Single-ring road setups live or die by chain retention. Drop a chain mid-sprint or on a rough descent and you're coasting while the group rides away. The X-Sync Road 1 chainring addresses this with SRAM's alternating tooth profile—wide and narrow teeth that match the inner and outer chain link spacing, gripping the chain without requiring a physical guide or clutch derailleur to keep things in place.

The chainring runs on a 107mm bolt circle diameter, which matches SRAM's DUB road cranks and the 8-bolt direct mount interface on Force and Red AXS cranksets. If you're converting a 2x setup to 1x or replacing a worn ring on an existing build, this drops right onto the spider without adapters. The tooth count options span 40T through 50T in 2-tooth increments, so you can dial in your gearing based on terrain and fitness rather than accepting whatever came stock.

Steel construction handles the increased load that comes with running a single front ring. When you're mashing out of corners or grinding up a climb, all that force concentrates on one chainring instead of spreading across two. The X-Sync teeth wear into the chain over time, which actually improves the mesh between chain and ring as miles accumulate. SRAM machines the tooth profile to tighter tolerances than their mountain rings since road applications see higher sustained loads and cadences.... Read More