Chainring pins

[KM2]

I always thought that the pins were placed in position to assist the movement of the chain from smaller to larger chainring when the cranks were vertical, ie under the least stress, hence least wear????

[531colin]

Yes, I do mean the steel pins which assist the upshift.
The old one is identical to the one in NickJP's photo so also has a neat little arrow indicating where the crank should be.
The new one doesn't:

new.jpg

and I couldn't replicate the relative positions of the pins, so just fitted it any old how. It seems to work fine, though I haven't tested it on the road yet.

On SPA website, the SPA branding is opposite the crank

……and when I look at the photo, there’s a “pip” on the inside face of the ring, opposite the SPA branding.
……doesn’t mean it’ll line up with the different manufacturers rings, though?

[Steve]

looks like there is a marker on the bottom left of the photo ( about 7 o'clock)

Ah yes now I see what I should have seen before I fitted it

[TheBomber]

I have in the past ground the things off and didn’t notice any difference
(Why? I was getting the chain carried round after a downshift….in the end that was tooth wear, nothing to do with the pins!

Me too. They were catching the chain where it comes off the bottom of the ring and dragging it up into the chainstay. Put a dent in the (steel) stay which might have been curtains for a carbon frame.

[fastpedaller]

It's so rare for me to venture 'into the big ring' that I've never paid it any attention

[TheBomber]

The ‘big ring’ on my bike is now smaller than the small ring I used to ride in the 90s (40t vs. 42t).