As per the title, anyone regretted going 36/22 double from 42/32/22 triple?

According to my figures,

42/32/33 with 11-32 = 13 distinct ratios from 17.8 gear inches to 99 gear inches

whereas

36/22 with 11-32: 12 distinct ratios from 17.8 gear inches to 84.9 gear inches

So I’ll just lose one gear up top, and have to change down one gear earlier.

Anyone found that an issue? Anything I’m missing?

I know I can go medium cage, shorter chain, and gain some added lightness with 36/22, and run a sexy bash guard too.

i’d skip double and go single ring.

Yes. It’s a personal thing I just didn’t like it – was forever shifting around in the most frequently used ratios whereas they’re just there on the 32.

ive just taken my big ring off and put a bash on, 32/22 * 9

been absolutly fine, can now run a much shorter chain so it doesnt come off any more and dont miss the top end (wouldnt suit some people but fine for my riding)

My bash is a 34 as i thought i would want that but havnt so far

I’ve just done the same and will be out testing it at the weekend. Can I shorten the chain and still use a long cage mech?

20/34 on my double set up, I like to spin the gears and never feel like I’ve run out of gears at the top end…

davesmate – Yeah no problem.

Regretted going from 3×9 to 2×9 with 36/22 chainrings, so changed to 2×9 with 32/22 chainrings instead – no need for the 36 upfront IMO

I went to 22/34 + 11-34 and it works for me, I try and avoid fireroad descents so don’t really need a bigger gear. I do find myself in big/big quite a lot though so not sure I’d want a 36 up front although in reality it’s not a huge difference I guess

It’s a personal thing I just didn’t like it – was forever shifting around in the most frequently used ratios whereas they’re just there on the 32.

This th egaop is too big so you foind yourself using the lower gears in the granny rather thna have to switch the front rings as well as change at the back
iwent to 22/32 for mine as it is used only in big moiuntains so either mincing or using gravity

Yes. It’s a personal thing I just didn’t like it – was forever shifting around in the most frequently used ratios whereas they’re just there on the 32.

Yup, that was exactly my worry.

Dickyboy, I couldn’t survive with just a 32 front, I use my bike for commuting too.

I guess I’ll have to just give it a try.

My zestys is 3×10 (22/36), my c456 2×10 (26/36) and annoyingly, there’s now 1 hill i can’t get up on my local fun ride! Mind you, i was one of only 2 (out of our group of about 10 regular riders) to get up it before. Gives me a good training target to aim at however for this year: Up it before summer 😉

My 456 is a 22/36 with an 11-34 cassette

xc race bike is 26/36 with an 11-34 cassette

for me it works perfectly and I much prefer it to the triple set up I had. I find a 32t middle ring just wrong in many situations, whereas 36t seems to suit me much better. I only ever drop down to granny for very steep inclines.

As you say, you only really loose a single gear at the top end – I’ve never missed it.

I went for a single ring on my big/nice/expensive/gathering dust bike, probably helps that I SS most of the time localy so it’s not such a loss, 32-36 actualy feel’s low!

I made the exactly the switch you are referring to a few years back ,and havent felt the need to switch back.

Unless you’re doing road/fire road descents you’re not going to spin out a 36/11 combination, and who cares if you spin out on a fireroad/road??

not me
HT is 36/22
FS is 34/22

36/22 here and find it covers most bases, don’t spin out as much as 32/22 and still have a granny which i need cos i’m fat!

On my HT 29er, which i use for commuting and rides with the kids mostly i’m running 48/36 double at the moment, no granny so i don’t pussy out on hills and might actually get a bit fitter!!

36 cassette is common in 2×10 setups

As already stated then, obviously a personal thing.

It’s not something I’m planning on doing immediately, but when the new crankset goes on I’ll give it a whirl.

Thanks chaps. (we need a thumbs up emoticon) 😀

No

22/36 is too big a jump IMO. Far better is a 24/36 setup. The gap is noticeably smaller and doesn’t necessitate quite so much changing on the rear at the same time, and your bottom gear (which is very seldom, if at all used for most of us) only gets very slightly taller.

As for going from a triple… I found I was either in the 42T outer ring and too high up the block (giving poor chain line), or in the middle ring and too far down the block (meaning a slack chain that rattled on the chainstays) to be ideal. Going to a 36T middle ring solved that entirely. I never used my 42/11 top gear anyway, so it wasn’t missed, and the 36T is just so much more practical so much more of the time, especially as it has a bash guard outside it.

In fact on a 10spd setup with an 11-36 cassette, I rarely use the granny ring, unless on the very steepest of hills or a prolonged climb where sometimes I’ll drop onto it just to spread wear across the cassette. It was changing to a 24/36 setup initially that led me to think a single ring was possibly (and it is) a viable alternative even, though for a single setup I found a 36 slightly too tall for some offroad climbs to be ideal, though it was the perfect gear otherwise. A 32T on a single setup was low enough for pretty much any climb, but slightly under geared most of the rest of the time.

Short answer no, longer answer i like the way it keeps me in the big(ger) ring rather than giving in and dropping to the 22t. Race bike is still 3×9 incase of long fireroad descents, but on the trail bike I’d rather freewheel 🙂

Edit I drop 1or 2 rear gears as I go for the granny, that way the cadence doesn’t change too much. Also if you don’t run a bash the chain can misbehave if you have a direct mount front mech (doesn’t let you drop the mech low enough) so I run a bionicon chain device.

Never regretted it, 22/36 suits me extremely well. 36 for riding, 22 for crawling been very few times I wanted a higher gear and never a time when it bothered me not to have it.

1×10’s good too mind but on the occasions where i’ve wanted the granny ring, I’ve really been glad to have it! Today, frinstance.

Double post. Better than triple post and more useful than 1 by post.

I’ve done everything wrong. Started 1 x 8, 11-25.
Soon realised this was useless for anything other than a short ride so went 2 x 8, 11-28. Did the c2c with this set up.
After the c2c, and a lot of pushing, moved to 11-30. Still 8sp.
Over the summer have gone 2 x 9, 11-32, slx crank, cassette and mech with xt shifter.

Thought that 22-32 would be a stupidly low gear, and it is mainly, only for winching up steep paths but going so slow you have no momentum. I find the ratios spot on tend to spin out in the mid to higher 20mph range but thats not what i’ve built my bike for. Its for plodding around the peak area.

I find i can set up a better chain line with a double and have never had the chain come off yet.
Considering a triple for an all day bike build but that a long way off.

34/22 x 11/34, im not fit enough for 36 and 32 is too low, 22 because no point having a winder if you can’t wind. Also if i spin put in top i am going too fast and undoubtedly wasting gravity on a fireroad or the like. Its basically a 1×9 but with an emergency low range when you hit a wall or save you pushing an up!

No.

456 with 22/36/bash + 11-32 (9 speed) pretty much Bob on for me. I tried 22/32 but simply found 32-11 was not tall enough on some trails

DH bike is 36 + 11-28 (8 speed) so same top gearing…

42 tooth is of no interest to me really as I don’t really use the bike on roads and if I do I’m not in much of a hurry…

I left my triple in the 90s (changed early 00s) and I haven’t regretted it.

For the amount of time i’d spend in the big ring it wasn’t worth the extra maintenance, annoying slapping\dropping chain and spinning out at 40mph with 36×11 downhill is plenty. I also found myself at the wrong end of the cassette on technical stuff, either middle ring with a slack chain, or outer ring and far too high up the cassette.

The way I look at it is most riding and fun is at lower speeds (10-25mph), as long as my gearing gets me up the steepest hill I ride, nice increments on technical stuff, and spins out over 30mph on descents then that’s enough.

I run a 22/36 and don’t miss the big ring at all. If fact going by the gouges in my bash I’d say it would be ruined!

When it’s due new chain rings I might try dropping the granny and just having a single 34t ring instead.