Small oval chainrings only - anyone doing this?
Did a (quick) search and didn't see anything on this specific topic. Know the pro/con of oval has been beaten to death and not looking to add to that...
I thought I had seen or read that a popular implementation of oval rings was to just install on the small ring for (essentially) climbing specific usage. I live in an area where there are a lot of short punchy hills - gradients of 10-20% not uncommon with a couple hills hitting 24%. As I'm not as young as I used to be, figured it might be worth it to try out an oval chainring.
Unfortunately I ran into 2 issues when I started to investigate. 1. Went to Absolute Black's website and for Hollowgram SI they only sell 2 ring cranksets. I then looked for other manufacturers who might sell small ring only for Hollowgram. Ended up clicking on a lot of links to non-Hollowgram equipment which was frustrating. I then initiated a chat session with Competitive Cyclist to inquire and they indicated that I should only run a full oval crankset as using only a small oval ring wouldn't work due to FD shifting problems / adjustment issues.
Hence this post... Anyone running just a small oval chainring? How's your shifting? Any info would be appreciated!