Swapping from a 42t to a 44t big ring worth it?

broona

I bought a Morewood Kwela 29er to use both on and off road, and potentially replace my racing bike when I go out with mates on their racing bikes.

Been out with them a couple of times, and I can easily keep up most of the time, except for top end downhill!

Where I thought the big ring was a 44t, it's actually a 42t, so I'm looking to swap it over to get a little more top end speed (mate's got an almost new 44t off his Zesty from when he went from 3x9 to 2x9, so I can get one for free!).

Questions now, will his 9 speed 44t Deore chainring be compatible with my 10 speed SLX crank and chain? If so, what will I need to adjust to make it all fit and work together? Cheers.

Chunkers1980

Probably not.

You only need to spin about 2.5% faster to have the same difference. Even if it does fit it is not worth it.

The Rookie

Minimal change in gearing.

Will almost certainly fit the cranks, but you may need to adjust the front mech height and may need to lengthen the chain.

cooldad

I have a 52 on my road bike so good luck.

broona

cooldad wrote:

I have a 52 on my road bike so good luck.

Thanks for the replies.

I've got 50/11 on my road bike, but I just don't enjoy riding it, hence buying the 29er as a compromise, like I say, it's fine most of the time as my mates aren't massively fit, just a little more top end speed would be nice every now and then, but if it's gonna be a hassle for not a lot of gain, I'll leave it be.

The Rookie

You'd really want to jump to the trecking ratios (28/38/48) to make it worthwhile, 28/38 would still work offroad for most peopleand 48 would help on road.