FC-M530 Chainring Deore Variations

There must have been a standard size for this type of product and this doesn't really fit it. Others have said it didn't fit their Shimano set, and now I have a Bontrager set that also required the flat part on the inside of the ring, adjacent to the bolt holes, to be filed off. My local bike shop filed the four flat spots with a Dremmel in about 10 minutes for $10.It's stainless steel rather than aluminum, so it will last many times longer than an aluminum one, and so the added labor for filing the flat parts down will be spread into many years of use, and I never found an alternative, but you should plan on the possibility that it will need filing down.Once filed, it works great.Edit: I rode about 20 miles a day for 7 years before it finally wore out. About 50,000 miles.

What can I say, it's a new 32 tooth chainring and now my chain doesn't skip any more. I didn't read the description carefully enough, and it turned out to be a steel chainring, not aluminum, so now my mountain bike weighs an ounce or so more. Not a bother to me, but some of you gram counters out there might take note.Also, I found out that the Deore chainring is NOT bolt-on compatible with an XT crankset, at least not one that is more than 10 years old. I had to file a few thousandths of an inch off of the square positioning tabs before it would seat properly on the crank spider.Since both of these "problems" were my own fault, I can't give it less than five stars, since now that it is installed it works perfectly.

This first review is for the 32T size ring. Amazon would not let me review the 22T ring separately, even though I ordered it separately. The second review is for the 22T ring.(32T) I read a lot of reviews about this and similar chainrings. I was not able to tell from them if THIS ring required modification, but I figured if it did that it was something I could easily do. I ordered it because it was the best value and it was steel. While aluminum is lighter, that makes no difference to me, but steel is stronger. When it arrived I discovered that indeed it required a small amount of material to be removed from each of the four tangs below the bolt holes. My hand held grinder took care of that in a shower of sparks. Once that was done the ring fit perfectly. It stopped the tooth skipping of the old chain ring and it shifts like new.(22T) This ring did not require modification, but it was a slightly different shape from the original it replaced. The original had a plastic ring that snaps into the metal ring and acts as a dust and dirt seal, going between the chainring and the frame of the bike. This came out easily and fit loosely into the new ring due to the slightly different shape. But once the new chainring was bolted on it secured the plastic ring and everything worked great. The small chainring appears to be symmetric but one side is stamped with the ring size, and that goes toward the bike frame, same as the middle ring markings. Both rings have small tabs to show the orientation relative to the crank. Pay attention to that, as it goes with the small tabs that lift the chain onto the next ring. The small ring does not have any tabs but the tooth alignment may be of some consequence. You'd have to ask Shimano about that. Possibly more important would be if the teeth are not exactly symmetric. A casual glance does not indicate any lack of symmetry, but a micrometer might. I didn't check.One thing I should mention. In order to remove the crank, which is necessary in order to remove and replace these rings, I had to make an adapter for the old crank removal tool. The tool is for the old style solid square spindle. I cut a length of rod 4.75" long and put it inside the hollow spindle on the bottom bracket. This gave the tool something to push on. I had seen a youtube video on how to use some coins to make the tool work, but that didn't work for me. I now have some bent coins. They may have been too large, but considering the amount of force it took to remove the crank, I don't think coins or washers of the right size would have worked.

I had the same issue as the other reviewer regarding it not fitting, but that is a function of my XT crankset being from 2003 (I have a 2003 Epic Pro). You can't fault the chainring (although you could fault Shimano for changing small things like that so you have to upgrade). It was an easy fix. The area below the holes that flare towards the middle are a little to long to fit the "spider" area of my crankset. I just had to Drimmel down each flare until it fit. Took about twenty minutes.From the advice of my local bike shop tech, I went metal rather than aluminum because it lasts longer and doesn't bend as easy if you hit something (like I did). Interestingly, XT is aluminum (super light, but not durable) but XTR (better than XT) and SLX (below XT) are a combination of steel (the teeth) and composite. This would be great, but I am not spending the extra money for just a few grams of weight.I took the bike out for a night ride tonight and it was incredibly smooth.

This is a perfect fit for my Shimano Alivio M430 Octalink crankset, and much cheaper than the Alivio M430 32T chainring.

The seller was great. Fast and quick. Even arrived to my home a few days erlier but the chainring itself doesn't do the job. I been building my own bike for almost fifteen years and i found myself having trouble with the front derraileur shifting process...i put my other chainring and there was no problem at all. So i leave my old (but new) 32t chainring.

This chainring did not sit flush with my mounting bracket. Not sure if it was a factory defect or I am missing something with the sizing of chainrings. I have a deore XT 9 speed, same bolt pattern. Anyway, I was able to take 1/8'' of metal off of the chainring with a Dremel (Great tool by the way), and it ended up working out for me. Anyway, the chainring seems to be holding up well and is shifting smoothly.

My mountain bike shifts very well. The teeth have become worn out on the rear cog cassette and I'm replacing it. My experience is that when the cassette is worn out and being replaced, the chain and the middle chainring need to be replaced, too. All these parts seem to wear together and if you leave one part on, it won't work with the new ones.This chainring is actually an upgrade according to the spec's from the original which is being replaced. They look at fit the same.