The whole idea of a single chainring is the elimination of the front derailleur.įitting a chain guide brings back the derailleur cage without the rest of the derailleur. Tooth widths vary between standard (narrow) and wide. And this alternation corresponds to the different sized gaps between the chain’s
For example some Shimano designs feature short teeth alternating with longer teeth.Ī narrow-wide chainring’s teeth in contrast alternates one narrow and one wide right the way around the circumference. I say generally since some chainrings have two types of tooth profile on the one ring. That also opens the possibility of a modified tooth profile to fill that space.Ī conventional chainring’s teeth are generally uniform. That leaves a good deal of space between the tooth’s outer edge and the inner plate’s inner surface. The space between the inner plates is smaller than the space separating the outer plates.Ī conventional chainring’s tooth profile is narrow in order to fit into the space between the inner plates. There are two technical aspects to consider in the narrow-wide design:Ī chain consists of around one hundred uniformly sized rivets connected to each other through overlapping inner and outer plates.Įvery second (outer) plate connects to the rivet over the top of the (inner) plate leading to the next rivet. That’s where fitting a narrow wide chainring will really help. If you ride these conditions, though, you’ll probably have a clutch rear derailleur which will reduce chain drops to a minimum-drops will happen all the same. With rapid chainring rotation chain drops are sure to happen. and will be be thrown clear on the odd occasion. Violent bouncing over rough terrain means your chain is like a cowboy riding a bucking bronco. Part 1 NARROW-WIDE CHAINRINGS – ESSENTIAL INFO
Click here to jump directly to that.Īnd should none of this be at all appealing, then at the very least, you might like the Quick Install Chain technique (part of reassembly after installing the chainring) detailed near the end!
In Part 2 we show how to swap out a triple (or double) chainring for a narrow wide chainring. Part 1 covers general issues and the essential knowledge you need to know.