ed 

I installed the PG990, PC971, and Raceface Race Ring.

When I'm in my 1st/2nd/9th cog...the chain makes a crumbly noise and feels like you are churning rocks with the drivetrain b/c it's having to seat itself. I don't recall it ever being this bad??? I can see the chain walking itself over on the chainring.

You must remember that I'm probably exaggerating the noise and feel b/c I'm meticulous, anal, and Schruted...but I feel brand new "high end" componentry should work perfectly.

I should have done a SSDH ring eh? I'm about to go SS and chuck it all.

Will update when the drivetrain is seated to itself if the prob. ceases. Still thinking about getting a DH ring though.


Thoughts on SSDH rings from actual users or close friends of users:
Blackspire
Truvativ
RaceFace
Azonic

ed 

Just got back from a little 5mi jaunt and things are meshing better. Freakin' SRAM.

cryptid01

Depends on your guide and setup, but yeah.


Most users know the good stuff comes from BC.

cryptid01

Now you have found the true path.

daven1986

Are your shifter cable tensions right?

ed 

Oh please...


(not an insult toward you...but def. toward me )

I'm meticulous. I spent about an hour with my eyes 3" from my chainring spinning it...studying it...smacking myself in the face with my crank arm.

Has nothing to do with the rear end, and I have no front derailleur. When I'm in my more "extreme" chainline combo's...the chamfering on the chain allows the chain to slide over on to the chainring instead of hopping up on the tooth and off the ring. In this case...the chain just needed to seat itself with 1. the chainring....and 2. the chain needed to loosen up a smidge laterally so it would slide on to the chainring easier. Just never experienced it quite that much.

Still though...if you look at a chainring as you spin it, there is more to the shift-assist than shift pins and "step-up" grinds...the teeth are ground slightly differently in groups allowing them to shift easier. They are different thicknesses and are sligtly angled differently. After a few teeth go by, the cycle starts over allowing the chain to move from one ring to the next easier. The teeth that were angled the furthest away from the midline was where the chain was struggling to "get there" on gears 1 & 2. Just the opposite for gear 9.

sirtigersalot

I see chel on the boards too much (lol mod) to imagine that this is an adjustment problem, but damn if it sure doesn't sound like one lol

born2bahick

Ha Ha he's got you guy's fooled!

ed 

15 miles of break-in and it feels smooth as buttah.
It's a good question to ask a noob, I guess. Just kinda like asking someone with a clogged toilet if they've tried a plunger...
It IS an adjustment problem of sorts...just a new chain getting adjusted to the new gears

If it were a cable adjustment issue...I wouldn't have consistantly felt it in 1,2, and 9. If it were a limit screw, it could have been 1 and 9. If the cables were too slack or too tight, then shifting either up or down would have been delayed...as it sets, shifting is spot on...and like I said, now that it's seated and the chain is loosened up slightly laterally, it feels/sounds fine. I'm still gonna consider a SSDH ring.

daven1986

My bad! Was just flicking through the forum instead of revising so replied a bit too quickly! As a bit of a noob myself just a few months ago I can see myself being baffled by noise without checking the tension.

nachomc

That's what you get for saving money on that SRAM cassette, cheap ass

ed 

Like, I know...right? Next time I'm either going XTR or straight 16t

joetronic

If you go SS, not only will I be proud of you Ed, but I will buy you drinks the next time your in SC PA. And since your never out here, I'll just be proud of you.

Really though, Good luck. One of the reasons I went SS on my road bike, then bled over to the dirty side.

ed 

Nahhh...it's buttah now. I will prob. SS the Crapper, but 1x9 is workin' for me for now for the Komodo for.

nachomc

I was referring to your comments about 'never' and PG990 from this thread right here Hi I'm the thread

joetronic

Thats good. Hop it keeps working for ya. What bike is the "crapper"?

ed 

1998 Jamis Komodo...back when they gave a crap, hahaha. It was their XC race frame back in the day. Easton RAD tubes, fairly light. Been beaten and bruised yet still lives.

joetronic

yeah, back when they gave a hoot. Now its like any of the big names. All bling, no fling.

Should make a nice SS. You gonna run it rigid? That has a 1" headtube right?

ed 

Nahh...it's 1 1/8" and right now it's got a Mag21. I'm prob. gonna run it rigid whenever I find a tall enough rigid fork that I am willing to actually pay for. Still kicking myself in the butt for not sending Scrub a 12 of microbrew for his Zion '9er. (I only have $20-$30 in the whole thing right now) I got the frame of the bay for $5. Fork was laying in my bro-in-law's garage. Cranks and brakes were the price of an Almond Latte. Everything else was scavenged except for the bars/stem. Stem I got for like $15...the bars came with it for free. (long story)

scrublover

Surly unramped stainless rings FTW. Last well, and when worn a bit, just flip them over for more life.

I've also found when running a 1x9 (or whatever) that getting the front ring a bit more inboard helps - having the chainline so it's nice and straight inline with the middle of your rear cassette. Then you aren't moving the chain to extremes going up or down the cog stack.

sirtigersalot

i just put an xt cassette on my bike like 2 weeks ago, no new chain or anything cause it wasn't yet worn, just needed another cassette for a 2nd wheelset,

the only thing that i was a tad disapointed with was that the aluminium cog carrier didn't carry as many cogs as the 990 (if i recall correctly) it only held 5, I'm not complaining about how this might affect weight, but more about the cogs digging into aluminium freehub bodies (actually not a problem with my steel one) but anyway the last 2 gears have wider splines, and the biggest 5 are on the carrier, but that leaves 2 gears that are still just thin and can dig in, i thought the 990 had the full 7 on the carrier (with the last 2 being of course too small and wider splined).

also 990 red!

surreal

All i use is SRAM cassettes and chains, typically with shimano cranks. I've never had any of the problems that chelbo has described, that some of you are attributing to SRAM. Wait, let me correct that: i've never had any of those problems, unless my RD needed tuning or my chainline was off.

For the record, i think that ppl who run 1x9's without chainguides or atleast ghetto things like a dogfang are asking for problems with chainline and inadvertant derailment. A cheaper compromise is to use a SS/DH specific ring, which will eschew the silly ramps/pins and also offer much deeper tooth profiles, which'll hold onto a chain better.

Chelbo, this post isn't meant to sound patronizing; i know you're a decent home-wrench, and i've found alot of your advice helpful in the past. That's who this post is mostly for; future users who encounter it via the search feature. I wouldn't want them to think anything silly, like that SRAM sucks, or that 1x9s solve more problems than they cause.

-rob

sirtigersalot

there is a part of me that wants to run a chain guide on my 1x9 cx bike (for the record bbg bash 39t salsa ss ring and a jump stop, so i only have problems when i mtn bike on it)

never

Truvativ Box Guides can be had cheap and work well. My 1x9 HT was a lot more enjoyable to ride after I went to the Box Guide.

scrublover

hell, just use a blackspire stinger if you want more than a jump-stop/bashring for chainsecurity, but not quite a full on guide. works very well, and still able to be used should you go back to a two ring setup.