1,2 or 3 chainwheels?

[talisman50082]

I have a cheap road ,hybrid and MTB. All are second hand just to get a feel for what exactly im looking for. I still dont know lol. What i do know is that i am unlikely to do any serious mountain biking. I like a bit of road ,the towpath and maybe some easy trails ,for now anyway. My road has 2 chainwheels, hybrid 3 and MTB 3. I think the point is that mabye all i need is 1 chainwheel with a 9/10 speed cassette? I havent ridden much lately but i am very keen on the fitness side and distance work over varying surfaces. My old Trek 4100 [v brake] is 26 and i would like a 29. The Pinnacle Ramin 1 seems ideal ,but to me at least seems over priced. I sold a Dahon recently which was 1x8 , and that seemed fine, except it was no good for the towpath. So to sum up ,i prefer the MTB 29er and im sure a 1x9/10 would be fine. Any comments or advice please.Starting to ramble lol.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I ride a 10sp road triple, and I almost exclusively ride on the middle 38th chain ring, however there are times when this is too low geared, usually speeds in excess of 22-24mph, having said this it is set up on the front to give a really useful range on a very closely grouped cassette, which is opposite to most doubles as to have the same range the rear cassette must have gears that are further apart in ratios, but you will find what you want over time and

 

[Gravity Aided]

Some folks claim that triples are more difficult to shift, and prefer doubles. Others prefer the greater range of gears triples provide. Others like compacts, a double with a smaller inside chainring. Mostly, you should look at the gear inches involved , the rear cluster and the chainring tooth counts and determine which combination of chainring gives you the least overlap, or same gears in different combinations, with each type.

 

[Kestevan]

How about a cyclocross bike with close spaced 46/36 chainrings?
Should meet all your requirements I would think.

 

[marzjennings]

I've ridden a 1x10 29er for about 2 years and I can't see going back to either a double or triple. Running a 34t up front I seem to have enough gears for all hills and spinning on the flat up to about 28mph.

 

[Boon 51]

Its not a 29er but I have a Specialized Crosstrail Comp that runs a 48/32 front and an 11/36 rear cassette and 700c wheels and with some 28cc gatorskin tyress it makes a very good bike?

 

[talisman50082]

May look at converting the old 4100 ? Im good with the tools, just have to learn what fits/works and what dosent lol. I still want a 29er though ,got the hots for one, may even splash out for xmas [ even though i dont like it ]. The Voodoo Aizan would do me fine.........err hang on you dont want a triple lol.

 

[mcshroom]

I currently have an old hybrid I put back together to use as a winter hack with snow tyres. I couldn't find the front derailleur so I just run it as a 1x8, with the chain sat on the 38t middle ring. 38x11 to 38x32 seems to be good enough for most things

 

[talisman50082]

I have an old but really tidy Ridgeback Adventurer 3x7 ,Its a tad too small for me, otherwise i would probably use it more.

 

[Chris S]

Forget about 3 chainrings, I've only got 3 gears. There are only one or two hills in South Birmingham that I can't do in the lowest 48 inch one.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Forget about 3 chainrings, I've only got 3 gears. There are only one or two hills in South Birmingham that I can't do in the lowest 48 inch one.

Heard it were a bit flat your way on

I usually don't go lower than 42'ish, but its there if I decide

 

[talisman50082]

Im trying to get my head around these figures. So what size ring for 48 and 42? Understand the formulae but cant yet see the it from a practical perspective lol.

 

[talisman50082]

Chainring abut 36 , rear cog 24 ish lol.

 

[Gravity Aided]

http://www.bikecalc.com/gear_inches

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Pretty standard 8sp Hybrid set up, size of tyres will effect it slightly.