absoluteBLACK Race Face Oval Cinch Boost Direct Mount Traction Chainring

Replaced my aging Race Face chainring with this oval. I read a little about the oval chain rings, and this was really just an experiment for me. After riding with it now for a few times, I can say that I will be using the oval on all my bikes. Not only does pedaling feel more natural, but my knees aren’t fatigued like they used to be after a ride. I feel more of a workout in the thighs, which is much better for me. Absolute Black did a good job engineering this one. It feels light, and I’m not sure how long it will last. I managed to get 1300 miles out of my Race Face ring; I’m hoping to get the same out of this one. Looks good on the bike as well.

put a 26tooth on my intense spider. I wanted more climbing capability on the east coast trails I ride. everything is narrow and twisty, and we're rarely riding at the speeds that our friends are further west. this allows me to drop into a lower gear at very low speeds and climb up some steep stuff. I don't have any issues running out of gear unless im on pavement either. i dont notice the oval much, but since I've switched my knees definitely dont bother me as much. Not sure if that is from the oval or just because I dont have to mash the pedals so hard.i'll probably get another one of these for my hardtail.

This works great on my Diamondback Release. I don't use a chain guard and have not dropped a chain yet!

Coded in Great Britain CNC Machined in Poland these haven't failed me yet

Fell for the oval hype. Annnddd....I’m glad I did!! Doesn’t make much of a difference just rolling around and you can’t really feel any strain difference on climbs. You don’t feel the difference until about mid way through your ride. You’ll realize you still have strength left...it’s weird. I’m peddling the same amount but not getting as tired. I don’t know how it’s doing it but it’s doing it. Pretty amazing. There is about 5-10 min of “weirdness” you’ll feel when you first switch but it fades away fast.

I've used these almost exclusively in the past with the standard 3 bolt setup. When I ordered a new bike I had this ready to be installed. However, on the race face cinch setup the offset is all wrong. This should be 3mm offset as listed on the website but is more like 5-6mm offset. This resulted in the chainring touching the frame. I added another spacer to fix the issue but this pushed the chainline out of manufacturer specs making the chain "flick" off as it released on the bottom - causing a whole new issue. Comparing this to the factory Race Face chainring it was quickly realized that the offsets are way different. A 3mm wrench fits perfectly under the Race Face one, I could almost fit two 3mm wrenches under the Absolute Black oval...pretty bummed I can't run this so unfortunately had to return.5 star product. 1 star for the offset issue.

I've had three bikes over the past 7 years, and once I started using these; I keep going back for how it helps me on technical climbs.

Beware! Do not buy if you need chainring offset for 141/148mm boost rear spacing. Different part number came than what is listed. Reading reviews it seems like this isn't the first time this has happened from this seller.Seems I received the standard non-boost chainring which is something like 6mm offset vs the boost chainring which has a smaller 3mm offset to accommodate the wider rear spacing.Seller needs to evaluate what is actually in their inventory and update the listing to reflect what they are actually selling.No complaints about the item itself. Looks and feels well made. Issue is seller is sending people the wrong part number.Pictures show difference in part numbers and physical differences noted vs my wolftooth 30t round ring with 3mm boost offset. Absolute black is on the right.