thinking of changing my orange 5 to a two ring set up, what size rings do people use? Is this quite an easy change?

Have a search – its been debated many times. Depends on your riding style and local terrain. 22/36 for me.

Use Sheldon Brown's gear calculator. Going to 22/36 from 22/32/42 would mean that I lose the top two gears – ie, 42:11 and whatever's next to that. Not a big issue to me.

mincers go 22/36 and stretch to an 11/34 cassette
racers go 32/44 and use a road block 12/25

replace the outer with a bash ring (same BCD)
or
replace the chainring bolts with shorter ones

36/22 on one bike 36/24 on the other.

In my opinion keeping the 22 is a must (doesn't make that much difference but when your riding up a mountsin knowing you have a 24 you need a 22 ;))

as TJ said 36 lets you retain most of the gears. however i have noticed that the cassette jumps are more noticable on a 36T ring.

I'd like to try the stx 36-12 cassette next time…

Depends on your riding style and local terrain.

+1

XC riding here, 28/40

Hmmm 32/44 – 12/25 sounds fast and fun….but how do you get up steep hills?
A granny ring weighs chuff all, so why not keep it?

Better chain line if you go 2×9 using inner/middle ring. IMO it weighs sod all and is no real use either!

He was kidding about 32/44 with a 12-25, a few Dutch folk on WW are running that, but that's not really much use!

just gone 29/44 via a middleburn duo on my inbred. Seems fine and having ridden SS all winter anything lower than 32:18 seems a bonus on the hills.

Cheers guys, would mainly be used for welsh trail centres and riding round the lakes.

A granny ring weighs chuff all, so why not keep it?

+1, unless you're talking about getting rid of the big ring and sticking a bashguard on.

Check with Orange – certainly earlier Fives had issues with the chain catching on the swingarm on 34t or 36t rings. Newer ones may be different.

+1, unless you're talking about getting rid of the big ring and sticking a bashguard on.

For the exact reason I said, it weighs chuff all, but it's also sod all use, for me running a 28/40 type combo is more usable and gives a much better chain line.

I'm using 22-32-bashguard. Works fine and looks so much cleaner/nicer than a 3 ring setup.

24/36 and 11-34 with no bashring and a double specific SLX front mech for me

All discussed already here: http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/as-it-looks-like-i-need-some-new-chain-rings-talk-to-me-about-2×9-for-xc

i just use a 22/32 with bash on my 5. thats plenty for trail centres. as mentioned above i think theres problems running bigger than 32 on a 5

Hey Kel,

Just changed to 22 32 and a bash. you get all the gears you'll need for the five, plus loads of clearence.

Works great for the lakes even for end of a ride road home sprints and the like.

Properly glad the big rings gone 😀

sam

24/36 & 11 – 32 for all my riding. Tough at first but you get used to it.

Just switched 22/32/bash for 22/36/bash it’s only 4 more teeth but the 36 gives a just few taller gears if you want them, stuck with a 22t granny just in case, better to have spinney gears if you need them…

Think I'll keep my big ring then and just mash past you slow 36t people

36t on an older orange five needs a spacer moving on the BB to move the chainline out a couple of mm.

ooOOoo – Member

Think I'll keep my big ring then and just mash past you slow 36t people

You often pedal beyond 30 mph offroad then? I don't

22,36,bash is all you need unless your into large sections of road smooth descending

On my 5" bike i run a 22-36 chainring combo with an slx 12-28 cassette.

in the scottish 7 stanes i never found the need for total bottom gear on long days out.

Im using a 22-32-bash on my 2010 Five. With 11-32 cassette. Always been ok – only time I ran out of gears was on a big decent in the Cheviots this weekend and to be honest I didnt need to go much quicker so just didnt pedal.

Had the bike 3 months and hadnt used the 44 ring and it was scratched from rocks so off it came for a 32t fsa bash.

Highest gear on my DH bike is 36/11. Only place you get close to maxing that is on the motorway at fort bill – how many xc rides involve going anywhere near that fast?

Off the start line at Sherwood and Thetford I'd rather have higher than 36/11.

It's not so much that the 36 isn't enough, just that I find with a 40 I spend more of my time in the middle of the block, rather than right at the bottom. I also find myself using the 40/11 on the road to the trails.

22/36 for me – any smaller middle ring leaves me spinning too often

+1 for 22/36 and 11/34 cassette. If you ever come to Scotland you will realise why you need the 22 and 34

What's the cog 3rd off the top? I'm normally in that and 44 on the front on the commuter HT (yeah it's a flat 4 miles). I'm often there off road too on anything vaguely downhill. I'll get into the top cog occasionaly if gunning it on a long downhill.

I'm up for trying a 2×10 bike at some point, but I get the impression it's more for spinners. I think like my dad I'm naturally a slow rpm pedaller.

Depends on the ratios, the 28/42 with an 11-36 replicates most of the gears on a conventional triple frankly! Your top gear becomes somewhere between the very top, and one cog up the block. Check Sheldon to work out gear inches on the different combinations.

ooOOoo – Member

What's the cog 3rd off the top?

a tiny bit lower than top with a 36 chainring

I think like my dad I'm naturally a slow rpm pedaller.

Doesn't mean you can't train yourself to spin – I did and it made a big difference for longer rides.

I used to use 29/42 on my Pace with a Middleburn duo. I loved it – only lost the bottom two rings, but the bike was a good climber anyway so I dealt with it. I also had 22/32/bash on my first Patriot, and it was well annoying on pedally downs – I'd only do that again on a bike I knew wasn't going to be ridden much XC.

im riding a 39-28 set up with a 11-34 cassette and it's great

3rd from top? probably 14t.

as TJ says check the Gi on 36/11 and 44/14.

Been in-touch with Orange, chain may catch on the swing arm with 22:36, but should be ok with 22:34.

Hi Sam, cheers just what i needed to hear 🙂
we are planning a ride with Ju sat morning if you are around?

Hey kel,

didn't know you were up this end of the country. Its a possibility but am ment to be picking up a shed for the allotment and laying some flags as payment for it……………….. You riding round there neck of the woods? Really want to check out crag quarry flew over it the other week and it looks interesting.

Think we are riding crag quarry sat? If that's the new bit on the top?