New-Old-Stock Shimano SuperGlide (Second Generation) Chainring...42T and 130 mm BCD (Demo Model)
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Product Description:

This offering is for a new-old-stock Shimano SuperGlide (SG) round chainring (possible demo model). It's a 42T aluminum alloy model from the mid 90's and has a bolt-circle diameter (BCD) of 130 mm. This is a second generation model (in the smaller chainring sizes) and is essentially identical to its first generation predecessor. The only visible difference is this chainring includes the "A" designation, which indicates this small chainring was designed to be a factory match to a large chainring with the same "A" designation on a double crankset. Now I have received  feedback that folks are able to match this A-Type chainring with large B-Type chainrings and still achieve functional shifting performance. When I say functional, I mean the shifting performance is okay for most users, but a large "A" chainring will still likely shift a little better, especially under heavy load.

Shimano made better quality chainrings during this era, but through shop catalog research we confirmed these are Shimano 105 equivalent rings...so still a good quality offering with a number of Shimano double crankset applications. I can also confirm this chainring would have been marketed as an 8-speed model, but as noted below, this chainring will function fine on other drivetrains. For those that are interested, the Shimano 105 groupset included an 8-speed drivetrain from 1993 to 1998. Additionally, Shimano spec'd a number of their road triple cranksets with the same BCD measurement for the middle ring and outer (largest) ring, which provides other compatible options for this offering. Although, please do not consider these rings for a Shimano mountain bike triple cranksets, as they generally have a smaller BCD measurement.

We have also noted the width of these rings appears about the same as the first generation SuperGlide model, but still slightly thinner at it's mounting points relative to older Shimano chainring models. Our best guess is this slightly thinner design is to bring the rings closer together (when mounted) to better accommodate the narrower chain required for a 7/8-speed cassette/drivetrain (relative to the older 5/6-speed drivetrains). Please understand, this observation is focused primarily on the entire ring design and not necessarily the teeth...as the teeth on this chainring are compatible with the relatively standard 1/2" x 3/32" chain. We also believe these chainrings may be used on any number of drivetrains (5, 6, 7, 8 and even 9-speed drivetrains) with a compatible chain...meaning a chain with an appropriate external width for the intended drivetrain. If we had to make a recommendation, we would probably lean towards a 7 or 8-speed drivetrain, but there is some flexibility here...as alluded to above.

With respect to condition, this particular chainring was part of a small wholesale lot of new-old-stock Shimano second generation drivetrain parts, but I set this chainring aside because I see slight wear on the teeth. There is no residual oil/lubricant from a chain, but that could've been easily cleaned off before being shipped to me. Regardless, I am referring to this chainring as a demo model because I have to believe a chain was wrapped around it for a brief period, even if just for some "demo" miles before disassembly. For this reason, I've discounted this one offering from my regular stocks to make sure someone is getting a fair deal.

General notes regarding SuperGlide (SG) design/techologies...
From what we can tell, Shimano introduced the SuperGlide chainring in the early 90's. At a glance, the tooth design on the first/second generation SuperGlide chainrings appears fairly similar to older (pre-SuperGlide) Shimano chainrings. Both have beveled teeth to facilitate shifting, but the SuperGlide chainrings are the first to introduce slight variations in the shape of selected teeth (referred to as the tooth profile) at the two points of lowest pressure on the chainring (i.e., where the pedaling effort is generally at it's weakest state). These changes to the tooth profile are subtle, but we are able to notice slightly different shapes to some teeth in this low pressure area (and especially on the larger chainrings). More specifically, some teeth appear narrower (but still the same height), while other teeth look as if they have been "squashed" slightly, as they appear shorter and a little wider. Whatever the tooth profile changes, Shimano claims the computer aided design facilitates shifting on the front chainrings by limiting the "shift shock" (where the shift is sudden and dramatic) and chain throwing occurrences. We are not entirely sure if these subtle tooth profile differences result in the significant shifting performance claimed by Shimano, but our guess is they probably offer some modest improvements over predecessor models with more uniform tooth profiles.


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