Interested in giving it a go, I'm not a elite rider, but reasonable fit what sort of teeth size is normal? 42 26 with a 11/34?

Plus where can I get the rings to fit an XT chainset the only ones I find on CRC are non-ramped ones for DH or SS. (I could be missing some as there are alot…)

Ta

I'm running 24/36 with an 11-34 and I reckon it's spot on for xc/trail/etc riding. Definitely wouldn't go back to a triple.

TA do the Chinook rings to fit but you may need to order in to your LBS as not many places sell them, you can get a 26/28/30 at granny ring bcd and then fit 40/42 etc to middle ring position to XT cranks, I run that combo on my Meta and it works a treat.

Usual combos are 26/38 or 40 and 28 or 30 with a 42. look to Sram XX for guidence they pair a 26/39, 28/42 and 32/45.

i used to use a 42/29?middleburn set with an 11-32 cassette that was fine for most riding, the only time i suffered was on the cristalp. Alpine climbs don't respond well to the normal way of climbing in the south of england!

I am considering my options for my next bike, a double is a very likely option, if i can find a slightly smaller inner ring. Without spending stupid money.

With mrmo on this one. Middleburn duo with 42×29 is pretty good for most riding, unless you are in an area with very long steep climbs.

Blazin, you've got the SRAM combos wrong. SRAM are all 1:1.5 so 26/39, 28/42 and 30/45

I still don't think you need larger than a 36 for normal non-xc racing riding.

only ever used the big ring on the road so binned that. I use an SLX double up fr0nt (22-36) and an 11-34 at the back. Good enough for all the riding I do

1 of the Sram combos if we're being picky. the one that nobody buys anyway.

And I also disagree on the no bigger than 36 thing. I have a 28/42 and hardly ever use the 28. was actually thinking about a single 39 or 40 ring with a 11-34 cassette. It's all the gearing I need for most of the stuff I do on it.

Agree with Blazin-saddles, I use my 42 virtually all of the time, when I ran 9 speed I found 28/40 a really nice combo.

Bet you rarely use the 40-11 to much effect offroad though 😉

Quite a lot actually. don't assume everybody does the same riding as you do with the same level of fitness. quite often get it spinning.

I still don't think you need larger than a 36 for normal non-xc racing riding.

Dunno; I find I use 44/11 not infrequently on the urban transits that seem to be a key part of getting to/from local trails; there are some flattish bits on the trails where I use the big ring too, & I'm not the fittest or a racer.

FWIW the FSA 386 doubles come with a 27 inner & either a 40 or 42 outer.

Andy

I have a 11-32 on the rear and 32 and 44 up front and find it fine. The worst thing is the left shifter and the lost shift but I think this new xt groupset my sort that.

Ok, I'll qualify it with 'most people don't
need it' 😉

I'll give you that one. different strokes for different folks. There is no right answer. The OP said he was fit and wanted a 2×9 for XC so my natural selection would be a 28/40 or 42.

Just returned to a 2×9 setup. used to run a middleburn duo 29/42 and a 11-32 cassette, but tried it a few years ago again and diddn't get on with the large jumps in gear from my 22/32/44 and 12-27 cassette.

Now on 28/40 and a 11-28 slx cassette without problems. 🙂 (saying that, I've managed not to use the 28 yet.)

28 inner and 40 middle bought from Clee Cycles, both TA Chinook, next day delvery so they were in stock.

just to hijack the thread, what options are there for a low Q factor, race spec double (ie 40ish/30ish) chainset. I know middleburn, XX, FSA, of those the middleburn is by far the cheaper, any other options at the reasonably priced end of the market?

low Q factor chainsets, either go for compact road and fish out chainrings from SJS and the like, or try to find some of cannondales old Coda chainsets, very low q.

sorry, not high end though are they…

Thanks for the responses. Did a bit of googling on TA – seems ukbikestore sells them, and not too expensive – the pictures don't look like they are ramped for shifting though? Do they shift ok?

I'm running Njees' old double setup on my 456Ti, TA Chinook rings, 28/40 and 11-34 at the back.
No shifting probs at all, took me a little bit of playing to get the front mech setup right but been perfect since. Been doing a few xc races on it and I'm not fit like the elite boys but I've never missed the granny or the big ring.

Running 26 38 on the front, perfect for everything.

22 (or maybe 24)-32 on front then 11-32 rear works for me.

29/44 with a 11-34 on the hardtail.
Way too big a gap up front. I'd love for someone to make a 41 tooth in the freaky bolt size it needs. I don't miss the granny though!

22/36 chainrings and 11/34 cassette.

How often do you need to pedal above the high 20s offroad?

You have only lost 1 and a half gears from the top and none from the bottom. 36/11 can be spun to 30 mph without too much difficulty and that is enough for me off road

Sooooo should I be doing this would a standard long cage XT mech be okay or would I get away with a short cage XTR mech I've got lying around?

if your careful about chain length a short cage will be fine. Just be aware you may have issues of either too much chain or not enough at the extremes.