Any good deals or advice for buying a chain ring for a double set up.
XT cranks

Deore steel, £14.95 from your LBS, cheap as chips and will last for ages.

for a double set-up what gearfreak said, for a single set-up renthal.

for a double set-up what gearfreak said, for a single set-up renthal

I’ve snapped an renthal just pedaling along. E13 for me if you want a nice looking single ring, otherwise, deore.

Chaino’s got them? Linky?

“I’ve snapped an renthal just pedaling along”
ah yes that old line. I’ve had renthal chainrings in the past that have had a fair beating in the alps hence my recommendation. did anything happen before your “just pedaling along”? What did renthal say about it?Just so I know for next time.

Have also used the steel shimano 26T/36T rings on my dual set-up.

Deore steel is ace… Lasts forever, doesn’t weigh drastically more than an alu ring, but also keep shifting at its best for longer than a posh ring

Is it the M532 or M510 chainring?

E13 for both single and double set ups!

“I’ve snapped an renthal just pedaling along”
ah yes that old line. I’ve had renthal chainrings in the past that have had a fair beating in the alps hence my recommendation. did anything happen before your “just pedaling along”? What did renthal say about it?Just so I know for next time.

Have also used the steel shimano 26T/36T rings on my dual set-up.Literally, just pedaling along. Happened at Chicksands, I was just returning to the trails from the carpark, sitting down, not pedaling hard, just mooching along. Really I expected better – I’ve had a TA Specialist 36th ring which is basically a road ring and it’s lasted years and this lasted 2 rides!

I can’t recommend something that failed so catastrophically, so quickly!

Snapped in two places, across the where its drilled. Renthal warrantied it and said nothing…

For me TA Specilalities simply the best but you pay for it.

Depends what granny you’re gonna run it with.

Most of Shimano’s 36T chainrings are designed to work with a 26T granny. If that’s the combination you’re gonna use, then agree a cheap and hardwearing steel Deore one is a good way to go.

However, if you’re running it with a 22T granny, then I’d consider the SLX M665 36T, which is specifically designed to run with a 22T. The differences include two step ramps to help the chain the greater distance up from the 22T, shallower ramp angle so that the chain doesn’t overshoot the granny and end up on the BB shell on the way back down, greater depth so the chain can’t get jammed between the two chainrings, and ‘phase’ of teeth matched to the longer distance between the two rings.

I tried running a 36T deore with a 22T granny, and shifting was less than perfect, but changing to the M665 36T made it much better – just my experience, I know others find the 36T Deore fine.

Downside is the extra cost of the M665 and the fact its alloy so won’t wear as well as a steel Deore.

Is it the M532 or M510 chainring?

If you do go Deore (see above ^^), then any of them – M510, M530, M532, M590 – will fit your XT cranks. The only practical difference between them is that the M510 were designed for earlier Shimano cranks with slightly longer spider arms, and the M590 are black colour.

Assuming you’re fitting them to M770 XT cranks?, then they have extra low lugs on the spider arms to accommodate the composite middle chainring, so none of the Deore chainrings (or any other ‘all metal’ chainrings like the SLX M665 one) will sit on the lugs on the spider arms anyway, but they’ll be held securely by the chainring bolts, so functionally it doesn’t really matter…

Incidentally I’ve used both SLX and Deore 36T and found no noticable difference in shifting when new, but the SLX one lost its sharp shifting after a bit of use while the Deore one stayed fresh for longer than teh SLX one lasted in total. M532 I think.

I went for the M510 in the end but if it won’t fit/work with a 26t on m770’s I’ll send it back.
Looks a bit chunkier than the M532