We're closed for Xmas week - back on 30th Dec!
We're closed for Xmas week - back on 30th Dec!
by Ed Brazier June 29, 2022 2 min read
Airdrop is a mountain-bike brand through and through. And the Fade was always designed as a mountain-biker's dirt-jump bike, sharing much of it's DNA with the Edit and the Filter. So it's natural for most of our stock builds (and customer home-builds) to run mtb style cranks. The catch is that our preferred gearing is 28t up front and an 11t sprocket out back. SRAM stopped producing 28t non-boost chainrings a couple of years back. We bought all the remaining chainrings in the UK, but they were always going to run out. So we developed our own.
The result is our new for 2022 CNC chainring.
As you can probably tell it's a full CNC, alloy chainring with a black ano finish and Airdrop laser-etched graphics. Arguably it's a bit too 'nice' for dirt-jump use but our ethos isn't to design stuff that's ok but at a good price point. Just like our approach to the bikes, we just made it to the best of our ability. So what you've got is a 28t ring with narrow-wide teeth that's capable of running a 1/8" singlespeed chain, a 1/8" half-link chain or a more traditional 3/32" mtb style chain. Offset is -6mm which is non-boost in mtb terms. On the Fade Works bike, we fit these with either a Gusset Slink or BSD 1991 half-link and they work perfectly.
As we typically build the Fades with SRAM or Descendant cranks, the fitment is GXP 3-bolt direct mount. It'll fit pretty much any SRAM or Descendant GXP or DUB crank arm that's either direct-mount or has a removable spider. Of course you can run it on your regular (non-boost) mtb should you wish, but we think 28t is probably best left on the DJ bike.
The CNC chainring is pictured here with a SRAM PC1 1/8" singlespeed chain, fitted to some SRAM GX 170mm cranks.
These will be fitted as standard on all Fade Works bikes. If you're interested in building up your own dirt-jump or pump-track bike using a Fade frame, we also sell the chainrings separately.
Ed is the owner of Airdrop Bikes. A former web and graphic designer, he sacked off his job one day and decided to start up a bike brand.
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