I’ve just taken delivery of a set of single chainring XT M8000 cranks, and just realised the bolt pattern is rectangular, not square – is that a standard all 96mm bcd rings now use, or Shimano specific?

It’s specific to M800 cranks.
Though there are quite a few other companys now making rings to fit.

Its a mistake I also made, if I bought again I wouldn’t of done it.

I think superstar and uberbike so narrow wide rings for them now.

I think it’s 96cm bcd. Although it’s not the same 96cm bcd as xtr (m9000).

It is 96bcd but the holes aren’t spaced evenly.

Thanks all, I see there are several manufacturers making rings to fit.

What have we all done to deserve such piss taking by the bike industry?

I’m buying stock of all the old SLX triples; great cranks and 104 BCD. I guess they’ll be hard to source soon.
Just fitted an absoluteblack oval 32T as an experiment.

Burgtec do a NW to fit the M8000 too

It’s like that to allow down to a 30T without resorting to offset tabs that alter the chainline, while supporting bigger rings on double set ups enough to work with Di2 (as the double ring cranks use the same arms, and Di2 requires stiff rings that don’t just deflect out of the way.

Odd that people object to this, but don’t mind the proliferation of different and pointless direct mount ring spline patterns.

i was quite surprised by how quickly aftermarket rings came out.

Superstar, Works and Absolute black are amongst the people who do round and oval rings for them.

Rotor do an oval ring for m9000 cranks as well. I think (but I’m not entirely sure) if they fit on m8000 cranks.

Try stocking chain rings as a small
Shop it’s a huge pain in the arse

What have we all done to deserve such piss taking by the bike industry?

I’ve never looked *that* closely, but I assumed the funny new Shimano mountain chainring spacing was similar to the non-round mount on the newer Road cranks, too? Of course as I type this it occurs that they’d be a bigger size. Maybe same template, scaled, though?

Oval rings coming?

Surely it should be 96mm bod rather than BCD? Bolt oval diameter?

wzzzz – Member
Oval rings coming?

There are several already.

From Shimano I think he meant.

Dunno about in the MTB line, but certainly with the road cranks there’s a load of stuff about moving the ring mounting points to a more optimum position for ideal stiffness under load etc…

Sorry for the hijack but do the slx m7000 chainrings fit the xt m8000 cranks bolt circle? I assumed it would but now doubting myself after reading this thread. The slx are half the price of the xt so looking at trying one.

there’s a load of stuff about moving the ring mounting points to a more optimum position for ideal stiffness under load etc…

Is there no end to the bollocks they will come out with?

I think slx and XT are interchangeable but XTR not.

As Andy Says SLX and XT are interchangeable. Shimano seems to think it doesnt have enough standards anymore it seems as they have been proliferating shifter mounts, BB fittings and chainring fittings like its going out of fashion at the moment.

I have an unused Absolute black 30t oval I ordered by mistake if anyone’s looking

tops I’m interested in that.
My emails in my profile.

Unite are another company making them to fit, we’ve fitted loads & they’re great.
Made locally to us too in Welshpool, so always good to support a small local company.
PCD as said above is 96/64.

I’ve an unused 32T Works oval going spare since it doesn’t fit my XTR, if anyone’s interested.

Had to buy a Absolute Black one for twice the cash. Thanks Shimano.

Why not return it?