Originally Posted by
Lascauxcaveman
Couple hundred 130bcd 50T listings on eBay right now, most are between $12 and $30.
I think this may be the case. 130BCD chain rings, of course, go from 55T down to 39T and most sizes in between.
There is always a combination of factors that create trends. This situation could include the downward trend of front chainrings, the widening trend of rear cassettes,( i.e. the era of "wide doubles,") the aging legs of the cycling population needing gearing less on the top end, the end of the triple as a mainstream application, the limited flexibility of the new cranksets as far as being able to fit multiple needs, and gravel bikes. Toss in the 135BCD of some Campy, and what a soup sandwich it is.
As the 'max says, if you want something specific, you have to be willing to wait, sacrifice, and pay, especially if you want it RFN. Especially polished, ramped 130BCD 50T chainrings. As others say, patience is a virtue. Sometimes a donor bike, bought for the rings and then re-sold with other rings swapped in, is a cheap alternative.
The modern trend seems to be simply starting out with 110BCD and then going from there. This is a bit exacerbated by the move to 4-arm cranksets (and 3-arm are coming).
My suggestion to the OP is to perhaps look at older-school 110BCD cranksets, which are also getting harder to find, then go from there. I've been hoarding a pair of 110BCD triple square-taper cranksets. They look C&V, handle a wide range of rings, and work. Just haven't found a bike for them yet, but my touring rig had one, set up 50/34/26.