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Absolute Black > Gravel & CX chainrings > Oval narrow-wide > Absolute Black OVAL CX Sram APEX 1X 110/4 BCD
Absolute Black OVAL CX Sram APEX 1X 110/4 BCD
$103.99 CAD
Absolute Black OVAL CX Sram APEX 1X 110/4 BCD
Absolute Black OVAL CX Sram APEX 1X 110/4 BCD
$103.99 CAD
Tooth Count
38T
40T
42T
Colors
Quantity
38T black
COVAPX/38BK
40T black
COVAPX/40BK
42T black
COVAPX/42BK
Overview
Our Premium 1X Cyclocross 110/4bcd oval chainrings are designed specifically for APEX 1 cranks that feature asymmetric 110/4bcd bolt pattern. They are not compatible with other cranks. Narrow-wide chainring design. 9, 10, 11 and 12spd Eagle compatible. Use original Sram bolts.
10, 11 or 12spd chain for geared bike or 6-8 spd for SS. If used in 1x9 drivetrain - 10spd chain must be used to obtain the performance. (yes - 10spd chain will work great on 9spd cassette). Oval (elliptical) chainring does not compromise the work of clutch mechanism in rear derailleur(video at the bottom). It also does not require chain tensioner when using in singlespeed application. Riding out of saddle on the uphill will become more pleasant. These chainrings also help you to recover after knee injuries as pedaling becomes smoother and less exhausting. It is the most advanced oval chainring currently on the market.
The most advanced, Patent Pending alternate wide and narrow teeth profile currently produced, guarantee minimum 12 months of excellent chain retention capabilities! We mean it. Always use a new chain with a new chainring.
The World's best oval (elliptical) mtb spiderless traction chainring - period!. Non circular chainrings, Non-round chainrings. Asymmetrical chainrings.
10, 11 or 12spd chain for geared bike or 6-8 spd for SS. If used in 1x9 drivetrain - 10spd chain must be used to obtain the performance. (yes - 10spd chain will work great on 9spd cassette). Oval (elliptical) chainring does not compromise the work of clutch mechanism in rear derailleur(video at the bottom). It also does not require chain tensioner when using in singlespeed application. Riding out of saddle on the uphill will become more pleasant. These chainrings also help you to recover after knee injuries as pedaling becomes smoother and less exhausting. It is the most advanced oval chainring currently on the market.
The most advanced, Patent Pending alternate wide and narrow teeth profile currently produced, guarantee minimum 12 months of excellent chain retention capabilities! We mean it. Always use a new chain with a new chainring.
The World's best oval (elliptical) mtb spiderless traction chainring - period!. Non circular chainrings, Non-round chainrings. Asymmetrical chainrings.
ADVANTAGES OF OUR SPECIAL OVAL NARROW WIDE CHAINRINGS:
*Finest design to provide excellent weight to strength ratio
*One of a kind special oval shape (Patent Pending)
*Greatly improves traction and climbing abilities
*Unique Patent Pending alternate wide and narrow teeth profiles to keep your chain in place for minimum 12 months!
*Special 3D teeth machining for ultimate mud relief decrease wear and noise dramatically
*They save weight because they don't need the spider and chainring bolts.
*The ability of installation of a smaller ring sizes that can't be mounted on regular spider.
*Superb quality and great look.
*You will ride faster using ovals. If you keep using round ring then others will get quicker.
*You will not "feel" the oval shape at all
*Reduces stress on knees
*We mastered our oval chainrings to perfection, so you can get best possible advantage from the oval/elliptical shape.
*Finest design to provide excellent weight to strength ratio
*One of a kind special oval shape (Patent Pending)
*Greatly improves traction and climbing abilities
*Unique Patent Pending alternate wide and narrow teeth profiles to keep your chain in place for minimum 12 months!
*Special 3D teeth machining for ultimate mud relief decrease wear and noise dramatically
*They save weight because they don't need the spider and chainring bolts.
*The ability of installation of a smaller ring sizes that can't be mounted on regular spider.
*Superb quality and great look.
*You will ride faster using ovals. If you keep using round ring then others will get quicker.
*You will not "feel" the oval shape at all
*Reduces stress on knees
*We mastered our oval chainrings to perfection, so you can get best possible advantage from the oval/elliptical shape.
The most advanced, Patent Pending narrow/wide tooth profile currently produced, guarantee minimum 12 months of excellent chain retention capabilities! We mean it. Always use a new chain with a new chainring.
Not convinced yet? Read what other customers write.
Specs
- Size (Mass +/-1g): 38T (65g), 40T (65g), 42T (71g)
- Color: Black
- Compatibility: Fits ONLY Sram APEX 1 cranks that feature asymmetric 110/4bcd bolt pattern. Use original Sram mounting bolts.. 9, 10, 11 and 12spd Eagle compatible.
- Material: cnc machined 7075 Txxx Aluminum. Long-lasting construction. Mud optimized
- Finish: type II anodizing
- Chainline: Same as original
- Ovality: Optimized to each size separately. Range: 10.2-14.4% and Timing of 110.5-116.3° after TDC (top dead center) Patent Pending
Designed in UK. Manufactured in Poland (EU).
SRAM and Apex are trademarks of SRAM LLC and are used for informational purposes only.
Why Oval
Why our oval chainrings work
Our traction Oval chainrings work because a rider does not produce power evenly through a pedal stroke; they maximize the part of the stroke where power is produced and minimize resistance where it isn't. Oval rings make the spin cycle a lot smoother and are easier on legs while climbing. Believe it (or not), but a round chainring doesn't transfer torque to your rear wheel as smoothly as an Oval one. You will actually feel your stroke to be more "round" with an Oval shape than with a round chainring.
Why it matters
Traction, Traction and Traction. With oval rings rear tire traction improves greatly on loose and slippery terrain. Smoother power delivery to your rear wheel means that you will be able to maintain better, constant cadence; get less stress on the joints (knees) and therefore be able to keep certain level of effort for longer. This results in higher average speed. Moreover, 11 studies made by various Universities in the World show that using oval chainrings human legs utilize more muscle groups (compared to round one), but each of them to lesser degree. Load from pedaling an oval chainring is spread over greater muscle mass which in effect gives you the feeling of fresher and more relaxed legs. It is world's finest oval chainring backed by tens of thousands of customers.
Technology
Word on BIOPACE
Please understand that this is not Biopace technology. Shimano created Biopace with the completely wrong orientation of the biggest radius of the oval. Instead of positioning it in power zone which is slightly below the level of the crank, they clocked it to the dead zone where human generates least power. The result was that in power zone pedaling was too easy and in dead zone very difficult. Exactly opposite to how it should be.
Please understand that this is not Biopace technology. Shimano created Biopace with the completely wrong orientation of the biggest radius of the oval. Instead of positioning it in power zone which is slightly below the level of the crank, they clocked it to the dead zone where human generates least power. The result was that in power zone pedaling was too easy and in dead zone very difficult. Exactly opposite to how it should be.
Round rings do not optimize the way humans produce power
Other elliptical chainrings
Clocking (timing) and shape of the oval are the most crucial parts of the design. Ride quality of Absoluteblack Oval ring will be different to ovals from brand X or Y. 2 years of development of our ovals resulted in commercially most successful product of its kind. AbsoluteBlack is the First company who managed to successfully popularize ovals in mountainbike sport. Please note: Other manufacturers offer one timing and ovality setting for all chainring sizes, but pedaling behavior changes with each size considerably. To optimize for this, every chainring size needs to be a bit different. For example the smaller the chainring size the bigger the ovality has to be to help climb steeper hills more effectively. This is where we specialize in and optimize every size to particular pedaling style. This is also why we do not provide information about timing and exact ovality of the chainring as each one is different.
Shifting quality and technology
Both, inner and outer oval chainrings are optimized with smooth shifting in mind. This is why the back of the Absolute Black Oval road chainring does not feature cutouts, like other oval products on the market. Instead, we design smooth angled surfaces, to help chain to slide quickly and precisely between chainrings. Absolute Black outer oval chainrings have 6 up-shifting ramps, for easy and quick gear change, even under load. Each outer chainring also features 12 down-shifting points. Instead of steel shifting pins we use a CNC machined "ramp and recess" solution. Special raised ramps work in conjunction with the tooth recesses to stabilize the chain when shifting. Our oval chainrings DO NOT require any modification to the front dérailleur in order to work properly (apart from small standard adjustment)
How Absolute Black Oval Rings Shift
Both, inner and outer oval chainrings are optimized with smooth shifting in mind. This is why the back of the Absolute Black Oval road chainring does not feature cutouts, like other oval products on the market. Instead, we design smooth angled surfaces, to help chain to slide quickly and precisely between chainrings. Absolute Black outer oval chainrings have 6 up-shifting ramps, for easy and quick gear change, even under load. Each outer chainring also features 12 down-shifting points. Instead of steel shifting pins we use a CNC machined "ramp and recess" solution. Special raised ramps work in conjunction with the tooth recesses to stabilize the chain when shifting. Our oval chainrings DO NOT require any modification to the front dérailleur in order to work properly (apart from small standard adjustment)
How Absolute Black Oval Rings Shift
The importance of timing and shape with oval chainrings
The oval chainring movement across all cycling disciplines is growing rapidly, led by absoluteBLACK, the world leaders in this important product category.
However, not all oval chainrings share the same performance characteristics as absoluteBLACK. The 'clocking' (timing) and shape of the oval are the most crucial parts of any oval chainring design, absoluteBLACK spent three years in design development and have perfected both timing and shape design elements - ensuring the ride quality of absoluteBLACK oval ring will be different and superior to ovals from other brands (as many abosluteBLACK customers already realised).
Where most other brands retain the same timing (position of the crank arm relative to the oval) and shape of the oval across all their sizes - because it's cheaper and less time consuming. absoluteBLACK believe that each different size ring requires a bespoke, optimised, perfect pedalling solution. So that is what we do - for every chainring absoluteBLACK make. For example, the smaller the chainring size, the bigger the ovality has to be to help climb steeper hills more effectively. We keep our exact Patent Pending data a secret, to ensure we get the best possible absoluteBLACK advantage over other brands, and you get the best possible ride experience.
However, not all oval chainrings share the same performance characteristics as absoluteBLACK. The 'clocking' (timing) and shape of the oval are the most crucial parts of any oval chainring design, absoluteBLACK spent three years in design development and have perfected both timing and shape design elements - ensuring the ride quality of absoluteBLACK oval ring will be different and superior to ovals from other brands (as many abosluteBLACK customers already realised).
Where most other brands retain the same timing (position of the crank arm relative to the oval) and shape of the oval across all their sizes - because it's cheaper and less time consuming. absoluteBLACK believe that each different size ring requires a bespoke, optimised, perfect pedalling solution. So that is what we do - for every chainring absoluteBLACK make. For example, the smaller the chainring size, the bigger the ovality has to be to help climb steeper hills more effectively. We keep our exact Patent Pending data a secret, to ensure we get the best possible absoluteBLACK advantage over other brands, and you get the best possible ride experience.
Installation
How to mount 110/4 Oval chainring:
First you need to remove crank from the bike. Once removed, unscrew 4 bolts that hold two rings together with T-30 torx key. Take off both original rings. Position Absoluteblack oval chainring in place where the small chainring was (inside position). Please note that small indicator on the chainring Must sit behind crank arm - same way as original chainring indicates its position. You will need new SHORT bolts to mount your new ring (available on our website or you can look for "single" bolts in local bike shop). Close back those four bolts with force of about 5-7Nm. Mount your crank back to the bike. Done
First you need to remove crank from the bike. Once removed, unscrew 4 bolts that hold two rings together with T-30 torx key. Take off both original rings. Position Absoluteblack oval chainring in place where the small chainring was (inside position). Please note that small indicator on the chainring Must sit behind crank arm - same way as original chainring indicates its position. You will need new SHORT bolts to mount your new ring (available on our website or you can look for "single" bolts in local bike shop). Close back those four bolts with force of about 5-7Nm. Mount your crank back to the bike. Done
Absolute Black always recommends using a new chain when fitting new chainrings.
FAQ
What size should I choose?
* 38T Oval ring will suit best someone who uses 37 or 38T round chainring currently. While pedaling, you will feel similar effort to the one riding round 37T ring, but you will gain the speed similar to riding 40T chainring.
* 40T Oval chainring has an ovality of 38/42T and is best for someone who uses currently 39 or 40T round ring.
* 42T Oval chainring has an ovality of 40/44T and is best for someone who uses currently 41 or 42T round ring.
* Do I have a perfect pedal spin?
This is an important one. Professionals and semi pro cyclists spin perfect "circles". The rest of us often struggle with our pedalling action, simply because we don't spend every day of every week on the bike, to master this skill. Switching to oval rings effectively correct an imperfect pedalling action – delivering the smooth power delivery the pros developed through thousands of hours of training. One of the key reasons the benefits of oval chainrings have historically proven hard to prove in lab tests, is because they were nearly always done using Professional riders – as a user group they are the least likely to gain a performance increase from a switch to oval, as their pedalling is already close to perfection. Where ovals shine however is with rest of us, who ride for pleasure and not for a job. Simply 99% of road cyclists will benefit from having oval chainrings on their bikes.
This is an important one. Professionals and semi pro cyclists spin perfect "circles". The rest of us often struggle with our pedalling action, simply because we don't spend every day of every week on the bike, to master this skill. Switching to oval rings effectively correct an imperfect pedalling action – delivering the smooth power delivery the pros developed through thousands of hours of training. One of the key reasons the benefits of oval chainrings have historically proven hard to prove in lab tests, is because they were nearly always done using Professional riders – as a user group they are the least likely to gain a performance increase from a switch to oval, as their pedalling is already close to perfection. Where ovals shine however is with rest of us, who ride for pleasure and not for a job. Simply 99% of road cyclists will benefit from having oval chainrings on their bikes.
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Everything we distribute has been submitted to a trial year of thorough testing by ourselves, our company team riders and to a select number of independent test riders. This is done for one simple reason: we stand behind products that we personally trust and believe in.
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