Elliptical Chainrings. Thoughts?

[voodoo320]

I been eyeing this! Anybody know about this?

[bxcc]

I have never seen that one before. It doesn't appear to have the narrow wide tooth profile that most 1x rings have now. Not sure if that's a deal breaker or not but it's something to consider.

[carbonazza]

... It doesn't appear to have the narrow wide tooth profile that most 1x rings have now...

Isn't this key to keep the chain on the ring without a chainguide ?

[exzos]

... It doesn't appear to have the narrow wide tooth profile that most 1x rings have now...

Isn't this key to keep the chain on the ring without a chainguide ?

Yes.
It is very important if you are running a 1x

[bxcc]

... It doesn't appear to have the narrow wide tooth profile that most 1x rings have now...

Isn't this key to keep the chain on the ring without a chainguide ?

Yes.
It is very important if you are running a 1x

That was my impression too. But since I’ve never run anything but narrow wide rings on my 1x setups, I’m not sure how bad it would be with a uniform tooth thickness. I would assume that if the teeth are long enough, it wouldn’t be as bad as using a ramped ring intended for 2x or 3x setups.

[lRaphl]

Shimano doesn't use narrow-wide profiles on their 1x chainrings and it works.

[acedeuce802]

Shimano doesn't use narrow-wide profiles on their 1x chainrings and it works.

Shimano uses a tooth profile that's more square to help keep the chain on.  The chain ring should have some sort of retention, whether it's narrow-wide, square tooth like Shimano, or a chain guide.  A standard tooth profile is designed for shifting, which is not ideal for 1x.

[tripleDot]

Agree with Aceduece, in lieu of narrow-wide, Shimano's 1x chainrings have a squareish profile, so it helps secure your chain. Also, I believe that using the derailleur with clutch also helps keep the chain from poping out.

[voodoo320]

Finally bought the elliptical chainring. First impression is good. It has a 3 settings. 1st is for sprint. 2nd is normal and 3rd is for climbing. Still experimenting which setting is the best. As for the tooth clearance.... chain is always in place.

[carbonazza]

Do you feel the difference between the 3 positions when pedalling ?

[voodoo320]

Yes you can feel the differences. Tried the normal and change it to sprint. I felt the rotation more effective than normal. Very satisfied with the product.

Here is the link where I bought it. Beware!!! It is in Chinese but we are in Chinertown. 

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.16.58d9f097ulpBYv&id=45067009823&ns=1&abbucket=9#detail

[tripleDot]

Here's an eBay link (in English) of the Stone oval chainring.
https://m.ebay.com/itm/Oval-Chainring-BCD104-Narrow-Wide-NW-Teeth-1x-System-Big-Ring-for-Shimano-Sram/272649816744?var=571777782318&hash=item3f7b320aa8:m:m2yZMoOdO8hlZ7YDhSUYZRA

[carbonazza]

The bottom of the Taobao text and the eBay link point to a narrow/wide version of that ring.

[voodoo320]

yeah taobao is lot cheaper than ebay. 

[steven]

I recently started using an elliptical chainring from AliExpress and I'm very happy with it. I picked up a 32 tooth for only $7.04 and I'm glad I made the swap!

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/EKFan-104BCD-Multicolor-XT-Oval-Round-30T-32T-34T-36T-Circle-Crankset-Plate-Narrow-Wide-MTB/32826549087.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.8JRGti