Double chainring an bash....why?
ravey1981
Posts: 1,111
There seems to be more and more people ditching the big ring and fitting a bash ring instead....Of course I understand the benefit of having increase ground clearance and some protection but for me the downside of not having a big ring would be too much of a trade off..
I am what I would loosely describe as an "all round" rider in that I ride pretty much any trail, "natural" and trail centre, and enjoy the ups as much as the downs. There are always flat pedally bits though and not having a big ring would do my head in...
Is this a fashion led thing do you think? I just don't get it...
I am what I would loosely describe as an "all round" rider in that I ride pretty much any trail, "natural" and trail centre, and enjoy the ups as much as the downs. There are always flat pedally bits though and not having a big ring would do my head in...
Is this a fashion led thing do you think? I just don't get it...
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well it depends on what size rings you keep.
consider this most DH racers use a 38T ring max. (some times a 40T)
so a 28/38t will cover most options.
People that go for a 22/32T i dont get either."Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0 -
You'd get it immediately after the first time you land badly and the big cog rips half your ankle off. 32/22 might be a bit limiting though.0
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You won't need a bash on well groomed trail centres, you'll need it when you're on natural trails and come across logs and rocks - which will tear apart the underbelly of the bike.
I do miss the big ring from time to time though as a bash really isn't called for on all trails.0 -
ravey1981 wrote:Is this a fashion led thing do you think? I just don't get it...
You'd be surprised.
I ditched my outer ring about three years ago and not missed it once. I replaced the middle ring with a 34T item which gives me a top gear high enough to pedal steadily at 20mph on a flat level surface without looking like a monkey on a mangle. Any faster than that and I'm coasting, but I don't find it any great hardship. It also reduces the number of duplicated/redundant ratios.
I'm not a good climber by any stretch so I tend to spend most of my time "twiddling" on big climbs. And I don't pedal going downhill anyhoo, so nothing lost. I don't view my riding as a race so I don't really need big ratios as I'm not in any hurry.
From my point of view it isn't fashion that dictates what I've done, it suits my riding. There's no weight advantage but there is the clearance issue.0 -
I thought long and hard about going down the double and bashring road a few months back. I ride a lot of natural trails, sometimes pretty rocky but getting to these trails can often lead to a long road ride to get there or get back. I started taking note of the amount I used the big ring and found that I would miss it no end if I went double.Niner Air 9 Rigid
Whyte 129S 29er.0 -
I have 22/36/bash on my HT. Between 36:11 and 44:11 there is some extra inchage but tbh spinning out 44:11 means going nearly 40mph and at that speed (unless on the road) I am usually hanging on for dear life and trying to keep the wheels on the trail rather than worrying about spinning faster
It Works for me, although I'm considering upping the granny to 26 as the very lowest winching gears aren't much use anyway (they're just too low to push effectively I find) and the shifting is very laboured with 22/36 up front
I like never spearing the back of my calf with the teeth of the big ring or ending up with the temporary grease tatoo from pressing against it, not worrying about see-sawing over stuff and the (slightly) increased ground clearance. Plus I must admit it looks a lot cleaner.Everything in moderation ... except beer
Beer in moderation ... is a waste of beer
If riding an XC race bike is like touching the trail,
then riding a rigid singlespeed is like licking it
... or being punched by it, depending on the day0 -
I've got 22/36 on the 456 and it works nicely. I also do some pretty long road rides to get to my off road rides, it's a good warm up. However, the amount I was using the 2 or 3 top gears was not that often, by having a 36 instead of a 32, I'm pretty much covered through all of the old ratios anyway, and I'm not worried about bottoming out on some good old manx rock and killing my chainring.
It really is horses for courses though.
Certainly wouldnt say it was a fashion thing though, the big grey plasic thing that comes with the SLX cranks looks pretty fugly to me.0 -
Bout to say in my area alot of people use 22/36 and bash, really good for the rocky bits in wales.
I mean with my 44 outer it becomes unusuable within a ride or two as it becomes bent from rocks and so on.0 -
I've gone 22/32/no bash just now... I might go for a bigger ring but so far I've never missed the higher gears. What I think people miss is that you're not actually losing that many gears- you lose the highest few but half of the gears on the big ring are duplicated on the middle ring anyway. Most times, when you're in the big ring you'll still be in a ratio that could be covered in the middle, especially with a 34 or 36T ring. (I keep meaning to count teeth on my cassette to figure out exactly how many I lose...
So, not a fashion thing for me, the only time I've ever missed the highest gears is on the road and even then it's pretty minor. And in return I get more ground clearance and less weight, and better chain tension in the remaining gears.
Bashrings I think are probably more a fashion thing, mind... Not for everyone of course but a wee sneaky look at bikes in car parks finds an awful lot of bashrings without a single scratch on them. I'm thinking there should be a market for a super-light unbashring just to act as a chain catcher/leg protector...bluechair84 wrote:You won't need a bash on well groomed trail centres
I can think of a good few places in UK trail centres where you can ground out a 44T... And some bikes have pretty low BBs to boot. It was a ride at glentress of all places that killed my big ring and convinced me to bin it.Uncompromising extremist0 -
dont have a bash ring as yet , but recently ditched both big and granny ring , removed front mech and have gone single speed upfront , using only middle ring.
i like it alot.
rode the delamere forest trail over xmas with this set - up as a test ,
and used all of 5 gears :shock:
also do plenty of road / street riding and haven't suffered too much from lack of high speed cruising.
when its time to change drive-train i'll probably fit a wider range rear cassette and bigger
front ring but i'm happy to ride as is for now.
enjoying the lack of chain rattle and mech tuning right now 8)0 -
Why not? I have a 22/36 and bash setup - got it mainly for the Mega but I don't miss the big ring at all.0
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Both my Zaskars have 44/32/22 set ups - cos thats the way I like 'em.
There is no right or wrong, just whatever suits you.0 -
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stuff a double bash im gonnaget a 33t e13 front single ring and be hardcore0
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Right, after reading this I'm going down the double n bash route, you've convinced me
Been thinking about it for a while to be honest, weighing this and that up. Just need to think of the appropriate set-up for my Pitch now. It currently has 3 rings up front, would it just be a matter of removing the big ring and fitting a bashguard? What about chain tension or removing chain links? Any advice mucho appreciatedVis Unita Fortior0 -
Measure the chain length the standard way - loop round the two largest cogs, bypassing the mech and add two links. With full sussers do at the point where the rear axle is furthest from the bottom bracket.
You can just remove the big ring a fit a suitable bash - but will 32/22 be enough?0 -
WIth most bashes you should be able to just take off the outer and use the same chainring bolts. And yeah you will need to shorten the chain, and adjust your limit screws.0
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Tripple and a bash guard... Great bit of kit ..
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... uard-324210 -
i use one of those mrp tripple bash things on my santacruz, easy to fit depending on your frame, they do work.. but can move under impact,,
but if you want to keep 3 rings then theese work... and weigh next to nothing.www.bearbackbiking.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrDelcol#play/uploads
hd vids
http://www.youtube.com/user/topasassin#play/uploads
http://www.vimeo.com/user2514116/videos0 -
Cheers for the feedback chaps. Will have a look around for a suitable bashguard now. To be honest been getting fed up with the back of my calves constantly getting mashed by the big ring!
Supersonic, think I'll keep it 32/22 for now and see how I go on. I'm no speed merchant just have a short commute each day and then mostly local trail stuff, wales and the peaks etc
Thanks againVis Unita Fortior0 -
Some interesting answers, cheers
I want to point out I wasn't having a go at people who use a double set up just interested to hear you're experiences.
I myself use a 44t bash ring on the marin and have kept all my rings, I was sick of destroying chainrings which at £50 or so each aren't cheap. The BB height on the marin is pretty low you see...
The downside of the particular bash ring I use (blackspire) is it weighs a ton (well nearly a pound)0 -
tomos wrote:Tripple and a bash guard... Great bit of kit ..
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... uard-32421
Yeah, I've got one of those- actually it's for sale- but in the end decided just to go with double. But it's a really clever thing and I'm sure will suit a lot of people. Did I mention it's for sale? Well, just in case I didn't, it's for sale.Uncompromising extremist0