cg33

Despite my best efforts to keep my drivetrain clean and lubed, the teeth on the big ring are decidely pointy and hooked after less than a thousand total miles. I've switched between DA and Ultegra chainrings and seen similar results.

I'm not a masher, and I'm in my long, slow, distance base phase right now, so I'm not in the big ring most of the time. I will admit though there are a few points on my daily ride where I hammer hard over a couple of rolling hills. Could it be the short out-of-saddle all-out effort is toasting the chainring? I'm 175 lbs, so I'm not exactly a flyweight, but still...

What mileage do most people see before their large chainring shows signs of excess wear? Is there a brand of chainring that fits DA 9-speed cranks that seems to last longer than Shimano chainrings? I'm really getting tired of having to replace the chainrings, chain and cassette so frequently.

sydney

That's just not right. FWIW, brand new ultegraa teeth on the big ring look kind of pointy.

Avalanche325

I have over 3500 miles on my Ultegra. I am 192lbs and most of those miles are big ring. I don't see any noticable wear yet.

Mika

How old is your chain?

Lubing a worn chain will accelerate wear on aluminum alloy chain rings.

BostonFixed

What? How does that work? I don't think that lubing a worn chain will accelerate wear. Shouldn't it decrese wear?
Wear would be accelerated if the chain was over lubed, and therefore dirty, of course.

docklc

Something is definitely wrong here. I would investigate warped, twisted, misaligned or mismatched chain. Are you riding in exceptionally sandy, gritty environment? Check rear derailleur spring tension and, especially, alignment of chain front to rear (along with rear derailleur alignment). I have put thousands of miles on my bike(s) with only normal wear, no hooked teeth.

pablo27

check your chain

slvoid

Chainring teeth can be pointy, as long as there's no gap between the pointy thingies and the chain.

sydney

For what?

cg33

Thanks for the replies.

Chain and cassette were replaced at the same time as the chainrings. Alignment looks OK to me, derailleur spring tension seems good and bike shifts flawlessly and rides quiet.

Still doesn't make sense to me. On my mountain bikes I go through two or three small and middle rings before considering having to swap out the big ring. I guess it could be, as sydney points out, that the Ultegra big ring starts its life with pretty pointy teeth so that any wear looks excessive.

For now I'll just keep riding ... and try to be more fastidious about keeping everything clean.

MichaelW

Keep an eye on chain wear. Replace the chain before wear becomes too much and you can still use the old cassettes and chainrings for much longer.
If you are looking for other makes, then Specialities-TA are preferred by many tourists and pro teams. They are hardwearing, have all the ramps and pins, come in any tooth size and you can get matched pairs.

Mika

Have you ever seen machine metal milling or drilling metal? The milling and drilling bits are harder than the metal being milled/drilled (just as the chain is a more impervious metal than the chainring). To accelerate the cutting, oil is used liberally.

Lubing a WORN chain (or a dirty one) will accelerate the milling of the softer metal (the alloy chainring).

Solution to this problem is to replace with a new chain, and lube it.