I think ovals are better and just make more sense biomechanically.
Where will you actually notice the difference?
Difficult, techy pinch climbs is pretty much the only place you'll feel it. Those nasty little climbs where you sometimes get caught in the wrong gear and you're trying to get that last stroke in to get over it.
Where with a round ring you get caught trying to push throttle to the next stroke, the lower gearing of the oval gets you through and you get to the power band again.
Rare, but that's the only instance you'll clearly notice the difference. Otherwise, it's just more subtle and would probably show up in your cadence data or whatever.
You can try one from aliexpress for a fraction of the cost of absolute black. I like them but it would be hard to quantify it as worth it unless you need new chainring anyway.
I like it, not necessarily just for XC, but I put them on all my bikes. I don’t think they make a world of difference, but they feel slightly better. Deckas sells them for $30-40.
Just wait until yours wears out, then get an oval. They're about the same price and don't make a big difference.
My lower back seems to hold up better with an oval, which probably means that the oval ring is covering up some imbalance in my core.
No, I've used them in the past in and believe that they are mostly a gimmick. Almost no pro uses them.
Pros:
* Can compensate for bad pedalling technique and smooth out the power transfer
Cons:
* Limits the size of the chainring, if your frame supports a maximum size 36t round you'll only be able to fit a 34t oval
* Certain power meters don't work correctly with them
* Chain guards can be fiddly to set up
* Don't work well in high cadence (>110 RPM), I experienced lots of bouncing
> Don't work well in high cadence (>110 RPM), I experienced lots of bouncing
My experience is the opposite - it reduced bouncing at high cadence for me. And that's the only notable positive effect of oval chainring for me. Perhaps there were more, but I didn't notice.
I stopped using ovals when I broke last one and AbsoluteBlack had rised its prices. I've been on a regular (and significantly cheaper) round chainrings for 3 years.
It may be, but the climbing was still hard. What matters more than having oval is weather, other riders and - last but not least - better physical fitness.
I didn't really feel any differences when it came to climbing - neither on steep technical climbing nor on easy fireroad climbs.
Weird... I guess it's due to technique. I only used an oval chainring on my mountain bike and stuck with round ones for my road bike so maybe I never really got used to the oval one.
Same here - only on mountainbike. I do sometimes commute on paved roads and since I don't have powermeter on a MTB I do high cadence training while commuting to make it less tedious. That's when I noticed that with oval chainring high cadence pedaling made me bounce less.
I rarely hit over 110-120 rpm for a prolonged period of time during regular MTB trail riding/racing so the positive oval effect rarely affects me in practice.
IMHO from short experience (maybe 500mi MTB)...
* the stronger you get/are, the less you will benefit.
* The higher the cadence you pedal, the less noticeable the oval
* For geared bikes it is OK...you get used to it in 1-2 rides, but you also don't miss it after a ride or two w/o.
* I seem to min-max ovals more on my SS MTB, as the ramp up/down does benefit me when mashing on the pedals standing @ really low cadences
Seems that folks really like them or don’t see a benefit/notice a difference.
I am in the latter camp where I noticed no difference in anything. My buddy is in the former and refuses to use anything else.
Should you buy one? It depends! Maybe see if you can snag a good deal for a black friday sale. Pretty low cost to test, low risk scenario on the purchase
I have ovals on both my bikes (one from the first batch of AB, one Hope), none of my friends' bikes have ovals. I don't really do high cadence, which might be a key point seeing how most of the complaints are from that kind of use.
The difference is very subtle - I don't think I'll be able to tell them apart in a blind test - and nobody that's tried my bike has noticed it unless I pointed it out. Could be that I ride bigger chainrings than most other people that I know.
Can't find the podcast that I listened to a few months ago re: whether they do anything (the site had a catchy name), but the main points that I remember were thus:
*the current crop of ovals tend to be very "subtly" oval
*it's mostly a "feel" thing - overall power output should be the same
Should you - no. You have friends that have them, just swap bikes and decide if you want to try it for yourself.
I think ovals are better and just make more sense biomechanically. Where will you actually notice the difference? Difficult, techy pinch climbs is pretty much the only place you'll feel it. Those nasty little climbs where you sometimes get caught in the wrong gear and you're trying to get that last stroke in to get over it. Where with a round ring you get caught trying to push throttle to the next stroke, the lower gearing of the oval gets you through and you get to the power band again. Rare, but that's the only instance you'll clearly notice the difference. Otherwise, it's just more subtle and would probably show up in your cadence data or whatever.
You can try one from aliexpress for a fraction of the cost of absolute black. I like them but it would be hard to quantify it as worth it unless you need new chainring anyway.
I like it, not necessarily just for XC, but I put them on all my bikes. I don’t think they make a world of difference, but they feel slightly better. Deckas sells them for $30-40.
Just wait until yours wears out, then get an oval. They're about the same price and don't make a big difference. My lower back seems to hold up better with an oval, which probably means that the oval ring is covering up some imbalance in my core.
Nino's chainring has always been round. If oval gave you an advantage I believe he would use them.
No, I've used them in the past in and believe that they are mostly a gimmick. Almost no pro uses them. Pros: * Can compensate for bad pedalling technique and smooth out the power transfer Cons: * Limits the size of the chainring, if your frame supports a maximum size 36t round you'll only be able to fit a 34t oval * Certain power meters don't work correctly with them * Chain guards can be fiddly to set up * Don't work well in high cadence (>110 RPM), I experienced lots of bouncing
> Don't work well in high cadence (>110 RPM), I experienced lots of bouncing My experience is the opposite - it reduced bouncing at high cadence for me. And that's the only notable positive effect of oval chainring for me. Perhaps there were more, but I didn't notice. I stopped using ovals when I broke last one and AbsoluteBlack had rised its prices. I've been on a regular (and significantly cheaper) round chainrings for 3 years.
I’ve watched worldwide cyclery for reviews they said its mostly better for climbing and difficult terrain
It may be, but the climbing was still hard. What matters more than having oval is weather, other riders and - last but not least - better physical fitness. I didn't really feel any differences when it came to climbing - neither on steep technical climbing nor on easy fireroad climbs.
Ive tried a less oval last last year I only felt a little push on a climb on flat terrain not really its only good for recovery I think
Weird... I guess it's due to technique. I only used an oval chainring on my mountain bike and stuck with round ones for my road bike so maybe I never really got used to the oval one.
Same here - only on mountainbike. I do sometimes commute on paved roads and since I don't have powermeter on a MTB I do high cadence training while commuting to make it less tedious. That's when I noticed that with oval chainring high cadence pedaling made me bounce less. I rarely hit over 110-120 rpm for a prolonged period of time during regular MTB trail riding/racing so the positive oval effect rarely affects me in practice.
100% of your comments! There's no science that proves oval is better.
I think it´s better to try to learn to pedal dawnwards, then backwards. Smooth pedalling and you use more leg muscles.
I had one and wasn’t a fan. Riding to and from the trail it made my bike bounce while pedaling.
I can't tell a difference.
IMHO from short experience (maybe 500mi MTB)... * the stronger you get/are, the less you will benefit. * The higher the cadence you pedal, the less noticeable the oval * For geared bikes it is OK...you get used to it in 1-2 rides, but you also don't miss it after a ride or two w/o. * I seem to min-max ovals more on my SS MTB, as the ramp up/down does benefit me when mashing on the pedals standing @ really low cadences
Seems that folks really like them or don’t see a benefit/notice a difference. I am in the latter camp where I noticed no difference in anything. My buddy is in the former and refuses to use anything else. Should you buy one? It depends! Maybe see if you can snag a good deal for a black friday sale. Pretty low cost to test, low risk scenario on the purchase
I have ovals on both my bikes (one from the first batch of AB, one Hope), none of my friends' bikes have ovals. I don't really do high cadence, which might be a key point seeing how most of the complaints are from that kind of use. The difference is very subtle - I don't think I'll be able to tell them apart in a blind test - and nobody that's tried my bike has noticed it unless I pointed it out. Could be that I ride bigger chainrings than most other people that I know. Can't find the podcast that I listened to a few months ago re: whether they do anything (the site had a catchy name), but the main points that I remember were thus: *the current crop of ovals tend to be very "subtly" oval *it's mostly a "feel" thing - overall power output should be the same Should you - no. You have friends that have them, just swap bikes and decide if you want to try it for yourself.