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So I have just gone to a single ring at the front and am currently running a 38t and 11-34. This is fine round Sherwood and my local trails as it's pretty flat. I am about to head to the Lakes and reckon I might struggle a bit with that gearing. How small can I go on the front without needing to mess around with my chain length?
I hope you do struggle with 38/34 in the lakes....
Normal crankset and you can drop to 32t but you will probably need to shorten your chain. For about the same money a 40/42t rear would be the other option
How tight is the chain in the big cog currently? Could you get a link out? You can prob go to 34 up front without a major issue, even more so if you can lose a link on the current issue.
I thought about a 40 on the back and a slightly smaller chain ring but read that the change from 34 to 40 can be problematic and my zee mech might also cause issues.
other options include fitting a stealth granny ring and manual changes and pushing 😉
38 is a big old front ring so assuming you've got a pair of climbers legs - if you want to drop a decent amount for the lakes i'd say buy a second ring 30/32 and a second chain, as long as your cassette would take it. Swap as required.