Specialites TA X110 4 Arm 11x Chainrings

The Specialites TA X110 4 arm 11x chainrings are a decent upgrade or replacement for your standard Shimano offerings and provide similar quality shifting across the inner and outer rings. Wear rates look to be pretty impressive too.

• Pros: Decent shifting even under load; hardwearing
• Cons: Bolt covers add to the price; no chain catcher pin on the outer

These TA chainrings are designed to work with Shimano's 11-speed four-arm cranksets with a PCD (Pitch Circle Diameter) of 110mm, so that covers the last two versions of 105, Ultegra and Dura-Ace.

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Made from 7075-T6 hardened aluminium alloy, they are still looking pretty good after about 1,000 miles of testing in all sorts of weather. The coating has worn on the teeth but that's normal, and the teeth all look to be the same shape as they were when they were first fitted. I'll leave them fitted to bikes over the winter, though, to get a real feel for how well they stand up to abuse.

The 52/36 inner and outer chainrings been fitted to various bikes over the last few months on both 105 R7000 and Ultegra R8000 cranksets, and the gear changes have matched that of the standard Shimano offerings.

The TAs don't have as many ramps and tooth profiles that Shimano incorporates, but it doesn't seem to affect the shift even when under load, like dropping from the big chainring to the small on a steep hill while out of the saddle.

Tooth count

Shimano, like most brands, offers its chainsets in the usual setups of 50/34, 52/36 and 53/39, so the X110s enable some customisation thanks to a decent spread of options.

The outers are available in 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 and 53t, and the inners in 33, 34, 36, 38, 39 and 42t. TA recommends that you keep a difference of between 12 and 16 teeth for the rings for the best shifting.

> How to get lower gears on your bike

What with gravel/adventure riding becoming more common, it would be nice to see the rings available in smaller sizes, as some people might find 48/33 too large for riding off-road.

> How to get ultra-low gears for gravel adventures

I'd also like to see a pin on the outer to stop an unshipped chain getting jammed between the ring and the crank.

Value

Chainrings tend to last quite a few thousand miles, depending on your maintenance routines and the type of conditions you ride in, but if and when they do wear out the cost of getting Shimano replacements has made changing the whole chainset a more viable option.

A quick look on the usual internet shops shows that you can pick up a brand new Ultegra R8000 outer chainring for about £100 (an rrp of £130ish) and if you are going to replace the outer you'll be replacing the inner too at £25. You can get a shiny new chainset for just £150.

> Your complete guide to Shimano road groupsets

In a like-for-like setup, the 52/36 TA chainrings here work out a bit cheaper than the Ultegra options, even at full rrp.

The 52t is priced at £63.99 and the 36t is £34.99, so £98.98 in total. But if you want to maintain that smooth look of the rings blending into the cranks you will also need to allow for a set of bolt covers, another £22.99 for R8000 ones.

Conclusion

Overall, if you want to customise your ring sizes than the X110s make sense. They match the excellent shifting of Ultegra and look to be wearing well, but as direct replacements they don't offer a huge saving on price.

Verdict

Great shifting quality and plenty of size options, and comparable on price to those they are replacing