Im currently building up a spesh pitch as my first full sus. Im planing to use a double and bash set up just wondered if anyone was baised anyway and could help me out. Ive got a triple set up on my trek xc hardtail too. My weekly ride is follow the dog and the monkey trail so if anyone rides these any ratios would be a huge help. Also if anyone has got a slx set for sale mail me 🙂

i have a double and bash on the corperate rocket and a triple and bash on the hummer

Do you use the big ring? If you do but rarely, just go for something like 36/22.

I found I only ever used the big ring on roads so I got rid of it.

Work out how often you use the few ratios that you’ll lose- 22/36 covers all but the very highest 2 or 3 gears on a triple so even if you do use the big ring, you might not need to. I think that’s the one part that catches people out, I’ve known people who’ll use the lower end of the 44T and think they’d lose gears if they lost the ring.

I like 22/36 myself, it’s a good mix of crawlers and fliers and I’ve only ever pedalled out the top of it on really nontechnical surfaces- fire roads, tarmac and just a couple of really dull offroad sections. It’s no loss to me. But not everyone’s the same.

I do reckon double should be the default now though and triple should be like single ring, something a minority of people do because it suits them.

Definitely double and bash. Especially on a bike like the Pitch where you’re more likely to be rolling over steeper things and will really appreciate the bash.

I’m running 36/24 and I think if anything I would be happy going down to a 34 on the front, although I’d only really bother for the extra ground clearance and I do make use of the larger gearing on the road when I have to.

In most situations I could probably just spin my legs faster if needed, but it really depends where you ride.

I did run 36/22 for a while when I first converted but I found there was quite a big gap in the mid range that caused me a fair bit of bother. By contrast I’ve never noticed the lost low gears from a 24 front.

D&B here. Can’t see the point of a triple any more.

I run 22 / 36 bash

I have only lost 2 gears from the top that I never notice. You do notice the big jump from 22 – 36 chainrings but I adopt a different tactic of using most of the cassette in granny ring. so in granny for most climbs using gears 1-6 and then into the 36 for flat and descents

Depends where you live and ride. I was hankering after a triple yesterday in the Peak. I always wish I had one here- big long descents and a desire for more speed on trails that aren’t mega technical like the Roman Road, Beast, Lockerbrook etc.

However, in the depths of the highlands a lot of the trails I ride are technical enough for me to have done away with the big ring on my bikes.

If you buy a triple you can always fire a bashguard on, so what I’d do is buy a triple and if I never used the big ring I’d get rid.

how many people actually spin out a 44/11 gear? (or whatever)

living without the ‘big ring’ means you can use a shorter chain, and a short cage rear mech.

spokes: forgive me, i’m an idiot. nothing to see here, sorry.

spokes cycles – you really span out in 36 / 11 top gear but wouldn’t have in a 44 / 11 top? You really would use the top gear on a triple?

I can spin 36 / 11 to high 20s mph easily

I never said I’d top out on a 44/11. I know yesterday I was riding a fast descent in the peak on my bike which doesn’t have a big ring and hankered after a couple of higher gears to get the speed up. I don’t run one however because I don’t ride the peak often anymore and usually ride more technical trails where I don’t need a big ring or a granny so I save a chunk of weight and get all the benefits outlined by ahwiles.

If I move back to the Peak though the big ring is going back on.

Ermm – well a 36 chainring you only lose the top two gears compared to a 44. So unless you span out the 36 / 11 top gear or you would have used a 44 / 11 top gear the double and bash would have been enough gears

I have been double and bash for a few years. I have never missed the big ring.

Im currently running 32/22 as 36/22 was no good for my dodgy knees! If i lived somewhere flatter then id defo stay 36/22 but for west yorks / Calderdale riding 32/22 suits me just fine.

I don’t run a 36, what’s your point?

that you’d only lose a couple of gears if you remove the ‘big’ ring…

or, to put it another way; adding a big ring and a long cage mech, and a few flappy inches of chain only gives you 2 more gears.

if they’re gears that you like and use a lot then that’s groovy.

See, I’ve always looked at this from the other end, perhaps because I’ve been riding bikes too long or maybe I’m just stuck in my ways. I ride a turner 6-pack, the sort of bike that might justify a double and bash. I ride it in the peaks, an area with its fair share of rocky technical stuff. However, I only occasionally scrape a tooth on the big ring. If I’m carrying a metal disc around, I might as well use it for gears.

Specialized do have quite low bottom bracket heights but the wife finds this leads to more pedal strikes than chain ring strikes.

The only advantage I can imagine in would give me is that a handful of times in the last 25 years, the chain ring has bit he in a crash. It would avoid that.

You’ll still have the front much and shifter. I’d imagine the weight difference between a chain ring and a bash ring isn’t much so there’s no real weight saving either.

Guess it depends what, where and how you ride but for me, it’s a triple all the way.

My point is you are woffling on about something you don’t use. ie double and bash 22 / 36.
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You experience of running out of top gears in the peak on a 32 chainring 1×10 is hardly relevant

I am off to the lbs for just such a purchase as have not used the big ring for a while its main purpose on my bike is to inflict a permascar on the right calf .

question is which one
whats the difference twixt the M545 and the M665 apart from about £50 .

I have been using double and bash for many years normally 32/11. My new Carbon Nomad has 36/11 which i may drop to 34/11. I find i do not miss a big ring unless im riding tarmac… if you have a lot of fire road to cover or need to do road sections its probably worth having the big ring but i think its just extra hassle and another way to drop the chain. Totally agree on the danger factor for unguarded big rig setups. It can inflict bad damage. Bash rings are important if only just to prevent calf injury.

On another matter…if you get good at “spinning”, big gears are less important. Its a good time of year now to practice a bit of spinning in the gym or at home ! Full suspension bikes generally work better with the “spinning” low gear technique as it creates less bobbing and will climb more efficiently

Having had a nasty accident yesterday I’m very glad I switched to double+bash recently, otherwise I’d have a massive gash instead of a superficial scrape under my plaster cast…

Recently experimented quite a bit at Cannock with different ratios.

Ridden it with a triple and 11-34 rear for some time. Had a tendency to climb in granny. Wanted to go a bit faster up the inclines so got rid of the triple and changed to singlespeed using 34/18 and then 32/18 to concentrate my mind. This was doable but hard work.
Now fitted 1×9 with 34 up front and 11-34 rear. Coming from singlespeed this is heaven.
The climbs at Cannock are not too bad (its certainly not the Peaks or Lakes) so 1×9 seems ample. I like the ability to change up and down the whole cassette without having to think about a change at the front. As some others have mentioned changing from 32 to 22 is quite a gap and can interrupt my rhythm. If I were to use a granny I might go for 24 for this reason.

TandemJeremy – Member

“Ermm – well a 36 chainring you only lose the top two gears compared to a 44. So unless you span out the 36 / 11 top gear or you would have used a 44 / 11 top gear the double and bash would have been enough gears”

Well, that’s not quite true… You can stamp a lower cadence in the 44/11 than you would do in 36/11 for the same speed, which some people do like. You don’t need to spin out a gear to make it useful

I’d have a massive gash

teehee 😛

You don’t need to spin out a gear to make it useful

Good point

Well, that’s not quite true… You can stamp a lower cadence in the 44/11 than you would do in 36/11 for the same speed, which some people do like. You don’t need to spin out a gear to make it useful

Very true. Especially offroad where you’re more likely to be putting your power in via a quick burst of stamping instead of a steady cadence.

I’d still go with double and bash though.