IN BRIEF
Wheels Manufacturing put its Direct Mount 8 Bolt Gravel Chainrings on sale on 9 August; they fit SRAM eight-bolt direct-mount cranksets. Machined from 7075 aluminium, they come in 40, 42, 44 and 46 teeth, with a 6.5 mm inboard offset and a choice of two tooth profiles, Shimano HyperGlide+ or SRAM. Prices run from 115 to 125 dollars depending on size on the brand’s US store, which showed no euro pricing as of 10 August. The 40-tooth version is quoted at 99.5 grams.
| Price (United States) | $115 (40 teeth), $120 (42), $125 (44 and 46) |
| Weight | 99.5 g (40 teeth), 102.6 g (42), 108.1 g (44), 113.6 g (46) |
| Material | Machined 7075 aluminium |
| Compatibility | SRAM 8-bolt direct-mount cranksets |
| Offset | 6.5 mm inboard |
| Tooth profiles | Shimano HyperGlide+ or SRAM |
| Colours | Black, blue, turquoise, green, red, purple, orange |
Some parts only get noticed the moment they wear out. The chainring is one of them: you ride on it without a second thought, then the chain starts skipping and it has to be replaced, which means going back through the crankset manufacturer’s catalogue. That is the ground Wheels Manufacturing is moving onto, an American machine shop better known to mechanics than to the wider public, with a range of gravel chainrings that went on sale on 9 August.
A gravel chainring cut for SRAM cranksets
The product is called Direct Mount 8 Bolt Gravel Chainrings, and its remit is clearly drawn: “Fits SRAM eight-bolt direct-mount cranksets”, the official product page states. That is the mounting standard SRAM uses on its recent cranksets.
Each chainring is “machined from 7075 aluminium” and “precision machined by Wheels Manufacturing”, the page adds. The 7075 is an aluminium alloy known for its hardness, widely used in cycling on parts that take repeated loads.
The stated offset is 6.5 mm inboard — the position listed as InBoard in the brand’s catalogue, which brings the chainring closer to the frame to line the chain up with a wide cassette.
Two tooth profiles, and a choice of chain
This is the part that will interest anyone who tinkers with their drivetrain. The official product page lists two tooth profiles to choose from — Shimano HyperGlide+ or SRAM — on the same chainring body. The Shimano profile is given as compatible with “Shimano HG+ chains” and KMC 12-speed chains; the SRAM profile, with 9, 10 and 11-speed chains as well as with “SRAM Eagle / T-Type 12 and 13-speed” chains.
Put in workshop terms: going by the compatibilities the page claims, a SRAM crankset can take a Shimano chain, which opens up unusual pairings between the two catalogues. Drivetrain manufacturers, for their part, design their groupsets as coherent wholes.
Sizes, weights and prices
The range covers four sizes. According to Bikerumor, which sets out the figures the product page leaves out, the chainrings are offered “in 40T, 42T, 44T and 46T” and weigh 99.5, 102.6, 108.1 and 113.6 grams respectively. The outlet also reports “seven anodised colours: black, blue, turquoise, green, red, purple and orange”.
One nuance is worth flagging: as of 10 August, the store’s catalogue tied those seven colours to the SRAM tooth profile only, the Shimano HyperGlide+ profile appearing there in black alone.
On price, the US store’s product page shows 115.00 dollars, and the catalogue sets out how it climbs with size: 115 dollars for 40 teeth, 120 for 42, 125 for 44 and for 46. Bikerumor sums the range up as “115-125 dollars, depending on how strong your legs are”. As of 10 August, the product page mentioned neither euro pricing nor a European distributor: a French buyer will have to factor in importing it.
