So I have once of these that I use for commuting:

Specialized roubaix elite 2004.
The middle ring is buggered and so is the bottom. Because of this I have been just using the big ring and the 9 gears at the back. (I know, nasty crossed chain tut tut). But it got me thinking I could probably manage with just 1 ring up front. so should i just take of the bottom 2 and see how i go, or do i need to move the big ring in somehow?
Do most peeople normally go slightly smaller when going from a triple to a single.
Current set up is 52x42x30 with 12x25 at the back.

