Our 3/32” stainless rings are cut from 304-grade stainless steel sheets. The tooth profile and inner bolt tabs are laser cut for accuracy and proper overall roundness. The larger sized rings have the tooth thickness machined down. The top of the teeth are then ground at an angle and the rings are sent through a tumbling machine until shiny. The laser etched lettering just magically appears.
For 30-36t rings only:
The stock stainless sheets used in 30-36t rings are 2.20mm thick, with varying thicknesses up to 2.30mm. We chose this thickness because it didn’t fail our tests (like the thinner 1.8mm thick prototypes did) and it works well with most 3/32” chains on the market.
This where it gets a little technical:
Most 9 or 10 speed chains have an inner plate width of 2.15-2.28mm when new. Since there is an overlap in the chain and ring tolerances, we do not recommend using these chains with our 30-36t rings. While a used chain will have a stretched inner plate width and a used Surly ring may have a slightly smaller thickness, it’s possible to have a used 9 or 10 speed chain work just fine with our rings.
Most 5, 6, 7 or 8 speed chains have an inner plate width of 2.35-2.45mm.
With the Surly rings being 2.20-2.30mm thick, your best bet is to choose a 5, 6, 7 or 8 speed chain. Simple as that.
Another category of chains is the “singlespeed” chain for 3/32”. Some of these are halfway between 3/32” and 1/8” sizes. Most work just fine with our rings, but are not necessary and are usually of lower quality than most 8-speed chains.
1/8” chains are wider than 3/32” and are not recommend for use with our rings.
For 38-50t chainrings:
Our 38*-50t use thicker 2.5 or 3.0mm plate, but the tooth thickness is machined down to 2.1mm and are compatible with 5-10 speed chains.
Durability of Stainless Steel
We chose stainless steel mainly for its durability, as it is much more resistant to the cyclic wear of a chain than aluminum. While the chainring will last much longer than any aluminum ring under normal conditions, it is still as vulnerable to bending if bashed into a rock or if your chainring bolt(s) fell out.
So for feck sake, use a chainring bashguard if you’re one of those types and tighten your chainring bolts on occasion.
In the event you do bend a ring, just remember it’s made of steel and can often times be bent or pounded right back to it’s happy original flatness.
Nick