Review: Blackspire Snaggletooth oval chain ring - Grinding my gears

I got mine after wanting to test an oval chain ring, and the Blackspire offering was available at an attractive price of around 45€. This is cheap when compared to the Sram Eagle oval chain rings, which run 80-120€ a piece. Other options would have been Wolftooth and Absolute Black, but I preferred the look of the Blackspire offering to those and decided to give it a shot - Only to be sorely disappointed!

Imagine going back to that first 1x drive train conversion you did with an old Deore XT 3x9 that had worn out chainrings and you wanted something new. Well, the Snaggletooth chain ring from Blackspire will take you back to those moments and that grinding, sand-in-your-chain feel!

Anyone who has run the Sram OE Eagle chain rings will know they are just buttery smooth and silent. Well, the Blackspire offering is the complete opposite. It's somewhat silent only when the chain line is absolutely straight, so pretty much on one gear only. However, the tall teeth and the very basic narrow-wide shape makes the teeth catch the chain at the bottom dead center as the chain is coming off the chain ring, and this results in a rather annoying clicking noise. Things get worse when the chain line moves to one side, and the drivetrain starts to feel extremely crunchy even up to the point where one will wonder if the chain could break.

Finish on the chain ring is not bad, though the edges are somewhat sharp from machining. The black anodizing looks good, and the laser etching is not too pronounced. I can't stand bright, in-your-face, etching with stupid slogans!

So why is the Blackspire chain ring crunchy?

Wolftooth actually have a very nice explanation of chain and chainring geometries on their website, which covers the difference between different chain types and the chain ring tooth geometries required to obtain optimal results. However, if we study the picture of the Blackspire teeth below and the wear on the finish, 2 things are immediately evident:

1.) Tip relief is incorrect, which causes the tips of the teeth to snag the chain as it enters and exits the chain ring

2.) The chain ring is of the "narrow-wide" type, where the narrow teeth are in contact with the inner

links, and wide teeth with the outer links of the chain. However, the shape on the "wide" teeth is incorrect and is missing chamfers to clear the ends of the inner link plates. This has caused wear on the leading edges of the wide teeth.

Sram have optimized the shape of the Eagle chain ring to remedy all these issues, and I have explained this in the picture below. This is CORRECT engineering, where as Blackspire have simply chosen a simple to design and manufacture narrow wide shape with less than ideal results. This is INCORRECT engineering!

The only good thing about the Blackspire offering is the ovality, which feels good, smooth and well times. However, given the drawbacks with the grind in the gears it produces, I can't recommend this product to anyone.

Value for money: 1/5 - Cheap, but still only good for recycling

Finish: 3/5 - Anodizing is good edges a bit rought

Fit: 5/5 - No problems with the Sram direct mount interface

Function: 0/5 - Design problems galore!