Glintique 32T Narrow-Wide BBSHD Chainring

The BBSHD ships with a large ring, a choice that favours flat-road speed. Put a loaded cargo bike or a heavy rider on a steep grade with that ring and the motor ends up turning slowly under high current. A 32T ring changes the ratio so the motor spins faster for the same road speed, and a faster-spinning motor pulls less current to deliver the same push.

Less current means less heat. That is the core reason BBSHD owners step down in ring size: the motor holds full power longer on a sustained climb before the controller's thermal protection starts trimming it.

The teeth are narrow-wide, alternating thick and thin so each tooth fills the matching gap in the chain. On a single-ring drivetrain that grip is what stops the chain from bouncing off over roots and rocks. Glintique pitches the ring for rugged terrain and long service, in a plain black finish.

• Lowest climbing gear: at 90 rpm on a 51T cog with a 2.1 m wheel, the bike crawls at about 4.4 mph.
• Cooler climbs: higher motor speed on grades means lower current.
• Better chain grip: narrow-wide teeth without a guard.
• Gentler on the nylon gear: lower gearing reduces the peak load on the drive's internal primary gear.

The cost of all this is top speed, and that deserves an honest look before ordering.

Past that point you either spin faster than feels comfortable or let the throttle carry the bike while your legs rest. The motor's own crank-speed ceiling sets a similar limit on throttle speed, so a 32T ring makes the whole bike a lower-geared machine.

For plenty of builds, the top row is the right one. Cargo bikes with kids aboard rarely want to go past 20 mph. Trail riders spend their time below it. Riders in hilly towns often find they reach the top of every climb faster on a 32T, because the motor never runs out of breath.

Who should skip it:

• Commuters on long flat roads who want to hold 25 mph or more.
• 52V speed builds with road tyres.
• Riders who pedal slowly and hate spinning; a 36T–38T ring is a gentler step.

That also rules out the smaller motors. The BBS01 and BBS02 use a different, smaller spline, and a BBSHD ring will not seat on them. Check the label on the motor casing before ordering; a BBSHD or BBS03 label, or a 1000W rating, confirms the match.

Glintique does not publish an offset figure or a chain speed rating for this ring. Neither is a deal-breaker, but both are worth confirming on the bike.

1. Offset: fit the ring, then measure chainline from the frame centre to the teeth and compare with the middle cog.
2. Chain width: run the chain through all gears on the stand; it should sit cleanly on the teeth with no rubbing on the ring's shoulders.
3. Frame clearance: check the gap between ring and chainstay, which is easier with a small ring than a large one.
4. Tyre clearance: on fat bikes, look for chain contact with the tyre in the largest cogs.

If the chainline lands well away from the middle of the cassette, the ring's offset does not suit that frame. Rings with a stated offset, such as ebsenopower's 8 mm or mGYDY's 12 mm, let you plan the chainline in advance.

Offset, bottom bracket width and rear spacing all add up, and the BBSHD chainring and chainline guide does the sum. On fat bikes with 100 mm or 120 mm shells, the fat bike guide adds the extra measurements.

Installing it is a standard direct-mount swap. Use a crank puller that matches your crank arms, hex and Torx keys, a torque wrench and medium-strength threadlocker. For the crank side, work from the BBSHD install guide.

1. Pull the drive-side crank arm.
2. Remove the stock ring's bolts and slide it off.
3. Clean the faces, fit the 32T ring and tighten the bolts in a star pattern with threadlocker.
4. Refit the crank and shorten the chain.

Chain length changes a lot with this swap. Going from 46T to 32T removes about three to four inner-plus-outer link pairs, using the rule of one pair per four teeth. A chain left long will slap and drop on rough ground, even with narrow-wide teeth.

Maintenance on a small ring is quick but frequent. Fewer teeth share the load, so each tooth works harder; check for hooked tips when you replace a chain.

• Want a spread of sizes instead: the ebsenopower 32T–38T ring with 8 mm offset.
• Want a stated offset and chain range: the mGYDY ring, rated for 7–12 speed chains.
• Want longer life than aluminium: a steel 32T–38T ring.