Oval or round and why - POLL (out of interest)

[NotSoBigBen]

So as these have been around for a while now and I see a lot of both round my 'hood just wondered what the split is between the 2, why that is and what people now think about these?

 

Nothing scientific(I assume for most of us like me it would be more perceived than measured) or sinister ... just a straw poll I guess you could call it.

 

 

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Yo Ben. Put an option on the 2nd q to say you have one. Won't allow a non answer

[NotSoBigBen]

Yo Ben. Put an option on the 2nd q to say you have one. Won't allow a non answer

 

Ooops done, thanks Captain!

[Kalahari Vegmot]

From a recently conducted survey...

[NotSoBigBen]

From a recently conducted survey...

IMG_20171020_201840.jpg

 

Did it only poll the size?

[Kalahari Vegmot]

Did it only poll the size?

Size and whether it's oval or not.

[dev null]

I have ridden my son's HT with oval 32, and obviously my own with round up Helderberg, and to me it definitely feels easier on the knees.

[wildwindfr]

Feels like I climb easier and dont spin as easily when standing and climbing.

[shaper]

Never tried, happy with round, may try someday

[Goodbadugly]

Never tried, happy with round, may try someday

This would be my answer as well.

[BaGearA]

I have an oval and I won't go back to round ( although absolute black's oval felt better than rapide's oval fro example , angle maybe ? )

 

You can argue that it has no scientific merit ( I don't know if it does ) and that's it's just A placebo but who cares it feels lekker to me and i definitely climb smoother.

 

I'm surprised at how little ovals I see on pro mtb's ( almost never)   , O-symetric is quite common in road racing

[AlanD]

Perhaps on question 3 you can add a no benefits option

[Firozfx]

Please add an option on the last question: Tried it. Doesn't make a difference

 

I have 34t rapide, 34t and 36t Absoluteblack ovals and in my opinion it does not make a difference. 

 

This is my reasoning:

 

I have a 11 - 50 Sunrace 11sp cassette. So I needed to find the correct chainring on the front.

My previous setup was a 34 round with 11-46 cassette.My strength is power on flats, downhills and gentle inclines. So I opt for big rings in the front.

 

I decided to try the 34t oval. Because it gave me the 36t on the flats. I use a cadence sensor and compared data on 2 different rides on the same segment. The cadence speed on the round and oval was the same and the speeds identical. So the 36t did not come into play. Rechecked the fitment and all was correct. 

 

I then got the Absoluteblack rings and fitted them with the 11-50 cassette. I tried the 36t oval. Big mistake. On the 3rd ride, (91km, 46km and on the 107km ride), my knees both started paining simultaneously. Put me out of action for 6 weeks. 

 

Missed the Transbaviaans and lost alot of fitness.

 

I now swop between 36t or 38t round based on the trail I'm doing. 36t is sufficient to climb 17% gradients.

[Ysterperd]

Do like Froome - train with round and switch to oval when racing.

[NotSoBigBen]

Please add an option on the last question: Tried it. Doesn't make a difference

 

I have 34t rapide, 34t and 36t Absoluteblack ovals and in my opinion it does not make a difference. 

 

This is my reasoning:

 

I have a 11 - 50 Sunrace 11sp cassette. So I needed to find the correct chainring on the front.

My previous setup was a 34 round with 11-46 cassette.My strength is power on flats, downhills and gentle inclines. So I opt for big rings in the front.

 

I decided to try the 34t oval. Because it gave me the 36t on the flats. I use a cadence sensor and compared data on 2 different rides on the same segment. The cadence speed on the round and oval was the same and the speeds identical. So the 36t did not come into play. Rechecked the fitment and all was correct. 

 

I then got the Absoluteblack rings and fitted them with the 11-50 cassette. I tried the 36t oval. Big mistake. On the 3rd ride, (91km, 46km and on the 107km ride), my knees both started paining simultaneously. Put me out of action for 6 weeks. 

 

Missed the Transbaviaans and lost alot of fitness.

 

I now swop between 36t or 38t round based on the trail I'm doing. 36t is sufficient to climb 17% gradients.

 

Ok I have added that option .... to my understanding your cadence would not change as both the round and oval rings still have the same number of teeth but your (perceived?) ability to  be on the 'power stroke' for longer would make the difference?

 

Lest we forget I am a retired IT guy but just like trying out different things ... not a 'rocket' scientist by any stretch of the imagination

 

My personal perception, and that's all I have, is that it is gentler on my knees, I am able to keep traction on steep loose climbs better and also feel a bit less fatigued on longer 'normal' climbs. On the flats I have not really noticed any real difference like you.

[T-Bob]

I've had both. I loved o-symmetric rings for my road racing as it works really well on long climbs and smooth pedalling. I found that at proper high intensity sprinting at the pointy end of a race it lacked a bit of hard bite and predictability.

 

With dirt riding I have used them but with the stop / start nature of tech / single track climbing and down focused riding it didn't gel. Maybe it's because a lot of the ovals for mtb don't have the attention to the different phases of a stroke like the osyms do as they are a very different profile to a standard mtb oval. I'm not sure the same levels of research and refinement have gone into a lot of ovals.

 

End of the day riding is such a personal thing that if you ride them and they work... Good on ya, if the don't good on ya as well. Stick with what works for you but always try and be curious cos your u never know.