BCD (XTR M9000 crank) with 11-46 GRX (and Garbaruk long cage). They all work seamlessly, buttery smooth, and have no issues whatsoever!
I typically try and run Wolftooth chainrings, primarily for chainline considerations and made in USA. I’d love to see a comparison between OEM and 3rd Party for chain retention, noise, wear…since each brand offers a bit different tooth design.
Yes Wolf tooth is awesome I can get 2500 miles from a stainless camo chain ring. Absolute Black is Absolute junk. Only last 250 miles under my feet. They do a awesome job at wolf tooth.
8:42, I use a 6mm chainline for the sole reason I do dirtjumping and my frame is 135mm wide in the rear so those 6mm closer to the frame actually help my single speed config to be cleaner and straighter.
Great information - thank you! Today I've just changed my chainring on new Fuel EX from Shimano SLX 30t to XT28t. Took me a while to figure out I had to upgrade to XT to obtain a Shimano 28t. After watching this video I reckon I'll next try a 3rd party Absolute Black oval 28t chainring.
Switched out the Sram 32T chainring for an AB oval. The biggest benefit I see is that my knees don’t hurt nearly as bad after a hard trail day. For me it is worth it
I be leave that, my knees were in agony, no longer the case with oval, I only get normal fatigue after a long ride, but my knees no longer hurt, it's my muscles that fatigue, but I don't get the I hit my knee kind of pain.
First heard about Garbaruk from you. Thank you for that. Great cassette to replace my worn XTR. I also got 26t ring to keep away from the aluminum cassette gear. The 7.5mm custom offset keeps my chain in line with my climbing gears. My hope is that it will keep my 12sp chain from breaking as often. Never had this issue w/11sp. Great vid as always!
Big fan of garbaruk. I’ve been running there twelve speed cassette and it’s great. Just ordered a round chainring 32t and derailer pulley wheels from them so looking forward to the instal and trying it. There stuff looks great and is really light weight. I’ve also tried blackspire snaggle tooth and that’s a great chainring , helps keep the chain on well.
Thanks, for bringing this facts up. I did experience Biopace, and swore never to try oval again. Much time later, around 10 years ago, I went single speed MTB for 5 years, and tried ovals again, with much better results. Nowadays I'm the happy owner of a 32T 3rd party oval, with oil slick finish on 165 mm cranks. My 60 year old knees love it 👍
@@LoveMTB Yes, the knees are a concern for some of us "older" riders. While reducing crank arm length helped, the oval ring sealed the deal 👍 It's an Absolute Black. No dropped chain by the way.
I've used basically all of them over the years (except 5Dev - not too common on the European side of the pond I find), depending on purpose, economy, availability, etc. As you say: options... I've been very partial to Absolute Black ovals in the 10 and 11 speed days, but I've run SRAM XX1 oval, have a Wolftooth oval now, and a Blackspire oval in the parts bin, daughter is currently on a regular SRAM aluminium ring, but have been running regular Shimano round - but is going to an SLX crankset with Alutech chainring to cut weight and ensure compatibility with SRAM chain/derailleur/cassette in a Frankenstein setup to get compatibility across the bikes in the household (all on SRAM) while optimizing weight on a (decent) budget (as you've so excellently illustrated an SLX crankset with an aftermarket chainring is in the same weight range as SRAM X1 Carbon cranks for instance, but at almost halft the price).
Really like the Garbaruk rings. They make a 32 oval and a 30 round that works with the power meter I use. I also like WolfTooth. I prefer ovals. Maybe a gimmick but for me, I can tell a difference when climbing with an oval vs. round ring.
I just got a garburuk round chain ring for wife's transition patrol. I have used raceface, one up, blackspire in the past with no issues. Currently using an Ethirteen DM chainring on Trailcraft 152mm cranks. They all work great 🙂 BTW these are all round.
I use the OneUp 32t oval on my Shimano 11spd Trailbike drivetrain since a bit over 4 years now. Dropped the chain once, as I forgot to switch on the clutch ;-) I just remember that I'm riding oval, when I hop on round chainring bikes and dislike it ;-)
First thanks for the video!!! Was uber interesting and informative as usual!!! And for your question I run Shimano "mix n match" drivetrains on my bikes with SLX Cranks with Alugear Chainrings... One reason is the weight with the Alugear Chainring the SLX cranks are relatively light for the price and the color... I got it in silver which matches my bike and I do think the CNC machined look is cool, maybe I'm a little bit vain but I like it... ;-)
Thought Shimano adjusted chainline by spindle width. If you wanted a different chainline you change the cranks not the ring, which is annoying but still doable. I've been running a Wolftooth oval ever since my first swap to 11S conversion. Works great. Got a Absolute black for my FS X01 but haven't got around to swapping.
I run the oval chainrings on my bikes. Usually from Absolute Black The size is dependents on the max possible chainring for the frame. It is also depends on the type of bike- XC I will use the 32T and for 29+ I will use 28 or even 26
Great videos! 🙏🏼 I wanted to move from GX to M8100, as the HG+ my shifting had a significant improvement, especially under pedalling power strokes!! But, I wasn’t aware that I needed a specific HG+ chainring 🤦🏻♂️ … and I’ve struggled to find one which is Oval. For years I’ve loved using AbsoluteBlack Ovals, so I had a very specific new Narrow Wide CX Oval 36T with a 6mm offset on my Sram cranks ready to use on my new M8100 drive train. Only to find out a need an HG+ specific chainring, which AB doesn’t make in either 6mm offset, or 36T 🤷🏻♂️ 7:46 I’ve watched many of your videos this week, in search for this, and altho I’m still searching, I now know I have options!! Thank you for these detailed chain ring & drive train videos, that seem harder & harder to get info for‼️
I just upgraded my BB and crankset (to SLX) matched with a Garbaruk 32t round chainring in the amazing purple colour, looks great and shaved about 300grams total (thanks to your videos). I would like the matching Garbaruk purple cassette (lighter than XTR) but is still pricey, current SLX is still running fine.
After using Garbaruk and Absolute Black chainrings, found that Sram is producing their own oval rings, which are not so oval (lower percentage) which suits me better. Same on the other bike with Race Face cranks. Race Face produces their own oval rings too, with a lower percentage of ovality. The quality I perceived was a bit higher too, lasting longer (subjective opinion).
But in the past, I noticed Absolute black varied in the tolerances at the Cinch spline, some went on very snug, so had to press them on with some force, some not. But it seems to have improved, some chainrings were just unusually tight, but was not an issue. But not happen with the ones I got later, But only tried two later, one non boost and one boost.
I’d have to say I’m really impressed by Passquest chainring. Before I was using Alugear as it was only option for my 165mm XX1 Quarq crankset (couldn’t get regular XX1 in 165mm) with 8 bolt configuration. Then someone introduced me Passquest. I was skeptical first but when I tried it blew me away. Longer teeth profile prevents chaindrop and it last me a long time without any issues. Kinda looks like Garbaruk in a way too
Looks nice, I''ve not heard of it, thx for sharing. But no tooth design will prevent chain drop completely. But good chainring design will reduce it and keep it more secure. but even with narrow wide design it will happen. But yes the teeth are longer than a regular chainring might be meant for multi chain ring setup. I've tested this. But teeth can't be much taller or it won't work, teeth are as tall as they can be, or could not rotate on to it. They don't look much taller if at all compared to what I've used before. I currently use Absolute Black. But it the Passquest do well long term, and price is good it might be worth a try.
@@9volker I don't speak your language, I translated it with google translate, but it did not make much sense. google translate: ''It's kind of a brand with Aliexpress, expensive, relative to their regular prices. 3-4 times more expensive than Decas''
@@LoveMTB I really like the look of the Garbaruk oval chainring - I'm thinking of getting the 32T version - I have a Shimano HG+ 12sp drivetrain - does the Garbaruk work ok with that?
I use oval. What I like - increased traction on steep and/or slippery climbs. I liked also the first impression when I felt like someone pushed me uphill. Disadvantages: 1) you can bog down on steep climbs because you have the cadence resulting from the teeth count but you have to push on the power stroke like if you had the round chainring with the diameter like the larger diameter of an oval. 2) I find it more difficult to have high cadence on these, in my opinion they suite people who mash the pedals, not the spinners.
If it ain't broken, don't fix it. That's why I'm going to continue with my stock Shimano setup because it works and I trust it. Experimenting can of course be fun and all of that, but often times you run into compatibility issues. I would never start experimenting until I felt the need for something better, because if you just start changing something and then run into issues, you will have a hard time solving it because you did not have a real plan with it in the first place. So far I've only had issues with superboost on my bike where I ordered a bashguard and chainguard unit. No matter what spacing I used my chain would either rub on the chainguard or it would rub on the bashguard. The only solution was to just remove the chainguard and run it bashguard only because the bashguard was the main priority. The manufacturer did state that their product works with superboost which I checked before ordering, but for some reason it did not work on my bike(Pivot Switchblade)
So far Absolute Black oval, is the only oval I've tried, it made a huge difference for me, as the knee pain went away. I use Garbaruk 11-50T 11spd HG cassette, So far no issues with it.
@@LoveMTB I started with Race Face Atlas 175mm, but that's what I found at the time, but then later I got sb. offered the 165mm version, so I went for it, and have been using it since last year I think. I use Catalyst pedals, I use mid foot position, when not close to it, but I have long enough reach so I am am not to cramped on the bike, saddle is also moved forward so tip is above BB, Fabric Scoop shallow race, might be different on another saddle. I ride a Geometron G1. I've not noticed any negative effects, only noticed I don't crank as big, so as they are 1cm shorter I had to raise the saddle 1cm, so that means cockpit was even lower, I started with too low bar, but which got worse as I had shorter cranks, but eventually I found a high riser bar, it was Burgtec Ride high 38, which is 38mm tall, but was too harsh, but it fit me better than the 20mm Sixc35, when I saw One up carbon in stock I went for the 35mm. My setup is pretty much dialed now fit wise.
I built up my 2 bikes…on my trail bike I purposely swapped out the chainring on the GX Eagle cranks for the NX stamped steel version. I’m just not a big fan of how the higher end SRAM rings look. Yes the stamped steel is heavier but I also ended up going from 32T to 34T. On my XC bike, I swapped out the super light chainring from the XX1 Eagle cranks for Absolute Black 34T. Works great but ended up selling cuz I didn’t like the design and the funky wave pattern of the machining. Ended up trying WolfTooth 34T and ultimately settling for WolfTooth 36T. Love the clean, simple look of their lightweight machined rings. But honestly in terms of performance, I felt no difference with SRAM or any of the 3rd party brands I tried. In terms of color, I prefer the ring to be black.
Chain retention is also a benefit. I used SLX for awhile and was constantly suffering chain drops, switched to Blackspire snaggletooth and problem solved. I prefer WT camo which I am currently using for cheaper rings and easier replacement.
I‘ve changed the pretty basic Shimano FC-MT510 crankset that came with the bike with a Deore FC-M6100 crank + Absolute Black oval 32 T. It makes a huge difference.
With a modern steep seattube angle and slack headtube angle, I can definitely appreciate riding 28t A.B. oval with a 10-50t XO1 cassette. This is great for tough singletrack climbs in AZ. *Virtually leaves the 50t as a last resort on the super steeps.* Generally, the 30t Oval seems to be the best singletrack for using all 500% of my gearing while traveling to virtually any trail.
I use the GX 10-52 cassette and stock 32t chainring. I had an AB oval 34t that scratched my frame barely and decided to go back to stock. If I were to update I would o color matching if I can find the parts in my desired color. I don't consider these as too much of a weight penalty so I don't buy the lightest drive train items.
I know with the absolute black you can use a shimano chain on the sram chainring as long as you use the sram quick link. Guy from absolute black told me… I wanted the gold chainring but they only had black for shimano 12spd so this was the hack. Cheers
Hi, I’m the happy user of a Garbaruk 6mm custom offset chainring since I wanted to keep my chain line for my non-boost frame mounting a 12 speed cassette. (Shimano HG)
As said in the video, when you want to use oval rings you can't use Shimano or most of the SRAM rings and I prefer oval rings over round ones. I'm a fan of Garbaruk rings. They come with 12% ovalty and I like that number more than the 10% ovalty of Wolftooth rings. You can also order the Garbaruk rings in multi colors, there's always one that makes you bike look more pretty. For my gravel bike I use a 44 tooth Garbaruk ring in purple combined with a purple Garbaruk derailleur cage. Absolute Black would also be an option but they still don't offer oval rings for Shimano GRX (?). I found out that the teeth of the Garbaruk rings are larger than all the other rings I used before, resulting in the fact that the chain has not come off the ring till now. For my MTB with a 10-speed Deore groupset I use a 32 tooth Garbaruk ring as a bigger one does not fit on my bike, there's not enough space in the frame. For use in the flat area where I live it's just big enough.
Oval would be the reason I swap it out first. Availability of aftermarket has more available. #2 Reason is the the Wolf Tooth rings are absolutely absolutely beautiful! For me though, living in Belgium...the WT are harder to get, Absolute Black and Gabaruk are much more readily available. The eThirteen Helix cassettes are amazing w/ Gabaruk cages/jockey wheels proviceds a silky smooth shifting experience. I personally use SRAM 11sp. All of my bikes are 11sp....w/ 12sp you're not getting more gear range, just a smaller step in only one place lower in the cassette where it actually doesn't matter as much. If they added the gear in the 40s, it would be much better.
On my 36er 1x12 I have a Race Face 26 tooth chain ring in Green and at the back I have a 9-50 cassette in Oil slick (not sure who made it). My SRAM Eagle AXS X01 rear derailleur has Garbaruk Green OSPW cage and pulley wheels.
Hey, I have a question regarding other video you made on the Shimano offset cranks. In this video you used a shimano 55 chainline crank with 3 mm offset absolute black oval chainring, so actually you got a 52 mm chainline?
On my bike I have a weird combination which works perfectly. Cranks are Shimano Deore M5100 with AB oval 34t and spacers to get 49mm of chainline. In the back there is Shimano Deore M5100 big cassette 11-51 11s with Shimano Deore XT M8100 SGS mech. Shifter is Shimano Deore XT M8000 11sp and the shifter cable is Shimano XTR with litlle thinggy on th end, that combo works perfectly for me. But as I am planing replace cranks with Deore XT M8100 I ordered spider from ebay and Garbaruk chainring with 34t oval but with 104bcd so I can play with cainline and set is perfectly as I need.
I use the OneUp switch system. I’m currently running a 32T oval, but I’m considering sizing down to a 30T to make winching myself up the climbs that much easier.
A chinese brand called pass quest who mainly makes knock offs of Garbaruk chainrings is making 0mm off-set chainrings for shimano which makes my 7100 crank works like 7120 crank (52mm chainline to 55mm chainline), and quality of these chainrings are also very good, both finishing and design (although they dont have to design much).
Blackspire (made in Canada) makes a bolt on Shimano 96bcd asymmetrical with 49mm chainline for non-boost setups. This should be compatible with Deore cranks that only come in 52mm chainlines.
I have a Specialized Kenevo SL emtb. Do I have to stay with the chainring that comes with the bike due to it being an e-bike? I know I can't use an oval chainring but I don't know if I can use a 3rd party chainring.
The Kenevo SL has a low power motor and at 71 years old I am starting to get weaker. I was thinking of going down to a 30 tooth sprocket to get better climbing ability.
I have been using Garbaruk oval chainrings for around 4 years and I have nothing but good words about them. Where I’m from they are also a bit cheaper then shimano original ones.
I like the oval, I think it helps with steep technical climbing. I'm running a 30t absolute black with my Shimano SLX 12 speed, Sunrace 11-51 cassette. No chain line issues, but I can't back pedal more than a 1/2 crank when in the 51t gear without the chain popping on to a higher gear. Annoying, but that happens on my stock eagle SX too. I understand that's pretty common for 12 speed.
Ovaltine FTW!! 🤘 AB or Blackspire 👌 Usually 30 tooth... although my 29+ rig has a 28 tooth oval CR on it 🤔 Usually color coded... sometimes plain black... more an availability thing 🤠
what is the difference of current idea of ovals and old Shimano Biopace in terms of angle? would it be possible to shift Biopace one bolt over ( 72 degrees ) to make it similar ?
My bike came with a SRAM 28t steel chain ring. I swapped to a Hope 32t. It worked perfectly and looked great! But damn it didn’t last long. 😢 Yesterday I bought a SRAM 32t steel chain ring. It feels as good as the Hope one but it looks a bit boring!
Nice video! As a suggestion, it would be nice to have a follow-up video for 3rd cranks :) I got a WT oval 36 with a 51t rd it helps majority for up hill for me. :D
Absolute Black Oval 28T Chainring with SRAM GX Derailleur / Chain / Casset. Works perfectly. Oval is damn great, im riding a lot my MTB and my Citybike ( with usual chainrings ) and often thought "damn i need a 3by oval chainring for my citybike"
Hello, why does the xtr chain jump from the Sram GX eagle pedals? I mention that the rear derailleur, the sprockets are XT with 12 speeds. I understood that a Scott Scale 940 bike has CL55 from Sram, and I would like to put an XT crankset, but I don't know which one to get, the one with CL52 or CL55. The rear hub is from XT, the 12x148 and has a 3mm distance from the frame to the sprockets, that is, compared to the one from SRAM, which is about 2mm apart. Thank you, maybe an email address so I can send you pictures, because my mechanics don't know if the XTR chain is to blame with the bottom bracket or the CL from the bottom bracket
Used both an early ovanl from Blackspire that was SHIT. I switched to Garbaruk and it was great untill it wore out and started to act really weirdly. Than I testet the AB oval and worked the charm as well. i did not use it for that long so I cannot say alot about longevity but it felt on par with the Garbaruk.. But in all honesty I am starting to like steel chainrings (or at least steel teeth) for durability reasons. I don't know if there are any oval ones in steel or with steel teeth? I changed frame to a Kavenz VH16 and can no longer use an oval chainring as the timing will be quite off and durability - again - is my top priority.
Tengo una Canyon montada en sram gx con plato sram de 34 dientes me gustaría saber qué plato Garbaruk me vendría bien el ofset del plato sram es 3mm los ejes son boost.Gracia por tus vídeos.Tengo el cassette 10-52 de Garbaruk hace 10 meses y va de lujo.gracias
I want to know this as well. Just because they claim it works doesn’t mean it really does (their cassettes aren’t known for good shifting). Especially since they make the bold claim that it works with basically anything, HG+, Flattop, Eagle, 11-speed…there has to be some compromise or else why would all the other reputable makers have separate designs for the different chains?
I'm using garbaruk chainring for my classic 135mm frame and 12 speed slx drivetrain and cranks. They are better then Shimano originals because they produce 6 mill offset. I can pedal back on the biggest cog how ever fast I want and it won't fall.
Still using 2*10 setup😮..I've shimano xtr derailleur and sram p2200 cranks. I thought of absolute black and sunrace cassette to go 1*11...any suggestions
I bought a 12spd XT drive train to use with my 3 bolt Praxis Zayante cranks I have ordered a third party sram ring but everyone is saying they stick and wear the drive train faster. Any experience?
Most informative video as always. Still using the Shimano rings that came with the set, but the Absolute Black does catch my eye. The Red Prone in the background is looking good. :)
5DEV has titanium chainring for my, but raceface is back ordered for the spider in the USA. FSA is not an option 😢. I’ve got the ring, but no spider argh!
of course 3rd party chainring, but from Chinese Aliexpress stuff with blink blink color. ZTTO, Zrace, Deckas etc you name it Even though I don't know it will last or not because I just started cycling less than two years ago
I've tried to run ovals on my Single Speed but it was too hard to get the chain tension dailed (on a vertical drop frame with rear tensioner) I'm running a direct mount raceface 30t steel chainring, it has been working great Might get a wolftooth someday, I really like their stuff 👌
This guy deserves a medal 🏅 for the best channel about mtb in the world 🌍 🎉!
Thanks ADrian🤓
I totally agree with you.
Simply he is a legend!
Every his video is really worth to watch 👍♥️
@@zdravo4bro lit I’ve built half of my own bike just watching his videos 😅
Hey - loving the new upgrade quality in your videos - looks great and professional now, well done! I use Absolute Black Oval on my Surly Bikepacking Rig, noticed the difference within seconds and love the feel of always being "on the Chain" :)
Great video as always! This is very useful information. I own three bikes, and I primarily ride AB ovals. On my full suspension, I have 32t (gold color!) with SRAM eagle XO1. On my hardtail, I use 30t on XTR crank and 10x45 XT cassette. On my gravel bike, I have 34t 96BCD (XTR M9000 crank) with 11-46 GRX (and Garbaruk long cage). They all work seamlessly, buttery smooth, and have no issues whatsoever!
I typically try and run Wolftooth chainrings, primarily for chainline considerations and made in USA. I’d love to see a comparison between OEM and 3rd Party for chain retention, noise, wear…since each brand offers a bit different tooth design.
Yes Wolf tooth is awesome I can get 2500 miles from a stainless camo chain ring. Absolute Black is Absolute junk. Only last 250 miles under my feet. They do a awesome job at wolf tooth.
8:42, I use a 6mm chainline for the sole reason I do dirtjumping and my frame is 135mm wide in the rear so those 6mm closer to the frame actually help my single speed config to be cleaner and straighter.
Great information - thank you! Today I've just changed my chainring on new Fuel EX from Shimano SLX 30t to XT28t. Took me a while to figure out I had to upgrade to XT to obtain a Shimano 28t. After watching this video I reckon I'll next try a 3rd party Absolute Black oval 28t chainring.
Great review. I use Absolute Black, 34T, oval with Shimano XT 10-51T. Perfectly compatible.
Hope the ones for HG+?
Switched out the Sram 32T chainring for an AB oval. The biggest benefit I see is that my knees don’t hurt nearly as bad after a hard trail day. For me it is worth it
I be leave that, my knees were in agony, no longer the case with oval, I only get normal fatigue after a long ride, but my knees no longer hurt, it's my muscles that fatigue, but I don't get the I hit my knee kind of pain.
First heard about Garbaruk from you. Thank you for that. Great cassette to replace my worn XTR. I also got 26t ring to keep away from the aluminum cassette gear. The 7.5mm custom offset keeps my chain in line with my climbing gears. My hope is that it will keep my 12sp chain from breaking as often. Never had this issue w/11sp. Great vid as always!
The crank and chainring is the only thing not upgraded on my bike. Good to know for the future when it's time to upgrade.
Big fan of garbaruk. I’ve been running there twelve speed cassette and it’s great. Just ordered a round chainring 32t and derailer pulley wheels from them so looking forward to the instal and trying it. There stuff looks great and is really light weight. I’ve also tried blackspire snaggle tooth and that’s a great chainring , helps keep the chain on well.
Thanks, for bringing this facts up. I did experience Biopace, and swore never to try oval again. Much time later, around 10 years ago, I went single speed MTB for 5 years, and tried ovals again, with much better results.
Nowadays I'm the happy owner of a 32T 3rd party oval, with oil slick finish on 165 mm cranks. My 60 year old knees love it 👍
No problem 😉
Thanks for bringing up the knees!
@@LoveMTB Yes, the knees are a concern for some of us "older" riders. While reducing crank arm length helped, the oval ring sealed the deal 👍 It's an Absolute Black. No dropped chain by the way.
I've used basically all of them over the years (except 5Dev - not too common on the European side of the pond I find), depending on purpose, economy, availability, etc.
As you say: options...
I've been very partial to Absolute Black ovals in the 10 and 11 speed days, but I've run SRAM XX1 oval, have a Wolftooth oval now, and a Blackspire oval in the parts bin, daughter is currently on a regular SRAM aluminium ring, but have been running regular Shimano round - but is going to an SLX crankset with Alutech chainring to cut weight and ensure compatibility with SRAM chain/derailleur/cassette in a Frankenstein setup to get compatibility across the bikes in the household (all on SRAM) while optimizing weight on a (decent) budget (as you've so excellently illustrated an SLX crankset with an aftermarket chainring is in the same weight range as SRAM X1 Carbon cranks for instance, but at almost halft the price).
Yeah options😎
Really like the Garbaruk rings. They make a 32 oval and a 30 round that works with the power meter I use. I also like WolfTooth. I prefer ovals. Maybe a gimmick but for me, I can tell a difference when climbing with an oval vs. round ring.
Same here we use ovals on almost all our bikes.
I just got a garburuk round chain ring for wife's transition patrol. I have used raceface, one up, blackspire in the past with no issues. Currently using an Ethirteen DM chainring on Trailcraft 152mm cranks. They all work great 🙂 BTW these are all round.
I use the OneUp 32t oval on my Shimano 11spd Trailbike drivetrain since a bit over 4 years now. Dropped the chain once, as I forgot to switch on the clutch ;-) I just remember that I'm riding oval, when I hop on round chainring bikes and dislike it ;-)
First thanks for the video!!! Was uber interesting and informative as usual!!! And for your question I run Shimano "mix n match" drivetrains on my bikes with SLX Cranks with Alugear Chainrings... One reason is the weight with the Alugear Chainring the SLX cranks are relatively light for the price and the color... I got it in silver which matches my bike and I do think the CNC machined look is cool, maybe I'm a little bit vain but I like it... ;-)
Good stuff! I have that SLX here, best bang for your buck! - th-cam.com/video/PcOWvT06HsE/w-d-xo.html
I have been using my own desing for a couple of years now. But I will try Alugear's ones as soon as the actual runs out.
Thought Shimano adjusted chainline by spindle width. If you wanted a different chainline you change the cranks not the ring, which is annoying but still doable.
I've been running a Wolftooth oval ever since my first swap to 11S conversion. Works great. Got a Absolute black for my FS X01 but haven't got around to swapping.
Always love your videos. Great info!
☺️
I run the oval chainrings on my bikes.
Usually from Absolute Black
The size is dependents on the max possible chainring for the frame.
It is also depends on the type of bike- XC I will use the 32T and for 29+ I will use 28 or even 26
Great videos! 🙏🏼 I wanted to move from GX to M8100, as the HG+ my shifting had a significant improvement, especially under pedalling power strokes!! But, I wasn’t aware that I needed a specific HG+ chainring 🤦🏻♂️ … and I’ve struggled to find one which is Oval. For years I’ve loved using AbsoluteBlack Ovals, so I had a very specific new Narrow Wide CX Oval 36T with a 6mm offset on my Sram cranks ready to use on my new M8100 drive train. Only to find out a need an HG+ specific chainring, which AB doesn’t make in either 6mm offset, or 36T 🤷🏻♂️ 7:46
I’ve watched many of your videos this week, in search for this, and altho I’m still searching, I now know I have options!!
Thank you for these detailed chain ring & drive train videos, that seem harder & harder to get info for‼️
Glad to help and thanks for the feedback 🤘
I just upgraded my BB and crankset (to SLX) matched with a Garbaruk 32t round chainring in the amazing purple colour, looks great and shaved about 300grams total (thanks to your videos). I would like the matching Garbaruk purple cassette (lighter than XTR) but is still pricey, current SLX is still running fine.
I like the chainring Absolut Black. I use oval chainrings. Oval seem me to be more effective on ascents and accelerations.
For my el cheapo 1X 8 speed 11-42 cassette build, I use a Litepro narrow wide 46T chainring. The area I lived is generally quite flat.
After using Garbaruk and Absolute Black chainrings, found that Sram is producing their own oval rings, which are not so oval (lower percentage) which suits me better. Same on the other bike with Race Face cranks. Race Face produces their own oval rings too, with a lower percentage of ovality. The quality I perceived was a bit higher too, lasting longer (subjective opinion).
@@LoveMTB I didn't know that. Probably I'm mixing up with the Race Face, which is 10% oval 🤔
But in the past, I noticed Absolute black varied in the tolerances at the Cinch spline, some went on very snug, so had to press them on with some force, some not. But it seems to have improved, some chainrings were just unusually tight, but was not an issue. But not happen with the ones I got later, But only tried two later, one non boost and one boost.
I’d have to say I’m really impressed by Passquest chainring. Before I was using Alugear as it was only option for my 165mm XX1 Quarq crankset (couldn’t get regular XX1 in 165mm) with 8 bolt configuration. Then someone introduced me Passquest. I was skeptical first but when I tried it blew me away. Longer teeth profile prevents chaindrop and it last me a long time without any issues. Kinda looks like Garbaruk in a way too
Looks nice, I''ve not heard of it, thx for sharing.
But no tooth design will prevent chain drop completely. But good chainring design will reduce it and keep it more secure. but even with narrow wide design it will happen. But yes the teeth are longer than a regular chainring might be meant for multi chain ring setup.
I've tested this. But teeth can't be much taller or it won't work, teeth are as tall as they can be, or could not rotate on to it. They don't look much taller if at all compared to what I've used before.
I currently use Absolute Black. But it the Passquest do well long term, and price is good it might be worth a try.
Это вроде бренд с Алижкспресс , дорогой , относительно их обычных цен . Дороже Decas в 3-4 раза
@@9volker I don't speak your language, I translated it with google translate, but it did not make much sense. google translate: ''It's kind of a brand with Aliexpress, expensive, relative to their regular prices. 3-4 times more expensive than Decas''
Yes! I'm a big fan of oval chainrings, particularly those from AbsoluteBlack.
Me too!
Ive had absolute black three bikes in a row. I have no regret with these chain rings.
Yup good quality
I had a 30T Burgtec chainring with 115 degrees of ovality on my hardtail and loved that.
Interesting I'll check them out!
@@LoveMTB I really like the look of the Garbaruk oval chainring - I'm thinking of getting the 32T version - I have a Shimano HG+ 12sp drivetrain - does the Garbaruk work ok with that?
@@hambo76 is how we use it in a HG+ setup
@@LoveMTB Good to know thank you!
I use oval. What I like - increased traction on steep and/or slippery climbs. I liked also the first impression when I felt like someone pushed me uphill. Disadvantages: 1) you can bog down on steep climbs because you have the cadence resulting from the teeth count but you have to push on the power stroke like if you had the round chainring with the diameter like the larger diameter of an oval. 2) I find it more difficult to have high cadence on these, in my opinion they suite people who mash the pedals, not the spinners.
If it ain't broken, don't fix it.
That's why I'm going to continue with my stock Shimano setup because it works and I trust it. Experimenting can of course be fun and all of that, but often times you run into compatibility issues. I would never start experimenting until I felt the need for something better, because if you just start changing something and then run into issues, you will have a hard time solving it because you did not have a real plan with it in the first place.
So far I've only had issues with superboost on my bike where I ordered a bashguard and chainguard unit. No matter what spacing I used my chain would either rub on the chainguard or it would rub on the bashguard. The only solution was to just remove the chainguard and run it bashguard only because the bashguard was the main priority.
The manufacturer did state that their product works with superboost which I checked before ordering, but for some reason it did not work on my bike(Pivot Switchblade)
So far Absolute Black oval, is the only oval I've tried, it made a huge difference for me, as the knee pain went away.
I use Garbaruk 11-50T 11spd HG cassette, So far no issues with it.
Yup looked for them wen starting to get knee pain. What crank length are you using?
@@LoveMTB I started with Race Face Atlas 175mm, but that's what I found at the time, but then later I got sb. offered the 165mm version, so I went for it, and have been using it since last year I think. I use Catalyst pedals, I use mid foot position, when not close to it, but I have long enough reach so I am am not to cramped on the bike, saddle is also moved forward so tip is above BB, Fabric Scoop shallow race, might be different on another saddle. I ride a Geometron G1.
I've not noticed any negative effects, only noticed I don't crank as big, so as they are 1cm shorter I had to raise the saddle 1cm, so that means cockpit was even lower, I started with too low bar, but which got worse as I had shorter cranks, but eventually I found a high riser bar, it was Burgtec Ride high 38, which is 38mm tall, but was too harsh, but it fit me better than the 20mm Sixc35, when I saw One up carbon in stock I went for the 35mm. My setup is pretty much dialed now fit wise.
@@LoveMTB The knee pain was with 175mm, but not tried 165 with round ring, but i suspect I will have pain with it.
I built up my 2 bikes…on my trail bike I purposely swapped out the chainring on the GX Eagle cranks for the NX stamped steel version. I’m just not a big fan of how the higher end SRAM rings look. Yes the stamped steel is heavier but I also ended up going from 32T to 34T.
On my XC bike, I swapped out the super light chainring from the XX1 Eagle cranks for Absolute Black 34T. Works great but ended up selling cuz I didn’t like the design and the funky wave pattern of the machining. Ended up trying WolfTooth 34T and ultimately settling for WolfTooth 36T. Love the clean, simple look of their lightweight machined rings.
But honestly in terms of performance, I felt no difference with SRAM or any of the 3rd party brands I tried.
In terms of color, I prefer the ring to be black.
Chain retention is also a benefit. I used SLX for awhile and was constantly suffering chain drops, switched to Blackspire snaggletooth and problem solved. I prefer WT camo which I am currently using for cheaper rings and easier replacement.
I‘ve changed the pretty basic Shimano FC-MT510 crankset that came with the bike with a Deore FC-M6100 crank + Absolute Black oval 32 T. It makes a huge difference.
Did you have 30T before?
@@ΓιώργοςΟρφανιώτης No. It was a round 32T to oval 32T swap.
With a modern steep seattube angle and slack headtube angle, I can definitely appreciate riding 28t A.B. oval with a 10-50t XO1 cassette. This is great for tough singletrack climbs in AZ. *Virtually leaves the 50t as a last resort on the super steeps.*
Generally, the 30t Oval seems to be the best singletrack for using all 500% of my gearing while traveling to virtually any trail.
I am actually running Blackspire ovals on three of my bikes and yes. they are color matched.
Got an Absolute Black oval a while back for my hardtail. Now I run them on both my bio-bikes.
I use the GX 10-52 cassette and stock 32t chainring. I had an AB oval 34t that scratched my frame barely and decided to go back to stock. If I were to update I would o color matching if I can find the parts in my desired color. I don't consider these as too much of a weight penalty so I don't buy the lightest drive train items.
I know with the absolute black you can use a shimano chain on the sram chainring as long as you use the sram quick link. Guy from absolute black told me… I wanted the gold chainring but they only had black for shimano 12spd so this was the hack. Cheers
@@kersh8268 it works doesn’t mean it works well…
Loving the oneup chainrings. Super easy to change with their carrier.
Hi,
I’m the happy user of a Garbaruk 6mm custom offset chainring since I wanted to keep my chain line for my non-boost frame mounting a 12 speed cassette.
(Shimano HG)
Have a Garbaruk front chain ring because it fits the Shimano HG+ chain with my new Ultegra Di2 12sp - works great (looks cool too). test
As said in the video, when you want to use oval rings you can't use Shimano or most of the SRAM rings and I prefer oval rings over round ones. I'm a fan of Garbaruk rings. They come with 12% ovalty and I like that number more than the 10% ovalty of Wolftooth rings. You can also order the Garbaruk rings in multi colors, there's always one that makes you bike look more pretty. For my gravel bike I use a 44 tooth Garbaruk ring in purple combined with a purple Garbaruk derailleur cage. Absolute Black would also be an option but they still don't offer oval rings for Shimano GRX (?). I found out that the teeth of the Garbaruk rings are larger than all the other rings I used before, resulting in the fact that the chain has not come off the ring till now. For my MTB with a 10-speed Deore groupset I use a 32 tooth Garbaruk ring as a bigger one does not fit on my bike, there's not enough space in the frame. For use in the flat area where I live it's just big enough.
Oval would be the reason I swap it out first. Availability of aftermarket has more available.
#2 Reason is the the Wolf Tooth rings are absolutely absolutely beautiful!
For me though, living in Belgium...the WT are harder to get, Absolute Black and Gabaruk are much more readily available.
The eThirteen Helix cassettes are amazing w/ Gabaruk cages/jockey wheels proviceds a silky smooth shifting experience. I personally use SRAM 11sp. All of my bikes are 11sp....w/ 12sp you're not getting more gear range, just a smaller step in only one place lower in the cassette where it actually doesn't matter as much. If they added the gear in the 40s, it would be much better.
I'm currently using shimano deore 11s with a 11-46 sunrece cassette and a 36t chainring on an xc hardtail
On my 36er 1x12 I have a Race Face 26 tooth chain ring in Green and at the back I have a 9-50 cassette in Oil slick (not sure who made it). My SRAM Eagle AXS X01 rear derailleur has Garbaruk Green OSPW cage and pulley wheels.
Sounds like a great mix! And I’m sure it looks rad also
Hey,
I have a question regarding other video you made on the Shimano offset cranks.
In this video you used a shimano 55 chainline crank with 3 mm offset absolute black oval chainring, so actually you got a 52 mm chainline?
On my bike I have a weird combination which works perfectly.
Cranks are Shimano Deore M5100 with AB oval 34t and spacers to get 49mm of chainline.
In the back there is Shimano Deore M5100 big cassette 11-51 11s with Shimano Deore XT M8100 SGS mech.
Shifter is Shimano Deore XT M8000 11sp and the shifter cable is Shimano XTR with litlle thinggy on th end, that combo works perfectly for me. But as I am planing replace cranks with Deore XT M8100 I ordered spider from ebay and Garbaruk chainring with 34t oval but with 104bcd so I can play with cainline and set is perfectly as I need.
I have in one of my bike Garbaruk oval NW chainring and in three other bikes Katana oval NW chainrings. Very good quality super lightweight items!
Very nice! Never heard of Katana...
@@LoveMTB Katana is available here in Europe and it’s high quality manufacturer.
I'll look them!@@jannep6772
For Shimano, Garbaruk and Pass Quest make a 6mm offset chainring which convert 52mm -> 49mm or 55mm -> 52mm.
Thanks God for 3rd party!!
I currently use a OneUp oval. They're cheap, good quality, and do the job well.
I use a 32t Unite oval for my SRAM drive train & it works magnificent!
SRAM xx1 crank, garbaruk 30T ring, 12-speed e13 cassette grey, x01 chain
XT derailleur and shifter
I'll soon try 26t garbaruk chainring with XTR 11s 11-40t cassette for my enduro hardtail 😎
Nice and light!
I’m about to try a 30t Alugear chainring. 🤞
I use the OneUp switch system. I’m currently running a 32T oval, but I’m considering sizing down to a 30T to make winching myself up the climbs that much easier.
A chinese brand called pass quest who mainly makes knock offs of Garbaruk chainrings is making 0mm off-set chainrings for shimano which makes my 7100 crank works like 7120 crank (52mm chainline to 55mm chainline), and quality of these chainrings are also very good, both finishing and design (although they dont have to design much).
Ok nice! So 0 offset is more to the right pushing the chainring to the outside?
Correct; because 6mm Is non boost and putting that on a boost will push chain closer to tire
3 and 0 will push chain away from chain
I went with oneup. Due to detailed support information and supporting Canadian.
I have Amber Bikes 38 tooth ring for M8000 cranks. Perfect fit for my lightweight 27.5 hardtail (needs more teeth because of smaller wheels).
Blackspire (made in Canada) makes a bolt on Shimano 96bcd asymmetrical with 49mm chainline for non-boost setups. This should be compatible with Deore cranks that only come in 52mm chainlines.
Good to know thanks for sharing!
Im using Garbaruk 36t oval chainring with the XT 12 spd drive terrain .
I have a Specialized Kenevo SL emtb. Do I have to stay with the chainring that comes with the bike due to it being an e-bike? I know I can't use an oval chainring but I don't know if I can use a 3rd party chainring.
The Kenevo SL has a low power motor and at 71 years old I am starting to get weaker. I was thinking of going down to a 30 tooth sprocket to get better climbing ability.
Hey Martin, I was wondering why not using an oval cr with a superlight E.Bike ? Is it a problem with the software?
I plan to get me Scott Lumen 😍
I have been using Garbaruk oval chainrings for around 4 years and I have nothing but good words about them. Where I’m from they are also a bit cheaper then shimano original ones.
@@LoveMTB I know, they became better known in recent years.
Here in the uk there’s a lot of options as there’s a few new companies that have sprung up which do cnc matching over the years
@@LoveMTB i hope so too looking to upgrade to a shimano direct mount crank as this looks to be offered more than my current slx m7000 96bcd
Garbaruk ... and I find that it is very durable an beautiful ... gold version.
I used garbaruk oval 36T for 3 seasons ~ 3-4000km, no issue and looks like new.
Thanks for sharing!
I’m running a 28T absoluteBlack platinum oval with a GX 12 speed drive train.
the xtr chainring looks lit
Do you do this as a full time job or on the side? I'm always curious with YT creators. Thanks!
I like the oval, I think it helps with steep technical climbing. I'm running a 30t absolute black with my Shimano SLX 12 speed, Sunrace 11-51 cassette. No chain line issues, but I can't back pedal more than a 1/2 crank when in the 51t gear without the chain popping on to a higher gear. Annoying, but that happens on my stock eagle SX too. I understand that's pretty common for 12 speed.
Technical climbing is the reason I like ovals. Absolute Black 30t Sram Gx 12. I get that back pedal thing too, I guess it goes with the territory.
I run the Garbaruk cassette and chainring, to replace SRAM on my gravel bike. However, I will be switching out the crank to 5DEV.
can u recommend the best 52t chain ring for my hovsco alpha bike
Ovaltine FTW!! 🤘
AB or Blackspire 👌
Usually 30 tooth... although my 29+ rig has a 28 tooth oval CR on it 🤔
Usually color coded... sometimes plain black... more an availability thing 🤠
what is the difference of current idea of ovals and old Shimano Biopace in terms of angle? would it be possible to shift Biopace one bolt over ( 72 degrees ) to make it similar ?
My bike came with a SRAM 28t steel chain ring. I swapped to a Hope 32t. It worked perfectly and looked great! But damn it didn’t last long. 😢 Yesterday I bought a SRAM 32t steel chain ring. It feels as good as the Hope one but it looks a bit boring!
It will outlast the other one probably...
Well my Garbaruk has arrived.
I decided for 104 bcd chainring and Fovno spider to be able to play with chainline
Going strong for us, direct mount
@@LoveMTB will make short video about chainring and spider I hope today. And for cranks in few weeks when it comes to me
On my hardtail iam 11speed 11,46 front 30 Ovaland I love it
Nice video! As a suggestion, it would be nice to have a follow-up video for 3rd cranks :)
I got a WT oval 36 with a 51t rd it helps majority for up hill for me. :D
@@LoveMTB well lets say just from your personal collection :) hope some sponsors you again for some cranks :) best wishes for your channel ^^
I’m stuck on Shimano XTR Di2 at 2x11. Finding direct mount double is still not common and 1x doesn’t give me the same range.
Would the SRAM 2x cranks play nicely wiht the Di2?
Absolute Black Oval 28T Chainring with SRAM GX Derailleur / Chain / Casset. Works perfectly. Oval is damn great, im riding a lot my MTB and my Citybike ( with usual chainrings ) and often thought "damn i need a 3by oval chainring for my citybike"
Hello, why does the xtr chain jump from the Sram GX eagle pedals? I mention that the rear derailleur, the sprockets are XT with 12 speeds. I understood that a Scott Scale 940 bike has CL55 from Sram, and I would like to put an XT crankset, but I don't know which one to get, the one with CL52 or CL55. The rear hub is from XT, the 12x148 and has a 3mm distance from the frame to the sprockets, that is, compared to the one from SRAM, which is about 2mm apart. Thank you, maybe an email address so I can send you pictures, because my mechanics don't know if the XTR chain is to blame with the bottom bracket or the CL from the bottom bracket
I forgot to mention that the chain jumps only when it is on high speed, the one with 51 teeth from XT
Used both an early ovanl from Blackspire that was SHIT. I switched to Garbaruk and it was great untill it wore out and started to act really weirdly. Than I testet the AB oval and worked the charm as well. i did not use it for that long so I cannot say alot about longevity but it felt on par with the Garbaruk..
But in all honesty I am starting to like steel chainrings (or at least steel teeth) for durability reasons. I don't know if there are any oval ones in steel or with steel teeth?
I changed frame to a Kavenz VH16 and can no longer use an oval chainring as the timing will be quite off and durability - again - is my top priority.
Good points! Not aware of steel ovals though
Just a week ago got a race hardtail with xx1 drivetrain. Used to run woolftooth 1x on my old bike with xt cranks. What would you recomend for xx1?
Garbaruk and hope got EXACTLY the same font?
I went with wolf tooth when converting my 2x into 1x to keep the existing crankset and save a little 💲💲money.
Which 3rd party chainring (for slx crank) fits best for a sram eagle chain?
Pretty much any chainring, we use absoluteBlack and Wolf Tooth
What do you think of stone oval?
I uses on all my bikes, Wolf Tooth (oval). I used all brands and the WT is more strong, durable , quality and more efficiency in the pedaling.
Tengo una Canyon montada en sram gx con plato sram de 34 dientes me gustaría saber qué plato Garbaruk me vendría bien el ofset del plato sram es 3mm los ejes son boost.Gracia por tus vídeos.Tengo el cassette 10-52 de Garbaruk hace 10 meses y va de lujo.gracias
Have you tried the garbaruk chainrings with shimano hg+ chains? I've tried cheaper hg+ compatible chainrings and experienced chain suck.
I want to know this as well. Just because they claim it works doesn’t mean it really does (their cassettes aren’t known for good shifting). Especially since they make the bold claim that it works with basically anything, HG+, Flattop, Eagle, 11-speed…there has to be some compromise or else why would all the other reputable makers have separate designs for the different chains?
I'm using garbaruk chainring for my classic 135mm frame and 12 speed slx drivetrain and cranks. They are better then Shimano originals because they produce 6 mill offset. I can pedal back on the biggest cog how ever fast I want and it won't fall.
Still using 2*10 setup😮..I've shimano xtr derailleur and sram p2200 cranks. I thought of absolute black and sunrace cassette to go 1*11...any suggestions
Do you have a online store I can’t find a link
I bought a 12spd XT drive train to use with my 3 bolt Praxis Zayante cranks I have ordered a third party sram ring but everyone is saying they stick and wear the drive train faster. Any experience?
I would personally go with HG+ compatible chainrings for that drivetrain
@@LoveMTB I spent over 200 on my crank set its annoying that there are no alternatives.
Most informative video as always. Still using the Shimano rings that came with the set, but the Absolute Black does catch my eye. The Red Prone in the background is looking good. :)
5DEV has titanium chainring for my, but raceface is back ordered for the spider in the USA. FSA is not an option 😢. I’ve got the ring, but no spider argh!
of course 3rd party chainring, but from Chinese Aliexpress stuff with blink blink color. ZTTO, Zrace, Deckas etc you name it
Even though I don't know it will last or not because I just started cycling less than two years ago
I've tried to run ovals on my Single Speed but it was too hard to get the chain tension dailed (on a vertical drop frame with rear tensioner)
I'm running a direct mount raceface 30t steel chainring, it has been working great
Might get a wolftooth someday, I really like their stuff 👌
@@LoveMTB Your welcome!
I think with Horizontal/Sliding dropouts it's easier