…on my 3×10 bike, could I just remove the three chain rings from the crankset, the front mech and the shifter and then just bolt on a non-ramped chain ring in the middle chain ring position?

Apologies if it’s a stupid question.

Yes.

If it’s a hardtail, you may be fine with just that.
A clutch mech helps.

If it’s an FS and a design that has chain length changes, you might need some extra bit to hold the chain on more securely.
e.g. a top chain guide or a narrow/wide chainring.

Ok, cool – it is a hardtail. Nice when things are simple!

You can also use your ramped chainring till it’s dead to save a few ££££ then get a N/W, new chain, cassette and jockeys all at the same time

Edit – you’ll also need some single/short chainring bolts

you could just start the journey by replacing the big-ring with a bbg bash-guard.

(don’t forget to shorten your chain, as that’s one of the main benefits…)

I’m doing the same thing on my hybrid next week

you’ll also need shorter chainring bolts, but if you’re using the existing chainring bolts then you’ll need spacers to take up the slack where the outer ring would have been.

After having a bit of a play about with an spare crank set I had laying about it appears that it won’t be so simple for me.

It looks like I should have mentioned that I wanted to run a large 44t ring up front. The big ring won’t fit in the middle ring position without some metal work.

Is the easiest option simply to buy a single specific ring?

What are you using the bike for? Unless you’re attempting a mtb land speed record, 44t at the front is massive for a 1×10! It’ll be tough uphill too. Google sheldon brown gear calculator to find the right chainring size. You could fit a 36t specific ring in the middle ring position to give you decent high end gears but staying sensible for uphill.

It’s a commuting mtb. I do have a reasonable hill to negotiate each day, but I’ve given it a go using the 44t only and whilst it was more of a challenge, it wasn’t too bad.