Alden Designs is a little one-man shop that makes custom carbon fiber aerodynamic covers for your chainrings and other parts of the bike.
Now, Glen and his son have expanded the offerings from his Columbus, IN, workshop to include a carbon chainring cover molded to hide the QuarqS975 powermeter crankset from the wind. As with the original, you can purchase a carbon shell and trim the holes and tap your chainring yourself ($50), have them pre-cut the diameter to fit anything from a 50 to 58 tooth chainring and cut the crankarm hole ($70) or send your crankset in and have them tap, drill and cut everything to fit so you only have to mount it back to your bike ($125 plus shipping).
The cover is held in place with nine stainless steel button-head screws, which allow you to remove the cover to replace the battery. Glen says you won’t need to recalibrate the power meter after installation. It’s made with standard 3K woven carbon and maintains a 1mm to 1.5mm clearance over the crankarm and electronics. The unit shown here is a prototype and final trim will have tighter tolerances.
Their molds provide a very smooth finish, then they apply a silicone shine rather than a clear coat. Their website says a clearcoat isn’t used anymore because the finish is good right out of the mold, and because some chain cleaners and other chemicals used down there can damage the clear coat.
Over the top? Perhaps. Competition legal? Maybe. Awesome? Absolutely. Check them out at alden-designs.com.
