in 1995, i had a flimsy custom titanium frame made, then set it up with a single chainring american classic crank and 8 speed freewheel out back. the shifter was an old suntour ratcheting friction thumbie. i toured (loaded) for 9 months around the perimieter of the U.S. don't recall ever dropping the chain.

these days i ride single speed, and have dropped the chain twice in about 5 years. both times because i hadn't taken the time to adjust my chain properly.

i buy the cheapest new chainrings i can find. they usually run me about 10-20 dollars on ebay.