I’m sure I read somewhere that the absolute black narrow wide rings on chain reaction are an inferior product to the ones you can buy direct from Absolute black.

Is this true, is there a cheap version out there sort of like an oem product?

no different, other than they’re not machined as ‘pretty’ and are a few grams heavier.

I think they are just not a nicely finished/heavier than the AB ones.
CRC on the left, AB on the right:

other than they’re not machined as ‘pretty’ and are a few grams heavier.

So different then 🙂

And inferior…

Not hugely, admittedly.

I’ve had one of each in my hands at the same time, there’s pretty much no discernible difference other than the finish. Weight difference is about 4g

Anyone know why the 32t is threaded but the 34t and 36t versions are not?

I’ve got a 36t direct from absoluteBlack and a 32t from CRC, and apart from the difference in design (the 32t having the step out), I didn’t notice any real difference otherwise.

dufusdip – Member
Anyone know why the 32t is threaded but the 34t and 36t versions are not?

Because at the oval’s narrowest on the 32t, the chain would foul on the ends of the spider. The threaded part (which acts as the nut for the chainring bolt) steps the ring out enough to avoid that. The 34t and 36t are large enough for that to not be an issue.

Cheers! Stepped down from a 34t in summer to a 32t in winter and it was unexpected having to mess about with different chain ring bolts.

The main reason is the chain would rub on the head of the chainring bolt at the narrower bit, like it would on a 30T 104 bcd ring. Spacing could be done with longer chain rings if it was not for that problem.