Absolute Black Oval Chainring Review

The Yeti I raced last year was kitted out with a set of Race Face Next SL cranks. As a dedicated weight weenie there was much to love about them beyond the simple 'Cinch' chainring fitment, and purposeful stiff design. The only problem; there wasn't an oval chainring available that fitted. So when the Yeti departed I swapped back to a Specialized crank with a 32t Rotor Q-Ring. As reported several times on this blog I am totally sold on the benefits of oval chainrings.

Well along have come Absolute black, a UK based company with manufacturing in Poland. They have started producing some beautifully machined oval rings to fit a wide range of different cranks including the Race Face Next SL's.

One niggle I have always had with the Rotor QX1 rings is that they are noisy. When the chain is at either end of the cassette the angle causes it to snag very slightly on the long teeth of the Q-ring. It is annoying and you can't help but feel it is sapping strength as you are hauling a low gear up a climb. The problem has been even worse since I switched to 11 speed, due to the wider extremes of the casssette.

So a 32t Absolute Black chainring was ordered and a matching pair of stealth Next SL cranks. First thing to say is that this is an impressively light combination.

A seriously light and functional combination

Functionally the oval offset of the Absolute Black ring is almost identical to Rotor, so there was no decernable difference to get accustomed too. The tooth profile is lower than the Rotor QX1, closer to SRAM in shape. It retains the chain perfectly without the aid of a chain guide, while running smoothly wihtout a peep or squeak. The rings themselves are lighter and cheaper than those from Rotor so it is thumbs up all round. The only remaining question is durability, so I'll keep you posted!