Deore inner chainring installation

Astrozombies!

Hello people,

I have bought a brand new SLX double chainset (m665) and am replacing the chainrings with the steel deore versions (m532). The replacement chain rings have the same number of teeth as the slx ones.

I'm having some trouble working out which way the steel deore inner chain ring is supposed to be installed. The SLX inner ring I took off had the writing facing the NON-drive side, and so I thought this would be the same orientation for the Deore ring... But when I put the deore ring on top of the SLX with both rings' writing facing the same way, the teeth do not line up. If I reverse the deore ring and put it back on top of the SLX ring (so now the sides with writing on are facing each other), the rings line up perfectly.

Does this mean the orientation for the deore ring is opposite to that of the SLX (i.e. the writing points towards the DRIVE side?). I've looked on shimano tech docs and elsewhere but cannot find a straight answer...

Here are some pictures to show what I mean (SLX ring is underneath the silver Deore one in both pics):

Writing facing opposite way:

Untitled by astrozombies!, on Flickr

writing facing same way:

Untitled by astrozombies!, on Flickr

supersonic

Your original is a 10 speed. The replacement is 9 speed. Even if they did line up, you might have to file the spider or ring tabs to get the thing in the right place.

nicklouse

inner ring does not really matter, but the bump aligns with the crank arm.

Astrozombies!

Surely it matters... Look at my pictures - the teeth will be in a different place depending on which way I fit it! Surely this will affect shifting?

supersonic

It makes no difference with the inner ring, are no shifting ramps on it. Ramps need to align properly. And as above, it is not directly compatible anyway.

Astrozombies!

M665 is 9 speed not 10 speed though, so how is it not compatible?

supersonic

Ah, I misread the model, if they are both 9 speed then will be no offset problems.

Astrozombies!

OK. I had these rings on my last build with the writing facing the non drive side and had terrible chain suck. Think I'll try it the other way seeing as that will put the teeth in exactly the same position as the ring that came installed with the cranks

cooldad

Silly question maybe, but why buy a new chainset and put old rings on it?

Astrozombies!

I've read that the rings that come with slx chainsets are not as durable as the steel deore ones hence wanting to replace them in the first place. They are only a few rides old and I have a chain I fitted at the same time that I want to reuse so thought it would be okay?

supersonic

They are both hardened steel, will last a long time.

Ouija

It's only the middle ring on SLX that is made of composite material (which wears faster). The outer rings are pretty much identical to all Shimano's other crank rings, with similar wear rates.

Astrozombies!

Hmm i've just noticed that the m665 has a specific middle ring design too... Think I am going to stick with the rings that came with the chainset, doh!