You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I'm planning to get:
Rotor 36T elliptical thick/thin chain ring
SRAM 10-speed chain
XT 11-36T 10-speed cassette
XT clutch derailleur
For a 29er hardtail.
But should the derailleur be long or medium cage?
And is there any reason why I might want to choose 11-32T over 11-36T?
Thanks!
Medium cage.
That's a big ring for a 29er, 32t or 34t is far more common - that'd be like having a 40t on 26" wheels.
No reason to choose an 11-32, unless you only ever ride on the flat and value the smaller gaps between gears. Pointless off road IMO.
I'm running the following on my 29'er HT:
-> 11-40t cassette with a 16t replacing the 15 & 17 and a 40t oneup expander, I am currently running a normal 11-36t cassette as I haven't got round to fitting the oneup stuff yet
-> Clutch mech with the new oneup RADr cage replacing the long cage it come with.
-> 32t narrow/wide ring.
-> KMC X10 chain
It's fine for everything (in 11-36t)I've come across bar one silly steep technical climb in the peaks, but thats life
[i]And is there any reason why I might want to choose 11-32T over 11-36T?[/i]
If you live in East Anglia?
Thanks for that. This bike will be used mainly for endurance events, so my thinking is that I'd rather walk the odd climb than run out of gears on the flat.
But I'll definitely have to get the calculator out and work out how it all compares to my current setups (triple and singlespeed).
You won't meed a 36t to avoid running out of gears on the flat.
32 will be fine, and save your legs at the other end.
32t and a 11-36 on my 29er, on a medium cage.
I wouldn't go higher than 32t myself.
On a 29er, 30T at the front and 11-40 at the back is fine for me for most things in the Lakes, Dales and Peak. By the time I come to a halt when in the 40T, it's probably easier to get off and walk anyway 😳 When my legs get strong I might go to a 32T on the front but it might be a while.
[i]Thanks for that. This bike will be used mainly for endurance events, so my thinking is that I'd rather walk the odd climb than run out of gears on the flat.[/i]
Maybe better to look at 1x11 as you then get a 10T at the back.
A medium cage will be fine. No need for long cage.
I'd say 11-36t is a no brainer. You'll appreciate the wider range with a single ring.
You might want to consider a smaller front ring, especially on a 29er. I run a 36t on the front of my 26er and 11t is the smallest at the back. I need a decent gradient road hill to spin out, and that's at +35mph!
Unless you are a genuine athelete with the wattage and lungs to match then i'd forget about fitting a 36 tooth chainring, As an example…...Gareth Montgomerie (scottish entrant for commonwealth games) has been racing at the top level for 12+ years - he ran a 36 tooth front ring on his GT Carbon Zasker 29'r which weighed as much as a gnats bollock, i tried riding it…….it killed me.
32 tooth or 34 tooth (if you must) will be more than enough
You'd be ok with a short cage; e.g. Zee FR
32/11 will top out at about 25 mph on a 29er. I haven't run out of gears is a race yet.
Likewise, but I'm a chunk slower than ac282.
This might explain why I'm hanging out my arse on my krampus. I just realised it's a 36t at the front. I've got up just about everything blaming how shit it felt on being overweight after injury. It's good training I reckon but I'll be buying another NW 32t. 🙂
Interesting - really useful feedback there, thanks.
Thing is, I ride even my geared bike like a singlespeed (stand to climb, high gear, low cadence). Even on the road I prefer a fairly low cadence. I certainly couldn't imagine going 25mph at 32/11!!
Looks like 34T would be a good start. According to my sums, I then lose the 3 lowest and 1.5 highest gears relative to my 44/32/24 triple.
But yes 11-speed would be best except for the cost...
32 front 11-36 cassette, normal sgs slx mech. No issues of chain loss. 29 Hardtail xc only.