'Nice' chainrings - aarn vs. Dura Ace vs. Sugino Zen vs. ???

I noticed aarn have restocked 1/8" 144 bcd track chainrings in their online store as of yesterday.

They are more expensive than I expected: total for a 'Basics' chainring posted to the UK is $128, which puts it into the price bracket of the likes of Dura Ace 7710 (around £85-95) and Sugino Zen (around £105). That's without attracting potential import duty and VAT.

One of my fixed audax friends has been using an aarn for some years and raves about its durability and roundness. This is exactly what I am after for a similar application, married to an Omnium chainset. I've used cheaper ones like Gebhardt and Velosolo until now and would like something a bit nicer.

So: are aarn that good or is this more of a hipster tax situation? What's the forum consensus on 'nice' chainrings up to about £100?

Nim

You won't be able to tell the difference between AARN, 7710, Zen etc once youre riding. Theyll all last forever and stay round

hipster tax

This.

Bling and half the price:

https://rotorbike.com/catalog/default/rotor/fixie-track/chainrings/noq/track-bcd-144-1-8-2.html

Never noticed any improvement on a Zen over the basic Omnium chainset, other than impressing fixie kids. The AARN will get you the biggest amount of fixie approval and Instagram likes, but don't expect a jump on performance.

Interesting option, thanks - I'd only heard of Rotor for their oval chainrings before.

Any decent quality chainring will be an improvement if centred properly on the spider. I’m running a salsa track ring I’ve had for years and I’ve gone through about five Izumi chains with barely and wear to it.

Maybe you are set on buying new but I can’t remember the last time I bought a new track ring. They are so easy to find in good condition as they’ve never been used outside.

I bought half a dozen rings from a guy at the last jumble I was at, mix of Dura Ace and Sugino 75, all mint condition. Think it was £75 for the lot so like £12.50 each.

Even if you don’t get that lucky you can definitely get the DA and Sugino rings for a fraction of the cost of the Aarn.

Yeah I got a used Rotor for £25. Will last years yet

Some may remember I was punting a couple of 49t AARN rings on here a while ago. From memory, after import duty they cost me about £130 or £140 each.
I sold them on as I switched to 47t.
I regularly use Sugino 75 and 7710 rings on all my bikes. They 'feel' to me at least as stiff and round as the AARN if not more so.

I have to say my AARN does feel nicer than cheaper rings. Sugino Zens feel great too. Never been too impressed by 7710 rings though.

Phil Wood sprockets feel nicer too. Take all this with a pinch of choice-supportive bias though.

ooof I too saw that they'd restocked and decided to have a peek. Having a lot of trouble justifying their price considering I'm basically just interested based on their looks (obviously know the quality is there)

I currently have a Zen on one of my bikes, and I've ridden regular Sugino 75 rings, Dura-Ace, Omniums, and smaller company's rings like Goldtec and Blackspire. Totally can't tell the difference between any of them myself.

Love the looks of aarn rings, but can't justify the price point :(

Couldn't really tell the difference between any of the rings I've ever used (Sugino 75, Dura-Ace, SRAM, Token). Personally don't see the point in spending a lot of money on a bling ring other than just for that - looks. Perhaps at a higher performance level there is a difference? AARN doesn't look like it market its products are performance ones though.

hipster tax situation

As mentioned above

Hmmn, not seen the Goldtec track ring before, looks like a budget Zen. Sounds like it runs fine, how's the general quality?

Good, if a bit agricultural and overbuilt

The Goldtec rings are decent and seem round to me. I've had one on a pair of 75s with a Supertoughness chain and was very happy with its performance. Definitely agree with @umop3pisdn that they feel overbuilt though. They have no hollowing out on the backside like fancier rings (Zen and Rotor) so they are surprisingly heavy.

However, one neat thing to mention is the ring is completely reversible so can be fully used twice. There is a logo etched on both front and back, and each face has machined chanring bolt seats so the bolts sit flush with the surface. There effectively is no "back" to the ring.

I'm not totally set on buying new - I just tend to default to that as I've not had great luck in the past getting hold of specific things used (and never any problems buying from forum classifieds). That's a very helpful point, thanks, as I'd not realised how good second-hand prices would be for 'nice' chainrings.

i'm a cheapskate, so i sometimes use 3/32" chainrings from old 6/7/8 speed setups where they don't have any profiling to help the chain shift. i'm not sure if this demonstrates anything about anything.

I ride all of them on my bikes and they feel very similar. A well used Zen is still my favourite. The only thing that bothers me a little with the aarn is that its a little thicker, so its not perfectly even on SG75 cranks. But thats kinda nonsense^^

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campy pista look nice the older school ones

plenty on ebay 2nd hand good condition

https://cicli-berlinetta.com/shop/components/cranksets-chainrings/nos-campagnolo-record-track-pista-chainring-52t-1-8-151-bcd-cinelli-pogliaghi/

That would go straight to anti in my eyes

So does that mean they fit alright on Omniums then? I've noticed a lot of chainrings have the opposite problem on Omnium cranks, where the chainring is too narrow for the chunky flats on Omniums.

Anyone tried the Velosolo CNC Campag copy rings? Look decent enough

https://www.velosolo.co.uk/shopcrank.html