Round vs Oval Chainring

[BaGearA]

Hi Demtri,

 

I am going to be honest I have been sick the last week so only had an opportunity to ride on the mountain once properly, and then a couple of short commutes into work.

 

I went up onto Table Mountain for a spin and found the 1x11 great - I was already a little run down before getting the man flu so hard to say if it made a big performance impact - but love how simple the 1x11 is... As for the Oval Chainring, I could definitely feel the difference initially but after a while it felt much of the same... If anything upgrade is gonna give the bike a new lease on life and I'm feeling hella gees to ride again.

the difference will be there but you won't feel it anymore .... but go back to round and trust me , you'll hate it 

[karma]

Some more random feedback...

 

I raced my oval chainringed bike over the weekend after having ridden round only bikes for a while.

 

Initially it felt a bit jerky like the bike was shooting forward a few cm on every power stroke - after a few minutes it felt smoother and I enjoyed it more.

 

Oval seems to encourage higher cadence for me and climbing feels better/easier.

 

Of course these are all emotionally based choices but I feel oval is better/faster than round.

 

#MakeOvalGreatAgain

[Pieterlab1]

Also did my first race this weekend with the AbsoluteBlack 32T Oval.

Took me about 10km's to get used to the "feel" of the oval, but overall I enjoyed it. The climbs were definitely smoother, which made it easier, especially short, technical climbs.

On top end there wasn't a noticeable difference between the 32T Oval and my previous 34T round chain ring.

I sometimes feel a bit of discomfort in my left knee on long rides, but after 70km's no pain or discomfort at all.

[Velouria]

Coming back from knee surgery I find the oval puts less strain on the knee.  There's a whole bunch or research on why/if ovals work.  Generally the argument is a more efficient pedal stroke due to maximising where the legs are strongest and minimising where there are weakest.  Resulting in efficiency and traction.  So I would say it's definitely worth a try. 

Can you show us this research?

[Demetri]

Also did my first race this weekend with the AbsoluteBlack 32T Oval.

Took me about 10km's to get used to the "feel" of the oval, but overall I enjoyed it. The climbs were definitely smoother, which made it easier, especially short, technical climbs.

On top end there wasn't a noticeable difference between the 32T Oval and my previous 34T round chain ring.

I sometimes feel a bit of discomfort in my left knee on long rides, but after 70km's no pain or discomfort at all.

Now that you mention. I felt some discomfort in my left knee for about 120km in the race. Im battling with Patella Tendonitis in my right knee and remarkably i didnt feel any discomfort. Again i cant tell if the pain was from the oval but what i can tell is it felt amazing on the climbs.

[TCTG]

Good discussion! Will give OVAL a go!

[V18]

Oval all the way. Kalbo makes great ones locally. Currently on absolute black. Not bad either and suits my bike colourway.

[blondeonabike]

A while ago I needed to replace my chainrings and front derailer on my mtb. The cost of three chainrings and the derailer caused me to consider tossing the derailer away and getting a 34T oval from rapide. Besides being the cheaper option, I love the way the bike feels. Initially it felt like I had to work harder but I got used to it and now have a much smoother ride.

[Boerklong]

I love my Rapide 34 oval. Won't change my 1 x setup.

[Grease_Monkey]

I use oval on some of my bikes (over a year now), and round on others. To be honest I cannot tell the difference when pedaling anymore - feels the same for me!

 

 

Where I do feel a difference is on rocky, slow climbs - I find I can increase cadence more and get better traction with oval (albeit slightly more).

[matthieup]

I'm considering going this route but have 2 questions

 

1. Are all oval chaining equals or are some better?

2. Does it out strain on the RD? Is the shifting affected? I've read that there can be more chain drop.

[Grease_Monkey]

I'm considering going this route but have 2 questions

 

1. Are all oval chaining equals or are some better?

2. Does it out strain on the RD? Is the shifting affected? I've read that there can be more chain drop.

1. Some Ovals give you the ability to adjust where the ovalilty is in your pedal stroke - eg: Rotor. I don't think it's necessary, but that's just my opinion. As with all things you do get your premium brands such as Absolute Black, cSixx, and a few others. Based on my own experience I wouldn't say they are better than your Rapides and Kalbos, but luckily chainrings aren't too expensive either way. Personally I use cSixx - their prpducts have always performed well for me, and I'm willing to pay a bit extra for the brand seeing as it's locally manufactured.

2. It does not put more strain on your derailieur and does not affect shifting. Just speaking for myself here, but I have never dropped a chain with any oval ring - the inportant thing is to have a clutch on your deraillieur that works.

[100Tours]

I'm considering going this route but have 2 questions

 

1. Are all oval chaining equals or are some better?

2. Does it out strain on the RD? Is the shifting affected? I've read that there can be more chain drop.

 

I have only ever had chain drop issues in extremely muddy conditions. Can't say whether a round ring would have fared much better though. I'm riding AB direct mount chainrings.

[MTB-More]

I would like if they done a scientific research with close to 100% accuracy of calories burned over 100km. If the so called oval is easier or more advantage making it easier then the calories burned over the 100km will be less on the oval

 

Unfortunately that does not exist and the amount of effort to get from point A to B remains the same with the same about of joules required to complete. This has been proven by science though

 

It might seem better or feel better but the effort is called the placebo effect. Does is make you stronger. In your head for sure. Does it make you faster. In your head sure.

 

The placebo effect gives you the impression you are going faster or quicker uphill but in effect you are just getting stronger or pushing harder to make it work and justify the purchase.

 

Out of 9 research papers I have read 4 said Yes it might work but with a negligible 1%... 5 Said it's all in the head

 

So for me I will be sticking to Round until there is definitive proof that it works.

Edited June 20, 2018 by MTB-More

[Rhodent]

I did my honours research project on this about 10 years ago.... obviously been a lot of development since then, and also (being only an honours project) had some study limitations as well.

 

Research was limited to road cycling, and did not find any statistical significance between circular and non-circular chainrings (Measured RPE, Heart Rate, Oxygen Consumption, energy expenditure and cadence required to maintain a constant speed). 

 

Essentially, subjects felt 'more connected' to the bike through the traditional deadspots in the pedal stroke, but it did not lead to any dramatic increases in anything bar 'feel'.

 

 

That being said - i was loaned a power meter for the duration of the study, so had it fitted to my bike when not used in the lab, and i racked up plenty of mileage with both the circular and non-circular rings. Anecdotal response - For road rides over 2/3 hours, i definitely felt power output was a lot more sustained... interestingly average HR and PO were  slightly higher with non-circular, but perceived response was the same.

 

Again....seemed like a comfort thing.

 

Would have loved to do further research but Masters took a different route...

 

Would be very interested to try non-circular on a MTB...

[LBKloppers]

Oval.  Can easily feel the difference when you're spinning (easier to keep cadence higher as it 'helps' to ease the resistance between your power strokes) as well as when going up something very very steep - that surge forward with each pedal stroke down is smoothed out a lot so the bike moves smoother rather than surging.

 

For me there is no downside to an oval ring, but there are a handful of positives which make it feel better.

Never forget the adaptability of the human body. Some says they don't feel the difference and I believe it has to do with their bodies ability to adapt. I have seen a youtube clip where an institution did some tests between the round and oval conundrum and they gave a very neutral opinion on the outcome. Their reason was the uncontrollable measurable each body presents is not possible to completely offer a one or the other answer.

I myself ride both. I work in Tanzania and my bike here has an oval. It works lekker. My bike at home has a round and strangely enough, it too works lekker. I guess it boils down to the old statement that it is not about the bike....