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absoluteBLACK spill-out PVD-coated rainbow oval chainrings for SRAM direct mount

absoluteblack pvd coated chainring sram boost direct mount oval
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Joining the ever growing oil slick trend are absoluteBLACK, creators of some of the most scientifically-proven oval chainrings on the market. They begin by rolling out rainbow ovals for SRAM direct mount. If bling is your thing, now is not the time to back down. Check out the new AbsoluteBLACK PVD Rainbow ovals and consider whether that petrol-dipped colorway is worthy of the £109.99 price tag.

absoluteBLACK PVD Rainbow Chainring

absoluteblack pvd rainbow oval chainring mountain biking 32t sram direct mount boost for 148mm rear end spacing

If you’re unsure about the concept of an oval chainring and want to hear more, you should check out our Ask A Stupid Question feature on the very topic. absoluteBLACK, Rotor, Wolf Tooth and OneUp all chime in to discuss the benefits of oval chainrings over traditional round ones. You might learn something – we certainly did!

Only SRAM direct mount chainrings will be available with the PVD coating initially. You can get it for all sizes from 28T up to 36T. They are also Boost only, meaning they have a 3mm offset to fit most 148mm rear end spacing frames.

You will of course be wondering why the absoluteBLACK PVD Rainbow chainrings are £44 more expensive than the regular oval chainrings – which are themselves offered in black, titanium, gold, orange, red and purple colorways. The reason for the hefty price tag is the process required to create that oil-slick look.

absoluteblack pvd rainbow oval chainrings hard coating low friction coefficient more durable
AbsoluteBLACK say the coating itself is extremely hard and exhibits very low friction coefficient so the chainring lasts longer

PVD, or Physical Vapor Deposition, is a process by which the 7075 aluminium chainring is coated with titanium. It requires the use of a clean room. That’s not just a room that gets a good hoover and wiper down on a regular basis.

They come in different forms but, the cleanest of clean rooms, the ISO 1 clean room permits only 12 particles per cubic metre – and those particles are below 0.3μm in diameter. Basically, they are super tightly controlled environments. PVD has to take place in said clean rooms to stop particles interfering with the bonding of the titanium coating to the chainring.

It’s because of this that the AbsoluteBLACK PVD Rainbow is premium. The process costs a lot more than simpler anodizing. Also, not a single chainring will be the same as any other PVD coated one – the process turns out a different pattern every time.

AbsoluteBlack GRAPHENlube graphene-infused wax chain lube

There you go, bit of science for you. And these guys are all about their science. Check out their new GRAPHENlube wax-based, drip-on chain lube that they claim beats everything else currently on the market. A bold claim.

absoluteBLACK.com

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absoluteBLACK
4 years ago

We would like to add a small comment to PVD process. Clean room is one part of the puzzle, but more demanding is actually a special process Aluminium has to go through to be able to attract the coating in pvd chamber. Such process is very tricky and expensive compared to metal (eg steel) pvd coating preparation which specialized companies have figured out long time ago. With aluminium this is on entire new level of difficulty to get the specific desirable colors and avoiding peeling off of the coating. It requires long methodical trial and error approach to get it just right.

That and the ability to actually manufacture the chainring and coatings solely in Europe comes at a price. But we think the final result is worth it. They actually look more beautiful in real life than the picture can convey. They posses mirror like finish with full spectrum of intense colors.

We only have limited numbers so don’t waste your opportunity.

patrick
patrick
4 years ago
Reply to  absoluteBLACK

Why not make a steel one too?

Tom
Tom
4 years ago

very cool looking but loath to run oval on the MTB and round on the road bike

Czechmate
Czechmate
4 years ago

As much as I like the oil slick treatment on bike parts, looking at my gunk and road grime covered drivetrain I’m thinking that a chainring is probably not the best component to add to the “oil slick trend” list. And that’s on a road bike using standard chain lube. I can imagine what the chainring would look like if I use that graphene lube… absoluteBLACK indeed.

absoluteBLACK
4 years ago
Reply to  Czechmate

Our lube is not making other components dirty as it does not behave like oil. It’s more like solid wax so the drivetrain stays clean. If you dont ride in the mud every day the chainrign stays clean for a long time;)

Greg
Greg
4 years ago
Reply to  Czechmate

Wax

blahblah1233445
4 years ago

Dartmoor was making oil-slick chainrings (and components, eg. stems) for a few years already.

However, what I like Race Face and Absolute Black n-w chainrings for is that the thick teeth have cutouts on their base, which makes them easier to clean.

MTB4ME
MTB4ME
4 years ago

more purple ano bar ends, please…on trend forever;-)!

John
4 years ago

I’m just wondering if this treatment process adds enough of a harder material to the aluminum chain ring to make it last more than 3/4 of a season. The typical aluminum oval chain rings only get me in about 40 to 50 rides before they were out. If it last longer (like 2 to 3 years), it would be worth the extra cash for sure.

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