Convert to one chain ring.

[3narf]

Ive done this on several bikes - you can get a narrow/wide chainring for £5.99 (if you have 104 BCD cranks) but you might still unship the chain occasionally unless you have a clutch rear mech.

Im looking at making chain devices for my sons' bikes as a cheaper option than clutch mechs!

 

[3narf]

You may need a wider cassette and you could be limited by the rear mech as it's not designed for bigger cassettes, assuming you still want to get up big hills off road. Otherwise you'll be pushing.

...unless you already ride singlespeed!

 

[Black Sheep]

my current bike used to be single speed, this was done by removing the larger chain ring from the front triple, don't think I ever took the small one off as I had no crank puller so didn't bother but never used it.

Single speed kit on the back gave me a 32 x 16 set up and a chain tensioner kept everything in place, I don't recall the chain coming off despite a number of loops of Cannock Chase or Grizedale, I've had the chain come off the 5 speed road bike many times though!

You can get chain guides that are just a box where you'd have the rear mech to keep the chain in line, some add a roller under, I had one on a jump / play bike, but never found the need for cross country.

 

[Drago]

I need to ask why?

A lot of hardcore riders want the big ring out the way to increase rollover clearance for logs etc, particularly as the taller gearing is rarely required off road anyway. Triples always were a bit superfluous on an MTB.

 

[Black Sheep]

A lot of hardcore riders want the big ring out the way to increase rollover clearance for logs etc, particularly as the taller gearing is rarely required off road anyway. Triples always were a bit superfluous on an MTB.

I've always, other than the single speed days, had triples on mtb, in my teens it was asking for ridicule to not be in the highest gear when belting down a cart track, six of us bombing it down the wheel ruts, how we never crashed into each other I'll never know.

Now it's a way of making progress on the tarmac stretches or fire road stretches between bits of trail while still retaining a crawler gear for them lankyshire hills

 

[Drago]

Aye, I've always binned the big ring on bikes I use properly off road, or bikes I train with then adjusted the mech to prevent the chain going off for a jolly on it's own.

 

[I like Skol]

Triples always were a bit superfluous

I beg to differ.

 

[Drago]

I beg to differ.

Well, indeed, you may belt along now and again on smooth trails, or between trails, but that comes at the expense of rollover clearance. A lot of sporty riders, and trainers such as myself, decided that the loss of technical riding capacity was not compensated for by having a bit of extra speed on tap on the smooth or downhill.

The the big chanring removed you can still ride the smooth or downhill, it's a bit slower but you can still do it, it's not a limiting factor. With it in place you've lost 3/4" of clearance, and you simply cant ride around that shortcoming when the log or crest is as big as it is.

Of course, it's all rather moot now with single chairing system as pretty much the norm, but my backup training bike is still 2 x 9, and on my annual requalifcation in October there will probably still be one or two in use with other delegates on the course.

 

[ChrisEyles]

^^ I wonder if this goes hand in hand with the slightly lower BB height on modern bikes?

Personally I quite like a slightly higher BB to avoid pedal strikes (yeah I know, I need to work on my technique...), in which case I very very rarely catch the big chain ring on a triple.

On my lowest BB bike I've still never dinked the big (40t) chain ring, but I do seem to smack the pedals a lot! Maybe I'm not jumping enough big logs - but I'd have more to worry about than catching my big chain ring if I tried that

To be fair, 32/11 is as high as you'll ever need off-road. And if it's a big meaty FS with knobby low psi tyres, it's probably not going to hold you back massively on road either. For mixed on/off-road riding (which most of my MTB riding tends to be), a triple is the way to go!

 

[arsebeast]

My raceface 34t ring, excuse the rusty bolt! Changed to single ring about three months ago and never looked back, certainly improved my riding. Slight warning tho - If you aren't changing your rear cassette then make sure your fitness is up to the loss of the extra gears. I got faster and stronger because I was forced to use harder gears than before but I can imagine if your legs weren't up to it then it could be pretty depressing/painful. Just make sure your new chainring is compatible. Chain guide is a Lil' Chap from Gusset Components. After hearing lots of bad things about guides mounted direct to the post, this one is absolutely rock solid.

 

[weareHKR]

I changed my Hybrid to a single, I went with a 48T Narrow/Wide chain ring, eliminating the need for a chain guide... ( subject to your riding conditions)