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USAMade Components makes smallest 104BCD chainring yet, 6mm GXP DM Adapter for Short Spindle rings

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Looking for lower gearing without upgrading your crank? Until now, if you had a 104 BCD crankset, the smallest ring you could fit on it was a 30t. A few companies have made rings that fit on the smaller 64 BCD inner part of the spider, but now there’s another way to get those low low gears. USAMade Components is a revamped brand out of Vero Beach, Florida which is being run by industry veteran Chris Dupuis. As the name would suggest, their products are 100% made in the USA.

They also have a few unique components that may be exactly what certain riders are looking for. Their new ST Pro Integrated Guard Mountain Chainring combines the ability to run smaller chainrings on 104 BCD cranks while providing the extra protection of a bash guard. There’s also a GXP adapter which will allow you to run short spindle compatible chainrings on long spindle cranks…

Machined in one piece, the ST Pro ring/guard is available with chainrings from 26 to 34t, all of which use their Sharktooth tooth design for chain retention. The bashguard has posts that sit inside the bolt holes on the crank and then the chainring bolts thread into the threaded portion of the bashguard. That positions the chainring far enough way that the crank can clear a 26 or 28t ring. Machined from 7075-T6 aluminum, the rings have a black Teflon coating for quiet operation and durability. Prices start at $39.99 for the 26 and 28t, with claimed weights listed as 85g, 76g, 87g, 89g, and 90g (26, 28, 30, 32, 34t).

There is no mention of the resulting chainline of the combo, but it would seem to reason that it would push the chainline inboard or outboard substantially from a traditional ring.

USAMade also has a number of standard chainring from traditional BCDs to direct mounts. All of which use their Sharktooth profile and list thick-thin as a design feature, though it’s hard to make out from the pictures. It’s worth pointing out that for USA made chainrings, these seem surprisingly affordable – just $19.99 for the 40g, Teflon coated 32t shown above.

You can blame the proliferation of ‘standards’ for this one, but if you happen to have a Short Spindle chainring but a Long Spindle crank, USAMade’s GXP adapter should be able to help you out. The Short Spindle cranks use a ring with zero offset, while Long Spindle cranks need 6mm for proper chainline, so this 6mm adapter will let you use your Short Spindle rings on Long Spindle cranks. Essentially just a spacer to push the ring inboard at the Direct Mount, it’s not clear if these will require longer bolts USAMade Components says it’s made in a way that does not require longer bolts. The adapter will add 20g to your crank and sells for only $14.99.

The rings and adapters are available either through USAMade Components direct, or will also be sold through Amazon.

usamade.com

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bearcol
bearcol
7 years ago

After many years of running bash rings I prefer having protection mounted to the bb area instead of the cranks. Price is good on this though. I’ll keep them in mind for traditional rings in the future.

duder
duder
7 years ago
Reply to  bearcol

After seeing several IScG mounts broken, cracked, bent, or simply torn off expensive frames, I think crank mounted is actually a better way to go.

bearcol
bearcol
7 years ago
Reply to  duder

I hear you. Never been an issue for me so until it happens I prefer to keep the weight on the bb and not rotational.

preston
preston
7 years ago

A new frame may give me no choice but to run 1*12, in which case i’ll need a 26t chainring which I’ve found are not normally available even in direct mount. So this is a nice option.

SB
SB
7 years ago
Reply to  preston

Can you actually keep a bike upright at 60 rpm in a 26×50 combination?

Leland
Leland
7 years ago

Do you appreciate the gearing that 26 – 50 will give you? Do you really think there’ll be a situation where that gear will be better than your second gear (26 – 42)?

jednobiegowiec
jednobiegowiec
7 years ago

Let’s do a bit of math…

26/42 is ~0.62 gearing
26/50 is 0.52 gearing

I’m having at the moment 34/20 on the crank and 12/36 cassette. That means that my easiest gearing is ~0.56. Using it a lot and very happy about it. Even softer gearing wouldn’t go amiss…
Not everybody in that world got monstrous calves, and not everybody in that world is riding on the flat plains 🙂

Cheers!
I.

opignonlibre
opignonlibre
7 years ago
Reply to  jednobiegowiec

Using a 30 – 11-42 setup here in the swiss mountains. While I’d welcome a slightly lower gear when I’m using the lowest available the gradient is so steep that my front wheel wants to lift off. You must be pretty much at walking pace when using that 20-36 gear.

dave
dave
7 years ago

Hope you guys are able to review one of these 104bcd rings…interesting product, wonder whether the chainline change ruins the shifting.

STS
STS
7 years ago

Same here, living in the Black Forest. Yes, it’s walking pace between 4 and 5 kph when in the 20:36 on a 29er. And yes those are climbs well in excess of 20% grade. But why should we walk when we can ride and still overtake hikers at that speed. Because also walking speed highly depends on grade. 4 kph on a 25% grade is already a tough walking pace for most and it strains your calves much more than riding it up which only strains your quads. 🙂

bruto
bruto
7 years ago
Reply to  STS

hiking allows you to stop for rest, at any moment 🙂 or go as slowly as you like
not the case with a bike

Collin
7 years ago
Reply to  bruto

Depends on how good of a track stander you are, or if there are any trees nearby to grab and rest on.

I’m from the midwest, so I run a big geared SS everywhere, but I did do Breck epic this year on a 32×10-42 bike. When the pitch went up to 15% for a long time when you’re at 12000 feet, I wish I had a much smaller front ring or a 50T rear. There was this one really steep section where everyone was walking, then some older guy comes buzzing (at 2mph) by, saying ‘I love my tripple’.

That being said, there is always a condition that a certain type of gear is needed.

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