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Hi i am looking to swap out my 36 - 46 rings for a absolute black narrow wide 1x oval ring but undecided on what size to use.
I currently use 11-28 cassette so i am thinking a 38 tooth chainring?
What gearing do other people race on?
38 oval here but with a 32 or a 34 cassette. 28 is a bit tall for a lowest gear (IME) in cross, it will have most people off running on steep pitches that should be ridden. Prob fine if you are strong with good power to weight.
Agree with the point above about 28t being too tall. I'll be running 38t with and 11-36 this year (previously 40t up front) which should cover me for pretty much everything. Oval makes sense for nice power delivery in slippy conditions
I've got 11-36 and 42T Oval - great for CX racing, maybe a little high for mucking about in the woods type riding but allows the occasional road ride (sold the road bike). If was just off road duty I'd be tempted to drop to 40T or 38T
40t oval here with 11-32 cassette. Previous bike was 38t with 11-28 cassette. Was spot on.
Ok thanks for advice but i am a little worried about the jumps in gearing if i use a 11-36
Think i will try a 38t with my existing cassette and see how i get on.
The jumps aren’t an issue in CX like road as you’re rarely holding the same speed for any length of time.
A lot will depend on what your courses are like. I aim for the hillier ones and hate running so.....
West Midlands league for me so a good mixture of courses
I run a AB NW 38T (130 BCD) - with 12-32. Not oval. I also run 1x oval on the TT bike, the chain has a habit of dropping, so going back to round and NW on that bike.
36 with an 11-40 tooth cassette here!
Maybe Scottish courses are a lot muddier than others, perhaps I'm weak, or perhaps my MTB is just that much heavier than a CX bike, but I'm rarely troubling the bottom half of the cassette! Never in biggest two sprockets either to be fair, makes a good argument for going 3 speed...
I'm not on oval, but currently running a 40t front with 11-36t rear. It wasn't enough at the last round for me, but that's more down to me than the bike - distinct lack of racing legs
I have ordred a 38t ring many thanks
The AB ring is 10% ovality. If you want more then the Rotor CX rings are 12.5%
Does the extra 2.5% make a noticable difference?
It just means that when you are pushing, you are pushing a 2.5% bigger gear, and when you are in the 'dead' part of the stroke, you are pushing a 2.5% easier gear.
As I understand it, this should increase the possible advantages of the oval ring, e.g. your knee will pass through the dead zone 2.5% easier, but on the flipside the difference between 'easy' and 'hard' parts of the pedal stroke will be more noticeable. I guess if you have sensitive knees they might not like it.
To put it in perspective though, what's the typical difference between gears on a big cassette, 15%?
If you go from a 10% (which is what most ovals are) to a 16% QXL ring, then you can definitely feel it. 12.5 is more subtle but I prefer it to 10.
Indeed I'd go to a 16% I think but Rotor don't do them in narrow-wide, only as part of a 2x road setup.