ok. thanks.

yea i know, i’m oscillating between going 1×9 or keeping it 2×9 + a bash instead of the large ring

@daveyboy,
the superstar and mrp g2 are for 32 t rings or larger. I want a much smaller ring. Can a standard 32-36 t chainguide be mounted somehow in order to accomodate a smaller ting ?
I’m asking ’cause i’ve never dealt wiht cg’s, as i never ran anyting else then 3×9 stock.

yes. I’m not fit enough to hande >10 km xc mountain ascents on the 32 ring. with stock 3×9 trans, i usually go 22 x middle sprockets, rarely get to the 30-32 granny sprockets, on the steepest climbs.

Hey, i’ll revive this topic for another question .
I have an XT triple ring crankset ( 22-32-44 ) with 9sp 11-34 cassette and a long cage shadow RD.
I plan to strip down all 3 chainrings and mount a 24t or 26t chainring ( for long exhausting ascents ) .
Besides the Widgit, are there other chainguides that can handle a smaller-than-32t chainring, similar to mrp or e13 models ?

@ elliotas,
i have created this topic so there will be a list of frames that, whatever you choose, will be at least a decent choice, if not perfect. It’s impossible for all opinions to converge towards a unique answer.
🙂 i am so deep after midnight 😀

That’s exactly what i intend to do.
I’ll stick to new products ( if the discounts are right ) and / or buy from ebay, because, given my location ( all the way across europe ) i need certain guarantees that the deal will go smoothly .

As i wrote yesterday, i made a list of frames recommended so far

Dialled Prince Albert
Orange p7 ( kinda expensive, seems heavy )
Sanderson life
Pipedream sirius / scion
Rock lobster
Genesis altitude / latitude ( thanks @ dukeduvet )
Cotic soul – only sh

Bad / Not so good / Nothing special : ragley piglet , on-one 456, kona explosif .

Nothing was said about the charge duster, which is made of a different steel ( tange ) than reynolds 853 ( which seems to be all-round favourite ).

The discounts that run at the moment are irrelevant, because i don’t have the money right now, but plan to in the winter . Some of them are over my budget, so i will be keeping an eye on ebay.
I guess in a perfect world where each of them would be availabe and budget would not be a problem, i would go with the Cotic .
But, as i’m on a budget, i guess that whatever i’d choose from that list, i can’t go wrong. That is the purpose of this topic, anyway.

So, how about that Charge Duster ? 🙂

So, a lot of votes for Prince Albert so far .
Keep in mind that i’m oriented more towards energetic 100 -120 mm xc ( climbing, tehnical courses ).

So far i’ve received positive feedbacks on the following :
Dialled Prince Albert
Orange p7
Sanderson life
Pipedream sirius
Rock lobster
I’ll add ( based on the general all-round positive reviews )
cotic soul – if i find a good second-hand deal

Bad / Not so good / Nothing special : ragley piglet , on-one 456, kona explosif .

What about charge duster ? People seem to appreciate them .

Oh wait, that’s aluminium 😐

Any opinions on On-One scandal ? It’s 230 on sale. With 100 suggested travel it would be just fine for xc purposes …. would it ?
As opposed to prince albert, for the moment .

up 🙂

@swingbing,
how did you get the soul at such a good price ? ebay or similar ?

That orange r8 looks damn fine, in my very limited opinion. I wonder whether there will be any discounts later in winter or spring, because that full price is waay out of my league.
Or how frequent do they pop up in ebay

@ northwind,
The ” mythical springy steel frame ” – 🙂 that’s what caught my attention in the first place, when i started searching.
I know that 200 is kinda’ low budget, but i may be able to increase that if the frame is really worth it .
Forgot to mention that i’m not against second-hand parts, just not now ( for those that come with business proposals 🙂 )

Thanks for the p7 heads-up, but right now i’m just doing some reasearch. Later on, in late autumn or winter , i will make the purchase.
LE : i ride 18 inch , so i think a 16-17 inch steel frame is the right size for me.

Well i admit i didn’t bother to convert from kg to lbs, and the “2 kg” value is something i took from the Al products. I’m not really a weight weenie and i would commit to a heavier frame if it has other advantages.