[Lev]

Whatup AM folks? I'm currently in the process of revamping my drivetrain a little, and I'm curious what other peeps think who ride similar style. I'm taking off the big ring and replacing it with a bash guard on my Prophet. Right now I have a 32t middle ring, and it feels pretty solid. I prefer doing my techy climbing in that ring because it reduces wheel slippage.

With the removal of my big ring, I am considering replacing my 32t with a 36t middle ring so that I can still hammer on the downs. The only thing is, I'm a medium sized guy (5'10 160 lb) and I'm not sure if the 36t will be overkill. The 32t still feels pretty good, but I'm not sure if I'll miss the bigger gears in the long run.

Any thoughts from anyone else who has been through this one? Thanks all

Lev

 

[Biznatch01]

Ill let you know in 2 days when the correct backplate for my DRS arrives. Im in the same boat as you except I just went ahead and ordered it.

 

[flyingkiwi]

A lot of bikes now set up with 2 rings and I know on my Gemini that I spin out 32 and that a 36 would be better.
If you dont have problems climbing on your small 22 then you could upside to have a 26 and 36 rings.
On my hardtail (Azonic DS1) I ran a chainguide on a 32 with a 11-34 cassette to have enough gears to climb and decend but grunt and grind or walk really steep climbs.

Good riding

 

[Ecka]

36/24 front (with bash)
11/32 rear

BLT with
Pike 454
XO
King and Easton componets.

Never really missed the big ring (44). :thumbsup:

Cheers
Ecka

 

[Bombardier]

I run an 11-32 chainring w/ bashguard, and an 8spd 11-32 cassette, and so far I've only spun out going downhill on a few occasions.

 

[Gruzovik]

I recently got rid of my 44 ring and replcaed it with a bash and currently have 22/32. I do most of my climbing in the 32 ring and on about 98% of the downhills don't miss the 44. The other 2% are fast fire roads and mellow flat XC type terrain - this is where I start to miss the 44 and I am also thinking of a 34 or 36 gear. The switch would make it more difficult to do very steep climbs though.

 

[anotherbrian]

At the end of last year I asked the same question. By the end of the season, I got pretty strong from riding a singlespeed and found I was spinning out my 32T on my geared bike (big ring replaced with a bashguard) regularly. I bought the 36T ring, but didn't get around to installing it until ~2 weeks ago. I was off the bike all winter and spring, and the 36T is too big now (I was falling back to the granny for practically all the climbs on a recent ride), so I'll be swapping the 32T back at least for a month or two.

I didn't find a big difference in shifting from the 22T to the 36T (RaceFace Atlas crankset with RF rings), especially since going up would normally done without a load. Shifting down just worked.

 

[man w/ one hand]

I'm runnin' a 26-36t-bash & e13 DRS w/an 11-34 cassette.:rockon: Race Face rings on :aureola: Saint cranks. Jumping from 32 to 34 mid ring = no prob.:thumbsup: 34 to 36 very :yikes: noticable. 22 to 24 granny = no prob. 24 to 26 very:eekster: noticable. If possible, but not necessary, try to stay w/in 10 teeth of ea. other on your chainrings. Drive trains are sorta developed around that perameter ut: I think. 26 & 36t rings, for me, required a staught leg. Steep, long, drawn out climbs will build your endurance w/those chainrings AND make you a very :yesnod: effecient climber, IF you rft: got th' fitness fer it.

 

[ebxtreme]

I went with a larger chainring for the very same reason on my big bike. I was spinning out on the faster downhills in the bike park. Probably not as big of a deal with my AM or XC bikes, but it is something I'm considering when my chainrings wear out.

22 - 36 up front - Race Face and Blackspire chainrings
Truvativ 36 T bashguard
11- 34 in the back
Holzfeller cranks
Blackspire stinger chainguide

I've had no issues with shifting between the 22 and 36, but I was anticipating that I'd need to move up to a 24 or 26 in the granny when I got it. So far, so good with the 22-36 combo. In all honesty, I'm not shifting my front all that often on rides. It's granny for climbs and middle ring for descents as we do lots of climb and drops.

Cheers,
EBX

 

[Lev]

Anyone else heard of staying within 10 teeth of eachother on the chainrings? Sounds unfamiliar. Can't imagine that making any difference granted the chain is long enough.

 

[ebxtreme]

Anyone else heard of staying within 10 teeth of eachother on the chainrings? Sounds unfamiliar. Can't imagine that making any difference granted the chain is long enough.

yeah....some say 10T and some say 12T. It doesn't matter about the chain length because you set that for your big ring (whatever the size is).

Basically, the concept is that you shouldn't have too big of a jump between chainrings to avoid shifting issues. That is why I said I expected to have issues when I went with 22-36 (a 14T difference), but I haven't had any problems yet.

Cheers,
EBX

 

[man w/ one hand]

yeah....some say 10T and some say 12T. It doesn't matter about the chain length because you set that for your big ring (whatever the size is).

Basically, the concept is that you shouldn't have too big of a jump between chainrings to avoid shifting issues. That is why I said I expected to have issues when I went with 22-36 (a 14T difference), but I haven't had any problems yet.

Cheers,
EBX

Shiftin' issues is exactly :yesnod: what I was talkin' about. Sorry I didn't clarify. Sometimes chains will drop off of th' granny when you shift from mid-ring to granny. I've got RM Reaper ht w/22-32 rings on it an' it will drop a chain faster than a vet will bust a cap into a dixie chicks tour bus.:lol:

 

[Chip Henderson]

SIngle 36 up front, and couldn't be happier. :thumbsup:

 

[fsdmusic]

I run a 24/36t with an e13 DRS bashguard havent missed the big ring yet, but you do have to be careful about crossing up the chain. So normal chain ring rules apply when shifting and if your front derailer isnt set up perfect with the e13 DRS shifting to the 36t is hell on your drivetrain so I would suggest getting the 36t but set it up the right way.

 

[mzungo]

34/24

34/24 front and bash
11/24 rear just about covers it all.

 

[Hardtails Are Better]

22-36-bash up front, 11-34 casette in back. Works well.

 

[frorider]

my FR/heavy duty TR bike has 22/36 combo up front, and evil guide. works very well, upshifts well. race face 36T ring, FSA granny, FSA cranks.

there's this common myth that a 14T gap is too much, but if you ask around you'll find a lot of riders (i'm tempted to use the term 'core') in high-vert terrain (cali, colorado) using this setup. I almost have started using this question as way to separate the good bike shops from the less knowledgeable.

for the climbs i do, there's no way i'd go bigger than a 22T granny. at the same time, for the descents 32 is too small.

 

[fumanchuchu]

I just switched from 22-32-44 to 26-36 and I love it.
You can hammer pretty fast with a 36 and the 26 climbs with less slippage than a 22.

 

[man w/ one hand]

I just switched from 22-32-44 to 26-36 and I love it.
You can hammer pretty fast with a 36 and the 26 climbs with less slippage than a 22.

:thumbsup: EXACTLY!!! :rockon:

 

[bear]

22/34 front, 11x34 back, can maintain high teens (20+ in outright sprint) on flats so pedalling harder than that for downhills simply not required.

I put on a BlackSpire DH ring for the 34 - no pins and ramps for shifting, but shifts just fine from the granny up, and less possibility of chainsuck when things are grimy. Works great.

Only downside I've found so far is the increase in chain slack when on the smaller end of the cassette, that would not be there with a big-ring. If it's a long run I just shift up the cassette and don't worry about pedalling so much.