Good Chainrings?
 

Alright, I am looking for some inexpensive chainrings, no ramps and pins (obviously), and preferably black. If they're cheap I wouldn't mind replacing them from time to time, but I want them to be very round and quiet. Oh, 3/32" size too, 110 BCD.

Anyone got any tips? Sources, too?

I'm currently looking at these, as they fill all my criteria, but I have no idea if they're round or high quality (probably not for $13?)

As a side note, I'm also on the lookout for good cogs. Are Dura Ace or Cobra ones any good?

Oh, and unrelated, but I bought a new wheelset and the aluminum rims didn't have any rim tape.. I need to get some right? Or how about these http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...roducts_id=610

fsa

I like Surly steel chainrings. Can't get them any bigger than 38t, though. I have a 48t Rocket ring from Dan's Comp that is working fine for me.

Unless you plan to spend alot of your time in the rain get some heavy cloth rimtape.

get a ta chainring they are about 60 bucks and good quality rockets(dans comp universal ring) and other cheap ones aren't very round and tend to flex

You could get Boone. It'll cost you, but I imagine they're pretty nice chainrings. I hear they'll do cogs too.

my salsa ring suits me fine. it's black and cost about $20, and seems pretty sturdy for the price.

yeah boones are nice they are also ti

I had the DANS chainring in 44 toof on my bike for a while.
A little ruff on the finish but no problems or less round than the other
usual sugino / Truv. Touro type stuff.

I believe there were some reports of TA rings not being too round. I don't really know of any good 110 bcd chainrings, I don't know any bad ones either though. Yes Dura-ace is a good cog. Most cogs are decent, you just have to make sure the threading is right for your hub. Chainrings and cogs, specifically, aren't good places to skimp. Especially when cogs are relatively cheap.

Yeah, Boone's are not what I'm looking for (i.e. NOT inexpensive), but thanks for the tip.

I'll probably just end up with the Dans Comp ring (Rocket Ring, I guess), especially because I may buy a few for different conditions and the 'drome, etc.

Anyone have any answers to my wheel question? Am I an idiot or do I really need tape or plugs?

^^^ I just used an old inner tube cut to about 1/4" and little dots of 3M Weatherstrip
Adhesive to hold it in place on my Peugeot.

You need something inbetween the spoke nipples and the tube, otherwise you'll be getting a lot of flats. Make sure you get the tape down tight so that the tube can't sneak underneath and snag itself.

if your running 110 your gonna have to look past all the nice track rings as they are NOT 110 spacing. Fortunately a lot of BMX cranks are 110 and MTB. FSA makes the pro bmx in a billion sizes as well as profile racing and phantom. Race face may still sell 110 dh rings as well.

$11 Rocket Rings work for me every time. Even if they're not completely round, it can't be all that bad, right? Am I going to regret using them in the future?
Sheldon Brown uses Biopace rings......

Biopaces are crazy.. tried them out on my friend's old Trek and totally did NOT like them.. although the rear wheel was horribly out of true (fixed that :P) and the brake was constantly partially applied (fixed that too, free of charge).

Not completely round = your chain tension will never be as good as you want it.

I can't fathom how chainrings can be out of round. I'm using a ring that I sawed off of a cheapo SS crank I bought for $5 (ring was fixed permanently to crankarm). I made the shoulders by sawing and filing, matching it to the spider and drilled the holes by eyeballing the holes to a road ring (lots of filing involved here, too).

I think we agree that it doesn't get any more ghetto than that. Still, it's perfectly round and doesn't tug at the chain the way I first mounted it. How manufacturers can eff this up is beyond me.

Carry on, now.

dude I have made cheap al rings not round I ride on em that hard I have also bent them and flexed them causing me to loose my chain I ride brakeless and that can be deadly loosing you chain like that

Hmm... that's good to hear, because it says it works with 3/32" and 1/8" chains, which sounded kind of strange. I'm planning on buying both (black KMC 3/32" and blue KMC 1/8") to see which is quietest and prettier. Does anyone know if the Euro-Asia Imports (I'm assuming this is a brand?) would work with 3/32" chain, or do I need two different cogs? If so, where are they available online?

wtf, this ended up above the thing I was quoting (Lebowitz's Post)..

Right, how round a chainring is generally doesn't matter unless you're riding a fixie. For the others, chain tensioning devices (derailleurs etc) will take up the miniscule changes in slack. I mean, all these rings are made on CNCs, so I wouldn't think the roundness would go off more than 1/100th of an inch at most (just guessing here), but apparently it does make a difference.

That's why I'm asking, but thank you all for all your help.. I'm probably just going to go with the Rocket Rings.

I have a 46T Rocket Ring that I got from Harris Cyclery that works great in conjunction with an 18T Euro-Asia Imports cog and a 1/8th in chain.

eai cogs come in 3/32" and 1/8" so it comes down to looking at the cog it will usually say

Don't you worry, mine is plenty strong enough. It's not like I cut it form 1mm al sheet... It's a chainring, just modified.