Rideworks Chainring and Bashguard – Review
Rideworks are one of the growing breed of UK based component companies who are manufacturing within the UK. We check out their chainring and bashguard.
Rideworks are based in the midlands where they manufacture a small but growing range of components. As well as the bashguard and chainring, they have a number of neat little components in their line-up, and some grander projects such as cranks and stems further down the pipeline. The increase in British manufacturing in the bike industry is great, long may it continue!
The chainring has the not very catchy “Narrow Wide Thick Thin” name. We really need to get over this, lets just call them chainrings please!
– Narrow Wide – Thick Thin Tooth Geometry
– Hard Anodised
– 104 BCD
– Made In the UK
– 7075 Aluminium CNC Machined
– RRP – £38.00
The teeth of the ring feature a very similar profile to other rings we’ve tested, designed to keep the chain on as much as possible. The finish on the rest of the ring is great, neat machining and tidy etched graphics keep it looking slick. They are available in 6 different colours, and 32, 34 and 36T sizes meaning there is something for everyone who is looking to go 1x at the front. We’ve given the chainring a really good bit of hassle and have had one chain drop in 20 hours of riding, which is pretty good really. The anodising is holding up well keeping it looking slick. At 47g and £32 its bang on the money as a great option both for the wallet and the scales.
The bashguard is similarly simple, and pairs well with the chainring.
– 104 BCD
– Protects your chain ring from rock damage
– CNC Machined
– Tough Anodised Finish
– RRP – £33.00
It’s available in 3 sizes and 6 colours to match the chainrings, and it matches nicely. It’s well built with the chainring bolts recessingly nicely into it, and it’s not overly bulky. It’s taken a few hits so far from trail debris kicked up along the way and has done a decent job of protecting the chain and ring. Again both the price (£32) and the weight (75g) are pretty good.
The Bronson has been getting sustained use, and Welsh weather is not kind to drivetrains, and I’ve been impressed with how well these components have held up to some pretty abusive use. Looking back over what I’ve been up to, they have had over 800km of riding and a few good impacts. In that time I’ve dropped the chain twice – once with the clutch mech turned off, and once after firing a rock at the bike (accidentally!). Other than that they’ve performed faultlessly. If you are looking to support growing British industry, slapping some of these bits on your bike is not a bad way of doing that!
