Aftermarket 12-Speed Chainrings – Stone, Pass Quest, or Other Recommendations?

[Sander2177]

Gents, I know this topic has been covered a million times!, but when it comes to aftermarket chainrings for 12-speed Shimano, the usual names that come up are Stone and Pass Quest.
Only ask as this is something aftermarket I have never bought!

Are these on par in terms of quality and performance, or is there a standout option?

I’m currently running Cybrei Meta Aero 54/38, but with the Mallorca 312 coming up in a few weeks, I’m looking for a 52/36 aero-style set.

Any recommendations or real-world experiences would be greatly appreciated!

[SillyMochi]

I'm using the PASS QUEST 110 BCD "aero-style" chainrings on my road bike for about a year now (~5.000 km). No idea if the aero is more than just looks. I wouldn't know the difference at my power output. However, I think they look great and fit the overall design idea of my build - that's why I bought them. Attached are two pics so you can decide for yourself 

I'm using the amateur's 50/34 but they have all kinds of configuration from 46/33 up to 56/42 incl. your 52/36 preference. They are not the cheapest, so I recommend waiting for a sale. I got mine for about 75€ incl. shipping to Germany to give you a reference point. There are always different shops selling them, so looking around for the best deal might be worth it. If you are on a rush to get them that might not be an option though. Shipping took about 2 weeks for me.

Link: https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005007663776585.html

[RoadieMKD]

I don't know if this is the right place, but since this thread recommends PassQuest chainrings i thought I'll ask here. I just got a delivery of the PassQuest chainrings and fitted them on Sram Red 22 crankset and they are not sitting straight and are bulging on the hidden bolt place. I am using a Ultegra Di2 12speed as the rest of the groupset and cant get the chain to shift from small to big. Just before someone thinks it's the Red crankset, no its not as they work perfectly fine with cheap Snail chainrings that sit perfectly straight. The derailleur is set up according to instructions with the proper gaps as recommended. When trying to shift the chain just skips on the side of the chainring and does not get picked up by the shift pins. I had the same issue with Fovno chainrings. Any ideas on how to remedy this or have i just dumped 70 eur in the bin? Thanks

[Sander2177]

I don't know if this is the right place, but since this thread recommends PassQuest chainrings i thought I'll ask here. I just got a delivery of the PassQuest chainrings and fitted them on Sram Red 22 crankset and they are not sitting straight and are bulging on the hidden bolt place. I am using a Ultegra Di2 12speed as the rest of the groupset and cant get the chain to shift from small to big. Just before someone thinks it's the Red crankset, no its not as they work perfectly fine with cheap Snail chainrings that sit perfectly straight. The derailleur is set up according to instructions with the proper gaps as recommended. When trying to shift the chain just skips on the side of the chainring and does not get picked up by the shift pins. I had the same issue with Fovno chainrings. Any ideas on how to remedy this or have i just dumped 70 eur in the bin? Thanks

Can you post some photos of the ‘bulging’ ?

[gbrnole]

i'm guessing this is a sram 130BCD crank? i wasn't even aware the pass quest made a 2x chainring for a sram 110BCD. is your SRAM red crank the 1-piece drive side or detachable spider?

sometimes chainrings need a little persuasion to have a nice flush fit on sram cranks. you do also have the rotation on the chainring in the correct place, right? there's a specific mark that the hidden bolt needs to be aligned with.

[Cnasta]

Gents, I know this topic has been covered a million times!, but when it comes to aftermarket chainrings for 12-speed Shimano, the usual names that come up are Stone and Pass Quest.
Only ask as this is something aftermarket I have never bought!

Are these on par in terms of quality and performance, or is there a standout option?

I’m currently running Cybrei Meta Aero 54/38, but with the Mallorca 312 coming up in a few weeks, I’m looking for a 52/36 aero-style set.

Any recommendations or real-world experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Just curious, with your really nice bike I recon you're a pretty good rider. Wouldn't it make more sense to tooth-up in the rear and mount a cassette with a 30? Would give you about the same range as a 36 in front (instead of your 38). Apart from that, I'm following since I'm looking for a 52/36 chainringset myself

[Sander2177]

Just curious, with your really nice bike I recon you're a pretty good rider. Wouldn't it make more sense to tooth-up in the rear and mount a cassette with a 30? Would give you about the same range as a 36 in front (instead of your 38). Apart from that, I'm following since I'm looking for a 52/36 chainringset myself

Hey Cnasta!

Thanks for the compliment on the bike! This hobby definitely gets expensive—especially once you start heading down the weight-weenie rabbit hole!
As for my riding, I try my best! If I had more time, I could probably be stronger, but you know how it goes—life, work, and responsibilities take over.

For the Mallorca 312, I went with a 54/38 up front and an 11-34 cassette. It worked out pretty well for me. I was a bit worried because the year before, I did the 225 km course on a 50/34 with an 11-34, and that setup felt too easy. Plus, I’m lighter this year—down from 83 kg to 76 kg. The climbs in Mallorca aren’t super steep either, so I didn’t really need super low gearing.

I’ve stuck with the 54/38 and 11-34 combo since it gives me the top-end speed when I need it. The terrain where I live is pretty rolling, so I like having the 11-34 as a backup. If I were racing like some of my buddies, I’d probably run an 11-30—but these days, I just don’t have the time for racing.

[RoadieMKD]

i'm guessing this is a sram 130BCD crank? i wasn't even aware the pass quest made a 2x chainring for a sram 110BCD. is your SRAM red crank the 1-piece drive side or detachable spider?

sometimes chainrings need a little persuasion to have a nice flush fit on sram cranks. you do also have the rotation on the chainring in the correct place, right? there's a specific mark that the hidden bolt needs to be aligned with.

It is SRAM Red eTap 11s BCD110 GXP crank with one piece driveside unit. The thing is that it is designed around 4mm thickness chainring, but PassQuest are 5mm ant that is why it wobbles towards the inside where the chainring meets the crank arm. I managed to get them to work with tweaking the position (angular rotation) of the FD. It shifts OK but I'm not super impressed as there is hesitation when going from small to big. The wobble doesn't seem to bother the chainrings with rotation, but i will have to machine the spots where the bolts are and get them down to 4mm, maybe 4,5 to get rid of the wobble. My opinion is that the thickness will not affect other cranksets, especially not those with power meter, it just affects SRAM hidden bolt design. If someone from PassQuest is reading this forum PLEASE add more shifting ramps to the chainring, 4 are not enough for super smooth shifting. Would i recommend? Maybe if using other cranksets like Shimano od carbon cranks from other manufacturers. If someone is using SRAM, go with original chainrings and save yourself the trouble.

[gbrnole]

It is SRAM Red eTap 11s BCD110 GXP crank with one piece driveside unit. The thing is that it is designed around 4mm thickness chainring, but PassQuest are 5mm ant that is why it wobbles towards the inside where the chainring meets the crank arm. I managed to get them to work with tweaking the position (angular rotation) of the FD. It shifts OK but I'm not super impressed as there is hesitation when going from small to big. The wobble doesn't seem to bother the chainrings with rotation, but i will have to machine the spots where the bolts are and get them down to 4mm, maybe 4,5 to get rid of the wobble. My opinion is that the thickness will not affect other cranksets, especially not those with power meter, it just affects SRAM hidden bolt design. If someone from PassQuest is reading this forum PLEASE add more shifting ramps to the chainring, 4 are not enough for super smooth shifting. Would i recommend? Maybe if using other cranksets like Shimano od carbon cranks from other manufacturers. If someone is using SRAM, go with original chainrings and save yourself the trouble.

ah i see your problem now. almost seems like unless you take 0.5mm off the inside of the big ring and the outside of the small ring that they will always be 1mm out of spec for width between the rings?

[RoadieMKD]

ah i see your problem now. almost seems like unless you take 0.5mm off the inside of the big ring and the outside of the small ring that they will always be 1mm out of spec for width between the rings?

I do not think so. Removing from the outside of the small ring will bring them closer together and cause chain drop almost every time. My plan is to remove 0.5 or 0.7mm from the inside of the big ring just to correct the wobble. Maybe shim the small ring to compensate for the material taken out of the big ring to maintain distance. For now, I will do several rides as is until I make a decision to thinker with this. I did not need this headache that I brought upon myself and should have gotten the original SRAM rings....double the money - zero issues... learn from my mistake Will update if I make the changes.

[KuBiDrugar]

There's the Neutron crankset.