Is my chain ring worn out?

[dojo]

Never sure with Chainrings. Does this look OK??

Thanks guys

[dojo]

[ukbabz]

Looks fairly worn in places, but I've ridden worse. Are you having any issue with the chain slipping?

[dojo]

No slipping. But I'm doing JOGLE in July and will prob do a 1000 miles or so before then and then another 1000 on the trip so just wondering whether to change the big ring out when I service it at the end of May?

I'm guess prob so

[ukbabz]

dojo said:

No slipping. But I'm doing JOGLE in July and will prob do a 1000 miles or so before then and then another 1000 on the trip so just wondering whether to change the big ring out when I service it at the end of May?

I'm guess prob so

It's a doddle to change out if you're worried about it. Just a case of undoing 4-5 bolts :-) (I had to do my turbo bike as chain would skip on a pitiful sprint)

Good luck with JOGLE!

[Maximus_Meridius101]

That’s not that worn at all. The way I decide is to gently tap my finger onto the teeth, one at a time. If more than 2/3rds make me go ‘ooooh that’s a sharp one’ then I replace the ring. If not, I keep it going. As long as the chain isn’t slipping under load, I reckon that’s good for a while / a fair few miles yet.

[TheDrownedApe]

dojo said:

No slipping. But I'm doing JOGLE in July and will prob do a 1000 miles or so before then and then another 1000 on the trip so just wondering whether to change the big ring out when I service it at the end of May?

I'm guess prob so

I'm going JOGLE too but next May as covid suppered my plans. How many days 9/10 or a little more leisurely?

perhaps start a thread (if there isn't one) where you can share your Qs or thoughts?

[Scoobyshue]

I'd say that if you are asking the question, then change them out. It's not too expensive plus it's another thing you don't have to worry about. Keep the old ones as spares.

[yellowjack]

I've just done my chainrings. Ultegra 11 speed. It had started to slip, so I priced up new rings. Expensive on the Hollowtech II stuff, and availability was sketchy so I swapped the whole Ultegra 6800 Chainset out for a new R7000 (105) set. I'd managed to get 16,750 miles out of the original rings so not too bad really.

If it were me planning to ride JOGLE/LEJOG then I'd be keen to get new rings/cassette/chain on the bike before starting. Like someone else said, new ones for the trip, then possibly put the old ones back on afterwards to get your money's worth out of them. Although worn teeth on chainrings does make for accelerated chain wear so it could end up being a false economy to run chainrings until they're absolutely knackered.

Big bill month for my bike. New chainset, new wheels and tyres, new cassette, chain, headset bearing and bottom bracket bearing, along with a gear cable. Damn it I've spent more on parts for this bike in one go than i used to be willing to pay for a whole new bike!!!

[Insert Coin]

I tend to swap front rings and cassettes in pairs, had a few issues before when just changing the front ring.

[lizardbrain]

I suffered a blunt chainring for ages and in the end it took 10 mins to swap out. It’s not a big job especially if you have the right chain tool and are not too fussy on nut torque. You shouldn’t put it off IMO, it’s so cheap to do.

[dojo]

Another question.

If I'm changing the chainring(s) out can I change the size?
Currently running it as a 50-34 but as its my (light) touring rig/long day bike it might even be preferable to go to a sub compact rig so I can just spin out if I need?!

Also could I mix and match? And say run a little ring from a Sub (30) and big ring from a compact (50) assuming the bolts line up??

[mikecassie]

You'll need to change the cassette to get lower gearing. I'm pretty sure with 110mm BCD that Shimano use a 34 tooth inner ring is as small you can fit.
What is your cassette size?

[David_M]

Looks like it has a lot of life in it to me.

Changed mine about two weeks ago - it had between 45,000 and 50,000 km use and wasn't causing any real issues. I think that chainrings would need to be really worn out to ever slip, just because there are so many more teeth engaged with the chain.

It is noticeably quieter and slightly more certain shifting now though. Can be changed without taking the cranks off the bike.

Scoobyshue said:

Keep the old ones as spares.

If it's worn out chuck it away. Otherwise you will keep it for years . . . . and then chuck it away.

[dojo]

mikecassie said:

You'll need to change the cassette to get lower gearing. I'm pretty sure with 110mm BCD that Shimano use a 34 tooth inner ring is as small you can fit.
What is your cassette size?

I use 11-32 on the back which gets me over everything round here (albeit still a struggle when it pitches up over 25%). I have an 11-34 in the box which I'll stick on for JOGLE.

@David, thats a lot more than these have. I think these are only on about 5-6k

[upsidedownmark]

Not at all worn. They have irregular shapes, and some slightly odd looking gaps/teeth by design to aid the shifting. Chainrings generally go on forever/at least a very long time.

WRT sub-compact, no - the smallest you can fit on a standard 110mm spider (your 34/50) is a 34. Anything smaller needs a different spider with a smaller (<110mm) BCD.

[dojo]

upsidedownmark said:

Not at all worn. They have irregular shapes, and some slightly odd looking gaps/teeth by design to aid the shifting. Chainrings generally go on forever/at least a very long time.

WRT sub-compact, no - the smallest you can fit on a standard 110mm spider (your 34/50) is a 34. Anything smaller needs a different spider with a smaller (<110mm) BCD.

Thanks Mark - great info