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Wolf Tooth has launched a brand new LoneWolf Aero chainguide that’s designed to maintain the chain in place when utilizing a 1x (single chainring) setup throughout highway, gravel and cyclocross using, and it’s already being utilized by Workforce Jumbo-Visma. There are numerous chainguides on the market designed for 1x programs; are they a tacit admission from the cycle trade that 1x expertise isn’t fairly the place it must be?
The brand new Wolf Tooth LoneWolf Aero chainguide was utilized by Jumbo-Visma riders on each time trial and highway bikes on the latest Criterium du Dauphine.
> Should you run a 1x set-up on your road bike?
Though we have been advised earlier than the race began that present Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard could be using 1x on all however one of many levels, we solely noticed him forego a second chainring on two events. He used the Wolf Tooth LoneWolf Aero chainguide each occasions.
SRAM has been eager to push 1x for highway and gravel use since 2015, athough it says that it does not affect Jumbo-Visma on this path. SRAM makes its merchandise out there however it’s all the way down to the riders and the groups to make use of what they like. SRAM says that it could not impose a selected product or system on a group even when it wished to.
A problem with a 1x setup is that there’s no entrance derailleur, therefore no cage to assist hold the chain on the chainring.
SRAM makes use of its X-Sync tooth design to attempt to eradicate points. Primarily, you get tall, sq. tooth edges which can be designed to interact the chain sooner than extra triangular tooth, alternating with sharper and narrower tooth.
Again within the particular person time trial on the penultimate stage of the Giro d’Italia, Primoz Roglic swapped to a 1x setup for the ultimate climb up Monte Lussari. He used SRAM’s Pink AXS XPLR drivetrain as a result of he wished the ultra-low gearing.
Nevertheless, Roglic unshipped his chain when working over a pothole and misplaced a couple of seconds. Because it turned out, he set an astonishing time to overtake Geraint Thomas and ended up profitable each the stage and the overall classification so the mishap turned out to be irrelevant to the outcome – though it did add a complete lot of drama. If issues had been tighter, although, questions would definitely have been made concerning the tech.
“The brand new LoneWolf Aero Chainguide prevents dropped chains on highway, gravel, and CX bikes with 1x drivetrains,” says Wolf Tooth.
“The LoneWolf Aero Chainguide is just like our current GnarWolf Chainguide, and combines a low profile head that solely covers the highest and inboard aspect of the chain with our GuideLock fast adjustment system. This eliminates the necessity for shims and offers you safety in a lightweight, easy-to-use, and aerodynamically optimised chainguide answer.”
The LoneWolf Aero Chainguide makes use of the mount rather than a entrance derailleur. In case your bike doesn’t have a braze-on entrance derailleur mount, clamps can be found for steel bikes with spherical tubing in 28.6mm, 31.8mm, and 34.9mm diameters.
One of many benefits typically put ahead for a 1x system is saved weight due to the shortage of the entrance derailleur and the usage of just one chainring. Becoming this further machine reduces that benefit, however not by a lot.
Wolf Tooth says, “We consider this little chainguide as 30g of insurance coverage for races the place a dropped chain might price you a shot on the podium.”
A SRAM Pink eTap AXS entrance derailleur alone weighs about 144g.
The LoneWolf Aero Chainguide is made with a 6061-T6 machined aluminium base, chrome steel {hardware}, and an injection moulded head. Wolf Tooth says that head have to be setup inside 2mm of the chain for it to be efficient.
“Three base sweep choices cowl the huge variations in chainring diameter from 38-62T,” it says. “Low sweep is for roughly 38-52T chainrings, mid sweep is for 52-58T, and excessive sweep is for 54-62T.
What Wolf Tooth calls its GuideLock fast adjustment system offers 8mm of inward/outward positioning to permit for variations in chainline.
The Wolf Tooth LoneWolf Aero Chainguide is priced at £36.
Wolf Tooth is not alone in providing a chainguide designed particularly for a 1x system, however does its use by Jumbo-Visma recommend that SRAM’s tech is not pretty much as good appropriately? Or is that overegging it and that is only a wise backup to keep away from catastrophe? Tell us what you assume.
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