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race face narrow wide chainring

saruti

saruti

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,167
73
Israel
just installed the new race face narrow wide chain ring on my trail bike.
after weekend of riding all my favorite trails, I can say, it works!! :eek:
actually, I'm really amazed. I started riding with it really slow and was sure that the chain will fall in one of the rock gardens or one of the jumps... but no! it stays on.
no chain guide, no need of a special clutch derailleur , just replacing the old chain ring and taking off the chain guide.

I don't know if I would do that on my DH bike.... but for trail riding, it is great.
 
Kanye West

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,741
473
I'm trying a 34t on my 2010 Enduro with a 11-36 10spd setup with the OEM lower roller for the Enduro frame. Haven't ridden it yet. I remain skeptical.
 
N

NoUseForAName

Monkey
Mar 26, 2008
481
0
saruti said:
I bought the 32
I run 11-34 9speed cassette and it's good for everything
Click to expand...
No clutch = it will fall off, unless you are riding the bike path. Clutch = it can still fall off, not a big deal on the trail, but more of a deal in a race.
 
demonprec

demonprec

Monkey
Nov 12, 2004
237
15
Whonnock BC Canada
i run a 32t with a 9spd x9 derailleur and i have dropped my chain several times i do run a guide but it,s for a 34t so the chain has room on the top to pop off , i will eventually get a proper clutch derailleur just not decided on weather i,m gonna go 10spd or 11spd

oh ya i,m using it on a 2012 Kona Entourage
 
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Lelandjt

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,514
827
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
I want a black 34T but QBP is out of everything except the green 38T. I run my rigid bike with a 34/11-36, clutch XTR, and carbon chainring guard on the outside (to keep my pants clean). I've occasionally dropped the chain off the inside both climbing and descending. Today I moved the crank over (swapped a BB spacer from right to left) to bring the chainline in some and I hope that cures it but I'd like to get this ring when it's available. The only other option I'm aware of is from Wolftooth for like $75.
 
metalhead119042

metalhead119042

Monkey
Jan 21, 2006
724
1
Boone, NC
Been running mine with a guide and it has never even slipped, but a buddy of mine tried to run his w/o and lost the chain 4-5 times over a 3 hr ride. Definitely worth the investment, but plan on using at least a top guide.
 
Demomonkey

Demomonkey

Monkey
Apr 27, 2005
857
0
Auckland New Zealand
I run mine with a clutch x9 rear mech, 10 speed 34T rear and 32T front. As hard as I try i has not fallen off. No chain guide. Its another one of those pieces of kit that come out that transform your bike - no friction, no noise, less weight. Its a winner
 
A

allen

Chimp
Mar 25, 2012
44
0
NJ
I've got the wolftooth on my trail bike which is the same type of narrow wide profile. With a clutch derailleur I've only dropped a chain once this summer. Also worth noting is that a 30T front and 10sp. rear cassette is a sweet ratio and working out to be spot on for the trails that I ride. Well worth worth the investment.

Al
 
saruti

saruti

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,167
73
Israel
is the 10 sp chain is narrower ? maybe it holds the chain-ring better?
I doesn't see any reason to go to 10 sp.
I like the X9 9 speed, and it has all the gears I need for AM riding....
 
jackalope

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,606
5,917
in a single wide, cooking meth...
Here's my take on the current "trail bike" chain retention options out there:

Best - clutch derailleur, top guide, & narrow/wide ring

Good - clutch derailleur & narrow/wide ring


I think a narrow/wide ring and clutch derailleur will work for most riders/terrain, but obviously drops can still happen on occassion. I had a clutch derailleur & top guide set up, and that worked OK, but didn't totally eliminate frustrating chain drops. The addition of the RF narrow/wide ring has been the proverbial silver bullet for me so far, but I suspect I will have to keep an eye on tooth and chain wear in order to keep things drop free.
 
Jeremy R

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
I am running a xt clutch der. and a xcx top guide, and I have had no dropped chains all year. Which also includes racing my bike on a few sketchy short course DH courses. That said, I will pick up one of those race face rings soon just for the added protection and the fact that the 30t with a 10 speed setup should be ideal for spinning up some Pisgah climbs. Does anyone know if their 30t ring will work with a xcs guide? I thought the xcs only goes down to a 32t.
 
jackalope

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,606
5,917
in a single wide, cooking meth...
30t? Son, I am disappoint. You need to be spinning out a 44 tooth down Trace Ridge if you want your KOMs. I think my XCX ST only goes down to 32, but not completely sure. Given that you're not morbidly obese like myself, I would think you'd be fine with a 32t and a 36t big cog in the back - even grinding up Clawhammer or Thrift Cove to lower Black.
 
slyfink

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,323
5,074
Ottawa, Canada
Over on the Ibis forum in empty beer someone has used both a RaceFace and Wolftooth N/W chainring: http://forums.mtbr.com/ibis/anyone-else-running-wolf-tooth-1x-868112.html#post10633676

it would seem the wolftooth rings are a bit taller and wider than RF (though I'd like confirmation of that).

I just raced my first Enduro this past weekend at Killington, have a WolfTooth 32t, Zee (short cage with clutch) and an 11-36 (XT) cassette, bashguard, and no chain guide. Nary a dropped chain. And the terrain was pretty fast and rough. I'm still thouroughly impressed by this system. I've been running it since there was snow on the ground and it's still working perfectly. I ride about 5 hours a week and we've had a pretty wet season so far.

In fact, it works so well, I may just order a couple of backup WT rings now, in case SRAM follows through on its innuendo to bring its legal weight to bear on the makers of aftermarket narrow/wide chainrings.
 
mtg

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
FWIW, me and a friend just put RaceFace Narrow/Wide rings on our DH bikes, sans guide (mine has a roller tensioner because it's one piece with my taco bash), Zee clutch derailleurs. A day of Garbanzo laps yesterday couldn't shake the chain off either bike.
 
JustMtnB44

JustMtnB44

Monkey
Sep 13, 2006
840
114
Pittsburgh, PA
I'm going to get one of these for my Honzo. I don't have a clutch derailleur, so I will probably run either a top guide (I have an XCX from another bike) or a lower roller (I also have a Blackspire Stinger). Is one of these better than the other in the application?
 
'size

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
Jeremy R said:
I am running a xt clutch der. and a xcx top guide, and I have had no dropped chains all year. Which also includes racing my bike on a few sketchy short course DH courses. That said, I will pick up one of those race face rings soon just for the added protection and the fact that the 30t with a 10 speed setup should be ideal for spinning up some Pisgah climbs. Does anyone know if their 30t ring will work with a xcs guide? I thought the xcs only goes down to a 32t.
Click to expand...
i run an xcx on a 30t - had to dremel it a bit to get it to drop low enough for my liking.
 
missingLink

missingLink

Chimp
Apr 14, 2006
39
3
sethimus said:
anyone tried running a 30t with the mrp amg?
Click to expand...
Yep, it works no problem. Although I've taken the amg off now to see if I really need it. So far so good. No chain drops but the ring is still new. Time will tell how well it will perform when it's worn down.
 
missingLink

missingLink

Chimp
Apr 14, 2006
39
3
sethimus said:
i was more worried about the ring grinding on the backplate, but thx, good to know it works :)
Click to expand...
I never got any grinding with the 30t and amg backplate. The amg comes with a lot of spacers and I had to mess with them a bit to get the right spacing. Once set up it was super quiet which pleasantly surprised me.
 
Kanye West

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,741
473
I got a couple rides in on a 34t front ring, 10spd 36t SLX clutch rear setup, and running the stock lower roller on my Enduro frame (no chainguide), with a bash guard.

I finished a 10-15 minute rocky descent yesterday, and finally remembered when I got to the bottom that I wasn't running a chainguide and that my chain hadn't fallen off. I was pleasently surprised. The lack of chain slap noise was also nice.
 
mtg

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
mtg said:
FWIW, me and a friend just put RaceFace Narrow/Wide rings on our DH bikes, sans guide (mine has a roller tensioner because it's one piece with my taco bash), Zee clutch derailleurs. A day of Garbanzo laps yesterday couldn't shake the chain off either bike.
Click to expand...
Update: after a few days of Whistler riding (sadly, been back home for a couple weeks now), we had one chain loss between both of us. So, running a clutch derailleur and "improved retention" ring seems to almost be bullet proof. I think I'll still run a guide, but I may try switching to some sort of very minimal system.

The chain drop resulted in some high speed jumps with a jammed up chain. That was unpleasant, ha ha.
 
denjen

denjen

Certified Lift Whore
Sep 16, 2001
1,691
36
Richmond VA
Glad to hear all of the good reviews about this chain ring. I just heard about it for the first time the other day. May have to get myself a new 1x10 set up for Christmas.
 
E

epic

Turbo Monkey
Sep 15, 2008
1,041
21
I had heard people saying that it works OK without a clutch, so put one on my daughter's Gromhit (the stock Truvativ guide weighs like 5 lbs and she want to ride more trail now). Got a 34t RF N/W to go with her hand-me-down Saint 9spd der. and 11-34 cassette and 7700 D/A chain. She dropped the chain on the first run. Now running an AMG - would have just done top guide only with no taco, but couldn't find that setup in ISCG old.
 
demonprec

demonprec

Monkey
Nov 12, 2004
237
15
Whonnock BC Canada
epic said:
I had heard people saying that it works OK without a clutch, so put one on my daughter's Gromhit (the stock Truvativ guide weighs like 5 lbs and she want to ride more trail now). Got a 34t RF N/W to go with her hand-me-down Saint 9spd der. and 11-34 cassette and 7700 D/A chain. She dropped the chain on the first run. Now running an AMG - would have just done top guide only with no taco, but couldn't find that setup in ISCG old.
Click to expand...
they don,t work very well without the clutch derailleur i know i drop my chain just about every ride gonna be upgrading to a new rear cogset and derailleur shortly and a guide of some kind
 
R

Rhubarb

Monkey
Jan 11, 2009
463
238
So it would seem there is no need for a chainguide but is everyone dropping some sort of bash protection too? Not even a taco on its own?
 
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