While building the Mega up I was waiting for a front shifter so rode it using the 36 front only with a 11 /34 rear
what would a 11 36 be like and do away with the granny ring all together

I think the question is which ratio would 36/36 be nearest to on a 22 / 34

What size ring is the Mega’s suspension design optimized for and do you really need a 36t front ring anyway?

Personally I find a 32t front and 11-36 rear covers everything I’ve ridden in the UK and the Alps (lift assisted mind; if I were riding up and down I’d definitely want the granny ring) and I’ve still yet to be under geared. There are one or two UK downhill courses, like Molfre, where you’d most likely want a bigger gear than 32t by 11t, but other than that I can’t think of any where else you’d need something bigger unless you’re riding the road a lot.

I think the question is which ratio would 36/36 be nearest to on a 22 / 34

errr……… 22/22?

interesting point I’ve been pondering recently.
Are all suspension bikes doomed when everybody jumps on the 2×10 bandwagon or have we all been bluffed by the science of mechanics in suspension design.

Have you considered keeping the 22T granny as well as the middle ring.
I bought a bike with the 2 rings and no front shifter, saving nearly 400grams.
You just use ‘kick-down’ with your heel to engage the granny, and manually put it back at the top of the lung-buster climb.

Simples.

I bet this idea will catch on….just watch!

PaulD.

if you can toughen up to the point where you can cope with 1×10, you can cope with 1×9, and tbh you can cope 1×9 with an 11-32 cassette…… then its just a small push to pick an nice ratio for SS

Have you considered keeping the 22T granny as well as the middle ring.
I bought a bike with the 2 rings and no front shifter, saving nearly 400grams.
You just use ‘kick-down’ with your heel to engage the granny, and manually put it back at the top of the lung-buster climb.

Simples.

I bet this idea will catch on….just watch!

PaulD.

Its not a bad idea but a lighter weight solution that I use is to carry the granny ring and bolts in my camelback.

At the bottom of a lungbuster I stop and fit the grannyring and remove the middle ring, then at the top I reverse the process. The time taken to remove the chainrings gives me time to compose myself for the climb and then recover for the next section of trail.

As I understand it……… The bike world has a nominal idea of assessing gears by converting each different gear into GEAR INCHES.

To do this you take the size of wheel (ie 26″ or 27″ or 29″), multiply it by the number of teeth on the chainring (ie 44 or 32 or 22 or whatever it is), and then divide that by the number of teeth on the given rear sprocket (ie 11 to 34/36 or whatever it is).

You will then get a comparative figure that will only reveal its relevance to you if you know how hard it is to get up a given hill in that given gear on a bike you have ridden personaly. Provided you have that personal knowledge you can then use the calculation to work out what system will suit you for your intended use.

Thus I can tell myself that most road gear systems are not going to get ME round parts of the Fred Whitton route in the Lakes with any degree of comfort…… though loads of folk do manage, and all credit to them.

Its not a bad idea but a lighter weight solution that I use is to carry the granny ring and bolts in my camelback.

What about the extra weight of the tools you need to carry to swap over. I’m not entirely sure you’ve really thought this through!
I find a better solution is to take 2 or 3 bikes with different ratios and I ride the suitable one while the porters run alongside carrying the others.

PaulD I take it your not running a chain guide with that set up.

avdave2

I am not running a chainguide with the mech-less setup.

Alloy granny and 4 bolts = approx 30 grams.
Alloy 32T vs Steel 32T is typically 40 grams difference.
You can see where this is going…

PaulD

What about the extra weight of the tools you need to carry to swap over. I’m not entirely sure you’ve really thought this through!

These are tools I would carry with me anyway. As a mountainer biker, I need to be self sufficient. I dont want to have to call my mum out if my bike breaks down when I’m at the extremeties of the local trail centre.

Although I admit:

I find a better solution is to take 2 or 3 bikes with different ratios and I ride the suitable one while the porters run alongside carrying the others.

That sounds like a better solution.

I am not running a chainguide with the mech-less setup

Are you running a bash with that.

I’m planning to go 1 x 9 but the manual granny bailout seems like a good idea, at least to start with. You see, your right it is catching on.

avdave2,

Yes, I have a DMR Ring Thing 106gram alloy bashguard.

I have retained the original chainline, so 32T x 11 sprocket can rattle a bit without packing it outboard with thin (1mm?) washers.

PaulD.

Thanks Paul I think I’ll give that a go.

Your typical 11-34 9spd cassette has cogs thus sized…

11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34

The closest to a 22 granny as you can see is the 23T sprocket, 4th down. So to answer your original question Trout, running a 36T ring with an 11-36 cassette, your lowest gear is about equal to running with your granny ring in the 4th gear down on the back currently.

From what I read about the Design of the Mega, it is optimised for use with a 36T front ring, so might not be wise to run a smaller middle ring, though possibly still wise to keep a granny ring for climbing? That said, I’m now running an 11-36 10spd setup with just a 32T ring on my hardtail, with a bit of a grimace managed a big climb I’d never cleared without bailing out on the granny ring before the other day.