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Before i buy the same old 24,32,42 3x10 replacement cranks, does anyone have a good view on running 2x10 shimano cranks?
I spend most of my time in 32 front and run the larger rear cassettes. Very occasionally do i need to drop to the granny, but it is required from time to time. I rarely use the big ring.
Looking at the rings offered, 26 + 38 in XT is the closest thing to what i suspect I'm looking for, where as XTR (not in my price range) has 26 x 36 which looks better to me?
Is the chain line adjusted via the crank arm on the same BB, or do you add spacers to place the 2 rings central to the rear cassette?
Would i be better off buying individual chain rings and adapting a 3 ring chainset?
whats this got to do with 29ers?
2x10 is great - just get the right gear ratios
So what are the right gear ratio's?
29er wise, I tend to gear slightly lower for the bigger wheels and have less need for a big ring.
22-32 would do me. But there don't seem many options that low.
I run 26/38 on my 29er which I find works well, when I first bought a 29er I used 28/42 (sram) and found myself struggling on steep stuff.
I try to run it in the big ring (38) as much as possible and use the smaller ring as a granny for the climbs which I find works well with a 11/36t cassette.
As for chain line, follow the shimano instructions for the type of bottom bracket you have.
Edit: sram do 22/32 rings if you want to go that low.
Fantastic! Best thing that's happened to mtb's in years!
No need for 3x10. Too much messing about.
My new carve pro has 2x10 and don't miss the granny.
24 / 38 XT works for me
Go with 24-38 front XT chainset and 11-36 rear for a 29er, you won't have any issues
I have a 3x9 setup on my Cotic 29er, mostly because I already had the cranks, mechs shifters etc. lowest gear is 22/34 front/ rear. Highest is 48/11
On my FS Canyon 29er it has a 2x10 XT with lowest 24/36 highest 38/11
Having been a 10 speed naysayer in the past I have now come to the conclusion that for 95% of the time it is easier than the 3x9 setup. I don't notice the slightly higher low gear, even on some of the really steep stuff round where I live. I do feel the lack of a high top gear on the road and on really fast singletrack. I am not in any rush to spend all the cash required to 'upgrade' the Cotic to 2x10 as that works fine as well, just is more work on the shifters. If you have the cash to change the cranks setup you may find it worthwhile
My only recent 2 x 10 conversion regret is that I didnt go 3 x 10 and then swap the big ring for a bash.
I recently went 2x10 – on a 29er, too. And even though I'm old, fat and have a heart condition, I've got up things using my XTR 38/26 mated to an XT 11-36 cassette that I struggled to with my old 3x9 26er. But then I live in Surrey, not north Wales...
My latest 29er is running an XT double with 26/38 with the 11-36 cassette and i'm finding it very good indeed. The 26t is a far more useable gear (for me) than a 22t and the 38t is more than enough for 99% of the rest of my riding. A 44t would be good for the odd bit of road but then that's what my road bike's for.
I won't be swapping over from all my other 3x9 bikes yet but any future bike purchases will likely be 2x10. And the clutch mech (SLX) seems very good as well and is certainly quieter.
I don't like big jumps between gears, I would rather run a triple, and a 12-32 or even a 12-30 at the back. In fact I thought changing the inner chainring to 24 instead of 22 was a far better improvement than using doubles.