After three or four rides on the Trek Procaliber hardtail xc I noticed that I was not using the bottom small three cogs on the cassette so I thought what about changing the front chainring to a smaller size. I have had experience before with e*thireteen crank arms, chainrings and bottom brackets and it was not good to say the least. To be honest the chainset and bb nearly put me off buying the Trek and would have liked to seen a Shimano xt chainset fitted to match the rest of the groupset. On my last e*thirteen products the crank arms were ok but the anodising was like butter and rubbed off very quickly, the chainring was also made of butter and did not last long and had to be swapped for a different manufacturers ring. Then there was the bb, I have never ever had a bb that was such pure and utter shit, the bearings must have been made from the same butter as the chainring, no matter how much or little waterproof grease I used the bb was gone within months. So I have read some Trek Procaliber 9.8 owners returning there bikes under warranty as their bb has failed, no surprise. I have also read some owners giving up on e*thirteen and fitting a Shimano chainset and bb. Well only time will tell what and how how long mine lasts. I get a 12 month guarantee on parts.
Back to the chainring, I checked Treks guide for the smallest ring they recommend and it was a 30t. The ring that is fitted is a SL model not the UL version. Moore Large are now the distributor in the UK after Upgrade probably give up on them. The SL chainring comes in a range of sizes from 38t down to 28t in 2t increment's. I went for the 30t so 4t smaller which does not sound much but it makes a big difference when you put it into a gear calculator. Co Durham is not exactly flat and I am not exactly fit so smaller the better for the hills. The quality looks spot on from opening the packet, feels light, 7 grams lighter than the 34t according to the manufacturers website. I did not put it on the scales but a claimed weight of 61g for the 30t, not sure if that is light or heavy! Now for the fitting, you need an 8mm allen key to remove the driveside crank arm, mine was not that tight to get off. Once you have the crank arm off there is a thin plastic washer between the crank arm face and the bb. Now if you don't have the specific e*thirteen bb/locking ring tool you are going to struggle. I kept mine from the years ago and I need to use a 10mm allen key on the tool to remove the lockring, again not overly tight. Once the locking has been removed there are two spacers then the chainring which pulled off easily. Cleaned everything up and smeared a light coating of grease onto the splines in the crank arm, slide on the chainring, two washers then the lockring. Copper grease on the crank bolt, light smear of grease on the bb spindle and refitted the crank arm. I did not have to re adjust the collar on the other side as there was no play in the cranks and were spinning freely. Put the chain back over the ring and checked the gears in the stand and all was good. One thing I did not think of was the chain might be too long now and it was, it needs a link taking out.
After a couple of rides I am now using the bottom three small cogs on the cassette more and it is easier on the hills and using the top two big dinner plates less. So far so good, the ring has performed without fault but its very early days. On that not I noticed on e*thirteens own website they are now offering a 5 year guarantee but that does not cover bearings (1 year) and wear and tear etc. The rrp is just unreal for a small chainring and cannot see how they can charge that but as ever shop around, stock is hit n miss but Moore Large have stock so can be ordered direct from them or your LBS. I seen them advertised for as low as £30 but no stock and cheapest with stock was just less than £50 inc p&p. Inspiral Cycles at Bishop had them listed on their website, 34t £50, 32t £58 and the 30t was £65. After a couple of emails Gary agreed on £50 for collection from the shop. Nice to see great customer service and put some money in his till. Cheers Gary.
RRP £65 and I paid £50 from Inspiral Cycles - Discount 23% and I had to collect from Bishop Auckland.
Manufactuers blurb -
Lighter, stronger and better looking than our original Guiderings; the Guidering SL is intended for use on TRS, LG1 and legacy e*thirteen cranks.
The Guidering SL is -8mm offset. This offset will achieve both boost (52mm) and non-boost (49mm) spacing on e*thirteen cranks that feature adjustable chainline (2019 and newer TRS & LG1). On legacy and XCX cranks the Guidering SL will achieve a 49mm non-boost chainline.
And a few photos of the 34t ring that come as standard from the factory.
