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EB14: Roundup – Various Drivetrain and Brakes, Including a 210g Titanium Chain

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Stronglight-narrow-wide-chainring01

Stronglight showed off their new narrow/wide chainrings for 104BCD cranks. It’s a pretty standard ring, but their sister brand O’Symetric had some wild stuff. We also saw Fouriers’ range, a brand that’s been around for a while in Europe but not really seen in the States. There’s a few other goodies tucked away in here, ending with a really expensive, really light full titanium chain…

osymetric--ovalized-shaped-chainrings01

Not sure if these were new, but if you haven’t seen O’Symetric’s chainrings before, they’re pretty wild looking compared to “oval” rings. They’re made by Stronglight.

Jwin-tec-mechanical-to-hydraulic-disc-brake-caliper01

The Juin Tech mechanical-to-hydraulic brake calipers were spotted on a bike not related to their brand, and they look awfully similar to the new Ashima PCD caliper…including the R1 graphic on the arm.

Jwin-tec-mechanical-to-hydraulic-disc-brake-caliper02

Fouriers-narrow-wide-tall-tooth-chainring01

Fouriers makes all manner of drivetrain products and hop-up kits. Their idea of a narrow/wide chainring was a little different, using thinner, taller tooth profiles. This is one version, but their website’s showing another variation:

fouriers-nw-narrow-wide-chainrings-with-mud-channels

This more heavily machined version looks to be the final iteration. The teeth aren’t quite as tall, but they keep the “wave pattern” at the base of the teeth to improve chain contact. The holes and small channels milled into the teeth help evacuate water, mud and dust to keep the chain sitting properly on the ring.

Fouriers-42T-oversized-cassette-cog01

Out back there’s a 42T oversized cog and 16t intermediate cog to up the range of a 10 speed setup without having any weird gaps.

Fouriers-cassette-spacer01

The Cassette Spacer takes up freehub body space when using a shorter cassette, like when a 7-speed DH setup is used on a standard rear hub. Two diameters are available, one for a max 19T cog next to it and one for 24T cogs.

Fouriers-stainless-steel-disc-brake-rotor01

The new DCS001 6-bolt rotors are 2mm thick stainless steel, and these were heat colored for show.

Fouriers-stainless-steel-disc-brake-rotor02

The cut is slightly different than what’s available on their website, but the claimed weights of 113g (160mm) and 143g (180mm) are correct.

yaban-titanium-210g-bicycle-chain02

With top level SRAM and Shimano chains coming in around 240-250g, the Yaban titanium chain comes in significantly lighter at 210g. It may not seem like much, but it’s almost 15%.

yaban-titanium-210g-bicycle-chain03

The downside? Retail is darn near $200 per chain. The upside? Besides the weight, it should last a lot longer than a steel chain. Available for SRAM, Shimano and Campagnolo.

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ifbikes
ifbikes
9 years ago

I’m a fan of Fouriers. They are actually innovating a few things, not just copy and paste. Its hard to get their stuff stateside easily (do distribution, just via an ebay store last I checked). Though the one pair of brakes I ordered for my Propel got to NC from Taiwan in a 1.5 days. Crazy!

John
John
9 years ago

Nice, the titanium chain is making a comeback. I remember back from the 90’s when there was the King titanium chain that really never really took off. If I remember correctly, he was asking about the same price as this new Ti chain. Also, it is very unlikely that the titanium chain will last any longer than a stainless chain. The reason is that the wear on a chain is mainly in the pin connections thanks to a gritty environment and plenty of motion involving tension in these pins. The grit combined with stress causes the pins to wear and eventually cause the “length” of the chain to become excessive necessitating replacement. Now, the material property that has the biggest affect on wear is the material’s hardness, often measured as a Rockwell C number (Rc). As an example, 17-4 H900 stainless steel has a Rockwell Rc ~ 40, whereas the hardest Ti alloys (Beta-C) will only have an Rc from 32 to 40. Furthermore, it is also unlikely that these titanium chains will be made from Beta-C. More likely, they will be made from Titanium 6Al-4V (Rc ~ 36 range) and this is somewhat softer than the 17-4 stainless steel. In the end, it is likely that the titanium chain may last about the same or slightly less than a comparable stainless chain.

Dave B
Dave B
9 years ago

Agree, there is absolutely no reason to believe a Ti chain will even last as long as a steel chain. Remember,manufactures that provide Ti cogs usually only use it for the largest few since these are used less and share the load among more teeth. So, if Ti cogs can’t be relied on to last as long, neither will the chain.

Sam
Sam
9 years ago

I’d pay $150 to save 30 grams any day of the week though

Bill B
Bill B
9 years ago

Sam, $150 for 30 grams on a consumable item is nuts if you ride a lot. I go through 3 chains most years. For a stem, post, bars or saddle, yeah. Chain, nope. I even use Ultega chains on my Red and DuraAce bikes, and Chorus chains on my Campy bikes.

Kristi
Kristi
9 years ago

“The reason is that the wear on a chain is mainly in the pin connections”

Yaban SLA Chain Pin: DHA Chromium Carbide Hardened Treatment

Meta Lurgy
Meta Lurgy
9 years ago

Titanium is about 45% lighter than steel, so if the Ti chain is only 15% lighter than their steel chain, then it is not full Ti. Probably only the rollers are Ti, like most other “titanium” chains.

cole
cole
9 years ago

I wouldn’t be surprised if the only Ti on that chain is the titanium nitride on the rollers. And while that might be a good idea for extending cog life, TiN is quite behind the times as far as PVD coatings go.

Fraser C
Fraser C
9 years ago

@Bill B, I think you missed the sarcasm in Sams post.. And on the wear issue, I’m a card carrying weight weenie but 30g saving for $150 on one of the shortest life parts on your bike only makes sense if you don’t have much else to throw your money at..

F Almeida
F Almeida
9 years ago

They claim self-lubricating properties of their Ti chain, could be interesting. Their claim of up to 8000 km per chain doesn’t sound implausible either. I get 11 thousand out of Campy Record chains, even with a lot of climbing and standing on the pedals.

M. Ramos
M. Ramos
9 years ago

We should not forget- it’s better for the chains to be a bit softer and wear out faster than the cogs or crank chain rings… The chain is a disposable part…it’s better to keep it as is…

greg
greg
9 years ago

@cole,
ive looked into this, and i think youre half right. i believe it is the rollers, but the entire roller is ti, not just the very outside. i think they also make a ti nitrided all-steel chain at the more appropriate $80-100 msrp.

Peter
Peter
9 years ago

@john:

If u want to measure the hardness of the surface than take vickers. Rockwell uses a “pre-load”. So the indenter will go through the tin coating and measure the material under it, which is not as imoortant for wear resistance as the coating.

RC
RC
9 years ago

KMC upper end 10 speed chains are 216 grams. Don’t know about 11 sp.

Ahab '69
Ahab '69
9 years ago

I have run the 10 speed Titanium chain and it is beautiful as a chain can be and very very light…BUT NEVER AGAIN…had it snap twice on me once I just lost my cool and dignity the second time it cost me a hefty crash and broken carbon front wheel a big bill and my favourite bike out of action for a month along with me…I might of been unlucky but proceed with caution !

Loki
Loki
9 years ago

FWIW Yaban have the chain listed at 245g, and if you’re counting every gram it’s for 110 links. A KMC 11SL chain is 228g for 112links and is $60. No dis against making high end, indulgent bike parts, I’m a remorseless consumer.

Slow Joe Crow
Slow Joe Crow
9 years ago

KMC’s TiN coated chains look like a better deal, blinging gold color, promises of reduced friction and wear and only $40-80 retail depending on size and grade.
The Fourier 1X drivetrain stuff looks like a good alternative to One up or Wolftooth.

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