I need a new chainring and am hoping the forum can help me avoid a misstep...

Single rings are not all that common in the size I want, and the few that I found are pretty steep. So am hesitantly considering a road chainring for my everyday fixed bike that I ride pretty hard sometimes. The couple that I like(?) don't have ramps or pins, but the teeth are a bit shallower.

Would this be a really bad idea?

I use the 50t ring that came on my 105 crank and I have zero issues. You will be fine as long as your chain isn't sloppy.

You'll be fine.

i thought i rode my bike really hard till i saw that dannihilator is snapping devil chains under his illustrious guads

people think they "go really hard" most of the time, when in reality theyre not

unless your ring is made out of aluminum foil youll be fine

I am not as comfortable using road rings as the posters above. Unless they and the crankset are high quality, you may not have a truly round chainring. The further off it is from true, the more slack you need in the chain. (You want it to never go tight - that is a bearing killer, hub and BB.) If you go down hills fast as I used to (I am slowing down as I age) you do not want to be dropping chains. (Almost always, the chain locks up the rear wheel, the tire gets trashed, the chainstay with deep nicks and often bent chainlinks. Usually deeply scratched and broken spokes.) All this said, there are equally junky single speed chainrings. I figure life is too short and fix gear chainrings last long enough that riding good ones makes sense. Paying $45 for a Sugino 1/8" ring of (club racing) track quality makes sense to me. Now, if you stay on flat ground or on the brakes or pedals and never go fast, no problem. I for one feel safer on a fix gear I trust at 40+. Ben

agreed. i prefer 3/32" ring/cog w/ 1/8" chain. allows wiggle room to maintain a straight chain line devoid of ring/cog alignment. noticed a lot of ppl skimp on the lockring. dura ace and only dura ace imo. most others' will strip the spanner detents or become grossly overpriced (phil stuff).

cheap cogs are capable of stripping a hub's threads' as well. same sensation as dropping a chain, not fun.

In fact I run full 3/32” drivetrain including my chain & cheap...errr...less expensive cogs that never gave me any problem. Dura ace is one of the few rings I can find in my size but tooo expensive…

So no disrespect intended to sickz but can anyone here speak to his veracity? Yeah, I see that he's a member of BF long before most any other of the guys here but never saw him around this place til a few days ago...and he's been non-stop posting since?

I've been running full 3/32" fixed gear drivetrains for longer than many posters here have been alive with absolutely zero problems. All my old road fg rigs have been geared road bike conversions using road chainrings, many with non-optimal chain lines. My Wabi Lightning fg has a full 3/32" drivetrain, and runs seamlessly. I think there's a lot of hogwash factor in threads like this one.

Thanx for your...uhhh...input

My own bike with 3/32" drivetrain ran flawlessly for thousands of miles. Maybe on 2nd thought I should not cheap-out with a road chainring...

you should just ride your bike.

Compared with a lot of posters in this thread, I'm still a relative newcomer at only 3800 miles fixed, all on 3/32" rings/cogs with 1/8" chains. Largely "road" rings, but I have yet to drop a chain while riding.

As have I, no worries.

-Bandera

Unless you're this guy, you've got nothing to worry about.

I've run both 1/8 and 3/32 drive trains...the former on frames with track ends and the latter on conversions.
No Issues with either.
I do notice that certain cog/ring/chain brand combinations are noisier than others.
In general, the cheaper components wear faster and tend to be noisier.
Run what suits your fancy in as straight a line as you can make it and avoid bio pace chainrings.

Please - my question is not 3/32 vs 1/8...it is about using a road bike chainring instead of a track ring and I appreciate all the help so far

(inner) road bike chainring = 3/32" chainring

I'm glad TT said it.

OK...am satisfied that the road rings I'm considering are 3/32 - my concern was the shorter teeth...

If it's not a problem on a geared roadbike, why would it suddenly become a problem when running SSFG ? Has your power output suddenly increased when you switched from geared to fixed ?

Shorter than.......What?

-Bandera

Unfortunately my power output is decreasing lately and your answer makes perfect sense as well - my question has been answered.

Appreciate your and other helpful responders answers...

Taller teeth may help prevent the chain from falling off, but that's probably a non-issue if your chainline is in the ballpark of being straight and your chain isn't too loose. On an SS/FG, there is a little over 180° of wrap angle on the chainring, so there's no chance of the chain skipping forward on it unless it's super-worn.

About the only issue is a modern road ring with shift ramps might be more prone to dropping the chain if you have a poor chain line.

time to start riding more.