36/11 is a good top gear for offroad riding though a bit spinny on the road at times (but then it’s a bike for offroad…). 36×36 may or may not be too big a gear for you depending on your fitness and what you ride which only you can really comment on…

Does anyone make Shimano compatible 22, 34 or 36 tooth chain rings? I imagine Shimano will make a 36 for the trekking market.

Could a freehub handle the load exerted by a 22/36 gear combination?

It does if you don’t really need those gears and it’s not a lot of gears – usually just two at the very top/bottom of the range. If I was a bit fitter, I’d reckon that 1×10 would be spot on for me.

I’ve gone 1×10 with a 36t ring and 11-36. Wouldn’t personally fancy a 32t, would be undergeared. As others have said though it depends how fit you are and what, how and where you ride.

I’m on a light XC race bike, and I’m reasonably fit.

You loose about 450 grams of Heath Robinson noisy annoying front deralleur mech and associated bits:

2 chainrings
front deralleur
cable
shifter

You loose maybe 5 or 6 gears, 3 at the top, 3 at the bottom, which are all used less than 4% of the time, and which can be lived without with surprisingly little problem.

You gain much satisfaction of having a simpler drivechain, more ground clearance, less cables and bar accessories, less noise, less maintenance, cleaner looking bike, a reasonably large weight saving, simpler shifting…

4.51% by my calculations…

Gains:
No shifter
No cable
No derailler
Less maintenance
Cheaper to run
2 fewer chainrings,
4 fewer chainring bolts.
shorter chain
more mud clearance
fewer mud traps
less thinking
less faff

So why do Shimano make a triple chainring for the new stuff at all 😕

Gains: Chain device
or
Gains: sore knee/shoulder
possible lossses: teeth. (a childs face)

😉

I forsee 9/10T sprockets being be horrible to live with in the real world on an mtb.

Plenty of bikes (everything high end SRAM equipped) is 2×10 now, but yes I agree with your comments. Bikes are aimed at the mass market, not the relatively few who would be happy with a single ring set up.

Knowing you mansell I’d go for 2 x 10 as you are quite weak 🙂

I use 1 x 10 with 36 upfront and 36 x 11 at the back. Just man up.

No I understand 2×10 and if I was in the market for more than a single gear I’d prolly go that way. It’s the 1xthing I don’t really get, you lose a shifter but need a chain device, so the net loss is a shifter and a cable and a chainring (or two), seems like a worthless compromise versus gears.

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with that comment.

I’ve seen you ride and I know how fit you are so I can well understand the need for a 36 front by 11 rear.

I think the point that was also being made though is that downhill or along fast twisty singletrack, you’re never going to be anywhere near the limit on a 36 by 11 and so a 32 by 11-thirty whatever, gives you less compromise on the climbs.

This of course assumes that you’re not fit enough to be spinning out at 36t by 11t. Personally I’m not a weekend warrior but my bike is on the heavy side and so I want both the lighter weight of a 1×10 set up and the higher gear afforded by a 36t rear cog.

I know I’m not slow downhill and I’ve yet to be ever undergeared on a downhill section on even a 32t by 11t set up.

The point is that if you’re going 20mph already (which is about 90 rpm on a 32t by 11t set up) then chances are it’s either really steep, in which case you can have more speed just by letting off the brakes) or it’s a fire road, in which case I’m not too bothered about speed.

I’ve been on DH courses where there were fast open sections that really needed a much bigger gear, but you don’t tend to find these outside of places like Molefre or the Alps. So for me, like 7hz, 32×11 is more than big enough.

I’m also 3 x 10 but looking to go double & bash. Do you need a 10sp specific 36T chainring?

The MRP one is pants. The backplate is quite thin and not very stiff. The consequence of this is that when the chain derails from the lower part of the chainring (and it will do) the backplate can get pushed inwards and the chain subsequently jams between the backplate and the chainring.

This is a right faff to put right as you then have to push the backplate further inwards in order to get the chain cleared past the guide itself. This warps the metal on the backplate, making it more likely that the chain jams over time.

The e13 doesn’t suffer this problem because the backplate is about 50% thicker and therefore stiffer.

For ridingin the Alps, I think I would miss my granny ring. I’ve ridden in the Alps several times on a 1×10 set up but this is still only a once or twice a year thing.

I think that’s a very interesting observation. 1×10 36/36: the MTB gearing of the future?

1×9 here, running 32 up front with an 11-32 cassette, can winch myself up most climbs and it’s definitely improved my pedaling as I don’t have the granny to fall back on. Will probably change over to 10 speed 11-36 with a 34/36 up front as things wear out.
I’m running a full chain device (superstar plasma) so haven’t saved much weight, but the chain is secure and I have good ground clearance (bike is a blur 4x, low bb so this was an issue before), besides the bike isn’t a light weight and neither am I so it’s not really noticable 🙂

My own setup is 2 X 8 at the minute 36/22 with an 11-30 Cassette, When I had 32/22 I found the top 11-32 just wasn’t tall enough and I would be spinning out on the odd descent where I knew I could go faster, 36 suits just right for that, climbing gear wise it tops out at ~19 “gear inches”

quick run down of the choices you presented:

1×10 – 34 /11-36 will give you extremes of 80.3 – 24.5 gear inches
1×10 – 32 /11-36 will give you extremes of 75.6 – 23.1 gear inches
2×10 – 36/22 -11-36 will give extremes of 85.1 – 15.9 gear inches

you’ll get a very good, wide range form a 36/22 – 2×10 if it’s a bike you expect to pedal up and down everything then that’s not a bad idea, 1×10 with the 34 tooth ring will give a good range, though maybe a little tall,if you are a strong, fit rider you will probably get it up most things with a 32t ring but you might find 32-11 a little too low and that it spins out on faster descents…

Personally I need my granny gears. Like you can never be too thin or rich you can never have too low a gear.

But then I like to spin my way up hills and hate to push

I think you may be confusing mountain biking with riding round forests on fire roads 😆