Is your next narrow-wide chainring going to be oval? Wait, didn’t we already try this years ago with Shimano’s Bio-Pace? It seems these weirdly shaped chain ring designs won’t go away. However, the team at OneUp have a new reason for squishing up our traditionally round rings, and no, it’s not power output. (the reason it keeps coming back on the road side of things) Instead, they believe that adding their oval ring to your bike will help you clean more climbs.
According to OneUp, the oval design will help with providing smoother, more consistent torque where your tire meets the trail, stating “Our 32T oval profile feels like a 34T chainring at the point in your pedal stroke where you have the most power and like a 30T where you’re weakest. Oval rings may look a little odd, but after 5 minutes on the trail they feel completely normal.”
In fact, they say the 32t is equal to a 30t-34t range. I’ve been wanting a higher gear for descending but don’t want to give up the ability to climb; OneUp, you’ve got me intrigued.
OneUp Traction Rings are available for all 7 standard bolt patterns and start at $58 USD.
Check them out at OneUpComponents.com
