Is the new SRAM Eagle Faster than a bike with a front big crank?

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OP
OP
Beukez

Beukez

Active Member
Location
South Africa
Drivetrain

  • Crankset
Race Face Aeffect DM30t Steel Ring

  • Rear Mech
Shimano XT Shadow Plus 11spd

  • Cassette
Shimano SLX 11-46t 11spd

  • Shifters
Shimano SLX 11spd

  • Bottom Bracket
Race Face

  • Chain
KMC 11spd

The part I want to replace is just the Race Face Aeffect DM30t to a Race Face Direct Mount Cinch Narrow Wide Chainring 36th. Is this possible?. the link to these parts are above. Just need to know if it will fit on this or not as I cant find any info on this online.
 

youngoldbloke

The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
If it's the correct chainring for the cranks that's OK, but whether it will foul the chainstay or not I have no idea. I doubt it, but wouldn't like to be certain without seeing the bike in the metal to check clearances. Ask the manufacturer or dealer. BTW the first mention of Portugal or Jersey was in post 24.
 

aegis

Senior Member
It is somewhat confusing to follow to be fair Beukez.

The original question was about SRAM Eagle which is 1 1x12 group. The cassette is 10-50t and usually paired with a 30 to 38t chainring.

If your old bike was running a triple front then it was possibly 44-32-22 or maybe 42 outer at the front and probably 11-32t rear. But we never got to find that out. If you could only use the outer chainring without the front derailleur rubbing on the tyre, it's quite likely it was badly adjusted or possibly broken and that all it needed was taking to a mechanic who knew how to fix it - a 15 minute job. A new outer chainring is not expensive either. Wheel size also matters for working out gearing. If your old bike has 26" wheels, a 32t chainring is easier than if you had 27.5" or 29".

But then you've bought an Orange which doesn't have SRAM or an Eagle groupset. It's 1x11 Shimano. Eagle is 1x12. A 30t chainring matched with 11-46t will give you gearing that is probably the equivalent of the middle and granny ring on your old bike, presuming your old bike had 26" wheels and the new bike is 27.5".

That setup will be fine for offroad use as usually a big outer chainring is redundant offroad unless you're particularly fast. You might even be doing yourself harm trying to push a 44 with 11-32 rear. If you're using the new bike on the road a lot however, an offroad gearset these days is even more annoying than the triples of a few years ago as you'll have big jumps between each gear at the back, less range and no top end speed. You'll spin out. Older triples had more range and less gaps between gears - the downside being weight and complexity.

A larger front chainring on a 1x11 will get you back your top speed on the road but you'd need a 42 or 44 outer to match it as the rear on Shimano is 11t. (SRAM Eagle is 10t remember). It's highly unusual to run that large a chainring on a 1x MTB system. Raceface don't do direct mount cinch chainrings that large. You may have to buy a Race Face cinch "spider" and then use a regular bolt on chainring.

Increasing the chainring size from 30t to 36t will almost certainly require extra links in the chain. I think you should be ok without having to buy a new rear derailleur. That might not be the case if you want a 44t chainring.

IMHO, the "problem" with mountainbikes these days is that they've become more specialised than they were in the past. The gearing and geometry is much more set up for mountain biking only than it was before to the point where they're not that great as general purpose bikes anymore.

In other words, keep the Orange as it is. Use it for mountain biking. It's not a road bike. Get a second bike for using on roads or fix the old bike and stick some more road friendly tyres on it - eg. 2.0" Schwalbe Marathon Mondials which would be pretty nice for Portuguese roads and trails.
 

Jody

Stubborn git
don't know what you mean about incomprehensible questions that other people seem to be able to decipher...

I'll be honest. I cant quite work out what you are after. Do you want to fix the Kona, change the Orange so you can ride it on flat roads, swap the whole groupset out for Eagle as the Orange doesnt currently run it?

If you swap the chain ring on the Orange you compromise what you have and it becomes good at niether use. I agree with @aegis that ideally you need two bikes rather than try and make a jack of all trades but a master of none.
 
OP
OP
Beukez

Beukez

Active Member
Location
South Africa
It is somewhat confusing to follow to be fair Beukez.

The original question was about SRAM Eagle which is 1 1x12 group. The cassette is 10-50t and usually paired with a 30 to 38t chainring.

If your old bike was running a triple front then it was possibly 44-32-22 or maybe 42 outer at the front and probably 11-32t rear. But we never got to find that out. If you could only use the outer chainring without the front derailleur rubbing on the tyre, it's quite likely it was badly adjusted or possibly broken and that all it needed was taking to a mechanic who knew how to fix it - a 15 minute job. A new outer chainring is not expensive either. Wheel size also matters for working out gearing. If your old bike has 26" wheels, a 32t chainring is easier than if you had 27.5" or 29".

But then you've bought an Orange which doesn't have SRAM or an Eagle groupset. It's 1x11 Shimano. Eagle is 1x12. A 30t chainring matched with 11-46t will give you gearing that is probably the equivalent of the middle and granny ring on your old bike, presuming your old bike had 26" wheels and the new bike is 27.5".

That setup will be fine for offroad use as usually a big outer chainring is redundant offroad unless you're particularly fast. You might even be doing yourself harm trying to push a 44 with 11-32 rear. If you're using the new bike on the road a lot however, an offroad gearset these days is even more annoying than the triples of a few years ago as you'll have big jumps between each gear at the back, less range and no top end speed. You'll spin out. Older triples had more range and less gaps between gears - the downside being weight and complexity.

A larger front chainring on a 1x11 will get you back your top speed on the road but you'd need a 42 or 44 outer to match it as the rear on Shimano is 11t. (SRAM Eagle is 10t remember). It's highly unusual to run that large a chainring on a 1x MTB system. Raceface don't do direct mount cinch chainrings that large. You may have to buy a Race Face cinch "spider" and then use a regular bolt on chainring.

Increasing the chainring size from 30t to 36t will almost certainly require extra links in the chain. I think you should be ok without having to buy a new rear derailleur. That might not be the case if you want a 44t chainring.

IMHO, the "problem" with mountainbikes these days is that they've become more specialised than they were in the past. The gearing and geometry is much more set up for mountain biking only than it was before to the point where they're not that great as general purpose bikes anymore.

In other words, keep the Orange as it is. Use it for mountain biking. It's not a road bike. Get a second bike for using on roads or fix the old bike and stick some more road friendly tyres on it - eg. 2.0" Schwalbe Marathon Mondials which would be pretty nice for Portuguese roads and trails.

You have answerd all my questions, I know I had a lot of them too. Sorry guys :/ just wanted to know before buying parts but never knew just how much I would have to learn.

First it is a 44th on the kona!
I know what you mean about the newer bikes being specialised and what I have started doing is fixing up the old Kona for a road bike as the triple chainring set really does work a lot better on the road.

Love the new Orange crush too but after cycling a few weeks now I can't bare the amount of speed I've lost and I just can't push enough either spin out a lot on the 30th chainring on the 1x11. Thanks for the advice again have been looking at the race face chainrings too and will be getting the 34 not a 44 ha I think that should make the difference in looking for?

Thanks to you other guys too, sorry it was all so confusing! I have learned a lot with your help and also a lot the hard way... 6 bolt brakes don't fit on all wheels... and you need to have extra spacers if your headset has no space... respect to you guys and thanks for helping me!

Ps the slicks are on the orange for the time being!
 

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