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Narrow/wide rings

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
32t race face n/w on a 11-36 (now 11-42) with x9 type2

dropped quite a bit in rougher sections.. put an AMg top guide on and havent had a problem since...

nobody is going to race a WC with no chainguide..the people on pinkbike that claim you cant drop a chain with a n/w and clutch arn't going fast enough
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,635
5,446
So quick update, 30t narrow wide, 9 speed, xtr derailleur SRAM 990 cassette. From ~3 dropped chains a ride to zero on my hardtail. Nice setup.

But how is the anti squat?

I have a Blackspire NW ring and a Zee, mech and even with eight speed the chain stayed on until it was badly worn. Just trying 9 speed now so I guess I'll see how that goes, have to get my mech hanger straightened but it doesn't look like I will need a 6mm spacer.
 

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
I've run a Race Face n/w and e13 Guidering with clutch derailleurs (with the clutch adjusted to the tighter end of the spectrum), correct length chain, and it keeps the chain on almost all of the time. If you aren't pounding rough trails on the regular, its probably fine. But, I already put an MRP AMg on my DH bike, and I just got another one for my trail bike.
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,287
854
coloRADo
My theory is that the N/W chainrings wear and become less effective over time. Clutches do too. Leading to eventually buying a chain guide.
 

TGR

Monkey
Jan 9, 2006
263
3
Been riding my process 111 with a 32t race face n/w ring up front, short cage shimano zee derailleur, sram pg-1070 cassette with a Wolf Tooth 40t adapter. I rode it mostly with an MRP am-g guide even during my trip to europe (4 weeks of mtb in the alps) and never experienced any shifting problem or whatsoever, I recently took the guide off and havn't had any problems either
 

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
I have a narrowide 34t on my '13 stumpjumper , I have documented 6 drops since installing it in May. I will be adding a full guide to my bike.
Guide added, no noticeable loss in bike performance by adding weight, narrow-wide is now just a neato looking chainring inside the guide. Zero drops since adding a guide, imagine that.
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,627
12,918
Cackalacka du Nord
race face 34t n/w, x9 clutch, sram chain, 10sp cas., intense uzzi. one year riding. rocky dh to deep backwoods to normal trail riding. bone-shaking chop, plenty of cased jumps, wrecks, etc. zero drops unless you count the time i backpedaled a stick into it. if i raced wc yeah i'd run a top guide, but i don't, so no plans to change it up. one happy customer here.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,504
In hell. Welcome!
Here is my updated zero drop setup: 10sp XT-M771 cassette with 40T and 16T Wolf Tooth cogs, X9 med cage RD, GXP Bling Ring (narrow/narrow), 9sp KMC X9 SL chain and a significantly modified MRP G2 SL Mini. This setup just won't drop the chain.

 

frango

Turbo Monkey
Jun 13, 2007
1,454
5
My theory is that the N/W chainrings wear and become less effective over time. Clutches do too. Leading to eventually buying a chain guide.
What mileage are you thinking about? 1000? 3000?

Apart from that question... when do you, guys, need 40/42t cogs? What kind of terrain?
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,287
854
coloRADo
What mileage are you thinking about? 1000? 3000?

Apart from that question... when do you, guys, need 40/42t cogs? What kind of terrain?
Prolly around 400 miles for N/W ring, which I believe has lost its chain retention ability.

For me and most local trails the elevation gain is around 1000 feet in about 2 miles. I run a 30t up front and a 42t in back, 26" wheels. I can post some strava rides, but that sounds like a lot of work.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,828
13,063
What mileage are you thinking about? 1000? 3000?

Apart from that question... when do you, guys, need 40/42t cogs? What kind of terrain?
I raced the Park City P2P a couple of weekends ago, 75 miles, 11000ft climbing. My Turner Burner has 150mm front, 140mm rear, with 9 speed 32/22 front cogs and an 11-34 cassette.

40ish miles in I relented from using just the 32 front and had to drop to the 22 on the second major climb. I definitely couldn't have finished with just 32/34 as my low gear.

Locally I can cope with everything using the 32/34 as my low, it definitely doesn't work several hours into the mountains though when road tripping.
 

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
I don't have enough sustained climbing in my area to warrant the 42t out back, but if I lived a few hours north or a few hours to the east I could see it being a huge benefit.
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
Apart from that question... when do you, guys, need 40/42t cogs? What kind of terrain?[/QUOTE]

i wore out a sram xx1 chainring after about 800mi. not wore out, per se, but worn to the point of hooks in the teeth, extra friction, and lots of noise. have not dropped a single chain this season, with RF or XX1 NW rings, about 1400mi on 2 bikes (hard tail and trail bike).

i use the 42t on both my bikes pretty frequently, but climbing around here is 1000-1300 feet of vert every 2mi up. "everyday" rides are 15-25mi, 2-5000 in vert climbing. bigger 4-5 hour days are 6-8000 vert. i can't imagine going back to the 32/36 single ring i was pushing 2 years ago!
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
Here's a stupid question, would a narrow/wide tooth profile work on a ramped chainring to give great drop resistance with some level of decent front shifting? I could imagine several situations where I'd not want my 34 to drop, but wouldn't want to ditch the granny. Or would that require a complete FD redesign?