The last time I bought a RaceFace middle chainring it cost £23 on Chainreactioncycles (some time ago), now they want £38! A Deore middle ring costs £13…

Do the Deore ones wear out more than 3 times quicker than RaceFace rings? If not, how do they justify such prices?

Is it worth paying so much for chainrings (if you don’t care about weight or bling)?

Opinions and advice please!

Dave.

very cheap alloy ones wear quickly, deore is steel IIRC so should last a lot longer.

Divas buy the more expensive stuff because they “must” have it, you are correct in that it is rarely significantly better and not a magnitude better in accordance with any price difference.

Just get the deore one, unless you’re worried about weight or looks (it’s a middle ring anyway, who cares about looks).

Although if you’re one of those triple riders who goes through 4 middle rings for every inner and outer, perhaps try a double or single ring set up? Cheaper, lighter, more reliable, etc.

A rule that’s never done me any harm since it was implemented shortly after my RF cranks melted.

Never buy anything RaceFace designed to rotate.

i stuck on a brand new XT middle ring from a chainset i used on an SS bike ….

it lasted 27 hours of alpine riding before being more useless than a useless thing ….

my stainless steel on-one did the 24 hours of strathpuffer twice and still looks new ….

Steel Deore for middle and granny. Last forever at minimal cost, and no-one can see them anyway.

Excellent, really not bothered about looks or weight for the chainrings. Keep the opinions coming

Many thanks.

Dave

+2

Never buy anything RaceFace designed to rotate.

The SLX/XT middle (32T only) rings are made of steel, suspended in resin and seem to last well. Otherwise I have a Middleburn hardcote 36T ring on my xc bike that’s lasting nicely.

Next time round it’s Deore plus a bashring.

Raceface race rings did 4 years on my bike with no chain suck so I put the same type back on. Love a good contradictory post on a forum lol.

I always have gone for steal Deore rings as they last much longer than expensive stuff which is made out of cheese in comparison. The weight penalty must be minimal..

Another fan of the Deore steel inner and middle ring set up.

Deore + Bash for me. On XT cranks.