# Widgit single chainring / guide ?



## sicwombat (Apr 4, 2005)

Hey, anyone tried one of these. Good or bad. Thinking of trying a 1 x 9 setup. Dont really seem to ever use the big ring and rarely the small so thought I might give it a go.

cheers


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## Freediver (Jan 1, 2008)

Saw pics in the mag, looks a little odd having the large crank arms just sitting out there. As it seems to be a single piece a new Widget is needed to change ring size, where as a chain guide is adjustable. Never used one though, just thought I'd reply with my 2c.

Aussie product, so guy buy one anyway...


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## sicwombat (Apr 4, 2005)

Ordered one, should have it in a week or so. Will let you know how it goes.

Cheers


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## Freediver (Jan 1, 2008)

*My take on the wdgit*

After looking around for a ISIS drive crankset that will run one 29 tooth chain ring I finally decided that the 28 tooth widgit might be the solution to my problem, so I bought one.

Well as I said earlier I don't really like the look of it on the crank and my old ISIS drive cranks were in the junk box so nothing to lose, out with the grinder and bench sander and this is the rough product.. nice if I knew how to recoat the cranks to get them black again.


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## Hud (Jun 22, 2004)

Looks great Freediver!
Why don't you just take all the black off the crank and hand polish it?
It'll go better with the chainring.


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## sicwombat (Apr 4, 2005)

Love my Widgit. Had 2 rides so far, 1st at woodend, the other at lysterfield. Have not missed the other rings as yet. Got the 30 tooth ring. Felt the all black was better than going for a colour. Lost around 400grams as well.

May miss that granny gear though if i do this ride with hud on Saturday though.

Cheers


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## Freediver (Jan 1, 2008)

The black on black looks good. The widgit was the first thing to arrive for my new bike.

My new frame is, hopefully, same shade of orange. I've got rims, hubs a frame coming from the states and a big box of goodies coming from chain reaction and tyres, wheel build and bits and pieces from lbs. 

My take on the skinny wheeled single speed fixie fad is in the works...watch this space:thumbsup:


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## Freediver (Jan 1, 2008)

*Update*

Finished the cranks, and the new bike... here is an update on the cranks.


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## Stevob (Feb 27, 2009)

I was concerned that there may be issues (of chain noise/rub) when using the taller gear on the rear cluster with these. Is that not so?


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## October26 (Jul 24, 2008)

What stops the chain flicking off when things get rough?


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## Stevob (Feb 27, 2009)

correct chain tension I'd imagine.


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## October26 (Jul 24, 2008)

Stevob said:


> correct chain tension I'd imagine.


Haha, I think I would rather hard plastic holding the chain than imagination.
Must work ok for some though.


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## Stevob (Feb 27, 2009)

My imagination usually works fine for me. If I could just get it to fix my frame I'd be happy.


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## Freediver (Jan 1, 2008)

Okay, I'll fess up and say that I have not used it yet, I was going to run it but ended up using a middleburn trials set up, just a bash guard. Had no probs with it flicking off and I have tried, short cage derailleur helps.
Anyhoo, the wigit is basically a double sided chain guide, should see no probs with losing the chain, will try it out when I get back from the beach in a few weeks.


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## cowpat (Apr 13, 2008)

October26 said:


> Haha, I think I would rather hard plastic holding the chain than imagination.
> Must work ok for some though.


I don't have the Widgit but run a Raceface bashguard and a Blackspire Blackguard. Same idea.

Works pretty well. Never dropped a chain since, but the distance between the inner disk and the chainring is enough to allow the chain to fall there but still be off the teeth...probably not a problem with the Widgit.

One thing though - the inner disk is noticeably worn where the chain links rub on it when the chain slaps around. It also makes lots of "ding ding" sounds like an old tram bell. The teeth on the chainring are worn shorter there too (bottom side with chocolate foot forward) - but that happens with a normal 3x9 setup anyway.

If I had ISCG mounts I'd add rollers.


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## sicwombat (Apr 4, 2005)

Riden Lysty heaps, woodend, silvan, my Evelyn, officer, buxton and not one issue with the widgit. Shortened the chain by 4 links as recomended. No noticeable rubbing while riding and never had the chain come off. I'm riding faster, climbing better and just enjoying riding more. All this since the widgit. Haven't found a need for granny gear either . Cheers


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## Stevob (Feb 27, 2009)

good report


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## thomasauction (Apr 19, 2007)

The Widgit has a new U.S. sales agent at www.mtb29.com. They have the full product line: 28, 30 and 32 Tooth (blue, red, orange and black).


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## Freediver (Jan 1, 2008)

*Review*

I originally bought the Widgit for my Fatback so it is Widgit's smallest offering at 28 teeth, but I ended up with a 24 tooth trials crank on the fatbike so I thought I'd give it a go on my Rush, basically my enduro race bike.

Before fitting I ran the numbers through an online gear calculator, see pic.

I was losing the bottom two gears and the top four, using an 11-32. The numbers turned out to be almost spot on, on the flat at a high cadence 11 I hover around 29kph.

Pros:
Simple, only 9 gears to think about.
No chain suck ever.
Two pushes on the shifter takes me from a usable 11 to 32.
Using all of my cassette, I used to use the middle ratios more, so longer life.
Less to go wrong, winter mud fest is upon us, one less cable shifter and derailleur.
Less granny ratios means less lazy options, I ride up hills in 28/32 combo that I used to ride in 22/32 because it was an option. Nietzsche would love that.
Dead easy to fit, no significant chain rub on guides.
Haven't managed to drop the chain, still using long cage.

Cons:
Run out of gears on long downhills.
Run out of gears in a sprint finish.
Rub out of gears on really nasty climbs
Check out this post-http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=6557055#poststop

Interesting:
Wight loss - I won't list it as a pro because I doubt it makes much difference.
Same average speed over a varied 40k&#8230;read on.

The thing that interests me having ridden this a bit is that I seem to be maintaining the same average speed on training rides as I did with the triple chain ring set up. I really thought I would be slower due to loss of top end speed, so how come? I think I am putting in more on the climbs and less on the descents, something that I could do with a triple but when the gears are there I want to use them, ie lazy climber but refuse to walk.

Overall the gearing feels a bit easy, but on two hour training rides that's okay. My favoured events are much longer, and as a single speed rider told me, if it feels right at the start of the race you ain't going to make it to the end.

Would I recommend one? If you are serious about racing to win, then no. I passed a few guys at the end of an event in a downhill sprint on the Cape to Cape, wouldn't have happened without a 44.

I race to finish in a personal best time, and have a good time, so I think I will leave it on for a while, might even get better at climbing.

This shows kph at a cadence of 90.


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## dropadrop (Sep 20, 2005)

I've had a Widgit for this summer, along with a few friends. Posting my report here since it's the only Widgit specific thread I could find on the forum 

My bike is an Intense Uzzi built up fairly light. I've mainly been riding local trails this summer where the 28t widgit gives a very good ratio. Have not missed my granny at all. I originally had xtr cranks, but for some reason (the spacers?) I was always getting a lot of creaking with the Widgit. I later changed to XT cranks and it has been silent.

- It does rub on the sides of the bash on some gear combo's, not really bothering me though.
- Never had problems with the chain popping out
- Me and most of my friends have totally trashed the bash part. The smart ones modded it to include a real bash before doing big damage. The bash is not really a bash as such, it's adequate for keeping the chain in place but not for taking any hits. I suspect even the weakest lightest real bash rings are from another planet. 
- It's quite expensive IMO for what it is

If it had a proper bash I'd consider getting a new one. Maybe the manufacturer could release an "Enduro" version? Now I just hope it holds together until I get a rear cassette that goes to 36t. I really like the concept, and think it's a very good idea for lighter bikes where you don't actually use the bash for taking hits.


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## cowpat (Apr 13, 2008)

I've had exactly the same experience as dropbear. I have an Intense 6.6 (almost exactly the same bike too).

The only difference is that I haven't totally trashed the chainguides on either side, but that's only because I haven't ridden any DH tracks since I got the Widgit. I've only dented them slightly on XC tracks. I need to get some singlespeed chainring bolts and mod the Widgit so I can fit my bashring onto the crank at the same time as the Widgit.

It works. I needed something bigger than 22 and smaller than 32 and I'm happy with it as I don't know of any other practical options.

One thing I'm critical of is that the edges of the chainguides on either side are unfinished and quite sharp. When I was removing the Widgit from the crank my hand slipped a little and the sharp edge cut into my hand. I'd be pretty worried about what it might do to my calves if I ran flats.

Oh, and it does look a bit cheesy. Pretty cheap looking if you ask me.


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## dropadrop (Sep 20, 2005)

The trails I've been riding are definately xc too, they are fine with a 100mm hard tail too. I went over a log yesterday, touched it so little that I hardly noticed - other then now the widgit obstructs the chain from moving freely. I guess this is strarting to be the end of it.

edit:

I should probably mention, that the manufacturer does not refer to the "bash" elements as bash guards, and are it's probably working as designed.


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## Stevob (Feb 27, 2009)

One other option for those looking for a smaller front chainring is to run a spiderless crankset like White Industries Eno cranks. MTBR user ISuckAtRiding makes custom smaller chainrings for these down to 28 tooth. However, you'll need to change the bottom bracket to a square taper one as well, so it may be a bit more expensive.

Homebrewed Components


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## I Like Dirt (Apr 10, 2006)

*My take on it*

On my inbred 1x9 I run a salsa ringer dinger and an N gear jump stop
http://www.gvtc.com/~ngear/whatis.html
I have been running this for a year and not lost a chain - I 'm just using the ramped middle ring on my FSA crank set.
Took a minute to set up and has been perfect ever since 
To me the N gear is a perfect KISS product and it weighs 30g
Oh I just had a look at the Widgit site and nearly died when I saw the price
:thumbsup:


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## awphoto (Jan 5, 2007)

*I took the plunge after 2 chain drops*

Thank god for this thread. As background I am running a BB30 in a 1x10 11/36t with a 32t up front. Because of the BB30 I could only use the Paul Chain Keeper that clamp onto the seat tube. On training rides I would back peddle to ratchet the crank for technical section clearance and the chain would bounce off and i would pull the chain threw the outside side of the chain keeper and it would drop the chain completely. I real pain on the trail having to pull out a tool, but super frustrating yesterday, it happened twice durning a race yesterday. :madman: I cam in second by 12 seconds.:skep: I set the chain keeper up like the instructions. Paul, from Paul components returned my call, and he said my chain was too long, I agreed, but I hate stressing out the rear derailleur, pulling it to the 3:30 position. We also talked about how the front bevel of the chain keeper was the perfect chain remover if you back pedaled with the chain off. A possible redesign point of interest. Anyways, I just ordered the widget, knowing from the posts that it was very expensive (made me sick) and not a bash guard, but I was at my wits end and I did not want a DH set up on an racing ht xc 29er. My question, do these plates on widget fold like tin foil? I occasionally hop a log and set down on it but I am not clumsy or heavy (160lbs) because want to preserve my rings. Does the chain set lower than the two plates or is it just above the plates. How long does the stainless ring last. I go threw two alloy a season. Any one, fill me in? :thumbsup:


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## awphoto (Jan 5, 2007)

*Mod Job*



Freediver said:


> Finished the cranks, and the new bike... here is an update on the cranks.


What and awsome job you did. :thumbsup:


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## awphoto (Jan 5, 2007)

*Widget didn't fit so I filed it*

I got the widget, like the quality and construction, then put on the middle position were it rubbed the chain stay. I could not space out the bb further because it was a BB30. So before I threw up my hands, I filed the inner guard down 2 mm flush with the top of the chain. I did a good job by rotating the crank and using a die grinder with a rotary wheel attached. Then took off the burs and so far so good.


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## Freediver (Jan 1, 2008)

awphoto, looks like you have answered your own questions! I have had the widget on my Rush for about five months now and it has performed perfectly. A bit of wear on the inside of the guides but only cosmetic. Certainly have not lost a chain nor bent anything. I really should take it off and put the triple back on for some upcoming events but I am finding myself reluctant to do it.


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