q rings for cross

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Permalink Reply by David B on August 24, 2013 at 11:01pm

My CX bike, jake the snake, has a 46 40 Q ring set up. Came set it this way, but I can say I like it a lot, I use the 40 exclusively for CX races, and honestly a 36 to 38 would be better on hilly courses, I run an 11-32 in back.

I like the feel of the Q rings and under 115 rpm cadence they feel great! My road bike has standard rings and I don't notice much difference switching bikes. You might borrow if possible or get a used one on eBay.

I will also say that the wear on the rings in 3 years that I have owned them is virtually zero. They are really well made. I'd estimate that they have 6000 miles on them!

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Permalink Reply by Tony Church on August 25, 2013 at 6:27am

I'd save my money, I haven't seen any credible evidence that non-round chainrings increase either power or endurance.

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Permalink Reply by David B on August 25, 2013 at 8:43am

I certainly would not have spent the $200 plus to purchase the Q-rings, as they came with my bike used, and I might conclude that they could have contributed in part to a couple dropped chains over the years. But maybe not? Again hard to say conclusively as dropped chains have been on remounts...

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Permalink Reply by DT on September 3, 2013 at 10:21pm

I have been back and forth with Q Rings over the last couple years. Road, mtn and CX. And in the end after riding with and without them, I use them exclusively. They wear almost like iron, and I love the Q feel. I like a higher rpm as I get older and it seems to help whip around the circle, begging me to shift up another cog and keep cranking. My CX set up is single in front with a chain keeper on inside and light guide ring on the outside. Never lost a chain this way, and if I did in a crash I could just pick up the chain and drop it back on the ring. A closed top system like Pauls guide would not be good idea as the ring is changing height and adjustment would never be correct. I use a 36t front with SRAM 12-27 CX cogset in rear. Standard Force rear derailer.

As a side note, in the day before clutch derailers on mtb, I dropped the chain more than I wanted. But ever since the Type 2 was released, chain drops are not an issue. I did drop it 1x in August and that was as much low gear limit screw as wobbly rings fault.

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