Chain and Freewheel compatibility with a narrow wide chainring

Question

I wanted a smaller tooth chainring for an older road bike. I bought a new crankset with a single 34T chainring. The old chain doesn't work because the new chainring is a narrow wide configuration. I'm having trouble finding a 34T non-narrow wide chainring. What width chain do I need. And, what freewheel do I need for all of this to be compatible?

JoeK · Answer

The narrow/wide chainring is timed so it should work with any 1/2" (standard) derailleur chain as long as the inner links go over the narrow tooth and the outer links go over the wide tooth. On a 1/8" wide track chain, the wide teeth fit inside the narrow part of the chain!
The other option would be to also replace the chain with a more modern one eg marked for 8 speed; that should work with 6 & 7 speed freewheels without complaining at all, and they are cheap.

Chain and Freewheel compatibility with a narrow wide chainring

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