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not really wanting to buy a new double crankset, is it possible to ditch the granny and just run the middle and outer as a 10 speed double setup?
Yeah, 9 speed chainset with granny removed will be absolutely fine running 10 speed, assuming that's what you mean.
Not sure what you mean by x9 mechs though.
sram x9 mechs, 10 spd front and rear.
cheers for that
Yeah, will be fine, chainset makes no difference.
You'll almost certainly find that a 2x10 front mech won't stretch to the outer ring position of a triple.
You can either use the inner and middle positions on the cranks (you'll need some 2mm washers on the inner ring if you don't use an M970 one), you can file the tail off the spring on the mech so it'll reach further, or you can move a BB spacer to the LH side and shift the whole chainset across 2.5mm.
I've done the first and third options, IMO the former is better, you can use different size rings (I liked 28/40), using the middle and outer you're basically limited to a 32t inner ring.
Alternatively... Use your existing triple front mech.