Submitted by
Mike T.
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario Canada
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2003
Strengths: Wearability! Looks,
Weaknesses: None.
Bottom Line:
My gawd I've had Real's 46t outer ring for years on the only bike I ride and I ride mostly in the big ring and this thing just WON'T wear out! It's done thousands of miles. Its shifts great, wears even better and looks good. What else is there to say? I'm in the process of looking for a backup ring for if and when it does wear out.
Submitted by
Peter Polack
a Cross Country Rider
from Meriden
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2001
Strengths: none
Weaknesses: extremely poor shifting
Bottom Line:
I list no price paid because I'm a bike shop employee and it would be unfair to reveal what I paid.
The granny ring was not Real, the middle and large were. I replaced the entire drivetrain-chain, cassette, and chainrings when I reassembled my bike, so everything was fresh. Winter was pretty harsh here, so all my riding was commuting to work.
On the first ride in January I suffered chainsuck when downshifting from the large to middle ring. This continued to happen often enough that I tried wrapping the chainstay with material to fill the gap; obviously I was oblivious to the true cause of the problem. My new frame was taking a beating from this. Just the other day I had the opportunity to take the bike off -road and drop from the middle to granny ring-the chain sucked so hard it bent my granny ring in two places.
My theory: the Real chainrings build up extra material on the inside faces of the rings as shifting ramps. This material does not increase the thickness of the rings at the bolt hole or it would increase spacing between the rings. It does, however, make them wider where the chain passes from ring-to-ring, which could have something to do with the resultant chainsuck. With virtually all other rings I've used there was no profile on the inner face of the rings, and I've used many generic brands; they all worked fine. The only other cause could be the shape of the teeth themselves, but I'm not an engineer so I couldn't identify any contributing factors, at least not visually.
Anyway, I wouldn't recommend these rings to anyone as they performed horribly. Since Shimano no longer offers 74/110mm chainrings, I'm trying QBP Engagement rings, mainly because they're affordable and they have NO profile on the inner face.
Similar Products Used: virtually all brands; many were generics.
Bike Setup: 1990 Shimano Deore Drivetrain
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ray Bass
a Weekend Warrior
from Madison,WI USA
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2001
Strengths: None, I guess.
Weaknesses: Purchased a 32t 94mm ring for a XT 5-bolt crank. When shifting from the middle to the granny gear, the chain drops directly between the two rings instead of onto the granny. VERY annoying!
Bottom Line:
Pay the extra cash for Shimano rings, which have better ramps and correct thickness.
Strengths: Shifts well, looks cool, STIFF, should last a while, light
Weaknesses: costs a lot unless you buy wholesale (like I did)
Bottom Line:
i only own a middle Real ring. i had to replace the outer and middle ring after the sheisse sugino rings i was using gave out. so, i bought a real middle and a Raceface outer. both should, ideally, last a long time since i sprang for the fancy-schmancy hard coated versions. the Real is nickel-plated, the Raceface is hard-anodized. both rings, besides being noticeably lighter than the 6061 rings they replaced, are a hella lot stiffer than my previous rings. they also shift well and interface fine with my specialized crank and LX front shifter. all that talk about staying with an "all shimano" system is just a load of bunk.
Similar Products Used: Sugino rings (C-R-A-P), Shimano STX
Bike Setup: 98 rockhopper with an indy c
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
ben florie
a Cross-Country Rider
from reisterstown, maryland
Date Reviewed: July 9, 1999
Strengths: nickel coating works, light, one of few brands making 110bc 44t ring, wears great, shifts even better
Weaknesses: pricey as f$&%
Bottom Line:
i paid $95 for my combo. they have been used hard and still shift better than anything i've ever seen. i've had them a few months, rode hard, and the nickel coating is still intact, even on the teeth! my old blackspires wore beyond real use in 3 rides!
Submitted by
Doug Taylor
a Weekend Warrior
from Farmington, CT
Date Reviewed: April 30, 1999
Strengths: Look nice
Weaknesses: Very poor shifting - sometimes none at all!!
Bottom Line:
I bought the small 58bc x 22t and middle 94bc x 34t REAL Rings. Sure, they look nice, but the shifting is very poor when going from the small to the middl e ring. I have to hold the rapidfire shifter past it's normal clicked position to shift! I've tried adjusting the front derailure to no avail. Never had problems with Shimano XT so unless someone has a suggestion I'm going back.What a waste of $$$ on this supposed upgrade! REAL deal? I don't think so!!!
Submitted by
Jim Frost
a Cross-Country Rider
from Watertown, MA
Date Reviewed: April 5, 1999
Strengths: They last a long time.
Weaknesses: Ramps get chewed up fast, don't shift as well as XT.
Bottom Line:
These are the first (and so far, only) products I ever bought simply because they were gorgeous. The machine work is incredible.The big ring has been great, still using it after 3 years. I don't spend a lot of time in the big ring but it has taken more than a few impacts on rocks and the only damage is 3 broken teeth. Very impressive.The middle ring was shot in about 2 years, which I considered a pretty good lifespan (especially for an Al part). Maybe that coating really helps. None of my local shops had 32T replacements so I had to go with a 34T. Other than making it harder than hell to stay in the middle ring there was no noticable difference.I always had some problems with the granny-to-middle shift; it worked, but I had to hold it to get it to lock in. When I wore out the granny this year I decided to go back to the 32T, but *nobody* has them anymore! Most places have stopped selling Real chainrings completely. A few still stocked a variety of sizes -- but not 32T. I'm told that Real got bought by someone and has been having some manufacturing problems.Since I have no need for a new 34T I went with an XT -- and immediately noticed the improvement in shifting performance. I don't know about longevity yet (prior to the Real rings I used STX and they died in less than a year) but right now I would recommend XT over the Real middle ring any day -- it's cheaper and shifts much better.The granny -- I can't say enough good things about the granny I bought in '95. It started chainsucking last fall, three years later. It outlived my expectations by a good two years easy, what a great buy.When it started chainsucking like mad last fall it got put on my replacement list and I got the new one last weekend (along with the XT middle). The new one is nowhere near the quality of the old one; it's stamped rather than machined and seems to be a different grade of steel. I'm not impressed so far -- stamped steel is pretty lame for something this expensive -- but if it lasts like the old one I'll still be happy.Ratings:4 stars for the middle, great longevity but only mediocre shifting. 5 stars for the granny and large rings for toughness.2 stars for the new granny due to poor craftsmanship. I dunno what happened from '95 to '99 but it wasn't good.
Bike Setup: Sugino 700 crankset, Sachs chains, Shimano XT RF+ shifters and derailleurs.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jon
a Cross-Country Rider
from State College PA
Date Reviewed: April 1, 1999
Strengths: Last forever light weight look good not too pricey
Weaknesses: ramps wear over time, could use some pins
Bottom Line:
These have held up well to over 2 years of pounding. I'm light-140 lbs, but I ride hard and do lots of rocky trails and downed trees. I've lost part of 1 tooth from the big ring, but shifting and pedaling haven't suffered at all. I use 46 outer and 34 middle on an old(1992) XT crank, and these went on very well. They look neat, too, with the nickel coating. My only gripe is their lack of pins, which would keep the shifting as good as new over time. It's not a big deal, though, since they still work well.
Similar Products Used: Shimano XT Action Tec ti inner
Bike Setup: Cr-mo hardtail, 98 SX-R fork, ESP/old XT drivetrain
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Phil...
a cross-country rider
from Alaska
Date Reviewed: January 17, 1999
Bottom Line:
My friend used to use real rings on his Campy MTB crank (Yes Campy once made MTB components, too bad they still dont...), and they were awsome. They shifted fine, and were TOUGH. He weighs around 180 lbs, and rides down stair cases, up onto picnic tables, which he then jumps off... he is also famous for using the outer ring as a third wheel while he is grinding up some object that bikes were never meant to be ridden on... he is kind of half BMX half trials rider. The point is that the Real rings never flinched (neither did the Campy cranks...aluminum, but tough as Iron), however, the Cannondale frame he rode finnally cracked in two...
Submitted by
IGGH
a cross-country rider
from Victoria CANADA
Date Reviewed: November 24, 1998
Bottom Line:
I like these. I have virtuall all XTR components. I wanted RaceFace cranks and an XT BB as I am a heavier guy than most and it seemed like a good robust alternative to the XTR crank/BB system. This opened the door for ring options and I chose Real.Here's a couple of things you should know. I should have known them too. It would have saved a bit of aggravation.The crux of the problem arose when I tried to use REAL compact 22-32-42 rings with my XTR E-type front derailleur. According to Shimano, the XTR front derailleurs can only be used with standard rings. XT and lesser can be used with compact. Strange but true. There is no compact-compatible XTR front derailleur.XTR front derailleurs can manage a minimum of 24 teeth and a maximum of 48 teeth. For smaller (compact) grannies (18, 20, 22) you must use XT or below.So I changed my rings to be 24-34-42 and increased the ring spacing a bit as a separate solution. Now the rings shift like butter using the XTR rapid-fire pod. Unfortunately, my LBS was not able to obtain a REAL 24 tooth granny immediately so I'm using a Black Spire in that position with REAL 34 and 42 tooth rings. Its a fine ring too. Oh well.... I can only assume that a REAL 24-tooth granny would work as well (and would have been my preference - only from a cosmetic prespective.In summary, ring spacing and tooth-count are both critical factors in successful shifting. Don't assume that all derailleurs will work with all ring sizes. I am able to continue using my IG-90 chain as the spacing modification added to the solution.Thanks again to Physical Culture for excellent service and a willingness to solve problems. As for Real, they did answer my email although they did not specifically solve the problem. It seems that the XTR/compact incompatibility issue is not well known. Having said that, the compact rings did shift with the XTR derailleur albeit poorly and with a lot of free-spinning. Ouch.I reiterate, with proper tooth selection and set-up, these rings shift like butter. They seem perfectly compatible with XTR rapidfire pods and my E-type XTR front derailleur.Five flaming triple-coilers with a DQ twist.
Submitted by
Brad
a cross-country rider
from Crown Point
Date Reviewed: September 16, 1998
Bottom Line:
GREATGREATGREATGREATGREAT!!! Here's why. I made the mistake of buying a Paul's front derailleur (at about 85% off, thank God). If anyone wants to know how poorly this thing works go to the review of it. I switched to Real rings and now even that piece of crap derailleur now shifts flawlessly. 5 big fat steaming chilli rellenos!
Replaced the stock Sugino Impel rings on my Proflex Animal when the old ring teeth were worn down to the nubbs. The old Sugino shifted pretty good with Grip Shift that had a XT derailer F/R with heavier spring in back and roller in back. Got the Real Rings in a full set of 20-32-42. Surprisingly they are still very good shape after 1500 miles although I don't ride over logs (sure tooth killer). Plating still pretty much intact although I suspect that when it finally goes the rings will wear much quicker. But that plating does seem to provide a dramatic reduction in wear. I noted that the teeth also seem to be much less prone to hooking and gouging from rocks that get thrown into chain. The ramps on my compact system work very well. I would recommend that you take the time to correctly setup the F'/R derailers to optimize the shifting....and make sure the chain line is correct. The biggest concern I had was the use of a alloy granny gear instead of the steel one I had before. The cog seems to be wearing just fine....not rapid wear. These are normally expensive although I got the set for a steal as a loss leader for a mail order place. Something like $45 or under for the three of them. Haven't found any after market rings that are any better shifting....although the anodized Sugino wear pretty good shifting....just short lived. In fact I may be getting some new race face cranks and will probably transfer the rings to the new cranks.
Submitted by
B.A.
a cross-country rider
from Crown Point
Date Reviewed: July 30, 1998
Bottom Line:
I've used a Real 34T for my middle ring for two years now and recently installed a Real 44T large ring and they've both been flawless. I switched to the Real large ring because I made the mistake of buying a Pauls front derailleur (at a very cheap price) and needed an easy shifting large ring. My shifts through all the gears are great, even with that crap derailleur. Anyone who is having problems with shifting, don't blame these rings. Perhaps you should stop letting 15 year old minimum wage bike shop employees set up your bike.
nice rings, they shift similar to XT, as with all rings they need to be set up properly....ie chainline/ BB. the plating does tarnish with salt or sweat and if you happen to bend the large ring the plating cracks and flakes off exposing the alum. below. overall very nice, for pure performance though go with shimano, despite their ugliness
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