RaceFace 104mm Single Chain Ring

I really wanted to try a 1x10 drivetrain. My bike is a 2011 Trek Fuel 9.0 26'' with 3x10 11-36t cassette and Shimano XT cranks. I never liked having 3 chain rings. Very hard to clean the middle chain ring (If I got a nickel for every time I nicked my knuckles cleaning them) which I used 98% of the time. I hated having to adjust the front derailleur. And sometimes I got confused as to which gear I was in. I went to the LBS and asked them about changing to a 1x10 drivetrain. They wanted me to change cranks, get a new chain ring, chain guide, cassette, and a clutch derailleur (I must have looked really confused). Well thank goodness for Youtube and all the helpful Youtubers. I rode my bike on my favorite trails to determine which gears I could live without. I settled on the Race Face NW 30T to go with my current 11-36T cassette. I took off the front derailleur (Free at last) and removed the chain rings along with a few chain links. I installed the RF chain ring with new single chain ring bolts. The 30T chain ring is already shimmed and threaded (More simplicity). Guys I'm a total noob, it was easy. I went rode the same trails and wow, it was like having a new bike for well under $50.00. Smooth, simple, fun, and no chain drops. Best upgrade I have ever done. When I get to be a stronger rider, I can just get bigger chain rings. It also gets style points in my opinion.

Summary: Like others have said, if you are going back and forth on this chain ring, or can't decide, just buy it already! Chain ring installed easily and I was out on the trails in no time. I didn't want to have to swap out my rear derailleur or cassette, so I went with the 30t chain ring to give me almost the same gear ratio coverage as I had with a 3x10 setup. After riding a couple of times I know there will be some really steep climbs that will be tough in the lowest gear, but the simplicity and cleanliness of the 1x10 setup is well worth the extra effort from time to time.In Depth: I ride a 2012 Trek Fuel EX 8 that came with the standard (at the time) 3x10 setup. I have a non-clutch Shimano XT rear derailleur and an 11-36 cassette. I've always wanted to convert to 1x but couldn't justify pulling off perfectly good parts. I've been away from mountain biking for a couple of years and recently went into a local bike shop. I was blown away that all of the new bikes come with 1x11. My crank was starting to creak and my front derailleur was acting up so I figured it was time to overhaul the crank and I figured I'd convert to 1x10 and save the hassle of trying to get my front derailleur dialed in.I decided on this chain ring because after researching it was the cheapest and simplest way to get a 1x drivetrain. I pulled off the stock deore crank and gave it a good deep cleaning. I removed the chainrings which is pretty simple. I didn't need the special tool to hold the back side of the chain ring bolts (I have enough single use tools so I try to avoid buying them where possible).The Race Face chain ring itself is a very nice piece of equipment. It is very nicely machined and is super lightweight. The red anodized version is beautiful and the graphics aren't too over the top. If you are installing a small ring in front (30-32t), you will almost certainly need to remove your crank to get it on.I wanted to install with the plain side facing out, but mine could only be installed with the "Race Face" graphics facing out. The raised bolt holes fit perfectly into the crank. I was also able to reuse 4 of the stock bolts I removed earlier. I was afraid I was going to have to buy longer bolts but didn't need to. I installed the crank, shortened the chain a little bit (i think it was 2 or 4 links) and was ready to go.First time I rode this I was blown away at the reduction in chain slap and other drive train noises I had gotten used to. I was concerned because I don't have one of the new clutched derailleurs, but the chain hasn't come off or slipped once. I've been riding a lot of technical single track with roots and rocks and the chain stays on perfectly. It will make a little bit of chain noise when you get into the largest or smallest cog in the back but that's pretty typical.I'm happy I chose the 30t too. After using an online gear ratio calculator I realized I was only losing my top 2 and bottom 2 gears. I can live without those especially with how much cleaner and simpler my bike is. All in all this is a great piece and I'd highly recommend it to anyone on the fence. I was amazed that I could convert to 1x for only $40 and am so glad I did.

My wifes new bike came with this same chain ring in a 32T as a 1x11(10-42) setup. The bike has a 27.5" wheel so the 32T was a little too tall of a gear for her since she is just starting out. Basically, with a 32T front, 42T rear and 27.5" tires, her first gear was equivalent to somewhere between 3 and 4 on her old 26" bike. I grabbed this 30T which dropped the 1st gear down to be about equivalent to 2nd gear on her old bike. The cool part is that with the 11 speed cassette and 27.5 wheels, her 11th gear is still taller than her old bike was on the middle chain ring.The only thing to be aware of is that the 32T was able to slide off of the crank without needing to remove it however, the 30T has a smaller inner diameter and required that the crank be pulled to get it on from the back side. This meant I needed to buy the Park Tool CCP-44 since Raceface's cranks are press fit on and do not self extract like the FSA crank on my bike. Just make sure you have the ability to get your crank off before you try to install this.

The 30T ring allowed me to use more cogs on the 11-42T wide range cassette as opposed to my previous 32T ring. I still had plenty of gear for road even down the hills, and won't be running just the lowest 4 cogs on my fat bike. That should make my cassette last much longer.I climbed the steepest sections of trail with two cogs to bail to! If I hit these sections at the end of the ride as opposed to the beginning, I would have no where to go tackling such hills if I'm fried with the 32T ring as I'd be pushing the 42T cog. Also, when plowing through 6" of wet snow on an endless incline was tough with the 32T after a while.Regarding the Narrow/Wide teeth on the ring, it works as advertised! Any time I bounced down rocky descents at speed on my rigid steed on the third lowest cog or smaller cogs, the chain would be thrown off the chain ring. This occurred several times per ride. No more! Even with a smaller chain ring and the chain slapping off the chainstay in smaller cogs at higher speeds chattering over rock gardens and roots -the chain stayed put!

This gear is made of a high quality aluminum and precisely machined. The narrow wide tooth pattern seems to work for holding the chain on my drivetrain, my chain has not dropped since I have changed to this gear. I do mostly downhill single track and have put this chain ring through its paces. It fit perfectly, performed perfectly. Raceface always delivers. I hope this review helped you in your shopping decisions, if it was helpful please vote that it was. Thank you!

Could be better value for money, however it works well. Chain has seldom come off a couple of times (with a clutch mech), however this is not much of an issuue. The black paint on the teeth is completely worn off after a few months use.

Strong, lightweight chain ring.I have this coupled with Saint Clutch rech mech and under heavy downhill usage, only slipped the chain twice in about 6 months. Chain ring still in great condition, lots of life left in the teeth after 100s of miles of riding enduro.Easy to clean and makes the bike look cleaner.Running 1x10 and doing local enduro races with this chain ring, i also put this on my hardtail as it is a great product for the price

Light weight solid quality fits as expected on my single chain ring Radon very nice design. Great for single ring hill climbing gives you that little bit more than a 36-34 tooth to get you over with a little less leg work for prolonged enjoyment and plenty of scope to pic up speed given a rear 10 speed shifter.

Exellent product, bit disappointed that black is double the price so I opted for blue and bought other blue acseserise for my mtb, am glad I did looks amazing... works well from a 34t to a 38t... Very happy

Great quality, chain sits very securely, and the slight offset improves my chainline