Dural 'v' Zicral

[DoctorRad]

In my experience, plated steel inner rings such as Sakae Ninja and the 20-tooth SunTour MD granny rings lasted much longer than alloy rings, and this was on mountain bikes being used in filthy north-of-England conditions. I have some unplated stainless Onza Buzzsaw rings, but not enough mileage on them to comment. I think just as with aluminium alloys, the durability all depends on the grade of steel used, and how it has been treated and plated.

[reohn2]

FWIW,steel 24t inners on the tandem do burr quite badly initially,but then seem to 'settle down' Meic has mentioned he has found them the same,26t on solos no problem IME.
I've mentioned elsewhere,Spa's own Zicral chainrings(only available in 110BCD and 74 inners) are very well finished items,I can't vouch for longevity as I've not had them on long enough yet,but if they're as good as they look they'll be very good indeed!:- http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s210p0

[Brucey]

steel chainrings come in three flavours;

- soft
- soft that work-harden
- hard

plating is no guide to underlying hardness, and few surface treatments used on chainrings confer any real wear resistance in their own right.

cheers

[Mick F]

I was wondering that I might buy a Spa 28t inner for my Campag Triple. (30/42/53)
Getting old and tired these days, or expect to in the next few years.

Using a 30t inner with the big 30t sprocket and it's fine now, but I do wonder that I could go down to a 28t inner, maybe a 26t inner. I know that the 26t or 28t will be fine with the 42t and 53t other rings on my chainset and mechs.

The Spa ring is good value at a tenner, and Zicral too.
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s210p3056

[reohn2]

I was wondering that I might buy a Spa 28t inner for my Campag Triple. (30/42/53)
Getting old and tired these days, or expect to in the next few years.

Using a 30t inner with the big 30t sprocket and it's fine now, but I do wonder that I could go down to a 28t inner, maybe a 26t inner. I know that the 26t or 28t will be fine with the 42t and 53t other rings on my chainset and mechs.

The Spa ring is good value at a tenner, and Zicral too.
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s210p3056

Mick
Skip the 28t go straight to a 26t that way you'll definitely have gears low enough whatever the gradient

[Mick F]

Yep.
That's my thinking.

I could ditch the whole idea and go for a low set of chainrings on a new chainset. Trouble is, I like wide range gears.
Maybe I need a Rohloff.

I intend to stay with my 53/12, and maybe would like a lower gear than a 1:1 of 30/30 ratio, although that suffices for now as I've not have a problem even towing my fully loaded trailer.

My resurrection of this thread was to do with the best material to make a chainring from.
Zicral seems the front runner?

[niggle]

I cannot comment on Zicral but the current Dural Stronglight 28t inner ring on my Genesis looks at least as worn as the previously fitted Onza Buzzsaw heat treated stainless steel 26t which has done twice the mileage. The Onza is excellent value here, at £2.99 plus £3.50 P+P: http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/onza-buz ... 25051.html

I am considering putting the Onza back on for this year's Dartmoor Devil...

[Brucey]

I've said this before but a reminder;

Dural is by definition a 2xxx alloy.

Stronglight 'dural' rings are not 2xxx alloy, they are not Dural.

cheers

[niggle]

I've said this before but a reminder;

Dural is by definition a 2xxx alloy.

Stronglight 'dural' rings are not 2xxx alloy, they are not Dural.

cheers

Yes I know but I cannot remember what they are...

[Brucey]

they are a 6xxx alloy IIRC. Not Dural.

cheers

[beardy]

5083.

No great insight here, just reading the packet they came in.

[Brucey]

ta!

5083 isn't even a heat treatable grade. It isn't deemed strong enough to make (say) frames out of...

cheers

[RickH]

The packet of my current TA 26T Zelito inner says "Matière...Al 7075 T6". That may mean more to some of you than it does to me.

Rick.

[Brucey]

'zicral' is a trade name (there are several) for 7075 grade aluminium.

It is one of the strongest grades that is commonly available. In fully age-hardened form it is a little bit brittle for some jobs but it is just fine for chainrings.

cheers

[Norman H]

There is no dispute that Stronglight 5083 rings wear more quickly than Zicral. One unfortunate consequence of this, from my experience, is that they rapidly produce a horrible black mess with the chain lube. It's worse with OEM chain lubes. 7075 rings don't seem quite as bad in this respect or maybe the process just takes a little longer.

+1 for Spa's own brand Zircal rings.