EB18: Carbon-Ti carbon fiber chainrings for Dura-Ace & SRM, CarbonSteel brake rotors

Written by Tyler Benedict Jul 19, 2018 6:14 a.m. ET

CarbonTi carbon fiber chainrings with alloy teeth for Shimano Dura-Ace cranksets

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The new Carbon-Ti X-CarboRing chainrings are their latest upgrade for road bike cranksets, using a solid carbon body with 3K gloss finish bonded to a hard alloy tooth section. They’re available in several versions, including a 5-bolt 110bcd and 130bcd, as well as asymmetric four-bolt patterns for Shimano cranks ranging from 6800 to 8000 to 9100 and everything in between those model years.

That includes the SRM Origin 9000 carbon crankset, which uses Look’s modular pedal insert system to adjust effective arm length.

The benefit is that they’re very stiff, which generally enhances shifting performance and overall efficiency. And they’re light. The 53-tooth Shimano 9000 version weighs in at a claimed 90g, and the 34t is just 28g. Of course, that combo will run you about $400.

The big ring’s carbon surface is machined to create shift ramps, and gets titanium pins to further improve shift performance and chain pickup. The rings are available in 50/52/53 and 34/36/39 in most bolt patterns. They also offer them for their X-CarboCam versions in 50/52 tooth counts.

If their titanium MonoSync rotors are a little out of your reach, then the new AL7075-T6 X-Direct chainrings should give you all the same benefits at a lower price. They’re available for SRAM and Race Face Cinch direct-mount cranks as well as a 104BCD to work with older models or power meter spiders.

They’re available in 30/32/34/36 tooth counts in these round models and Carbon-Ti’s unique X-DirectCam profile that uses a modified oval shape with harder shaping that ends up almost squaring off some sides. Their extensive tooth shaping and profiling is supposed to help them run silently, keep the chain in place and help shed mud quickly. Works with 11 and 12 speed chains.

Carbon fiber brake rotors are great for motorsports, where you can keep them warm. But on a bike, no one’s figured out the magic combination of a full carbon rotor and proper braking performance. So, Carbon-Ti has the next best thing: A carbon fiber spider with a floating steel rotor.

The CarbonSteel 2 rotors are available in 140 (65g), 160 (78g) and 180 (94g) sizes, with an optional titanium bolt kit upgrade (7.8g per 6 bolts) available. Actually, we saw these a couple years ago, but thought they were worth showing again.

Carbon-Ti.com

Tyler Benedict

11,203 articles

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for almost two decades. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter.

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Jason Etter

5 years ago

I want one. Because carbon.

jazz1238

5 years ago

there are full steel rotors with less weight out there – so why?

Greg

5 years ago

Reply to jazz1238

Ashima and similar rotors have huge cutouts. They noticeably reduce power and warp fairly easily. This looks like it would reduce or remove those compromises.

Robin

5 years ago

Reply to Greg

One negative is that using carbon fiber spider means less heat transfer away from the rotor, which could result in a hotter rotor, hotter brake fluid…..

Jason Etter

5 years ago

Reply to jazz1238

Because carbon! 🙂 My background is in pro level motorcycle raodaracing. Carbon is almost a cultural thing. Carbon, Ti and magnesium. Gotta have it! No way these carbon rings would work for me though. After I stopped racing I did some bodybuilding and power lifting for 5yrs and put on 50ish lb of muscle. It’s kinda fun to be “big” (6′ 190lb at 8-9% BF) and strong. But I’m terribly rough on bikes. In two years of riding I have broken the bottom bracket out of three frames (broken frame), broken three crank arms, killed I don’t know how many chainrings/chains and broken two set of bars. I’d wreck these chainrings for sure. 🙁 But I want some!

adilosnave

5 years ago

Since the main part of the chainring is carbon, why can’t they make it match up to the Dura-Ace crankarms? All of these aftermarket rings look terrible when mounted to Shimano arms since their rings have some dimension to them and are hollow.

Brad Comis (@BradComis)

5 years ago

Reply to adilosnave

They are probably just buying flat carbon sheet material rather than molding the carbon in house. No molds required- much cheaper too although the price certainly doesn’t reflect that…Also, its weird that they would cut their logo out of the carbon part of the ring. Why not place a decal, or paint a logo on instead. Isn’t the point of these rings to be super still and ultra high performance? Seems to be cutting the logo out of the carbon is really going to compromise the structure of the ring.

Hexsense

5 years ago

Erh, to save weight from rotors, you can
-reduce material -> reduce surface and ability to manage heat.
-change material
–carbon fiber -> while it reduce weight, carbon is not a good heat conductor/radiator.
–aluminum -> reduce weight and actually help shredding heat away.

Why is carbon spider a better idea over aluminum spider?

Foolcyclist

5 years ago

Reply to Hexsense

Their name is Carbon-Ti. Aluminum just goes against their ethos. And well it would be way below their target price point.

Crash Bandicoot

5 years ago

These look so cool. Funny but they’d look best IMO with the Shimano 105-5800 crankset.

Shenandoah

5 years ago

Again some “claims” presented as BR truths… improving the shifting (“generally” mean over stds parts no?) is 100% wrong. The rings have a good history of some failure (debonding of the metal, the rivets to help shifting getting loose) and just a “good shifting” has never been associated with those rings. I know it pretty well since I owned a pair like 18month ago and that was “perfectly fine” since I was only doing mountain stages (drop small ring when climbing, go big ring when going downhill, easy) but saying that those product will give superior shifting is 100% incorrect.

pinko

5 years ago

Reply to Shenandoah

I wonder what do you actually know about these rings since they are very rare in the states?
Carbon-ti makes top quality stuff run in all sort of competition at the highest level. Their products – besides the rings – are copied by many. They do not have “a good history of failure”, you probably do since can not even understand what it is written in this little article.

Shenandoah

5 years ago

Reply to pinko

Wow Pinko, did I hurt a feeling? You know there is a world outside the US where you can get Carbon-Ti products (Something called Europe)? Did you read that I have a bike with them? I had two problems with the pins and they took care of the first one, I gave up after the second and “fixed” it myself and I was ok with it since I never expected them to last.
My main complain is how BR “claims” they will improve shifting, that’s incorrect unless you use ultralight aftermarket products (that is not really a “generally”).

EcoRacer

5 years ago

Reply to pinko

I have yet to try a pair of aftermarket chainrings that beat the shifting performance of Shimano original chainrings. They all claim improved performance over stock, but most deliver a very underwhelming product. If these Carbon-Ti chainrings indeed deliver improved shifting I will be amazed, but I’m not holding my breath.

blahblahblah

5 years ago

dura ace rings will be better in every way, so just no

Nash

5 years ago

Who buys this junk? The rotors will fall apart even Hope have some trouble with two piece rotors and they are the Gods of brakes, I wont even comment on the rings.