Chainring recommendations for Ultegra SL crankset

General Help
1

Hey there,

I’m planning to rock a set of Ultegra SL cranks on my single speed, but I need help deciding what single speed chainring will look good on them.

I have a spare Cycleunderground chainring with a solid design (Design 1 on their website), raw aluminium finish but it just doesn’t suit the look of the dark grey anodising of the Ultegra cranks.

So any suggestions, bearing in mind the BCD is 130? Have a look here for inspiration:

http://www.cycleunderground.com.au/chainringdesigns.htm

Cheers, Horatio

2

I’d think that you would ‘rub’ cranks not rock, run or palp them, given the likely shoe-crank wear.

I just ordered a 135BCD, design #4, silver, for my silver ano’d Centaur cranks. Probably the most appropriate for modern cranks.

#8 is slightly reminiscent of the new Shimano ring styles.

PS: Get over appearances pretty boy :stuck_out_tongue:

3

And…have you considered chainline? Or are you using a freehub with spacers?

4

+1 freehub with spacers. What do you reckon snowflake- silver or black chainring?

Blakey- if I was asking what coloured chain to run, you might have a point.
But the chainring the ‘aesthetic centrepiece of my gruppo’ so I got to get it right… :mrgreen:

5

Neither :slight_smile: I like the chainring to match the crank but you’re pretty much screwed with Ultegra SL. If I had to choose I’d probably go silver but that’s mainly because I prefer silver over black ano anyway.

If you need them to match why not just get an Ultegra crankset? Great crankset I reckon too. And fortunately for me the outside ring lines up well with a WI SS hub.

6

I’m guessing you’ve already purchased the U-SL crankset?

Hope you got a good deal as these two options will erase any cost savings!

  1. Custom ano job colour matched to your crank

  2. Strip the Ultegra & polish, match with polished chainring.

(The outer ring on my Campy ext-BB crankset also lines up nicely with a WI hub.)

7

God, talk about overkill Blakey! :lol:

I think I’ll stick with silver design 4 and be done with it.

Thanks for the tips.

8

You asked for options and wanted to make pretty the ‘aesthetic centrepiece of my gruppo’!

We’ll have matching chainrings then. Hurry up and order today if you want to squeeze in before a couple of large jobs this week.

9

IMO I’d be going for the black option.

Why not use one of the chainrings that come with it + 3/32 cog and chain?

Perfect colour match and think of the weight savings! :evil:

10

More food for thought, if you didn’t already have the crankset, you could have bought the Alfine ones, just like Ultegra, ext BB, hidden cap, chainline 42.5mm, silver or black. 45T SS ring & guard…

11

Not sure if I would describe Alfine as ‘just like Ultegra’ :wink:, but still I appreciate the suggestion. I have already got the Ultegra cranks.
"Chainguard integrated design " haha super commuter central! As shortsie once said, I can almost smell the vests… :evil:

12

Top spec Alfine gear is at the same level of mech / bearing / seal / etc quality as Ultegra. Even the finish on much of it is very good.

Now, are you going to have a rainbow chain or a 24K gold plated KMC?

13

To be fair though, the Ultegra are hollowtech, therefore lighter.
I agree however if you were after a single speed specific crankset, it would be hard to go past something like the Alfine. Shimano Sora are effectively the same as well.

I’m over square-taper cranks ever since I started using the Shimano two-piece design. Amazingly simple and effective design.

14

Alfine is Hollowtech II Horatio!

15

Model Number FC-S500
Series ALFINE
Crank Construction 2-Piece

Not according to my research… :roll:
Unless there is some other crank you’re talking about?

16

Are you confusing two-piece construction with hollowtech?

Blakey’s right, Alfine cranks are Hollowtech II.

17

But I can’t find anywhere that says Alfine is hollowtech II?

On the Shimano website, if a crankset is made using the Hollowtech process it will normally say: Crank Construction 2-Piece, Hollowtech II.
Alfine just says 2-piece, as does the Sora crankset.
I understand that 2-Piece and Hollowtech are totally different features.

The term Hollowtech means the aluminium forgings are hollow yes? It would seem the cheaper cranks don’t have this feature since the weight is not a critical issue.

The crankarms just have a scoop on the back of the forging as a weight reduction. My understanding is this is not Hollowtech II.