Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Anyone else had problems with Middleburn chainrings?
  • 13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    I've got a Middleburn slickshift hardcoat 42 tooth big ring on a middleburn spider, with a shimano 32 tooth middle ring.

    I'd noticed the pickup pins clipping the chain when i was in middle ring/9th sprocket but didn't let it bother me as i never use that gear in practice. Yesterday though in a perfectly normal gear i got some sort of upside down chainsuck as the chain jammed itself between the pick up pins and the middle ring, which resulted in a twisted front XTR mech. Not happy.

    Is this a common issue? I've got some 0.6mm chainring spacers on order but i'm a bit disappointed i'm having to bodge an expensive part just to make it work with other very standard components…

    Speshpaul
    Full Member

    Odd, is it a HT2 set up. Just wondering whether the chainset needs to go out board a little.

    ChrisE
    Free Member

    I had a similar problem but that was with a mix of Middleburn and Cannondale and XT rings on a Cannondale SI chainset spider/cranks. I put in some shim washers to space the big ring off and never had a problem since,

    C

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    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    Its an XTR octalink set up on a Charge Duster, the chainline is already a little too outboard for my liking (just over 50mm), although it was the first thing I tried.

    Chris, thats what i wanted to hear, the chainring is a lovely piece of work kit so i hoped i could make it work with a little bit of spacing, was worried i'd need to grind the shifting pins off or something!

    Now, what manky great pliers for twisting XTR mechs back into shape… 🙁

    martinxyz
    Free Member

    if you mix middleburn and shimano,it will never be possible to set up correctly.

    shimano design all three rings,front mech,chain etc to work as well as possible. as soon as you mix and match then the amount of front mech cable pull for certain gear combos will never match up to the new position of this chainring thats been added.the centering of each of the new chainring/and or the thickness in certain areas will be a little diffrent to a set up than with 3 shimano rings.not to mention the problem you are currently having.

    aftermarket rings can wear well and look lovely.. but once you mix in a 32t made by middleburn and attempt to set up the cable tension etc to get it functioning exactly how you had it before,you can pick out the small diffrences by looking closely as you change gear slowly on the workstand. (yes, fire through all the gears fast and you wont notice.quick,get it off the workstand and get the customer out the door as quick as you can why dont you – nice one.)

    its not just the once.this has been the case for as long as i can remember.you mix and match then you have to accept slight diffrences and to be fair,its not just some of middleburns rings.these are diffrences that might not ever cause a problem but are diffrences that are one step backwards from the best shimano could come up with in the first place.

    Then you will find folk that dont care about the small diffrences,some will say they dont notice a thing.these folk will want hard wearing rings that will shift well.they can accept that they arent quite as good as shimano.not the best,but they will shift well.

    give a gear crunching beginner a mix and match set up and you will more often than not find them having problems as they dont know how to shift cleanly to dodge the problem. If you want good wearing rings up front then at least fit all three middleburns.if you want the best shifting,althought it might not last anywhere near as long,fit shimano.

    we fit soft compound tyres and soft grips but how often do folk moan about them wearing out too soon? sometimes,but you are more likely to hear praise on how well they enhanced the ride for the short time they were in use.

    Its a pity folk dont have the same views on their drive.

    fozzybear
    Free Member

    as above that is spot on

    i ran a slick shift and a shimano inner, the middleburn has issues with the thickness and the spacing, i ended up dumping the middleburn ring and going shimano deore!

    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    Wow, a very detailed and almost emotional response there martinxyz! Although i might take exception to the "gear crunching beginners" bit… 8)

    I've mixed and matched successfully before, only bought the Middleburn ring for pimpiness really (there was my mistake!) never had any complaints with the old shimano deore or even the TA rings i've had before.

    I'll accept it mighten't be perfect, and i can work around slower shifting (no gear crunching here!) but random chain suck like i suffered yesterday will very quickly see a shiny new chain ring on classifieds!

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

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