Introducing your next upgrade! - Ochain Chain rings

Every now and then a new piece of MTB tech comes along that has World Cup riders clambering over each other to get and Ochain is one of those!

So why are they all begging their sponsors to allow them to use this little chain ring gadget?

The answer is, bolt on performance increase. When you put an Ochain on your bike it gets better. And not better by a unnoticeable amount. Fitting an Ochain makes a big difference to the control of the bike downhill, leading to a more stable bike thats safer at high speeds and offering more grip and control. But how?

Simply put, Ochain reduces or in some cases eliminates pedal kickback and your bike has it and its bad.

When your suspension moves, your wheel travels backwards and up, away from your cranks. So the distance from the centre of your bottom bracket and the centre of your hub increases. As this distance increases the top run of chain on your bike, which isn't suspended like the bottom run of chain is with by the rear mech, gets pulled by the rear wheel. This pulling causes the chainring and cranks to then rotate upwards by a set amount. On some bikes this can be as much as 12 degrees. 

Yer so what?!

Well! This is the good bit! If your cranks need to rotate backwards to allow the rear wheel to move freely then that means your bikes suspension has to overcome all the weight on the pedals to move. Your weight! And your weight is alot! 

On a bike with high pedal kickback (12 degrees) this results in a harsh feeling under your feet and if you run flat pedals you may even loose contact with your pedals and your feet start moving around when things get rough.

You will also find that you lose grip as your tyre is overworked in not being able to move up and over terrain.

But this is solved by simply fitting an Ochain to your bike.

Instantly your bike feels different. It feels smoother, quieter, and maybe even a little softer in its suspension feel.

You gain grip, control and the bike feels more calm under your feet. though rough sections your bike is no longer being bounced around and just feels planted and smooth.

It does this but simply allowing the chain ring to move backwards independently from the cranks by up to 12 degrees. This completely free's your suspension up to move and react to bumps and trail features without any feedback getting to you allowing you to just stay concentrated on the trail and simply enjoy your new found control and speed! 

This effect is even more profound on an E-Bike where the unsprung mass (you and the frame of the bike) is a lot more than a normal pedal MTB.

"But Im not a world cup rider" I hear you say! 

Even more reason to get one! The change in control and safety in rough sections that Ochain gives you is universal regardless of your skill level and we would go as far as to say its one of the best upgrades under £400 you can make on your bike if you want more performance.

"my hub has got less engagements which is the same thing"

Its not the same thing. True it will help to eliminate some pedal kickback in some instances but the degrees of float your hub offers are not exclusively available to the rear wheel like Ochain. As the Pawls in your hub engage and disengage around 360 degrees, there is at least 180 degrees (or half the time) where your pawls are engaged on your hubs ratchet. Every time your hub rotates there will be instances when your suspension pushes your wheel forwards onto the ratchets and hey presto! Pedal kickback.

You can hear this on videos of riders with loud hubs. The pitch and speed of the hubs ratchet changes as they ride across rough sections. The hub is accelerating and decelerating under load from bumps and from the brake trailing and wheel locking completely.

Ochain has 12 degrees or float all the time. Even under braking when and your wheels locked up. Your hub doesn't. 

Just bolt one on and go! 

Check out the full range of Ochain and Ochain cranks here