1X Chainring Wear

I’ve been spending lockdown relatively wisely and getting some jobs done on the bike – new chain etc etc. I’ve had the chainring on (SRAM Apex 1×11) for about 1600 miles now. Do 1x NW chainrings exhibit the same signs of wear as 2x chain rings, for example?

Mine still, to my eyes, looks ok. No dropped chains or skipping.

Any ideas anyone? I could do without splashing out on a new chainring if I can avoid it 🙂

1x chainrings tend to have much longer teeth than those designed to shift, so generally last longer. The chain retention ability is the first thing to go, so if you start to lose chains, that’s your sign, really. I woudn’t change that one.

If you’ve no dropped chains, skipping or chain suck then it’s probably good for a while.

Looks good to me. Your lawn however…

Is that a 4-arm Apex? If so, prepare for a shock when trying to find a replacement! From the last thread I believe the options are SRAM (€70+), one main oval manufacturers (for not much less), or bin them and get something with a normal bolt pattern

€33 Apex ring here, the entire chainset with ring can be had for 82

https://r2-bike.com/SRAM-X-SYNC-Chainring-1-speed-4-Hole-110-mm-asymmetric-for-Apex-1-Crank-black

I find my drivetrain goes noisy when the chainring is worn. It took me a while to track down a bizarre rattling/grinding noise that sounded like a poorly-adjusted rear mech to what was actually a worn NW ring. I guess that the wide teeth get thinner with wear, allowing side-to-side movement of the chain which makes a noise.

Thanks all, I appreciate the advice. Like I mentioned there’s been no dropping chains or skipping, but after the mileage I’ve put on it I would have expected to see a little more wear.

@mashr – yep, I’ve looked already. 30-odd pound is the cheapest I can find.

Looks good to me. Your lawn however…

That took me a while 😀

If you’ve got no negative symptoms and no signs of wear, why are you even worrying about it?

€33 Apex ring here

That’s the best deal I’ve seen by a fair margin! I ended up with second hand Force cranks and a Superstar ring (as with Apex you’re still limited to 40t, which may or may not be an issue)

If you’ve got no negative symptoms and no signs of wear, why are you even worrying about it?

That’s the thing @molgrips – I’ve had no negative symptoms, but I was going over the bike the other day and was surprised that the chainring had suffered no visible wear in the 1600ish miles it’s done. I was wondering if 1x NW rings displayed wear in the same way that 2x rings do.

I was wondering if 1x NW rings displayed wear in the same way that 2x rings do.

I think you’ve answered your own question 🙂 It’s not like it has complex intenral parts you can’t see.

To be honest I did many tens of thousands of miles on 3x and I am not sure I ever changed rings other than the ridiculously soft XTR 22T little ones. Although I did think that the middle on my XTR was worn when I had chainsuck on the Salsa. But it’d been on my main MTB for 12 years at that point. They last ages for me.

Absolutely @molgrips . I’ve only ever had one bike with a 1x drivetrain in the past, and I had to sell that way before there was any wear to the rings.

I’ve noticed that NW chainrings stop being as effective at chain retention when they are worn. I’ve worn through a couple of NW chainrings (I don’t think my mileage is excessive, I’m at the grittiest side of the Peak, though!). When they’re properly worn, they look like ‘normal’ worn rings I.e. shark tooth but I reckon they lose some of their chain-retention magic before then.