Third party Ekar compatible chain rings

[makl]

Hi all,

anybody know of chinese ekar compatible chain rings with some standard bolt system (e.g. 110bcd or else)? I know of some more expensive alternatives like ratio technologies, but am looking for cheaper alternatives.

[makl]

...I found out, that flattop chains are compatible with Ekar cassettes, so this adds some possibilities.

[Sebastian]

Ratio components do Ekar compatible chainrings in 4 and 5 bolt versions with 110bcd. I’m using them on a Sram Red crankset combined with an Ekar groupset.

As for flattop chains: I don’t think they’re narrow enough for al Ekar cassette. I can’t imagine that this would shift smoothly. And what for anyway? Has anyone tried?

[makl]

At least I'll try I found this info somewhere in this forum as well as on another homepage: https://dropba.rs/blog/drivetrain-compatibility

[Sebastian]

I see. Still seems like a completely pointless exercise unless you happen to have flattop chains lying around. I certainly wouldn’t risk messing up my Ekar cassettes. And I found the Ekar chains to be very durable. Just like all Campy chains in fact. My Ekar chain has done roughly 6500km in pretty grim conditions with very little sign of wear.

[makl]

Yes, you're right. However, I wanted to use my existing 110bcd 4-bolt Powermeter, and I couldt only find 5-bolt offerings from Ratio. Also, by now you can get flattop-compatible chain rings in any standard (also 4-bolt) on Aliexpress for roughly half the price (hopefully not half the quality ), which is not the case for ekar compatibility...

I'll post here to let you know if the setup will work well.

P.S.: I want to use it with the wheeltop GeX, and I couldn't find any references for Ekar chain compatibility with the lower wheeltop pully, whereas there are reports on GeX+flattop chain which seem to work well...

[Sebastian]

I think Wolftooth rings are compatible with both Flattop chains and Ekar chains and they might be available in a 4 bolt pattern with 110BCD?
Anyway I'd much rather use the correct chain for my expensive cassette and mess up an Aliexpress chainring with a (potentially) incompatible part rather than the other way around.

[makl]

I researched Wolftooth as well, and apparently they don't have Ekar compatible chain rings. Ideally, nothing gets messed up - at least that's what I hope

Anyways: If one is not fixed on a 110 bcd 4-bolt chain ring, I would of course also recommend going with a ratio chain ring and an Ekar chain. For me it's worth the try.