Advice on moving to 2 chainrings from 3?

Beansontoast

Hi People,

I would like to move to only 2 chainrings, from my current setup of 3.

Basically, I am after the best advice possible, hence this post!

I am on a Specialised Pitch Pro (2009), which is using the following -

CHAINRINGS - 22S x 32A x 44A, 4-bolt, 104/64mm
CASSETTE Shimano HG-50, 9-speed, 11-34t
CHAIN KMC X9, 9-speed w/ reusable Missing Link

Can anyone advice on a suitable novice\muppet type of guide?
I'm interested in what my options might be in terms of different performance outcomes for the bike. Ie, what might give you a better experience for the techy stuff, climbing, at the expense of what perhaps?

At the moment, I'm rarely in the granny-of-all granny's, and probably not too often in the fastest gears either.

I suppose I want to be able to maintain use on the single-track and technical side of things, as well as plenty of climbs (still waiting on those stair lifts to appear!).

Over to you lot .... advice appreciated

codfather

Any current double crankset will provide a sufficiently wide spread of ratios to cope with almost anything.

Trouble with going triple to double is you now need a new crank, front mech and shifter.

The front mech mount on the Pitch is a silly design, but there still seem to be plenty available

As for the crank, I would go for a Deore double, reasonable price and you can choose the ratios to suit

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-deore-m615-10-speed-double-chainset/rp-prod108774?gs=1&gclid=Cj0KEQjwm4mwBRCni-ivmePYivkBEiQAdGkklvLpUmRuX15XydDUbU--iquUlsbajzsMiznOdiLeQfwaApfC8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

N.B. Excellent bike choice.

Chunkers1980

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19708805#p19708805]Codfather[/url] wrote:

Trouble with going triple to double is you now need a new crank, front mech and shifter.

No you don't.

Moving from anything you've got now without buying a fair few bits will be a compromise somewhere. You need to work out what you're willing to compromise. Low or high gears. Weight or simplicity. Belt and braces or just a front mech. Number of unique gears. So many options.

cooldad

Just take the big ring off, set the high limit screw for the front mech, and you have a double.

oodboo

Just go straight to 1x, sounds like a 32t chainring would suit for the climbs. You don't need all those gears and the benefits of simplicity will out weight the negatives of the reduced range.

Ulysses

Try riding with just the middle ring for a couple of weeks, steep climbs might be a little hard, but if you can't quite manage then 1x9 with a 30t chain ring could be the answer. When your a bit stronger go up to a 32t.

What you'll get with 1x9 and a narrow wide chain ring is;
No/less dropped chain on the rough stuff (none if you have a clutch rear mech).
Stronger legs from no granny gear on climbs.
You'll lose a bit of top end in the high gears, so you'll be spinning out at 30mph ... no likely to be a real issue off road!

If you're feeling flush go for a fresh 1x10 set-up with a 40t extender and a 32t chain ring. The 40t essentially becomes your granny gear for the super steep climbs and the 32t chain ring gives you slightly better high gears.

If you're feeling rich, the new 1x11 Shimano XT kit has just been released.

Giraffoto

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19708785#p19708785]Beansontoast[/url] wrote:

Hi People,

. . .
At the moment, I'm rarely in the granny-of-all granny's, and probably not too often in the fastest gears either.
. . .

That being the case, why not try going all the way down to 1x9? If you took of the big and small rings and possibly fitted some shorter chainring bolts you'd be in your nine-tenths-of-the-time gears, and if it doesn't quite work out you could swap to a slightly larger cassette when your current one wears out.

Also, you could probably get a Deore 10x RD, gear lever and 11-36 cassette for about £55 if you decide to go for 1x10.

The Rookie

Try running 1x9, I do no issue, 32t with an 11-34 on a 26".

You can run 2x but there is little point unless you want to fit a bash and gain some ground clearance and if you want to run a larger mid ring you'll end up compromising on chain angle a bit.