Review: PinkBike - RaceFace ERA Chainring

Ever hear the saying, “Buy once, cry once, or buy twice and pay the price?” Well, that’s the angle that Race Face is playing with their new Era chainring.

A carbon body holds steel teeth in place to make up an extremely strong and durable chainring. Bonding the steel teeth to the carbon body was an idea borrowed from the ski industry, using one method of bonding the edge into the ski’s composite layers.

With a price tag of $149 USD, it’s by no means cheap, at least at first glance. After thorough testing though, Race Face claims that the Era chainring will last 5-times longer than aluminum, which will save the consumer money on the wear item in the long run. That said, it's also possible to purchase a steel chainring for $20, so the main selling point of the Era ring is the weight, which is half that of a full steel option.

Features and Specifications

Using three materials to manufacture a static bike component seems complex, but Race Face used the same compression and co-molding process developed for the Era cranks. The carbon body holds an aluminum Cinch mount at the center and a steel wrap of teeth around the outer edge.

According to Race Face, in a fatigue test that involved loading and unloading a chainring, two aluminum rings from major drivetrain manufacturers failed around 400,000 cycles. Race Face stopped the test on the Era ring after 2.1 million cycles and still found it to function normally.

You have the choice of three ring sizes; 30, 32, or 34 teeth, two chainlines; 52mm (DM) or 55mm (DMW), and two tooth profiles. Race Face produces an Era chainring specific to the 12-speed HG+ Shimano system. All other 10, 11, and 12-speed chains use the NW Era chainrings.

Race Face and SRAM are competitors in the scope of drivetrain and suspension products, so it’s not entirely surprising to see that there isn’t a T-type crank mount option for the Era chainring. However, it can be used in conjunction with any 12-speed chain on the market, which means that Race Face cranks allow for the ring to be used with a T-type rear derailleur.