So I’d love to have a lower gear for the really steep climbs so I’ve decided to buy an expander cog for my shimano xt 2x setup, but which one? Any help appreciated

What rings are you running up front?

Impressed with my OneUp… Though, I did add a 16T XT sprocket myself, I’ve not heard much good about the one they supply. Setup was a pain in the baws but once done, it’s been spot on

But that’s with 1×10, 2×10 will bring extra complications with setup and chain length I reckon

Hope one here. Been spot on.

38/24 up front I think

NORTHWIND, where did you get the 16th xt from?

Don’t do it!!! If you’re running an 11-36 cassette already, drop to a 22t chain ring at the front. If you’re not yet running an 11-36 cassette (11-32 or 11-34) then change your cassette. 24/42 (or even 40) will be a ridiculous gear to try and ride. You’d be able to climb something that was practically vertical, but I’m not sure why you’d want to – if it gets that steep, surely you’d be better off walking?

wot justin said.

Exactly what Northwind says. One Up is great but shifting on the 16 T supplied with it is poor, got my 16 T XT gifted from a friend who got it from Rose Bikes.

Shifting on and off the 40 T is smooth, most of my set up tweeks were B screw issues on the 11 T.

slugrider – Member

NORTHWIND, where did you get the 16th xt from?

Rosebikes or Bikediscount.de, can’t remember which. Part was about £3, postage was twice that! But still worth it imo

I understand what your saying and walking as been the faster alternative, however I have been getting passed by stronger riders and I know the best thing to do would be obey rule 5 but since then I’ve broken my leg and ankle so when I return to the bike I’m really keen on the idea of, just one more gear.

That said perhaps reducing the entire box makes more sense?

I’d downgear the front too, used to run 22/36 as a double and never really missed the top. Is it a 26 or 29er? People forget that the final gearing is higher on a 29er…

29er, should have mentioned that it is high

Assuming its already got a 11-36 cassette…

Ratios wise:

24/42 on a 29er is ~16.5in
24/40 on a 29er is ~17.4in
22/36 on a 29er is ~17.7in

So you don’t actually get that much benefit from the expander ring with your current double Vs simply losing two teeth off the chain rings. Price wise I think the chain rings would be cheaper too…

The current lot of expander sprockets are aimed more at maximizing the spread of gears you can achieve with a 1×10 drivetrain rather than making a super low range double or triple…

After thinking I’ve gone with a front 22 an I’ll see how I get on, cheers all!