Wolf Tooth Elliptical Chainring: Rider Review

They say once you go oval, you don't go back. Well, that is definitely the case for our customer David who recently purchased a Wolf Tooth Elliptical chainring. So far he has had nothing but good things to say about the new chainring. Check out his review to hear more!

Overview

I've got plenty of lower speed loose and rocky climbs where I live. I needed to size down on my chainring since it was a little too much for some of the punchy climbs. I was about to go with a 30T, but the guys at WWC told me to give oval chainrings a chance. An oval 32T is said to be like a 34T at the point of your stroke with the most power and a 30T at the weakest.

First Ride

I like trying stuff out, so I ordered up a Wolf Tooth 32T oval chainring. I thought it would feel strange pedaling it compared to a standard chainring, but I was wrong. I barely noticed it except that my cadence felt smoother. It was easier to pedal versus the standard 32T, but not quite as easy as a 30T round. The Wolf Tooth elliptical chainring is slightly less aggressive than competitors (10% ovality vs 12%), so it's not going to feel quite as different from a round ring.

Climbing

How did it climb? Well, I was laughing after just tracking right up the rocks -- where I would have either slipped a little before or completely spun my back tire. My power delivery feels more consistent than with a round chainring. I have no doubt this is also helping with my bad pedaling habits. I also seem to not need to shift as much when climbing over things. It's easier to get past that dead spot in the pedal stroke.

Pros and Cons

Is there a downside? If your chainstay has limited chain clearance, you are more limited on how small of a chainring you can use. If the minimum is a 30T round ring, you'd only be able to get away with a 32T oval. Luckily though, the effort to pedal each is nearly the same. Shifting is said to be affected because the derailleur will keep moving during pedaling, but it hasn't been enough for me to notice. Not after a few hundred miles anyway. That said, I liked it so much, I bought it twice!

Final Thoughts

Overall, if you want more traction for those tech climbs, I'd say give oval chainrings a chance. It doesn't hurt that the Wolf Tooth version is also very nice looking.