Just putting together parts to replace a well worn 1×10 that’s held out for nearly two years!
Last item is the 32t N/W and I really like the look of the renthal 1xr but at nearly £50, i wonder what the benefit is over the race face I did have, available at around £35.
Or a hope retainer, or a superstar or an RSP for £20.
Or absolute black….etc etc….
Is this just a copied technology now, and with clutch mechs, tooth profile isn’t as big a deal?

Didn’t notice any difference in use between a Race Face and a Hope. The Hope has lasted twice as long for a price difference of 15p! No idea on any of the others – I suspect that there’s little practical difference except maybe in longevity.

I’ve used the same superstar one for a year and about 1k miles and all good, seems to wear well and pretty well made. Not much difference for your £30 price difference I reckon.

I’ve got a Hope and 2 superstar (mtb and cx).

They work much of a muchness, and seem to be wearing about the same. No complaints of any of them.

Did some have a problem with causing some chainsuck until they wore in?

Otherwise, they should all be the same for a given material (seems some are 7075-T6, which is a pretty darn strong for aluminium alloy).

My One-Up had a different chainline form the Revolution Components on that I had before though.

I’ve not noticed any difference between On-One, Absolute Black and Blackspire. Apart from sizes and ovalness.

Have not noticed any functional differences between any of them (RF/Hope/e13) other than the bigger ones seem to hang on to the chain better than the smaller ones

Other than that the e13 feels exceptionally round. Like as circular as it could possibly be

Renthal is meant to shed mud more easily as the grooves under the teeth are deeper

Who knows if it’s true – it’s a nice colour tho

Jon T – except there’s more to it than that. The Renthal has far more sophisticated machining than many, with channels to allow mud to escape.

Can’t personally speak for its effectiveness but I know in muddy CX races my Superstar NW suffers with mud build up – it actually lifts the chain (though it hasn’t actually dropped yet) and I can feel increased pedalling resistance and it can only accelerate wear.To be fair it’s been failed rear mechs that have made me DNF so the ring isn’t the weakest link.Whether a Renthal is worth twice the price I can’t say – my spares box has another SS in it.

Superstar wears a fair bit faster than my Works ones. Absoluteblack retention doesn’t seem quite as good but it’s still in the same “extremely good but not quite perfect” ballpark so it could just be bad luck.

SS have a similiar wee cutaway to the Renthals, which is supposed to help with mud clearance. Not convinced tbh but it can’t hurt.

Personally I buy Works when they have what I want in stock, simply because they were the first to break SRAM’s exclusivity. We could have been waiting a lot longer for that, it seemed pretty obvious other companies had them ready to go but wanted to see what SRAM’s lawyers did first. Good product, sensible price, UK company- all sounds good to me.

much of a muchness?

well, some of them are oval…?

I liked that my Absolte Black 32NW Oval chainring had threaded holes for the bolts. Saved a bit of weight and didn’t have to create a tool for the chainring bolts APU.

Just got another Superstar one, no complaints. Cheap, cheerful, and work perfectly.

My Face Face NW rings lasted really well and continued to work really well even when the teeth were massively worn.

I had an AB oval ring which did a good job of keeping the chain put, but the anodising seemed to wear much faster than the RF ring it replaced. I didn’t have the ring long enough to comment on its longevity.

Had a Raceface that worked well, but wore very quickly, Superstar one was been on twice as long and looks pretty fresh.

Going to try an oval next I think.