# Absolute black spiderless chainring problem HELP



## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

So I finally got my new XX1 crankset and 34t absolute black spiderless chainring mounted up with a new 20t Chris king cog and new PC-971 chain. Something with the chainring tooth profile is causing it to not smoothly mesh and release the chain. Its like the teeth are to tall or something. I know others have used these ring so I'd like to hear your experience with this. Is this normal till it breaks in or is there something wrong with the cut of this ring, if this is normal then I think its a bad design. Check out the YouTube link and you can see how the chain binds and lossens with every tooth but the chain slack with the chain has messed is on the loose end of play. I've rode it for 20 hard miles yesterday and it's still the same and the ring shows no sign of wear. I've got another 12hr race in this weekend and I fear ether the extra drag is going to hurt me in the long run or worse I may be breaking chains mid race. 
Chainring suck/binding - YouTube


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## Andrea138 (Mar 25, 2009)

As long as your chainline is dead-on, try using an 11spd chain. I noticed that a 9spd chain made more noise on an XX1 chainring than on a standard SS chainring. It's silent with the 11spd chain.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

Maybe you didn't read the post but I'm not running the XX1 chainring, that's why the title says absolute black chainring problem.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

Just got an email back from absolute black that I got one of a very few 34t in an old batch of rings that were machined with a slightly different pitch which works better with a worn chain. They're sending me another chainring but I doubt I'll get it in time for the race this weekend so I guess I try an old chain tonight and see if its better:madman:

If I could win the lotto with bad luck I'd be a millionaire


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## jetboy23 (Jun 14, 2011)

Mine would bind in certain spots. If you look at the top of the tooth, you will see one corner is slightly slanted and the other corner is more 90* angle. I took a fine file and took the edge off of the squared off side. With singlespeed, it doesn't need the added chain retention. I have a video on my phone that shows the chain getting stuck on the chainring. I've just never uploaded it. Maybe i will some day.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

So I ended up filling down the teeth on the chainring until it was no longer binding. I rode the filed down ring in the 12hr race last weekend and won with a huge 3 lap lead and with zero mechanical problems.

Yesterday I finally received my new 34t direct from Absolute black so I mounted it up with the same chain I ran in the 12hr which still measures .1 on my park tool so it's still like new. So I gave it a spin and it's perfectly smooth and silent with no signs of binding. Now that I know what the proper product is like I'll be ordering a 32t & 30t this week for my steep local trails.


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## dwt (Jul 19, 2009)

RojoRacing53 said:


> Maybe you didn't read the post but I'm not running the XX1 chainring, that's why the title says absolute black chainring problem.


That's the whole problem. Shoulda gone with Wolf Tooth Components. There's a long thread on that company in the Drivetrain forum, lots of testimonials from satisfied customers. Plus, WTC has no lame warning against using KMC chains with their rings. Seriously? What sucks? The chain or the chainring? I run KMC 10 speed chains on a FSA compact road crank, my wife's Ultegra road triple, my 1 x 10 with WTC ring, and a SRAM 2x10. The chains work fine with Shimano, SRAM, FSA and WTC. Therefore, I can only conclude there must be a quality problem with absolute black, There are many spiderless direct mount rings on the market, WTC, E13, Northshore Billet, as examples, but you picked the only
one that specifies it won't run with KMC chains. I call BS and on absolute black. Sounds more like
Absolute Crap.


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## jetboy23 (Jun 14, 2011)

I really don't know why they even say KMC chains strongly not recommended. I run KMC 610 and 8.93 chains with my Absolute Black ring. Took me about 60-90 seconds to stop the binding. This very tight tolerance is also what helps retain the chain in a 1x configuration. If i put a few miles on it, i would bet it would have settled in. Shift cables and even chains have a slight break in period before they settle in. There is nothing wrong with my AB chainrings that would stop me from ordering again. Its light, round, and does exactly what i need it to do while looking good. 

I don't really like the look of the Wolf Tooth rings. I would go back to my MRP Bling or Ti HBC if i wasn't using the AB.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

Like I already posted the bad ring was indeed a bad ring from a mistake run that they thought they had recalled all of them already. The new ring they sent me worked perfectly with zero binding or noise so I'm very happy with it. I don't know about the KMC deal because I'm running a 9 speed SRAM right now because it was recommended by a single speed buddy. The KMC chains don't really last any longer then the SRAMs I've tried in the past but the do shift better, but single speeds don't shift so it doesn't matter. 

The reason I went AB was they were the only of 3 companies I emailed that answered my question about the chainline. When we figured out it would move the chainline outward about 4-5mm from the original XX1 chainline I knew it would be perfect to get a 34t & 36t ring to clear the frames chainstays.


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## thing (Oct 29, 2007)

Heres what Marcin said to me about the reason he doesn't recommend KMC chains

"Reason KMC does not work well is that they have bit bigger rollers in the chain, so once they get into mud they start clogging and chain skips over the tooths. This only happens in the mud. When riding in the dry it's 'ok.
So this is why we do not recommend them. "

thats direct from absolute black

that being said i have 2 absolute black chainrings and Marcin is a pleasure to deal with and easy to get a hold of if you ever have any questions


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

Interesting 
I'll have to measure the rollers on all my chains to see how they compare.


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## thing (Oct 29, 2007)

curious to hear the results


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## jetboy23 (Jun 14, 2011)

thing said:


> "Reason KMC does not work well is that they have bit bigger rollers in the chain, so once they get into mud they start clogging and chain skips over the tooths. This only happens in the mud. When riding in the dry it's 'ok.
> So this is why we do not recommend them. "
> 
> thats direct from absolute black


Thnx for the info. That may explain why i had slight snagging when new. Luckily, i never ride in the mud. Yay SoCal dirt!


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## tehan (Jan 22, 2007)

Hi DWT,
Thanks for sharing your feedback. I appreciate it greatly as it pushes me further to do more effort

We do the chainring tooths to the tightest tolerances possible (to fill the gaps as much as possible) - opposite to others. This gives us the ability to put more material there, so chainring holds chain better and WEARS LONGER. You will run our chainring till it won't accept new chain (usually more than a year), not when tooths are worn and need replacing.

KMC is using slightly bigger rollers than industry standard. And this with addition of mud creates an issue as bigger roller has no longer enough space. Other chains work great as they have smaller rollers and there is enough space for them in the chainring.

I have been speaking some time ago with KMC general manager and we will have new chains soon! I expect to have new testing batch in Jan. KMC recognized the importance of that and understand every single manufacturer will go that way soon. It's because tighter and steeper tooths keep the chain much longer than regular tooth shape (even with addition of N/W). I even offer chain retention guarantee for a year (providing you've been running at least 2 chains in turns).

We will offer KMC chains soon on our website and they will be fully compatible with the chainrings!

Saying all that singlespeed KMC chains should be fine even now. Most important changes are in 10 and 11 speed ones.

Marcin


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## fishcreek (Apr 10, 2007)

that's good news Marcin, for 1x riders. i believe this has something to do too with the narrow-wide system out there. single speed cog manufacturers should also be in the loop with these developments, otherwise we (SS) are not benefiting much from the chainring and chain manufacturer R&D.


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## Ben_Im (Mar 3, 2012)

I'm having the same binding problem as the OP. I'm using a brand new SRAM PC971 chain and the chain ring is binding pretty horribly, to the point where it's difficult to turn the crank freely. 

I too have the black 34t ring. I'm in contact with Marcin about the issue and will let you guys know how it goes.


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

Ben_Im said:


> I'm having the same binding problem as the OP. I'm using a brand new SRAM PC971 chain and the chain ring is binding pretty horribly, to the point where it's difficult to turn the crank freely.
> 
> I too have the black 34t ring. I'm in contact with Marcin about the issue and will let you guys know how it goes.


Marcin? Is that someone name at AB? When I emailed AB they asked for some pictures of the ring to confirm its one with the old design. A quick picture with my phone and they sent me out a new ring a few days later direct from the U.K. I kept the bad 34t to maybe use on a worn out chain and cog combo if ever needed but I doubt it'll ever come to that.

edit: I just realized this was you Ben who posted this. You said you were on a 32t before in that PM you sent me, was it also a AB ring or something else?


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## Ben_Im (Mar 3, 2012)

Hey Rojo

My 32t is the xx1 chainring. I bought the AB to switch to a 34t up front. Marcin is who I've been in contact with at AB. I have a feeling I got a bad ring because mine is acting just like your old one


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## RojoRacing53 (Jul 23, 2013)

I've been reluctant to use my xx1 spider & 32t setup because I figure I can sell it and buy two more AB chainrings with the profit. I want a 32t and 30t for some of my local rides because of the no flats and steep climbs and descents. Although on my wed night ride I'm going to go to a 34-17 because its smoother trail system.


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## jetboy23 (Jun 14, 2011)

Here is a vid of my AB chainring and a KMC chain getting stuck.


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## tehan (Jan 22, 2007)

Hi Everyone,
Like i wrote before we had some batch some time ago where pitch was machined a bit incorrectly and it was not picked up at quality from some reason. 

We are swapping bad ones to the customers who had problems free of charge. There must be only few left globally as we have already got most back. This was only done to a Sram 34T. Every other size or type is correct.

jetboy23 - what you are showing is KMC chain issue. This is why we are not recommending their chains yet but this will soon change with new batch of chains.
In 20miles your chainring will be smooth like it should once chain will bed in properly. So i would not be concerned about this one at all. Or swap chain to Sram, Shimano or Connex and problem will be instantly solved.


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## tehan (Jan 22, 2007)

and just to add to that. Wolf tooth doesn't recommend Wippermann for instance on their website, so it's not that only AB rings does not work with some chain brands...


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## jetboy23 (Jun 14, 2011)

tehan said:


> jetboy23 - what you are showing is KMC chain issue. This is why we are not recommending their chains yet but this will soon change with new batch of chains.
> In 20miles your chainring will be smooth like it should once chain will bed in properly. So i would not be concerned about this one at all. Or swap chain to Sram, Shimano or Connex and problem will be instantly solved.


Tehan, mine is a 32t and i was only showing the video for reference. I already posted above that in about 4 minutes of quick filing the tooth point that was snagging solved this issue and has been pedaling perfect since then. I love my KMC chain. I also love my AB chainring. It was simple to get them working in harmony. You make a great product. Keep it up.


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## tehan (Jan 22, 2007)

thanks.


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## Ben_Im (Mar 3, 2012)

Would just like to update my situation

Turns out I got one of the last chainrings from the bad batch. Marcin has been incredibly helpful throughout this process and assured me all the bad rings have been taken out of their stock. He has gone above and beyond to make this right and I will continue to be a customer solely based on his customer service

Stand up company - I hope more people support them because it's rare to find a company that matches their level of customer service and support.

Absolute black is a+ in my book


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## tehan (Jan 22, 2007)

KMC issue with our chainrings RESOLVED!

So this is a day we have been waiting for! Most of you know we did not recommend KMC chains due to too big chain rollers. 
After speaking with KMC few months back about the issue, we got today few samples of new chains directly from HQ which are going to be put to the test by us and few bike mags.

What that means for you? It means in few months all KMC chains available on the market will be compatible with our chainrings 
Happy Thursday everyone.

We really appreciate KMC help on that issue. This does not happen everyday where such a big company like KMC is willing to help smaller company like us and their fans to overcome the problem. 

Soon we may offer KMC chains on our web as well any propositions what would you like to see first??


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## fishcreek (Apr 10, 2007)

K810-sl!


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## jetboy23 (Jun 14, 2011)

Now, how will we sort through the old stock that is still in supply?

On another topic, Tehan, are you ever going to offer a narrow-wide in spiderless format? I just found out that my *ack* geared bike will pop right off if i pedal in slightly bumpy terrain with the current offerings. Hoping NW will help that out.


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## tehan (Jan 22, 2007)

I will offer these chains on my website. So this will assure that chain is good.

Yes, All spiderless offering goes to N/W from next manufacturing batch. They will have separate Tab on my web to distinguish the two.


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