The downhill set-up

MR MTB

I'm looking to upgrade to a more downhill chainset. I was thinking if I have a singal ring on the front that is about 36t and a 9speed Cassette that is about 14-25. I mainly want it for downhill peformance and I dont mind peadling hard to go back up. What do you think????????

nicklouse

just change the rings on the one you have.

.blitz

Sounds reasonable but as above there's no need to buy the complete chainset you can just get a single ring for the front and bolt it on with a chain guide if you don't already have one.

Road cassettes have their uses on DH bikes and older 8sp cassettes are less expensive and tougher. A short cage mech will keep the shifting crisp.

Northwind

How widely will you be using the bike? The point of close ratios is to get perfect gearing at particular tracks, matched with changing around front rings but if you want a setup that you can use anywhere without the fannying around a wider range makes more sense. 14-25 is very narrow, it'll be ace when it's right but potentially rubbish when it's not.

peter413

Totally agree with what Northwind said, I run a wide ratio cassette on my all round bike with a double setup at the front. I run a close-ish ratio on the back (11-28) with a big front ring (38t) so that I have a lot of power at my feet if I need it for high speed stuff but I also have slightly wider ratio's so that it works on more than just certain tracks (all my local tracks are a mix of high speed stuff and tight technical stuff anyway so it makes sense)