I am not concerned about how to swap chainrings
But can I just purchase a 36 ring alone for $X instead of the whole crankset and swapping out what I want to then figure out what to do with the rest?

Preach on brother! Best gear range IMO. Love the single and max double-tooth spacing on the cogs. 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,23,25. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yummy......

If your crankset is 110mm BCD, then yes. If it's 130mm, then no; 38t is the smallest possible size chainring for 130mm bcd.

Note that if you want to go with a single chain ring, you'll need single stack bolts.

Just went to Shimano website only sell Ultegra 6800 as a complete crankset
Nothing for sale for just a single chainring

Single ring cranksets: https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...?category=3981

Including Shimano Alfine, if you want to keep your existing BB, but you'd be limited to 39t.

I use this SRAM one without any problems on my 5700 crank
https://www.amazon.com/Truvativ-Force-Rival-110mm-Chainring/dp/B004YWGV76/
Shimano 36T Ultegra level
https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-CX70-10-Speed-Compact-Chainring/dp/B007NA7Z9O/
Edit: missed the 6800 crank

6800 and 9000 are going to be one of the few exceptions to what most every one is accustomed to. With those to groups Shimano has once again pulled one of their proprietary moves and gone to a unique 4 point mounting systems instead of using one of the industry standards. Subsequently, to the best of my knowledge, you can't get rings "yet" from aftermarket sources. I'm sure this will change. Furthermore, while Shimano's new mounting sytem allows the use of everything from 34/50 to 42/54+ on one crank, they (shimano) are only selling rings in matched pairs. Apparently they've designed each set to work together for best results and subsequenlty claim that mixing and matching would result in recuded shifting performance. I'm completely unaware of how much shaping or sculpting of the inner rings they've performed. It seems hard to believe it would be much, except in the case of triples.

Anyhow, for now, if running 6800 or 9000 you're stuck with buying pairs of rings from Shimano in 50-34T/52-36T/52-38T/53-39T/54-42T/55-42T and 46/36T. Mix and match at your own risk.

50/34 as well, with 11-26 on the back

As does FSA and likely others as well.

Rotor QXL is available.

Edit: And regular Q-rings.

https://www.cart32hostingred.com/cgi-...atid=262868100

There you go, if ovoids float your boat. It looks like only in a 38/53 so far. But, it won't take long for the other aftermarket manufacturers to produce more options.

Right, I certainly know ovals aren't for everyone (I love them), but I was excited when I saw it on the Rotor site because it means, as you said, that others will be along, and I love the idea of not needing to choose a BCD to commit to.

Currently, road doubles on the chainsets (53/39's) and 14-28 on the freewheels. The granny gear is like Jezebel on a couple of the hills in our hilly area.

Would a compact 50/34 and 11-28 7sp help with the steeper hills? I want to get away from the mashing and run a higher cadence to help with endurance factor.

50/34, 11-25 10 speed on one bike,

50/34, 11-25 11 speed on the other. <------Best all-around combo I can possibly think of. Makes the 11 speed money worth it right there.

34/28 is 8.5 mph pedaling at 90 RPM. Can you sustain 8-9 mph on the hills you ride?

Perfect! The road double 14-28 had me mashing a tough less than 60 rpm (as a guess) and with the extra anaerobic/slow-twitch in full effect I'd get pretty worn at the top. I'm training hard these hills but wouldnt mind a bit more cadence to ease the knees. Thanx!

2 road bikes with a 53 Dura-Ace
1 road bike with a compact 50 Ultegra
1 TT bike with a 55 VisionTech carbon