Titanium Track Chainrings and Cogs?

Quoted message said:

I am looking to replace my 42t chainring and 14t cog on my fixed gear bicycle. Just curious if
anybody makes titanium track chainrings and titanium track cogs? I imagine that titanium versions
would last much longer.

Titanium is only about as hard as hardened steel - it's harder than normal mild steel, but sprockets
aren't made of that stuff.

Chainrings normally last well anyway, due to the large number of teeth available to spread the
load (especially as you can rotate them periodically on a fixie - no shift ramps to worry about)
so aluminium is the right material for the job, and is half the weight of titanium. Likewise,
titanium chains ($275 from Viking) only last as long as steel ones. One for the billionaire weight
weenies only.

If you change your $5 chain regularly, your chainring and sprocket life will be greatly extended.
But you knew that ;-)

Quoted message said:

I am looking to replace my 42t chainring and 14t cog on my fixed gear bicycle. Just curious if
anybody makes titanium track chainrings and titanium track cogs? I imagine that titanium versions
would last much longer.

Longer? Than aluminum maybe ( not by much) but no way compared to steel. Among the sillier things
I've owned were custom-cut titanium cogs for an obsolete lightweight freewheel. Under 500 miles.

Ever notice how a hacksaw goes through ti about twice as fast as steel? Not a good choice of
material for a wearing face like a gear tooth. Campagnolo's useful cassettes were supplied with ti
low gears and steel small cogs.

--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Eheu fugaces labuntur anni'. - Horace On 31 Oct 2003 09:18:58 -0600 said:

I am looking to replace my 42t chainring and 14t cog on my fixed gear bicycle. Just curious if
anybody makes titanium track chainrings and titanium track cogs? I imagine that titanium versions
would last much longer.

Within track racing circles, it isn't all that unusual to find chainrings still in service that were
coined before the breakup of the Beatles. How much longer would you have them last?

In any case, 42 teeth falls short of the range of sizes offered by the major manufacturers in their
track ensembles.
-------------------------------
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Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I am looking to replace my 42t chainring and 14t cog on my fixed gear bicycle. Just curious if
anybody makes titanium track chainrings and titanium track cogs? I imagine that titanium
versions would last much longer.

Longer? Than aluminum maybe ( not by much) but no way compared to steel. Among the sillier things
I've owned were custom-cut titanium cogs for an obsolete lightweight freewheel. Under 500 miles.

Ever notice how a hacksaw goes through ti about twice as fast as steel? Not a good choice of
material for a wearing face like a gear tooth. Campagnolo's useful cassettes were supplied with ti
low gears and steel small cogs.

I've always wondered about this obsession with Ti as a part of drivetrains. Yeah, its light, but
jeez, is it worth the wear?

Remember those Ti innner rings from a few years ago?

Mike

Quoted message said:

--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Quoted message said:

I am looking to replace my 42t chainring and 14t cog on my fixed gear bicycle. Just curious if
anybody makes titanium track chainrings and titanium track cogs? I imagine that titanium versions
would last much longer.

Ti rings might last longer than good quality aluminum rings, but not a lot longer.

A _much, much_ better way to get more durability would be to enlarge your sprockets. 42/14 is the
same ratio as 48/16, 51/17, and 54/18. A good quality aluminum 54t ring should be lighter than a Ti
42t ring. That higher tooth count can be had in a track-specific ring with wider, longer-wearing
teeth than those of a derailleur bike's rings. Combine this with the larger number of teeth to carry
the load and the lower chain tension that comes with larger sprockets, and the difference in wear
should be dramatic.

Side benefits would include longer chain life and lower drivetrain frictional losses.

Remember that keeping a fresh chain on the bike is the biggest single thing you can do to minimize
sprocket wear.

Chalo Colina