OneUp unleashes Optimum Prime Thick/Thin

We recently revealed that One Up Components were launching a new 11x block with a massive 10×50 range – a release that trumped the 10×50 SRAM 12x launch by a week. Well, we’ve just heard that they are also releasing a unique chainring designed to extend the life of your new and expensive 11 or 12 speed chain and block using the power of maths.

The new chainring comes in one size currently at 31 teeth – although the company plans to release a 29 tooth version in a few months. The new chainring extends the life expectancy of your whole groupset by the simple fact that 31 is a prime number, or one that can only be divided by itself and 1.

But Wossit MEAN?

This new thick/thin prime chainring ensures that there is the minimum incidence of a specific tooth and chain link coming into contact. It’s when the same link on the chain coincides with the same tooth on the chainring that you get the most wear. By having a prime numbered chainring the chances of this matching up of tooth/link is minimised.

And since the lifetime of the chain is extended this has a corresponding life lengthening effect on the rear block too, saving you money all round on wear and tear to your whole groupset.

A spokesman for OneUp said “We’re excited to continue our tradition of innovation in the drivetrain world with this great new chainring standard. Our super computers have been working overtime on the extremely complex equation of a narrow/wide chainring with a prime number of teeth, but we’ve finally cracked it – and we will shortly be launching our new Optimum Prime chainrings.”

Prime Candidates

The same effect can be had from other prime numbered rings, hence the future release of a 29-tooth version.  The next size up from 31 would be 37, which makes it a bit too big of a leap for most MTB 1x systems but OneUp claim the same principal could be applied to road groupsets too. Look out for the chainrings shortly.

Naturally, the reduced wear capability of prime numbers could be extended to cassettes too. And indeed, OneUp are apparently working with an as yet unnamed major bike manufacturer in the US to research the optimum chainstay length to create a complete prime numbered groupset from rings to chain to cassette. This, it is claimed, would increase the lifespan of a typical groupset by a factor of 2.3 according to the calculations of the boffins at OneUp.

More details from OneUp

Mark Alker

Singletrack Owner/Publisher

Mark has been riding mountain bikes for over 30 years and co-owns Singletrack, where he's been publisher for 25 years. While his official title might be Managing Director, his actual job description is "whatever needs doing" – from wrangling finances and keeping the lights on to occasionally remembering to ride bikes for fun rather than just work. He's seen the sport evolve from rigid forks to whatever madness the industry dreams up next, and he's still not entirely sure what "gravel" is. When he's not buried in spreadsheets or chasing late invoices, he's probably thinking about his next ride.

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