Absoluteblack launches new Super Steel e

Rebecca Morley 26/01/2023 Gear

Absoluteblack has launched the new Super Steel e-bike chainrings.

High power e-bike motors tend to wear out the drivetrain in a very short time. The accelerated wear starts from the chainring, and this is why the brand said it developed ‘Super Steel’ chainring that can potentially save the user two-three expensive cassette replacements, thanks to its durability.

What Absoluteblack said it means by ‘Super Steel’ is premium steel that has been CNC milled, not stamped, then heat treated and put through multiple highly specialized nitriding and carburizing surface treatments to achieve micro hardness of 1300HV. All this results in a chainring that is over four times harder than a standard, stamped steel OEM chainring.

Absoluteblack said its e-bike chainrings are not only more durable but in combination with its range of spiders, they are also lighter than OEM equivalents. The e-bike-specific Super Steel chainring is compatible with 12spd Shimano HG+ chains as well as 11/12spd regular chains.

Why a Super Steel chainring?"The drivetrain of an e-bike is subject to increased stress and torque as compared to conventional bicycles, as a result of the electric motor," said Absoluteblack. "This increased stress causes accelerated wear on all drivetrain components and especially the chainring. Specialised e-bike retailers experience this issue firsthand on a daily basis. It is not unheard of for an e-bike drivetrain to wear out in less than three-four months.

"All OE chainrings, which are currently supplied with e-bikes, are made of mild steel, which is much softer than steel used in chains and can't be hardened sufficiently. Because of the softness of this material, the teeth of the chainrings get worn by the chain and deform quickly, which in turn increases the wear rate of the chain and ultimately the cassette. In a way, it is a ‘symbiotic system’ where each component has an impact on the rest of the components.

"As chainring specialists, we know that increasing the hardness of the chainring can significantly reduce the rate of wear of the entire drivetrain. This is why we have created our e-bike-specific, extremely hard-wearing Super Steel chainrings."

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Chainrings are only compatible with Absoluteblack e-bike spiders. It offers a range of spiders to fit most popular e-bike motors: Shimano Steps (50 and 53mm), Bosch Gen 3 (50 and 53mm), Bosch Gen 4 (50 and 53mm), Specialized Brose and Specialized SL 1.1 MTB motors. Spiders are also offered in four colours: black, red, gold, titanium. Spiders also come with titanium mounting hardware.

Chainring price: €189,95Spider price: from €119,95 to €139,95

Bolts are included with the spider.

Absoluteblack is available in the UK via Velobrands.