Gebhardt CNC Chainrings with fancy orange KMC chain

There are two distinct markets for single speeds and fixies, the top end and the cheapos. Not many people hang out in the middle and if they do it’s only because they’re aspiring to something better.

My Mojo hangs out at the cheapo end, with a collection of spare parts and traded parts bolted to a Mojo frame. I can’t tell you what chainring I had on the front except to  say it was 48 tooth. At 48 teeth it was a little big for me when combined with the 18 tooth rear sprocket. When the 18 tooth rear was replaced by a 16 tooth rear I was busting my arse just to get up a slight incline. Thing was, the front chainring was done and dusted anyway, with the teeth getting that nasty pointy look they get when they’re beyond any reasonable service life.

I’ve  had a lot worse on my bike but these are  worn enough to require replacing. Ooh, didn’t notice that rusty bolt…

I might be at the cheapo end of the fixie spectrum but like everyone else I’m aspiring to something better, and I also like good well-engineered and reliable products. The problem with much of the cheap shit that is flooding the market these days is that it wont last or wont perform. For instance, I know of at least two people who get regular punctures because the rim on their cheapo deep-dish fixie wheels has  sharp edges around the valve hole.

My current chainring had been on the bike about one year, maybe a year and a half,  and the chain only about six to 12 months. Part of the reason I ride a fixie is so I can bolt shit on and not have to worry about it for ages. I understand that it’s been a wet year and I do habitually ride through crap but I really wanted something better and harder wearing. That’s when I got Gerbhardt CNC chainrings recommended to me.

Gerbhardt chainrings, I am told, will last me many seasons. Here’s hoping. They certainly look like they should,  with lovely precision cut teeth and a reassuringly stiff build. I doubt my puny legs will make these fellas flex. The guy who referred these to me claimed he’d had one for two years on his tandem, where it took a right beating. Given that quality parts of this type are very hard to find on the Gold Coast I’m more than happy to take a punt on this product. The 42 tooth chainring was $60, which is a decent price. You can expect starting prices of $50 for normal chainrings so a $10 impost for something of quality doesn’t phase me.

The new chainring from Gebhardt. Look at those lovely square cut teeth.

The Gebhardt chainring was bought from D T Sports down in Burleigh. If you’re looking to buy good gear from a local distributor (that is, rather than ferreting round the internet for the cheapest and nastiest of parts the world has to offer) then you’d do well to look him up. At least you know you’ll get some authoritative advise and the ability to take things back if you get the wrong part.

Screenshot from Gebhardt website.  Do all Eastern Europeans look a little strange?

The Young Ones is new and hip entertainment in the Czech  Republic, hence the local cyclists love to copy their idol Neil.

A new rear sprocket and chainring would be nothing without a new chain. It’d be a shame to put that same nasty old chain back on with my new chainring and rear cog. More to the point an old chain will chew up my nice new gears. I was presented with only one real choice of chain at D T Sports, an orange KMC. Tristan apologized for the lack of choice while I eagerly eyed off the lovely orangeness of the chain. I’ve recently acquired some orange grips on the Mojo and quite clearly this orange chain was going to match things up nicely. I didn’t want to admit that though because I could feel a discount coming on. Sadly Tristan found a silver chain and I was forced to admit that I really wanted the orange chain.

Grips colour-coded with bike lock. Doesn’t everbody?

Now that the whole drive has been replaced it’s like I’ve died and gone to new bike heaven. The Mojo rolls with the kind of smoothness where you can forget you have a drivechain at all. This kind of smoothness is one of the reasons we get into single speeds and fixies (that and a desire to be so painfully now) and it wasn’t until I replaced everything that I was fully aware how far I had strayed from the true fixie jedi path.

Jellybean chain.

This one makes my chain look drab. Surely every Italian will sport tri-colour chains in national colours soon. It’ll match their helments.

Surmount technology (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd. is one new career of KMC group ,main products is shinning film. Is one high-tech product in our country . What? Their goals are to make “customer satisfied products”, and to “create continually and try to do the best”. As far as I can tell shinning film is a kind of synthetic cellophane for crafty people. It can be used for “the flowers and the handicrafts”. Next time you buy a chain maybe get some nice shinning film and make a little swan for the handlebars of the bike.

An example of the kind of beauty made possible with KMC shinning film.

I really need some black cranks now.