im going to have to replace my drive train in the next month or so as the chain and cassette are pretty worn, i also have a few teeth missing from my outer ring at the front!

due to this i am thinking of going for a double and bashring set up instead of an outer ring as i do not use it that often.

what would be a good cassette ratio to put on the back so i dont lose to many gearing options and can you recommend a d3ecent but cheap bashguard for a xt chainset!!

cheers

steve

rather than a smaller set of sprockets on the casette, i would replace the 32t middle with a 34 or 36.

so a higher middle ring range, and a low granny for climbing.

make sure the bash you buy covers the middle ring you choose.

11-34 cassette with 22-36 front rings works for me.

Any 4-bolt bashring that's big enough will do but it's worth finding a light one as the heavy-duty versions tend to be quite… well, heavy.

cheers for that Olly.

So, say for instance i have a 36t middle ring do i need a 36t bashguard?? is that how it works?

i take it i just adjust the front mech so it will not shift any further than the middle ring too?

also, choose between teeth or smooth.

impact plastic ones are lightest, and smooth edged, so slide over things well.

the one on my dirt bike is saw toothed, so if you bash it on a log you have to retrive the bike out of the wood :s

Yep, the bash for 36t will cover a 36t ring etc. I've currently got the Raceface 'Light' one which is a bit less 'core but lower profile then the chunky plastic ones (eg E13 etc). Also, some of the resin / plastic ones have been known to become brittle over time, esp if the bolt tabs are not supported by enough material. And they can be just as heavy as metal ones.
FYI, also running 11-34 and 22/36

i take it i just adjust the front mech so it will not shift any further than the middle ring too?

Yes, just wind in the screw to set the outer stop. Otherwise it should work fine as is.

11-32 cassette and 24/36 up front with an e 13 bashguard. I chose a guard that was the same diameter as the 36t chainring by looking at them rather than buying one labelled 36t. The one I bought for my GF's bike is labelled 36t and its 2cm bigger in diameter, I wanted a bit of extra clearance.

As you say, wind the stops in on the front mech and enjoy. May need to shorten your chain a tad too.

I don't see the point of the bash guard, you don't use one for your outer ring, you don't save any weight, you can get short ring bolts.

Recently did the same as my Truvativ BB's kept failing. Went for an SLX 22/36 double and bash – £99 for the whole crankset and BB fitted. 11/34 cassette will do you fine.

I tweaked the front mech a bit so I could get maximum number of gears from each big ring

I don't see the point of the bash guard

Do try to keep up, how will others tell that you push the Rad Gnarl to teh power of sick, if you don't have a bash guard and knee pads? Heh? It's not what you say, it's what yourbike says…

bashrings are useful, i hate the feeling when you grind you chain/chainring on a rock and then im paranoid the chain is gonna fail

also help keep the chain in place if you land badly or rattle through rock gardens

Do try to keep up, how will others tell that you push the Rad Gnarl to teh power of sick, if you don't have a bash guard and knee pads? Heh? It's not what you say, it's what yourbike says…

Teh kids with £4000 DH bikes know it when I thrash past them, innit bruv! Now excuse me whilst I go get a cup 'o' tea and a piece of flapjack… word.

bashrings are useful, i hate the feeling when you grind you chain/chainring on a rock and then im paranoid the chain is gonna fail

also help keep the chain in place if you land badly or rattle through rock gardens

I tend not to 'kickstart' through rock gardens, preferring to take the '**** it' route and bobble over the top.

To be honest, I've never had a problem with the chain coming off while it's rattling it's tits off, a bit of positive pressure keeps the bastard in place… Dope.

to be honest i was thinking of a bash ring as they work out cheaper than a shimano xt outer ring!!

I don't see the point of the bash guard

The clue is in the name. They take the hits so your chainring doesn't have to. Mine is well beaten up. 🙂

The only time I ever thought "Sh1t, could have done with a bash gurad" is when I was maouvering my bike and nearly twated my dogs head on it, she wouldn't have been to pleased.

All the gouges in my bash guard suggest it has come in pretty handy. It's also good if you have ever been in the situation where your bike falls on top of you!

And you can ride your bike in baggy jeans. 😉

Yup, my bash guard is pretty bashed as well. Slides over stuff rather than a chainring which can catch. Not done it myself but seen piccies of some pretty nasty chainring gashes – can't get them with a bash

After I bent my last chainring I decided to switch to a double and bash. Got a 11-34 cassette and 22-36 up front. Replaced my SLX 32t with a steel Deore 36t. Don't miss the big ring at all, so it's win-win for me, but it's all personal preference I suppose.
Got an E13 turbocharger. Looks great, is really light, does it's job and isn't hard to clean, which I thought it might be.
Would thoroughly recommend it if you don't use the big ring.

Don't forget to take a couple of links out your chain if you do switch.

All the gouges in my bash guard suggest it has come in pretty handy.

Plastic in "Not as strong as metal" shocker

🙂

e13 do the job just fine. Also consider a Blackspire chain tensioner. Keeps things nice and taut, prevents chain slap.

Its a bash guard, it gets bashed so more expensive things dont….Simples! Its not called a Lovely Shiny Accessory Form Over Function Whoops Mind The Rocks Twirly Thing now, is it….

Unless you spend all the time MTB-ing in Norfolk it pays its way, its a Ronseal bit of kit not just for the Rad Double Black Diamond Gnarr to the Power Of Sick…

1×9.
Double & bash is like so last year dude.
Get with the program man.
Safe. 🙂

Plastic in "Not as strong as metal" shocker

I first put on on at the kielder avalanche – they had a stage going the 'wrong' way along a piece of singletrack with rocky drop-offs etc. In practise I scraped the big ring pretty hard and nearly went over the bars. Heard someone complaining they had just fecked their brand new xtr big ring!

The next day I borrowed a bash off someone for the race and did the same thing except this time smoothly slid off the rocks.

Must admit, I've recently gone back to 22/32/44 after a period on 22/36/bash.

Whether it's because I'm unbearably mince-tastic or not, I just wasn't hitting the bash-ring on anything much. It had a few marks on it, but nothing drastic and I didn't really recall any impacts. While I think the spread of gears was basically OK, the 22/36 tended to mean that I was slipping into the granny ring when climbing, which I'd previously mostly avoided doing. Although you're turning the same gear it seems psychologically to put you down the gears rather than anticipating clicking back up, soit was making hills more of a struggle than they needed to be.

If I faff again I'll have a think about 26/38 with a wide block maybe, or possibly 22/32/40. But for me the bash was an affectation and it's nice to have a huge power gear back. 🙂

(Surrey Hills mainly, some Dark Peak, for what it's worth. I'm sure there are plenty of places you could ride where the bash made more sense)

My big ring is slightly taco'd so I'm looking to go to a double and bash set up.

My big ring is slightly taco'd

You're so funny!

22-36 with an 11-34 is best for Max Granny

Most bashguards I have seen are more expensive than the chain ring they protect….Why?

22/36 with 11-34 gives you almost all the gears of a standard triple setup.

its the connoisseurs choice

11-32 and 24-36 with E13 bash on both our bikes. Works really well. The bash outer diameter is a tiny bit bigger than the chain on the 36T ring.

I've found that plastic bashguards can be brittle and break if you overtighten the bolts.

I use 11-32 cassette and 36t middle ring, which covers a wide spread of gearing. You can opt for an 11-34 cassette so as not to lose too much climbing ability.

As for the cost, having twice replaced a £30+ large chainring because I've mullered it on a rock makes a £40 bashring reasonable cost IMHO.

Both Truvativ and Shimano do double and bash versions of their Stylo and SLX cranks respectively.

26-36-Bash for teh win.

there's a guy on stw who sells Ti bashguards every now and again….

I have been using a bash for 6 years now. Standard 32/22 and 34/11 combo works a treat. I don't really get the 36 unless for enduro (running a 22/32/36 on the front) unles you spend most of your time on the 32/11 you don't really need a 36, as if you really want to go down fast, all you need to do is brake less 😉

I don't usually bother with a bash, just taking off the big ring gets you a lot of ground clearance after all. But this obviously would vary depending on where you ride. If you're mainly on built trails they generally take into account that most mtbs have a big ring on, and none of the "natural" trails around here have ever scraped my middle ring.

11/34 and 22/36 seems like the ideal option for me, 36/11 is a decently high gear, I've never wanted more offroad so far. I could get by without the 22/34 crawler gear but I do like the wider range in the 36T ring so I've kept with the wider range cassettes.

Have a look at teh Titanium bashguards that sell in the classifieds here, they are really light, tough as hell and look fairly trick too!

24 / 36

11 – 32

😛

Wow some of you must be world class fast to have to use a 36/11 off road… I can't even remember when is the last time I use a 32/12…

"Wow some of you must be world class fast to have to use a 36/11 off road… I can't even remember when is the last time I use a 32/12… "

Uh, I use it quite a lot, it just depends where you're riding. Long fast descents don't need you to be "world class" to hit decent speeds. I'm pretty sure I've used the 36/11 at glentress too. Mainly though I just think 36T is a better size, makes the whole range of gears a little more suited to my riding, I rode around on 32/11 for a while but I was constantly in the top end of the cassette