# Singlespeed Chainring for XTR M960 Chainset



## rickytan (Feb 8, 2007)

I am planning on converting a Shimano XTR M960 chainset to singlespeed use. Like this:


























The only thing I am struggling to find is suitable chainrings. So far I have found Blackspire's Mono Veloce, and a Boone Ti ring. I am trying to go fairly light with the build but the 102bcd of the cranks is not giving much choice.

Any suggestions?

Cheers


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## tvrbob86 (Aug 5, 2005)

rickytan said:


> I am planning on converting a Shimano XTR M960 chainset to singlespeed use. Like this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I suggest a Blackspire Mono Veloce or a Boone Ti ring.


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## nogearshere (Mar 7, 2005)

well you know of two of the best (in my opinion) i wouldnt look any further...you just need to decide on the budget...

blackspire also makes a bashring for that crank.


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## rickytan (Feb 8, 2007)

I have lightweight in mind for the build, does anyone know how much the 32T Mono Veloce chainring weighs?


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## stillkeen (Mar 22, 2005)

rickytan said:


> I am planning on converting a Shimano XTR M960 chainset to singlespeed use. Like this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Correct me if Im wrong, but the cranks in those photos have been ground off right?

Im looking for some new cranks too, but want black/grey cranks .. not polished.


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## jp8900 (Sep 3, 2006)

yes they have been ground off... I beleive that Jeff Jones does those cranks... And the bottom one is pictured with the boone ring.


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## Faux Part Deux (Jan 19, 2004)

jp8900 said:


> yes they have been ground off... I beleive that Jeff Jones does those cranks... And the bottom one is pictured with the boone ring.


i have 960s a la jeff jones style, but not nearly as well done (since jeff did not do it). running blackspire and love it. cant remember the weight but i posted it somewhere....


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## SBK (Oct 18, 2006)

Mono Veloce M960 32t: 46g
Boone Ti M960 HD SS 34t: 54g

The Boone outer guard (if you wanted to run the Boone "bash" instead of cutting the cranks) is 86g.


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## womble (Sep 8, 2006)

Faux Part Deux said:


> i have 960s a la jeff jones style, but not nearly as well done (since jeff did not do it). running blackspire and love it. cant remember the weight but i posted it somewhere....


What did you use to remove the original finish?


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## jeeves (Mar 12, 2007)

Speaking for myself, I wet sanded the finish off. Started at 100 grit, ended up around 500 grit...still deciding whether I want the high polish on there or not!


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## Faux Part Deux (Jan 19, 2004)

Faux Part Deux said:


> i have 960s a la jeff jones style, but not nearly as well done (since jeff did not do it). running blackspire and love it. cant remember the weight but i posted it somewhere....


cant find the weights, but looks like others chimed in. I have a 34t blackspire. not s great polish job, nor is the grind job smooth but i dont care....it works for me


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## felixdale (Mar 15, 2006)

Bit more rounding off and polishing would make that lovely!


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## jeeves (Mar 12, 2007)

Not to get this too off topic, but I'm working on one of these myself at the moment!

If you have the patience and a few hand tools, it's easy to do a pretty good job. Major tools for this job are hacksaw, a good file, and sandpaper! I'm currently tweaking the curves a little more, and also facing the front, so that it's flat - you can see that in the pics of Jeff's cranks. That's a LOT of hand filing...unfortunately I don't have a mill!  Here it is in its present state.

Back on topic...after all of this work, I've put my name in line to get a freaking Boone ti ring...it seems only fitting!


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## foureyes (May 26, 2006)

Jeeves, looks great, how's the finish done, is it wirewool? and is it tarnishing at all?


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## jeeves (Mar 12, 2007)

Thanks! The finish is a mixed bag...I used 600-grit sandpaper, then went to steel wool, and also hit it lightly with a Squadron brand tri-grit sanding stick has the really superfine grits. That you can find at a hobby store. It has been a few months, and no discoloration yet - I don't know whether aluminum really tarnishes or not. 

-Raj


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## AggieXCRacer (Oct 10, 2005)

Can someone tell me what kind of cog this is?

https://www.jonesbikes.com/update/images/60.jpg

Thanks! :thumbsup:


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## SBK (Oct 18, 2006)

AggieXCRacer said:


> Can someone tell me what kind of cog this is?
> 
> https://www.jonesbikes.com/update/images/60.jpg


Boone Ti HD SS


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## pcbsdusr (Apr 19, 2007)

Tell me, besides Boone, is there any place where i can get a custom ring from?

Looking at these works of art i got the idea of making a 2x9 crankset for my Epic... But i'd need a 102mm BCD 42t chainring for that so...


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## Kam (Jan 12, 2004)

i think boone are the only guys making custom rings. i think think i heard of company name "moon head machine" or something that used to make some sick rings for the m960 cranks. do some research in the weight forum. 

i might do 2x9 on my m960s too, but i will be using 32x22 and a roadie cassette. i have a 32t ss mono veloce ring i will be using on my fixie 29.

for now, i just finished dremeling and filing my m960. i used a hand file and it took me about 30-40 of filing. they are being polished to a mirror finish for $40. i will post pics if things look good.


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## pcbsdusr (Apr 19, 2007)

Kam said:


> i think boone are the only guys making custom rings. i think think i heard of company name "moon head machine" or something that used to make some sick rings for the m960 cranks. do some research in the weight forum.
> 
> i might do 2x9 on my m960s too, but i will be using 32x22 and a roadie cassette. i have a 32t ss mono veloce ring i will be using on my fixie 29.
> 
> for now, i just finished dremeling and filing my m960. i used a hand file and it took me about 30-40 of filing. they are being polished to a mirror finish for $40. i will post pics if things look good.


I have heared of MoonHead Machine before but they are closed now. See here:
http://www.brutalartistry.com/moonhead/Ordering.htm

32x22 is just impossible for the places i ride in unfortunately. What I really need is 42x30-29 with an 11-34 cassette. That would be perfect for me. I already use 44-32 and haven't got any issues but i'd use the gears in a much more sane way with that setup i described.

40 bucks for mirrir finish? It took 5€ for my Crankset and Ritchey wcs stem...Perfect finish...

What i really need is a place where i can do a couple of really one off, custom 42t, 102 BCD rings which noone ever did...


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## tomimcmillar (Oct 27, 2005)

yeah, I know this is a tease, but I am testing out a stainless ring right now.

Really want to beat the living snot out of this thing before I 'bring them to market' sometime this summer hopefully.

Prototypin'


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## Kam (Jan 12, 2004)

just got back from the polisher...the crankset weighs about 500g, no bolts or bb cups, just the bare arms and spindle.

5 euros....great for you! i took me almost 4 days to file for 40 minutes!!! for me, time is just too precious. with kids and my work, just do not have the time to sit down with some compound and polish for an hour.

here is a pic.;
<img src=https://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/500/lo_res_500g_xtr.jpg>

i ran 29x42t on my 29er with an 11-32 cassette. it was a good set up. good luck finding something, just don't think there is anything out there.

also, in the granny position, you want to run a 29t? do you think the ring might hit your chainstay???

oh, and for those who want to know the weight of the entire crankset....175mm cranks, 32t blackspire ring/bolts, complete bb with spacers was 656g.

cheers!


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## stevereeneo (Jul 16, 2007)

I've found the Blackspire ring to be plenty strong and the Boone's are nice - but I can't wait years for that kind of thing .. I polished up my cranks (got 'em at Veloswap Denver for $40!) with a scotchbright wheel on a drill first to get out the major scratches, then 150grit and worked up to emery cloth. I started to use a buffng wheel and got it to look like the first pic... but finally just stopped as knew that after one ride it would look like the second one.














S


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## mjaraica (Jan 12, 2007)

I have 960s as well, but kept the original finish to match the blackspire black color. For those polishing them, why don't you polish the chainring to have perfect match?


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## Brent (Jul 16, 2007)

mjaraica said:


> I have 960s as well, but kept the original finish to match the blackspire black color. For those polishing them, why don't you polish the chainring to have perfect match?


Polished Jericho 36 tooth suffering with Jericho gaurd specific for 960s. I ended up using a 34 tooth Boone and guard so these are just sitting...

~B


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## theHIP (Jan 17, 2004)

*Chainline-*

what does the chainline end up being with these in an SS setup? thanks.


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## overtorqued_nut (Oct 24, 2005)

Cù Ciotòg said:


> what does the chainline end up being with these in an SS setup? thanks.


That is going to depend if you have a 68mm BB; You can switch spacers around to tweak your chainline. I'm getting about 48mm chainline with one spacer on the drive side, and two spacers on non-drive. I did notice that going to a Blackspire ring took about a millimeter off my chainline because it is thicker than the xtr middle ring.


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## Krankensteine (Feb 3, 2008)

Brent said:


> Polished Jericho 36 tooth suffering with Jericho gaurd specific for 960s. I ended up using a 34 tooth Boone and guard so these are just sitting...
> 
> ~B


Brent, Where did you get these rings?


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## Brent (Jul 16, 2007)

Krankensteine said:


> Brent, Where did you get these rings?


I bought them directly from Josh. That isn't an option anymore...


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## tomimcmillar (Oct 27, 2005)

I've also posted this in it's own SPAM thread....

Stainless rings for XTR 960 are now avail, 32t and 34t.

Identical to the prototype I pictured, no scalloping around the mounting holes, left the mat'l in there after a first hand experience with almost folding a Surly. Oh, etched markings instead of a Sharpie, so _almost_ identical....


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## jro75 (Aug 17, 2006)

These just went down in price (they were around $50 a few weeks ago):

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/CG407A63-Blackspire+Mono+Veloce+Xtr+Chainring.aspx

Funny thing is, I just ordered one this week after checking/waiting on Tomi's site for the last few months....and of course now his are available.


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## 2dougyfresh9 (Sep 20, 2007)

tomimcmillar said:


> yeah, I know this is a tease, but I am testing out a stainless ring right now.
> 
> Really want to beat the living snot out of this thing before I 'bring them to market' sometime this summer hopefully.
> 
> Prototypin'


This is the one you want. /\


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## Killroy (Mar 9, 2006)

OK, I'm resurrecting this thread. 

Who else does a 36t for XTRs 102mm BCD? Its for a 1X9 29er CX Race setup.


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## Kam (Jan 12, 2004)

try homebrew components....i am sure he can mill one for you. he posts here as isuckatriding.

also, try giving RD aka crazy8 a email/PM....he might be able to source some too.

reasonable prices from both guys.


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## sofarider1 (Feb 8, 2009)

looking for 36t for xtr m960. anybody have any thoughts.


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## drog (Sep 18, 2005)

I have had good luck with the blackspire ring on my SS with the 960 cranks though I am only using the 32


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## Killroy (Mar 9, 2006)

sofarider1 said:


> looking for 36t for xtr m960. anybody have any thoughts.


Me Too


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## donmeredith74 (Dec 29, 2006)

You'll want to get in touch with RD at Shawnee for the cranks. I ride cranks and rings from him and LOVE them. You can see photos on my blog (bottom of this post):

http://lightpack.blogspot.com/2009/12/harbison-in-december.html

Here's RD's website - he can get you set up with cranks and chainrings from ISAR.

http://www.ceramikoat.com/


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