Before i buy the same old 24,32,42 3×10 replacement cranks, does anyone have a good view on running 2×10 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?

2×10 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 3×10. Too much messing about.

My new carve pro has 2×10 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 3×9 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 2×10 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 3×9 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 2×10 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 2×10 – 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 3×9 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 3×9 bikes yet but any future bike purchases will likely be 2×10. 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.