Some of you may have seen my fork question for a BFe, that’s been decided on so now I am shifting my attention to the drive chain. I have always had the usual 3 rings up front, but a lot of people have been telling me to 2×9 (11-34) or 2×10 (11-36). The bike will be used as an all rounder albeit quite hard riding. As I want to be able to climb as well as blast back down the other side, what would be a more suitable set up for me? I am not very well clued up on what the figures actually mean so any help would be appreciated on this.

Whilst we’re on the subject, I have a Hope BB – the SLX cranks look quite good VFM if a little boring looking IMO. Is there anything that looks quite blingy without costing the earth on the used market? Mechs wise, I’ll be running XT, and probably the same for shifters.

Drive TRAIN

Mech/shifter wise, save the cash and use SLX, use that cash for spangly XT cranks. If starting from scratch you might as well go 2×10 imo.

I’ve just changed my drivetrain to this:

1 x 32T Blackspire gold single ring up front
10 speed Shimano cassette at back
Hope Chain guide
eThirteen bash guard

I ride a hardtail and this setup works great for me. Climbing is great and there’s still small enough rings at the back to get some speed up.

plus, my bike now looks the muts nuts!!

Sorry, was in a mad rush looking after a screaming baby 😆

Any real particular reason Mackem, to go 10 rather than 9?

Apologise for the dumb questions, new to building a bike, if I go for 2 x 10, what size mech would I need? I see conflicting reports really so not sure what to go for. Also a bit stuck for chain ring sizes, I want something that’s good for all round riding, suitable for climbing and blasting down the other side. Any help much appreciated as itching to get the bike built now.

10 because the range you get is that bit wider, you might even decide to go 1×10 (which is what i’m doing). 10 speeds have those fancy dan clutch mechs too, which helps if you go 1×10 too.

Cheers, think I’ll stick with a 2×10 though to be on the safe side. I can always change to 1×10 I suppose easily enough. Would a 11-36 cassette and 26-38 up front be a sensible choice with a medium cage mech?

Medium cage is fine with 2×10. Get a clutch rear derailleur! (Shadow Plus in Shimano, Type 2 in SRAM)

Climbing is great and there’s still small enough rings at the back to get some speed up.

ITS COMPLETELY PERSONAL AND DOWN TO WHERE YOU LIVE RIDE AND HOW FIT YOU ARE AND WHAT YOUR IDEAL CADENCE IS

Sorry shouting over….

It’s very personal 🙂
2×10 can give you a lower rear gear (bigger cassette) than 2×9. This can allow you to have a slightly bigger front ring choice so less spinning out but still having the low gears for uphill.
I (personal thing) run 2×9 and upped the middle (now biggest ring) to a 36 as i’m a low cadence rider and spinning really fast doesn’t suit me that well but I can grind out the power at lower RPM.
That gives me a High/Low setup at the front. I tend to stick to one ring or the other and not change that often (ie small uphill, big flat and down)
I also have a E-13 DRS lower roller and bash to keep everything in place.

If I went 2×10 then I’d probably stick with the 36 and up the granny ring to something a little bigger to remove the jump.

1×10 might come in if there were less hills or more rolling stuff. 1×11 looks like it might have the range but not the right price yet 🙂