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Sandman
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Oval or round?
10/19/17 at 3:12pm
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I need to get a new chainring and am considering going oval but unsure. Why should I or why not?
  
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flynbryan19
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Re: Oval or round?
Reply #1 - 10/19/17 at 3:42pm
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I have used both.  I understand the marketing, but I honestly could not "feel" a difference.  You probably would need a power meter or something tangible to read results to be able to get a true difference.  What kinda cranks/bike are you going to be putting it on?
  
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Sandman
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Re: Oval or round?
Reply #2 - 10/19/17 at 3:46pm
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Next SL cranks on  2016 Stumpjumper fsr carbon 650
  
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DK
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Re: Oval or round?
Reply #3 - 10/19/17 at 4:33pm
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So me and my buddy just removed our oval rings and went back to round.  The oval ring does seem to slightly increase some power on climbs to me, but it ate through chains at an alarming rate and I can only assume to to the shape.  I usually have to replace a chain every year but couldn't get near that when I switched to the oval.  Found out when I went back to the round that I preferred the feel of it although the difference is slight.
  
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Sandman
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Re: Oval or round?
Reply #4 - 10/19/17 at 5:44pm
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Thanks yall. I don't have any complaints about a good ol fashion round ring so I'll just stick with that.

Anyone have a direct mount 30t or 32t for Next cranks?
  
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Slothzilla
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Re: Oval or round?
Reply #5 - 10/20/17 at 1:52pm
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What size is on the cranks now?  I'm of the opinion you could easily get away with a 34 for Charlotte and the hillz when you swap out for the 11spd drivetrain.
  
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Re: Oval or round?
Reply #6 - 10/20/17 at 3:11pm
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Slothzilla wrote on 10/20/17 at 1:52pm:
What size is on the cranks now?  I'm of the opinion you could easily get away with a 34 for Charlotte and the hillz when you swap out for the 11spd drivetrain. 


I can't remember if its 34 or 36. Look huge but that may just be because its direct mount. I currently run 32t x 11-42 rear. The new cassette is 11-42 as well so I thought I'd stay in the same range.
  
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Slothzilla
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Re: Oval or round?
Reply #7 - 10/20/17 at 3:53pm
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34 or 36, give it a shot, you might surprise yourself.  30t on 650b is pretty easy especially with dat 42 out back.   

  
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Re: Oval or round?
Reply #8 - 10/20/17 at 5:18pm
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I run a 30t x 11-42 on a 650b and I never find myself wishing I had a taller gear. I do, however, use the 42t cog every now and then. No benefit (except bragging rights) to making the climbing harder than it needs to be, unless you are running out of gear on the top end. 

FWIW, I have also been running an AB oval ring since the beginning of this year. Here are my observations:

The difference from a round is slight, but noticeable. It feels a bit odd on high speed flats e.g. XC and road type riding, but feels more natural (to me) on rolling terrain and Trail type riding where its less about constant cadence and more about punchy bursts of energy. 

With oval, the leg power input feels more consistent throughout the stroke, which is good for maintaining traction on steep tech climbs when you're too exhausted to think about power modulation through each pedal stroke. You can have more of a stand and stomp approach to the super steep climbs without having to worry about spinning out at the middle of each stroke.

The other side of that is the long fire road climbs can feel a little more mentally and physically exhausting because you don't have that easy part of each stroke to look forward to. In theory, that shouldn't really change the total amount of energy required to get up the climb, but mentally it can wear on you.

So in short,

Oval feels better for riding where shorter high output intervals of pedaling are required.

Round feels better for consistent cadence and power output efforts.   

One other thing that often goes unmentioned, which I am just now starting to realize, is an oval ring has the potential to wear out a derailleur clutch faster. The chain growth on the slack side is minimal, but it is there with every pedal stroke.
  
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Re: Oval or round?
Reply #9 - 10/20/17 at 7:13pm
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I got one to try on my geared bike, but ended up putting it on my SS.  Can be a little tricky at first with the chain tension, but really no problems if adjusted correctly.  I could tell something was different for about 15 minutes after I put it on, kinda punchy.  Really, not noticeable since.  Its still on, no unusual chain or ring wear, no dropped chains and yes, you must set the chain tension with the chain ring at its largest.  It may help, but its not noticeable to me, but I'm old though.
  
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Joe F
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Re: Oval or round?
Reply #10 - 10/23/17 at 1:26pm
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DK wrote on 10/19/17 at 4:33pm:
So me and my buddy just removed our oval rings and went back to round.  The oval ring does seem to slightly increase some power on climbs to me, but it ate through chains at an alarming rate and I can only assume to to the shape.  I usually have to replace a chain every year but couldn't get near that when I switched to the oval.  Found out when I went back to the round that I preferred the feel of it although the difference is slight.


That would be me!  I had an Absolute Black Oval 32T on for a little over a year.  I like think that it gave me more power in climbs and such, but that could be the placebo/wishful thinking factor. I did note an increase in chain wear as it seemed like my chains reached the stretch limits much sooner. I also would get periodic squeak in my derailleur clutch as the cage moves slightly back and forward twice with each complete pedal stroke.  I would have to take the clutch apart and re-grease it (Shimano XT).  The kicker was that with a recent chain replacement, I got a major grinding noise. Searching online for "Grinding noise with new chain" indicated a worn chain ring as the likely suspect.  Sure enough putting my old Race Face 32T round back on cured the noise, indicating the AB Oval Ring was shot.  I actually found I like the feel of the round better, my times are the same if not slightly better and for some reason, my old legs feel less fatigued later in the day after a hard ride and my periodic calf cramps during the night have completely stopped. I am old however.  Your mileage may vary, but after a year plus on the oval I am staying round.
« Last Edit: 10/23/17 at 1:31pm by Joe F »  
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