Already looking to mix up that new SRAM 12-speed road group? Wolf Tooth Components has what you need. Or, more precisely, has some of what you need, with more on the way throughout the summer. Starting with direct-mount 1x chainrings for Easton and Race Face CINCH cranksets, they’ve revised the tooth profiles of their Drop Stop narrow-wide rings to fit the thinner SRAM 12-speed road chains.
Those chains have a slightly different (larger) roller diameter and narrower interior width, so the chainring tooth profiles had to be tweaked to provide smooth engagement and proper retention, particularly for a 1x setup.
For now, the new tooth profiles are only available on 38, 40 and 42-tooth CINCH direct-mount chainrings, but more are coming. They’re cutting versions of all of their direct-mount chainrings in popular SRAM road/cx/gravel sizes, 110 BCD, and 130 BCD in both round and elliptical shapes. Look for those to be ready by end of summer. Wolf Tooth’s product pages will show options for the new Flattop-compatible versions where they’ll eventually become available, letting you select the size you want then get on the mailing list to be alerted when available.
Wolf Tooth’s rep told us that the actual change is minimal, so these new tooth profiles will continue to work with existing 10- and 11-speed chains, as well as 12-speed Eagle mountain bike chains. But, they’ll be a bit too thin to work with 9-speed chains. So, you gain 12-speed Flattop road chain compatibility, but lose 9-speed chain compatibility. But, they will NOT work with the new Shimano 12-speed Hyperglide+ MTB chains.
Confused yet? Feeling blue and droopy?
That’s OK, because they have a new limited edition Blue ReMote and Light Action dropper post remotes. They’re $69.95, same prices as the other colors (purple, red, etc.), and use their easy-to-route cable clamp design, oversized ball bearing pivot, integrated barrel adjuster and breakaway bolt. Available now.