I cannot see the point in triple chainsets anymore. I never use the granny ring on the one MTB that still has one (the other two are SS so it is untlerly pointless. Even in Wales I was always in the middle ring up the steep gradients.
2x9 or 2x10 with 22/38T matched to 11-32 casstte is all you will ever need. If you need a lower gear than 22/32 you are not trying hard enough and it will be quicker to get of and pick up the bike and walk.
I do think triples have their place tbh... But I see it as being the same as single ring- something that a minority of people will benefit from. The default ought to be doubles for mountain bikes IMO.
I couldn't tighten the middle ring screws without some sort of spacer. So bash ring filled the gap.
"22+30+38 you could probably get away with having 7 or 8 gears on the back 11-30 this should be plenty for most situations"
22-34T is an extra gear over 22-30T, I use this bottom gear a fair bit on steep(er) hills, either at the end of a longer ride when I'm on my arse, when its really really steep and/or when I want to be able to spin fairly fast (rather than grind away) over the rough
Re: its quicker to walk, spinning quite fast in 22-34T is faster than walking IME, plus I went for a bike ride, not a walk with my bike
Only times I've really really wanted higher than a 32T chainring on FS bike has been on road downs (good bits but still). I'd like a 36T so I'm not using the smallest end of the casette so often and spinny, but I don't really want the 14T jump between 22>36T tbh, I'd be losing 32-34T which is quite useful for up-down-up-down-up-down trails where I'm up and down the casette
"You can get an 11-36 10spd cassette for ~200g if you really want, which is lighter than nearly (or possibly all) 9spd full sized "
Yes, but how much does an XX 10spd 11-36T casette cost?
"you use it downhill the chain has more tension so rattles against the stay less"
I used to do this, I often found I ended up with the chain halfway (or further) up the casette, the chainline then not only was less efficient, it very often pulled the chain off the big chainring over the rough.
I found within 6 months of fitting new outer chainrings (which I stopped using since shimano figured how to make (middle) chainrings that aren't made of cheese (since SLX came out) I'd worn the teeth so badly the chain wouldn't stay on it.
2*9 + medium cage mech + shorter chain suprised me how much less my chain falls from middle to granny ring (And then off and jamming against a frame pivot). Its pretty much never now
Mech hitting chainstay? A Shadow mech gets round that IME
(Or chain slapping chainstay?)
"Bashguard is required to allow the screws to tighten"
Not if you use short ones?
"22+30+38 you could probably get away with having 7 or 8 gears on the back 11-30 this should be plenty for most situations"
Yep 8 speed 11-30 here with a 22/36 double as quite honestly your proposed triple would be pretty pointless
the whole reason for a double with 14T difference between granny and big ring is that the granny is really just the winching gear...
80%+ of your riding will be done in the bigger ring don't think of it as a double think of it as a 1xn drivetrain with an emergency bailout granny ring...
Triples are toss
I'm waiting for Hope to pull their finger out and deliver the promised 9-36 cassette that's when 1x10 really starts to look like a goer to me, as discussed elsewhere today then you can run a smaller ring (30 or 29T) have a ~22" climbing gear and still get the same Grrrr gear as an 36-11 (~85") no duplication and one less shifter to clutter the bars, win/win I reckon... Now lets see it in the shops please...
RestlessNative - Member
on the flip side what is the point of a big ring unless you only have dull fire roads to ride?
HTH 
it has a 28-4O T model why not just bung in a 22 tooth ring as well.
Because not everyone finds any use in a 22. By having 2 the chainline is far better too, so you can use the full cassette in both rings, so don't have to worry so much about 'big/big' and what not.
Surely a big ring is the purest possible indication of being gay?
scu98rkr- if you that concerned with weight ride a singlespeed and pedal your ass of to keep up with you mates 
One set of reasons for a triple:
If you do a fair bit of road/cycle path to get to and from trails (ie don't use your car to transport you to trails) then you can stomp along in the big ring and smallest 2 sprockets with a nice straight chain and not putting wear on your middle chainring you use out on the trails.
One of the points of having 3 rings up front is straighter chain. You are not supposed to use the whole spread of the cassette with a single ring up front so using a triple correctly maximises drivetrain life due to less use of each chainring and less sideways articulation of the chain.
But yes the negatives are reduces ground clearance, nasty cuts, a bit of weight and a lot of people don't need the large ring.
I actually went one worse that 22-32-44 on a 9 speed 11-32 cassette and went 10 speed 24-32-42 cranks. I get even more duplicate ratios and I lose the top most gears but I get a little bit better clearance than a large 44T, I never used 22-32 as it's just too spinny and in return I get much better shifting up front, especially when mud takes hold so I am actually more likely to use the front shifting on a ride and not be scared to shift from the one I am in. Yes some people will claim their gear set up is amazing and they have no shifting problems but I'm not that good setting up gears and when caked in mud even the best set up gears struggle.
you can stomp along in the big ring and smallest 2 sprockets with a nice straight chain and not putting wear on your middle chainring you use out on the trails.
You could have a double with a 42t outer though, and the chainline would be better for the usable gears, and as you say you don't have the uber-spinny gears like 22-32.
It sounds like a bunch of people have ended up with front shifting issues that have made them not use the front gears enough, and then abandon the 44 as they don't use it.. From spending years as a shop mechanic fixing gears and brakes, it comes as no surprise to me. Front mechs are only generally ever set up wrongly from the factory.. Too high, wonky or bent.. and generally cheap, as nobody cares what's written on their *front* mech when they see the bike on display.. and most of them aren't fixed up before the bike leaves the shop (well I always did, but it's quite time consuming on a PDI on a busy saturday).
Expensive bits (ie, at least XT mechs, good cables and decent chainrings) set up and working properly are so much better to use, work quickly, and don't tend to drop the chain or grind through changes, no matter how muddy it is. I guess that not a large proportion of people ever get to use something like that.. so they never learn to use the front gears properly.
I think you need a degree of mechanical sympathy to get a triple to work well.
And a good read of either Richard's Bicycle Book or Sheldon's website.
I also think growing up using friction shifters gives you a better idea of how things work properly, learning how to trim, how not to stress the chain etc.
Sadly, many people have no patience and can't be bothered to learn anything anymore - seems like 2*10 is perfect for the 'can't be arsed to read the manual' crowd.
njee20 - MemberYou could have a double with a 42t outer though, and the chainline would be better for the usable gears, and as you say you don't have the uber-spinny gears like 22-32.
But not all of us want to go out and spend £ on a specific double crank set with better offset. Most people switching to double will be doing so by just ditching the outer ring. The only double specific cranks I have seen are top end ones. The SLX 22-36-bash does not count as it's basically a triple set up with steel pedal inserts.
As for the 'spinny' 22 - unfortunately some of us need something lower than a 28 up front and don't want to upgrade to a 10 speed rear to get the 36T which is probably quite heavy.
You can build an 11-36 9-speed cassette, incidentally, but it works out very heavy- take a 12-36 and replace the little ring.
I think you need a degree of mechanical sympathy to get a triple to work well.And a good read of either Richard's Bicycle Book or Sheldon's website.
I also think growing up using friction shifters gives you a better idea of how things work properly, learning how to trim, how not to stress the chain etc.
Sadly, many people have no patience and can't be bothered to learn anything anymore - seems like 2*10 is perfect for the 'can't be arsed to read the manual' crowd.
You what?
How have you infered a lack of "Mechanical Sympathy" or inability to maintain/operate a bike properly from removal of a chainring?
I think the primary problem with this thread is just a lack of empathy if anything, a simple appreciation that people like different flavours of MTBing, and maybe lack any real sympathy for others take on the sport.
To suggest I and other who have chosen to varied the rings on our bikes from the shop bought standard, because we are mechanically inept strikes me as a bit cheeky TBH.
"Can't be arsed to read the manual crowd?" Who are they exactly?
I know the only reason I have a 2xn drivetrain is because I can be arsed, not only to understand how my bikes work, but to experiment with their configuration to try and make it fit my needs better and not accept the broad spectrum toss that comes fitted as standard to accomodate dusty old giffers who think bicycle technology reached it's apex with friction shifters...
But not all of us want to go out and spend £ on a specific double crank set with better offset. Most people switching to double will be doing so by just ditching the outer ring
Don't need a special chainset - just use the inner and middle ring positions on a triple. I've done 30/42 and 28/40 like that.
I use a 2x9 as it suits my needs. I have the 36 ring for flat and downhill that allows me to pedal up to 25 mph easily and 30 mph spinning away like a lib dem spokesman.
I have a 22 ring for hillclimbing.
I simply shift into the granny ring at the bottom of a climb and use a range of gears 1-6 or so . this gives a range of low and importantly close gears for hillclimbing.
I will only shift the front a couple of times each ride.
Simple, elegant and gives the right range of gears for me, my riding style and where I live.
I simply have no need for a gear that can be pedalled up to 35+mph. 25+ does me fine. Its a mountainbike after all
I tried running triple and a close ratio road cassette, rubbish, pretty much everytime I changed gear offroad I'd move 2 at a time anyway and I had to switch chainrings a lot more often. I run 22/32 11-32 mostly now, slightly undergeared for downhill fireroads but as I only ride those once in a while it's fine.
22/36 11-32 has more top end but I like a 1:1 available in middle ring, lots of climbs seem to be just a bit too steep/long for 36/32 so too much use of the granny, wouldn't mind 24/36 11-36 10spd but CBA with the cost and effort at the moment (and I like my RR dérailleurs too)
I tried running triple and a close ratio road cassette, rubbish, pretty much everytime I changed gear offroad I'd move 2 at a time anyway and I had to switch chainrings a lot more often
+1, couldn't get on with that either.
More gears = more gearing options!
What is the point of dual chainrings ?
What's the point of a triple if you never use the big ring???
Double and lightweight bash suits me.
I tried running triple and a close ratio road cassette, rubbish, pretty much everytime I changed gear offroad I'd move 2 at a time anyway and I had to switch chainrings a lot more often. I run 22/32 11-32 mostly now, slightly undergeared for downhill fireroads but as I only ride those once in a while it's fine.
22/36 11-32 has more top end but I like a 1:1 available in middle ring, lots of climbs seem to be just a bit too steep/long for 36/32 so too much use of the granny, wouldn't mind 24/36 11-36 10spd but CBA with the cost and effort at the moment (and I like my RR dérailleurs too)
I've got an ultegra on my race wheels was 12-28 I think but I put an 11t in to make it 11-28T.
Works very well with a triple I find.
I reckon 22f-28r gives me a low enough for going up hills and a 42f 11r gives me enough for road riding even.
but a 11T-30T 8 speed would be even better and probably weigh the same as a 9 speed 11-28T.
Of course you could go down the Sheldon Brown route of 63 gears
http://sheldonbrown.com/otb.html
Do it on a Rohloff, with a 10 speed cassette and a triple. Maybe a Hammerschmidt too, for good measure. And Di2. That would clearly be the best bike ever.
I've got an ultegra on my race wheels was 12-28 I think but I put an 11t in to make it 11-28T.Works very well with a triple I find.
Do you not just find yourself shifting chainrings the whole time? That was what I found frustrating. With a wide range cassette I could just drop a gear at the back. With a close ratio block I'd have to drop 2, as one would be too close, then change down (or up) on the front sooner.
Good at Thetford and Sherwood, but no use anywhere else I found!
What ever happened to all the 54t big rings we used to have in the early 90's, the ones that were designed to race the kamikaze that we lugged all over Leicestershire looking for a hill that took more than 4 pedal strokes to get to the bottom of. All this 36t is enough is a clear inicater of mincers.
Oh, and the same time, sun tour micro drive never took off because it'd wear out too fast...
All this 36t is enough is a clear inicater of mincers.
You pedal over 30 mph offroad?
Clearly tongue in cheek...
But yes, sometimes. If the trails open enough, and the hills steep enough. But mainly on the road on the way too and from the trails. Sadly I only live close too, not actually on the local trails so have to get to and from them.
More gears = more gearing options!
Why spead so much time messing around with your gears, spend the time riding your bike!
Transapp - I realised on second reading - DoH!
Just done the sums. Stock SRAM 2x10 setup costs me more than XT 3x9 or 3x10, and loses me a bunch off the top end and my lowest grind up the mountain gear. Why pay more for less? Think I'll stick with stock Shimano 3x9/10 tyvm.
Now going 1x10 kind of makes sense and eliminates the overlap. Does anyone know who can make me a 12-56 or a 12-60 10sp cassette? and a rear mech to match? 
22/36 chainringgs mean you only loose the top two gears - those ones that are never used offroad.
But some people ride on the road as well?
You still need to pedal above 30 mph on a mountain bike even on road?
I run 28/40 up front against an 11-28 (9 speed) cassette in the back. Less duplicated ratios and lighter as well.
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