amckimmey

So I need to replace my chainrings on my Long Haul Trucker, 9speed, triple (48, 36, 26). I want to stay with the same teeth count. I was thinking about maybe going with the Salsa Chianrings, or maybe even the Surly Stainless Steel Chainrings.

It's a touring bike and will never need to quickly change gears in front, as well I am using friction bar end shifter in the front. I know bikes in the past didn't have ramps and pins and worked fine. Will it be that much slower and difficult to shift? Does anyone else use non-ramped and pinned chainrings here?

Papa Ado

"...if you can tolerate slightly slower front shifting." Best summed up by Salsa.

Ramps and Pins allow for smoother, faster shifts. It's your call.

Kimmo 

Shifting under load is less reliable without ramps.

KevinF

I tried it once... i.e., I had worn out a chainring, was on a budget, so I replaced it with one that didn't have shifting ramps. It works, but saying shifting is a "bit slower" compared to a chainring with shifting ramps is something of an understatement. There's definitely a noticeable pause while you're left wondering if the chain is going to make the jump or not. I guess I was used to the nearly instant shifting of ramped chainrings by that point and I couldn't stand it. Finally had to replace it (again) with a chainring with shifting ramps.

HillRider

I'll echo what the other replies have said, the ramps and pins make a noticeable and significant improvement in front shifting and it's particularly obvious under load. Unless saving money is your major priority get the ramped and pined rings.

Several years ago I did sort of an A/B test on a beater bike I was building up. To save money I installed an old SR crank I had in my parts box. It was geared 52/42/26 and had comletely flat chainrings. Shifting was OK as long as i anticipated my shifts but nowhere near as good as my other bikes with newer cranks. A year or so later I replaced the SR with a 105 8-speed triple crank with the same tooth count that was liberated from another bike. The shifting improvement was dramatic, particularly in the hills.

Monster Pete

I had a double crankset without pins/ramps. Shifting was never an issue. Ease up momentarily as you shift and everything should work fine. They're not so good at shifting under load, but I try to avoid that anyway as it's hard on the chain.

Charles Ramsey

No take a look at my homemade 39 tooth cog it will shift in a fraction of a second. Shifting was a problem back in the old days chains have improved by being more flexible and cogs are closer together. https://www.flickr.com/photos/6337399...in/photostream

GeoKrpan

Check the Universal Cycles website. They have Truvativ steel chainrings that are ramped and pinned, and they are inexpensive.
I needed new chainrings and found it was cheaper to buy a whole new crank. I got a Sram trekking crank, 48-38-28, with removable ramped and pinned steel chainrings for $42. The Sram crank that I got uses a Powerspline BB that costs a whole $12. The Powerspline is neat because it uses the same crank puller as square taper. The Sram crank also comes in square taper. Truvativ sells the same crank with their name on it.

rogerstg

FWIW, The OP is about chainrings not cassette cogs. AFAIK there have never been pins on cogs anyway.

I agree with most posts above. Shifting is not as quick or precise without ramps and pins, but since it is a touring setup with friction shifting, it should not be a problem.

Al1943

Not needed with friction shifters.

DannoXYZ 

Ramps & pins definitely helps newer riders who haven't mastered the soft-pedal-to-shift trick (spinning crank at 99% of wheel-speed with 0% load). Removing the load from the upper-run of the chain helps the FD bend it sideways in order to shift. The trick is you still need to be spinning the crank in order for the chain to move to the next chainring and pick up the teeth.

If you don't notice any difference in shifting a crankset with ramps & pins versus without, then you don't need them.

HillRider

I disagree. The beater bike I described above uses a downtube shifter on a Kelly Take-Off as the front shifter so it's strictly friction. Nevertheless, the improvement in shifting speed and reliability was dramatic when I went from flat to pinned and ramped chainrings on it. The pins and ramps on chainrings and the shaped teeth on cogs that make indexing possible also make friction shifting much faster and more precise.

I also know a Touring bike will benefit from the improved shifting. They are often shifted under load since the rider may not know what's around the next bend and be surprised by a sudden uphill. Been there, done that. You do not want to loose momentum on a heavilly loaded bike so reliable shifting is a great benefit.

Andrew R Stewart 

One aspect not yet mentioned for rear shifting. As the spacing has shrunken between the cogs the old "over shift then trim" technique is less possible.

Ramps (on both ft and rr) and pins (ft only, so far...) diffently make a difference whether with modern stuff or older chains. But what can be done with old rings is to file the tops off a couple of teeth to makeshift (bad pun) a shift gate. Like Shimano's W Cut from the early 1980s.

Tuc

+1 not usually needed with friction shifters, I have ramps on the chainring on on one bike, two without and they are all quick slick and quick with friction lever downtube shifters. As hillrider pointed out, touring bikes that are loaded can benefit both from modern chains and ramp pins and that is what I did on my touring bike. But unloaded, I don't see any diff.

ThermionicScott 

Need? No. But I hear they make shifting nicer...

Tuc

Agreed, they do under circumstances that occur often enough while riding with downtube friction shifters, but far less often than other types of indexed shifting. Pins, and the chains made to use them are a valuable contribution to cycling. When my two bikes without the pins wear out their chain rings I would not hesitate to buy replacements with pins if the other factors are equal.

hairnet

2nd disagree. Ramped chainrings and sculpted derailers make a huge difference all around, especially because it's easier on the hands pulling on the lever.

zukahn1 

They do help some but aren't really needed on friction shifters. If you do upgrade I would recommend that you also update replace the chain with something like a KMC Z or X series chain not very expensive and also better ramped freewheel like a hyperglide if your budget permits.

FastJake

I have bikes with and without the ramped chainrings. Since I never shift the front under load, it is a non-issue. Maybe I am too nice to my bikes.

Kimmo 

Plain rings and cogs are yesterday. If you spec em for anything but SS you're being too stingy, IMO... indexed or not.

Exception: concours vintage bikes.

Charles Ramsey

This is not the precise question you asked but I will answer it any way. Chainrings have 2 teeth under maximum stress corresponding to the point where the pedals have maximum leverage. With 5 bolt chainrings you can rotate them by 72 degrees periodically increasing the life of the chain rings by a factor of 5. This will reduce the effectiveness of ramps and pins but does not matter on chainrings without ramps and pins. If the chainrings are also symmetrical which steel granny gears generally are you can turn them over increasing the life of the chainring by a factor of 10. Chainrings without ramps and pins last twice as long as those with them and also double the life of your chain. Now a chainring with a worn spot will not shift as well and may also skip which is dangerous or grab https://www.flickr.com/photos/6337399...in/photostream which is really dangerous.

Monster Pete

I'm not so sure about this. At any point, a 42 tooth chainring (for example) will have 21 teeth engaged with the chain. If the chain and chainring have worn together, each tooth should be subjected to around equal stress.

HillRider

As to chainring wear, unless the chain links equal an exact multiple of the chainring teeth, the chain and tooth positions will not line up and wear will be equally distributed.

sedges

Ramps are nice, no doubt they make shifting easier and smoother. However, the times I need a fast flawless shift are when I need to shift down to a smaller ring to deal with some hill that is steeper than I anticipated. Ramps don't matter in that case. Backing off the pressure for any length of time loses momentum so that fast drop is critical, but ramps are no help downshifting.

That is why I like an index shifter on my front DR. It snaps that chain to the exact location fast and accurate(if adjusted right). I'm sure many will disagree with that, but I sure like it.

mconlonx

With friction shifters, depending on how they are adjusted, you get to make a slight amount of overshift to compensate for chainrings which are not ramped and pinned. With indexed systems, ramps and pins are more important for proper shifting.

LHT has bar end shifters, with a friction shifter for front shifting, yes? You could go with plain rings, but ramped and pinned would be better, shift quicker and smoother.