Q ring plunge and install

[twhbent]

Well I received the new Sram 110 bcd 50/34t crankset(thanks Ratz), 52/36t Q-ring, chain, and some tools a bit ago so I thought I would get started. I didn't get very far when I hit the first hurdle(ouch). The crankset is a Sram Rival 22 which has the removable spider and the hidden bolt look. I'm having trouble trying to figure out how to remove the female insert of the hidden bolt combination from the chainring. I'm leaning towards this as being a press fit but not sure. Has anyone had any experience removing this insert. Although I'm not going to use the new 50/34 rings at this time(maybe later at some point) I don't want to damage these rings. I have tried searching the net but haven't ran across a solution yet. Should of I ordered a new set of hardware for attaching the Q-Rings and if so how would the hidden insert be installed? I can only upload one picture so I will try and post again with a picture of the ring and insert. Thanks.

 

[twhbent]

Picture of the ring and insert that I'm trying to remove for use with the Q-Ring. Sorry, won't allow me because the upload file is to large. ????????? Any idea what I'm not doing correctly trying to attach photos?

 

[Doug Kline]

twhbent, you use two different size hex wrenches on the bolts, one on each side. SRAM has a picture of what you're working with on their website - it's a bolt and a sleave. In my experience they stick together badly.
https://www.sram.com/truvativ/products/road-chainring-hardware-kit

 

[twhbent]

HI Doug, yes you are correct that a size 5mm and 6mm hex wrenches are needed to remove 4 of the five bolt assemblies from the chain ring. It is the 5th and final one that is the sleeve with internal threads and appears that it is press fit into the chainring. I will contact Sram and probably just order a new set of attaching bolts/hardware. That way I can just leave the last(hidden) sleeve in the 50/34t chainring for future use. Thank you.

 

[Doug Kline]

Interesting. I'm living in the past on my 10 speed cranks will all bolts assessible. Here is a write up that may help. It is from the installation point of view, but is detailed. http://www.bicyclechainrings.com/mounting-force22.html

 

[Doug Kline]

I still haven't found a definitive answer for removing the female insert. Can't find anything on the SRAM site. I don't find and pictures of replacement chainrings for sale that already have it inserted. The following post from another forum for the same issue says that it is removable, but they never say if it worked. Maybe a call to rotor support might answer the question. I am interested in your outcome because I will have this same issue in my near future.

From perullo on forums.roadbikereview.com 09-02-14:
SRAM told me I needed an additional bolt kit (11.6918.000.001) which would include a special flatter nut that could sneak in there without removing the crank arm(a la Wickwerks). When I found the set on amazon(not via the part number but by keyword) I found a single review, which was a guy who bought it for this exact purpose and found it did not meet the need. That prompted me to call Quarq, as my particular application is on a SRAM Red Quarq powermeter (though I don't believe that has any bearing on the issue here). The Quarq rep seemed very familiar with the issue, and advised that I pop out the embedded nut in my old crank and press it into the new one. That's what I will now try. I considered it right away but was a bit fearful to try it. He recommended using one of the bolts and threading it into the embedded nut to hit and pop it out. Sounds good. He noted it is knurled and should survive a few out&ins.

 

[ratz]

You are correct that 5th bolt is press fit and cannot easily be removed from the stock rings. I always keep some replacement bolts in the parts bing so I forgot to mention that when I suggested the removable spider version. Sorry about that.

WickWerks has good instructions on how you install 3rd party rings with the hidden bolt arm.
See this article.

http://www.bicyclechainrings.com/mounting-force22.html

The same trick will work for the Qrings. If you have a stock length bolt that is too long you can file it down.
You can get their bolt set here if you want to make it simple.

http://www.amazon.com/WickWerks-Chainring-Bolts-Force-Cranks/dp/B00YQCKCTM

 

[twhbent]

Ratz,
If I only new a fraction of what you have forgotten I would be on my way to being a genius. After all, I guess I over reacted about trying to remove the 5th bolt. After walking away from the install and thinking about the problem, I realized that I would only be using the spider/cranks arms from the new crankset(110 bcd) to be mounted with the Q-Rings. I then removed and used one bolt/nut set from my original(130 bcd) crankset and the rest is history. The setup did require that the spider be removed to insert the bolt behind the crank once the Q-Ring ocp was determined.
Hopefully the master Q-Ring installers will verify that my setup is correct. I did do some test riding in my driveway and I was surprised at how smooth the paddling was. I will be fulfilling my DAV driving commitment later today so it will be later this evening before I actually have an opportunity for a longer test ride.

Waiting for my second length of chain to arrive. Not sure why it all didn't ship together, oh well.

Doug, you should be fine if you are planning on using the hidden bolt format. Let me know if you have any questions regarding the set up.

A big thank you to Ratz and Doug in helping solve the issue. Ratz, thanks for the help with resizing the photos.

 

[ratz]

Looks good that would be equivalent to an OCP #2 install. Which should be pretty optimal with that long Chainstay.