Have an FSA Gossamer triple and need a new middle chainring (39T, 130 BCD). Will the 39T, 130 BCD middle chainring from a Shimano 105 or Ultegra set work as well as one from FSA? (Would keep the existing 50T and 30T FSA chainrings on the crank.)

Disappointingly, mine only has about 17,000 miles on it. But, too, more than 90% of the time I'm on the middle ring. I put on the 5th new chain tonight, and the chain slips whenever I pedal a little harder, such as from a stop. Only started slipping today with the new chain. I'd guess it slipped maybe 8 times in the span of 7 miles before I got it back home. I'm thinking the (new) chain wasn't damaged by such a short ride. Thoughts?

As long as the ring is for a triple, it should be fine. The price of the ring over 17k miles is peanuts.

Thanks, Operator.

Price wasn't the issue; local availability was. I'll call the local shops tomorrow to see what they have, but wanted to know if I could use whichever brand (of the two) they had. Now that I know about how long it will last, I can stockpile some for the next maintenance cycles.

Isn't "only 17,000 miles" an understatement?

Compatibility should be fine. I find Shimano chainrings to shift better than FSA, so if anything shifting from the inner to the middle ring may now improve, and it may even have a longer life than the FSA did (which was already quite fair).

This is the first bike I've ridden that far (and this in 13 months), so I really have no experience, except to have read that chainrings "far outlast" cassettes. My first cassette was good for 12,000 miles, so I was hopeful of 20-30K from the chainring. Naive, huh? I will be replacing it routinely now at 12,000 miles, I think.

Would love to know what the "normal range" for a chainring is. Recall I do most of my riding on that middle ring. But if mine lasted an exceptionally long time, it's just more proof I have no power! Even my chains go 4000 miles.

So, again, what's "normal?"

SIDE NOTE: The LBSs in the area have none in stock. As one noted, their average roadie customer might ride 3K in a year. At that rate, it would have taken several years to wear out a chainring, and by then, they've moved on to another bike. It's always special order.

The lifetime of your chainrings and cassettes greatly depends on your riding style. I mash the pedals more than I should. Both my cassette and large chainring are pretty worn (but still fully functional) after about 7500 miles. My chain has very little wear. Go figure.

Riding on the middle ring a lot, do you sometimes find yourself wanting to go to the big one? Just need a smidgen of a higher gear than the one you are in?

Consider a 40 for the middle.

I've often thought a 50-40-30 would be an ideal mix.