Oval/eliptical/wonky rings – your first hand accounts please

About to go 1×10 and looking at NW rings – round.
Then I thought – having read a Chipps article on a Rotor oval ring that there must be some science to it other than them just being a bit ‘quirky’.
Who’s tried/got/loves/hates them?
Worth a serious consideration?

Smoother pedalling cycle, after a couple of minutes getting used to them.

It just makes sense once you think about it. I have ridden AB on a 1×10 FS and Goldtec OneKey on an SS.

Not a game changer but I am sure I feel an improvement and will be sticking with them in the future.

biopace makes my shins ache. not relevant; but still true!

^^ don’t use the b-word!!

I tend to switch between round and oval quite a bit, although not through choice.
I much prefer the oval chainrings. They seem smoother and on the MTB I think they help on technical climbs.

I was underwhelmed at first but the longer I use it the.more.I think my pedalling is smoother and more knee friendly. More traction I’m not yet sure

Not tried mine yet but they had better be good as i foolishly stripped the hex head on one of the chainring bolts, so it seems they are staying put for now. Ham fisted muppet. I also had some serious problems fitting them in the correct position on the middle chainring tabs but still clearing my chainstays. I suspect that could be cos its an older frame but still was frustrating.

Will report after 1st ride.

Bought first Absolute Black one just for a try, liked it. Even helped with the knee pain I get.

Second one bought for the other build now.

Not a miracle worker but I like the theory behind the design, it just makes sense to me so the placebo effect probably helps too!

Liked my 34t one from AB, found it easier to maintain a smooth pedal stroke over rough tree roots and rocks etc. found no major difference whilst climbing.

Would have got an oval 36t had they have made one.

I have one on the MTB, purely because it was cheaper than the round one.

After about 2 minutes, I couldn’t tell the difference. Ride a road bike all week with round rings, ride the MTB at the weekend, still can’t tell the difference.

Can they be used on double or triples?

heard good things about these from actual users, but never tried any myself, only a quick spin on Rotor rings and of course you have to adjust the pedalling style over time so they just felt weird..

I went from a 34 round to a 32 oval over the summer and really like it. I’m not sure if I could tell the difference in a blind test but it feels more spinny without feeling lower geared if that makes sense. I was concerned about dropping the ring size but in practice it’s not an issue even on 26″.

Mines a works components one and it’s very good and pretty cheap with their introductory offer.

I’ve got an Absolute Black 32T on my 29er hardtail.

As others have said you don’t really notice it after the first 5 mins.
However it does seem to stop that pulsing in pedal stroke that leads to a slipping rear wheel on steep slippy thrutchy climbs.

I love them.
I have a onekey on my SS (36T)

I wanted another for my new SS, but Goldtec were out of onekeys in 36T.

I found an absolute black, but once it arrived, I realised I had a 5arm spider on my middleburns 🙁

And no one does 5arm eliptical rings, nor can I find a middleburn direct fit 36T

so I need to keep an eye out for a s/h 4arm middleburn spider…anyone?

Quick google and you’ll likely see several new threads a week on here about them.

Used Rotor oval rings on the TT bike for a couple of seasons, think they help reduce fatigue mostly.

Recently stuck an AB oval on the XC bike for the first time. Didn’t notice any difference in the way it felt to pedal, though was quite surprised to feel like I could hold on to bigger gears for a bit longer than usual. Raced it for the first time over the weekend in some pretty foul conditions, did ok and no chain issues either. I’m sticking with it. I’m even quite tempted to try something with a more extreme wonky shape like the Osymetric.

must be some science to it other than them just being a bit ‘quirky’.

It’s not really that complicated. Makes the ring a bit bigger during the power phase of the pedal stroke, and a bit smaller at the top and bottom. Seems quite sensible really (and the exact opposite to the B word.)

and of course you have to adjust the pedalling style over time so they just felt weird..

Is odd that some people find this and others (like me) don’t notice any weirdness at all in feel (if anything it feels a bit smoother.) I suspect if you’ve already got a very smooth and efficient pedal stroke you’ll notice a bigger difference than if you’re a masher.

Went from 32 round to 34 oval on a singlespeed and it wasn’t any harder to get up hills. Does seem to help with not stalling at that tricky point during the pedal stroke on steep grindy climbs. I’ve not bothered for my geared bikes, but for SS’ing they’re ace.

I couldn’t feel the difference at all after putting it on, but if you ride along one legged up a slight incline, its a surprisingly pronounced effect, though of course you’ll look like a tit.

I run them on both the rigid 29er (32t AB) and the 27.5 FS (32t One Up). Definitely better at low cadence, out-of-the-saddle efforts.

And they look cool.

stoner,

AB do a 5-bolt oval but it’s 110bcd and 38t so probably not what you want.

http://www.absoluteblack.cc/cx-oval-110-5-bcd-cyclocross-chainring/

cheers reggie. I hink thats the wrong BCD for my old spider.

I really ought to just get a 4arm spider. Although Id love a direct mount 36T….

… makes me wonder – is there more material on the SRAM direct mount chainring than on the middleburn one? i.e. can I DIY adapt a SRAM to fit a middleburn?

I’ve got an absoluteblack on the hardtail. Can’t really tell when I’m riding tbh but it’s 2 teeth bigger than I’d normally use and seems to work the same. Honestly, no idea, it could be doing something useful that I just don’t notice.

Just going to put one on the fatbike just to try and reduce the boinginess while pedalling.

and of course you have to adjust the pedalling style over time so they just felt weird..

Oh and it’s worth noting that with rings like the AB you have just one shape (I think a fairly mild ovalisation) and one orientation option. This will suit some better than others. Which is why people like Rotor offer different ovals and multiple mounting positions. I’ve seen articles that suggest that if you notice a wonkiness when pedalling then you probably don’t have the optimal ovalisation or orientation.

Stoner – Member

I need to keep an eye out for a s/h 4arm middleburn spider…anyone?

I may have one at home – drop me a line and I’ll see if I can dig it out (if I’m not using it on one of the bikes)

I’m using a works component ‘oval’ narrow/wide ring on my bike. In terms of pedalling it doesnt feel any different, ie you dont feel the different shape of the ring. But it does (for me anyway) feel like it makes a significant difference to the effort required to pedal up a steep hill. It feels a little like being in 1 gear lower than you actually are in terms of the effort you put in.

No idea if thats placebo effect or something else, but I got personal bests on various climbs immediately after fitting it. These are climbs that I have been riding for the past 4 years or so, so I have a lot of data to compare to. It took about 30 secs off a 10 minute climb.

I’m happy with it.

Goldtech OneKey ring user here.
For singlespeed, I wouldn’t use anything else.

For a geared set-up…not sure.

Rotor Q Rings on every bike, XC, SS, road and CX. Love them.

spdr – cheers, YGM

Had bio***** back in the day, recently used an oval on my hack and didn’t think much of it at the time.
It was a 38T oval, made my legs hurt, but worked fine and I could climb up what was on my usual route without too much of a strain.

changed cranks so needed to chainge chainring as it was a different BCD.

decided to downsize to a 36T round. The difference was quite noticable. the 36T was quite a struggle to push in the same sprocket I’d previously used the 38T in. So though the 38T was an effort, it seemed to enable me to put the effort to better use than just a round ring.

When I have some cash and the round ring is dead, I’ll be changing back to oval.

Due to a crank failure I’ve had to drop my absolute black oval. Climbing is certainly harder work without it.

Looking to try one, has anyone experience of using both a AB one and a Works components one if so did you have preference.

Seems most people are using the Absolute black one any reason for that? over the others available.

AB were first to the table. Also they’re very pretty! I’ve got a Works one on the way, it’s a different size though and it’s going on a different bike so not likely to be very informative…

Never been convinced that the AB chain retention is quite as good as my normal Works chainring mind.

Got an AB one on my FS. Got a standard ring on my HT. Cant tell the difference!

Works appear to be the cheapest. Just no M8000 yet…

Just put one on a full suspension bike out of interest as I needed a new chainring; very impressed when it comes to traction on technical climbs. On the flat I haven’t noticed too much difference but my legs are less tired at the end of a big ride.

Absolute Black also offer a 30 day trial so what’s there to lose? If you don’t get on with it they will send you a new round one. Go for the same size as your normal round imo.

Is there any movement in the derailleur as you pedal? In theory it ought to be minimal, but evidence would be nice. (I am thinking energy loss with a clutch mech.)

greyspoke – Member
Is there any movement in the derailleur as you pedal? In theory it ought to be minimal, but evidence would be nice. (I am thinking energy loss with a clutch mech.)

AB have a video showing next to no movement – I think in reality there’s a little if you have a longer cage

Oh thanks your honour, might give one a try when I’e worn my round ones out.

My only bike is old Courier Comp with biopace. Don’t know if it makes any difference but I just like the fact that it’s a bit wonky.

Recently changed to an AB 34t one, can’t tell the difference TBH….