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Finally did it: Oval chainring on the single speed and lower gearing.

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DeoreDX

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I've been running 32-18 gearing on my single speed. The gearing is pretty tall and I end up having to stand and pedal more often than not. Of course that's what I wanted, a hard gear to really challenge me since this was the bike I ride for short 1-2 hours intense rides. But now instead of short 1-2 hour riders hammering a hard gear I'm now changing my focus to longer rides. Usually after about 2 hours with the 32-18 I start fading. Another fellow local single speeder was running 32-20 and following him one day noticed he was seated way more than I was on the same trails. The thought was more seated riding will help me be more efficient and stretch my comfort on the single speed to multiple hours instead of 1-2 hours. Since I had a pricey Boone Ti 18t on the rear I didn't want to replace I decided instead to swap out the chainring to a 30t. Thanks to the single speed forums I learned you can run a oval on a single speed, so instead of a 30t round I went with a 30t Oval.

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Love the 30t oval. Feels easier to turn and is much easier on my knees than the old 32t round. Some of the grades I was close to stalling because of the high gearing on my old setup I was able to tackle without much knee strain. Smashed a PB on one segment that required a lot of out of saddle climbing and I wasn't even pushing hard on my ride today. Taller gearing requires a lot more effort but that effort doesn't necessarily translate to being faster overall.

But...

For short rides where I'm just riding for fun in that 1-1.5 hour after work or during lunch tine I think I prefer the taller gearing. The experience feels more engaging when I am forced to get out of the saddle more and put in more effort. But for Strava times, less knee pain, and less leg strain the lower gearing with the Oval is undoubtedly better.
 
#3 ·
BansheeRune said:
I have several cogs with tailored chains for the ease of changeups based upon the ride planned.
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I have 2 gears to choose from for normal riding & a race gear so I'm very much in the same boat these days. However, my most memorable years SS were on a rigid On One Scandal with a 21T freewheel that no matter what I tried, I could not get that fookin thing off the hub! So I ran 1 gear ratio all the time. If a trail was flat, I spun my heart out until & I could climb most everything in my neck of the woods. I now often wonder if I ought to go back to that gear & just ride the damn bike as it sits, no more gear ratio changes.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
BansheeRune said:
Strava makes riding a chore instead of a passion, ugh!
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I don't specifically ride for Strava times. For me GPS and timed segment data is just data. I find it interesting to see how I performed on a ride compared to past rides but I'm an engineer and by nature we like to look at data even if we aren't actually using it. I won't base my chainring selection by fastest Strava times I'll base it on a myriad other factors more qualitative than quantitative. But if I ever want to try a single speed race have that data and I will most definitely base my decision on Strava times instead.
 
#5 ·
DeoreDX said:
I don't specifically ride for Strava times. For me GPS and timed segment data is just data. I find it interesting to see how I performed on a ride compared to past rides but I'm an engineer and by nature we like to look at data even if we aren't actually using it. I won't base my chainring selection by fastest Strava times I'll base it on a myriad other factors more qualitative than quantitative. But if I ever want to try a single speed race have that data and I will most definitely base my decision on Strava times instead.
Click to expand...
I highly recommend the SS race opportunity!
As for gear choices, I have a keen sense of powerband and where it lives for myself. This is how I landed on several configurations that work like magic.
All depends on what the terrain is that planning a ride will determine.

As for engineering, my specialties are electronic engineering, sound engineering and mechanical. My bike is in the picture to help me escape from that for the short term, unfortunately that lead to a sizeable collection of bicycles.

redwarrior said:
I have 2 gears to choose from for normal riding & a race gear so I'm very much in the same boat these days. However, my most memorable years SS were on a rigid On One Scandal with a 21T freewheel that no matter what I tried, I could not get that fookin thing off the hub! So I ran 1 gear ratio all the time. If a trail was flat, I spun my heart out until & I could climb most everything in my neck of the woods. I now often wonder if I ought to go back to that gear & just ride the damn bike as it sits, no more gear ratio changes.
Click to expand...
Oh my! I have used my impact to remove a few freewheels, just ask my trials bike! That is a challenge since it is front freewheel. At least I can set the crank arm in a vise and gitter dun.
 
#6 ·
DeoreDX said:
For short rides where I'm just riding for fun in that 1-1.5 hour after work or during lunch tine I think I prefer the taller gearing. The experience feels more engaging when I am forced to get out of the saddle more and put in more effort. But for Strava times, less knee pain, and less leg strain the lower gearing with the Oval is undoubtedly better.
Click to expand...
A 30t oval is about the equivalent of a 32t round in the power phase and a 28t in the non-power phase.
 
#8 ·
NordieBoy said:
A 30t oval is about the equivalent of a 32t round in the power phase and a 28t in the non-power phase.
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Let's hear your take on the overall form and function of the eggrings. Keep thinking of trying em out but uncertain of any real benefit. Guess I'm a little gun-shy and don't want to throw a buncha coin in the parts bin.
 
#9 ·
BansheeRune said:
Let's hear your take on the overall form and function of the eggrings. Keep thinking of trying em out but uncertain of any real benefit. Guess I'm a little gun-shy and don't want to throw a buncha coin in the parts bin.
Click to expand...
Love them.
As Absolute Black call them now "Traction Rings".
Put a round ring back on and climbing traction goes out the window on the single speed. Not as much effect with gears but I wouldn't voluntarily run a round ring anymore.
 
#10 ·
BansheeRune said:
Let's hear your take on the overall form and function of the eggrings. Keep thinking of trying em out but uncertain of any real benefit. Guess I'm a little gun-shy and don't want to throw a buncha coin in the parts bin.
Click to expand...
You didn't ask me, but I've run oval rings and thought that I felt all of these benefits. Then I put a crank with a round ring on and guess what? It felt the same.

Some people think they are the ticket. I couldn't tell a difference.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
For me the difference between a round and oval is not massive but it is noticeable and I like it. I can be sensitive to knee strain and it feels like there is less knee strain for me. When I first tried it on my geared bike I could spin at the same cadence and effort as my round ring I will be traveling slightly faster with the oval ring. Not sure of the less knee strain had me spinning a harder gear maybe? There is a hill at my local trail I would always spin up around 6mph. With the oval I was spinning up it around 7mph. Not a huge difference but if you pay attention to the Strava data that was about a 5sec difference on that 100 yard climb. I don't notice the traction thing but I don't normally have issues with traction any more even with the round ring.
 
#13 ·
DeoreDX said:
For me the difference between a round and oval is not massive but it is noticeable and I like it. I can be sensitive to knee strain and it feels like there is less knee strain for me. When I first tried it on my geared bike I could spin at the same cadence and effort as my round ring I will be traveling slightly faster with the oval ring. Not sure of the less knee strain had me spinning a harder gear maybe? There is a hill at my local trail I would always spin up around 6mph. With the oval I was spinning up it around 7mph. Not a huge difference but if you pay attention to the Strava data that was about a 5sec difference on that 100 yard climb. I don't notice the traction thing but I don't normally have issues with traction any more even with the round ring.
Click to expand...
That does add a little insight into the egg drop soup rings. I hear the part of knee pain and strain. I have gone more than 30 years on two that need total joint replacement. They are actually faceted from bone on bone over those years.

As for spinning up... Yus, currently on round rings and have not tried the coolaid yet. I have my good days and bad. Some days, I feel good and can do climbs that give me something to pull against for example, a taller gear on a 20% grade. I can do this without drama if and only if I can reach my power band. Falling out of that range can be a disaster and an ER bill of it happens after clinic hours. The not so good days, I'll take the 3.875 minutes to change out gears for a shorter ratio. (Gear inches are meaningless to me since I think in terms of ratio.)

Add cancer treatment to this mess... Still ride on my good days there too. The cancer treatment is coming to an end. I have a series of workups coming in a few weeks with an expected cancer free. Now if I can just get the meds out of my system and work up the muscle mass lost over the course.
 
#16 ·
I've given up and started running REALLY low gears. Like 30:24.

But everything around here (northern Utah) that I like to ride is either up or down so you can gear for the climbs and use the fat gear to get back down. I had a route that I wanted to complete last year that has a 4-5 mile climb in the middle with 4500 feet of elevation. I never did make the whole loop that I wanted to do. But this year with my newer low gearing mindset, I'm ready.
 
#17 ·
Shinkers said:
I've given up and started running REALLY low gears. Like 30:24.

But everything around here (northern Utah) that I like to ride is either up or down so you can gear for the climbs and use the fat gear to get back down. I had a route that I wanted to complete last year that has a 4-5 mile climb in the middle with 4500 feet of elevation. I never did make the whole loop that I wanted to do. But this year with my newer low gearing mindset, I'm ready.
Click to expand...
Way to go, Shinkers! Let us hear of your success in conquering that ride.

I have a few different cogs and tailored chains in those lovely plastic chain boxes for switching it up from time to time.
 
#18 ·
Rather than start a new thread, chiming in here with another datapoint for posterity:

Been on a 27.5+ SS since 2018 (came with 30:18, swapped to 30:19 for a while, then went back to 30:18). Installed an absoluteBLACK 30t oval yesterday morning and rode it last night, this morning, and tonight. Have never ridden with an oval ring before.

First impressions:

Pros:
  • Smooths out pedaling.
  • Feels comfortable and natural.
  • Easier to build and maintain speed on hills. Sat and spun up some climbs (on which I would stand with my round ring).
  • Don't spin out quite as much on the flats or downhill.
Cons:
  • Can be a bit harder when slowly crawling over steep features (not surprising since it's roughly equivalent of a 32t when my pedals are in position for peak leverage).
  • There is a slight difference in chain tension between the two positions on the oval, and I dropped the chain (from the rear cog) in a couple spots while mashing up rocky technical stuff. Chain wasn't that loose. Could be a combination of frame flex and sloppy technique... seems like can drop if I'm pushing the frame back and forth (such that the chain is probably getting bounced sideways a bit). To be fair to the oval ring, I have dropped the chain with my round ring too, but that would typically happen once a season (while this happened on two days back-to-back with the oval ring).
Neither con seems significant. I can always throw a bigger cog on (gonna stick with the 18 for now) and I can get a chain guide if it keeps dropping (for now I tightened it a bit).

Anyway, two big thumbs up for the oval ring.
 
#20 ·
Shinkers said:
I've given up and started running REALLY low gears. Like 30:24.

But everything around here (northern Utah) that I like to ride is either up or down so you can gear for the climbs and use the fat gear to get back down. I had a route that I wanted to complete last year that has a 4-5 mile climb in the middle with 4500 feet of elevation. I never did make the whole loop that I wanted to do. But this year with my newer low gearing mindset, I'm ready.
Click to expand...
I've been running my go to gearing of 32x22 on all SS bikes for the past few years. Currently have that gearing on my SS Krampus and am building that WoZo frame I recently acquired for SS duties as well. I've been putting a little thought into going 30x22 on this one myself. Figure it will be used for the longer/steeper climbs to get to longer rougher descents than the Krampus normally sees. Have debated a 30T Oval vs round, but if I'm going for overall easier gearing to stay fresher on longer rides with bigger climbs.........30T round seems to make more sense. I could even possibly see going 30x24 at some point. 24T cogs definitely have less options though, but they are some out there.
 
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BansheeRune
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