Dural 'v' Zicral

[meic]

I have just worn down my Stronglight Dural chainring at quite an alarming rate.All of the drivetrain was replaced at the same time. I do give my chain and rings frequent cleans and lubes and tend to pedal fast and light without honking, however the bike has a hard life.
When I go to replace the chainring is it worthwhile spending the extra money to get a Zicral one instead?

[reohn2]

I have zicral rings on most of mine/our bikes and find they wear quite well,though they are TA not Stronglight.

[PW]

Ask Spa Cycles - they sell both. You did change the chain didn't you? They need to get pretty bad before the chainrings start to wear.

[meic]

Well looking back many years later.

The Stronglight Dural middle ring did 5,000 miles which was two chains and one cassette.
The TA Zicral which replaced is getting retired at 12,000 which is two cassettes and 5 chains.
The outer ring is a Dural and still not worn.

The TA is a very nice ring and it has worn with a beautiful polished finish but it needs replacing.

Financially it was about a draw. However now the Zicral is relatively more expensive.

The next ring to be tested should be a steel Sora ring, so that may take a very long time for the results to come in.

[Mick F]

My Campag Chorus Triple has done a tad over 13,000miles.

I'm not aware of any wear on it on any ring, though I haven't look very closely.

What are the symptoms?

[byegad]

I buy Dural if I'm messing about setting final gearing on a new trike and Zircal when I'm sure of the tooth count I want. Dural isn't bad but Zircal seems to last very well and a whole lot longer then Dural.

Additional.

I looked at cost and mileage and frankly the two are close in p/mile.

[DoctorRad]

The next ring to be tested should be a steel Sora ring, so that may take a very long time for the results to come in.

I'd not count on it, cheap steel rings are often little harder wearing than alloy rings. Stainless steel may be harder, but it depends on the grade.

Riding off-road in Yorkshire, the Peaks and Calderdale used to eat alloy rings in a matter of a few hundred miles sometimes. The longest lasting chainrings I've ever used were inner rings on my MTB triples, which saw a lot of use on that terrain. Both the Sakae Ninja (24) or SunTour XC Pro (20 tooth) rings were coated steel. All of mine pretty much still have their original tooth profile, although the coating has now worn through on the Ninja, so I expect wear will now accelerate.

As far as I know, the only contemporary rings with an anti-wear coating are Middleburn Hardcoat.

[Big T]

My Campag Chorus Triple has done a tad over 13,000miles.

I'm not aware of any wear on it on any ring, though I haven't look very closely.

What are the symptoms?

The teeth start to become hooked, resembling a shark's fin rather than a V. It tends to be the middle ring that wears the most. I've just replaced the middle on my Campag triple and it's probably done about 15,000 miles.

[DoctorRad]

What are the symptoms?

Getting a bit worn:


Pretty badly worn (with some plastic deformation too):


Very badly worn:

[Mick F]

OK
Not looking now - a bit late.

I'll check tomorrow, but .............. sticking my neck out here ................... I'm willing to bet my chainrings aren't worn like those in the slightest.

[Brucey]

they only get like this



if you ride with a stretched chain. Even like this, I'd file the burrs off, turn it round, and use it some more!

cheers

[Mick F]

I decided that I should take a photograph rather than look closely .............. at this time of the evening.

Just a quick snap with the camera set to Macro.

Click a couple of times for huge views!
I reckon that at 13,000miles+ I have nothing to worry about, and that if you have worn chainwheel teeth you must have other issues with your transmission.

[meic]

Oh, I have issues with my transmission. It is riding in dirt, bad weather and for long distances without the time to give it any attention.

[Mick F]

Well.
There you go then!
Back to maintenance.

In the old days when I was commuting in all weathers up in W Scotland and down in Devon and Cornwall, I cut my teeth in bike maintenance. I tried like heck to get my chain longevity up and my sprocket-life to be useful. In the end, it came down to dedication and hard work.

Doesn't matter really, just change and renew the bits and bobs as they wear out perhaps?

Like anything, you just swap money instead of effort.

[meic]

Not just effort but time.
The clock is ticking and there is eating, sleeping and cycling that has to be done in a limited amount of time.