MTB 2x10?

[majorpat]

I'm no racer, so what chainrings for a 2x10 crank on my mtb? 40/28? 38/24?

Anyone have any experience? Thanks

[vav]

Where do you ride and how strong you are? I am a wimp and my to go place has a lot of short and long steep hills so I'd go 38/24 :)

[Richard]

I think it depends on how big a pie plate you want on the back as well. Close spacing vs. multiple tooth jumps.

[gdw]

What size wheels does your bike have...26, 650b, 29?

[John H.]

New bike or used bike?
If a bike comes with 2x10 and it is a good deal for a used bike I would not shy away from 2x10.
That said, if you are getting a new bike and you can get low enough gearing with a single ring 1x11 setup, single is the way to go.
It is so idiot proof- no chain dropping, no chain suck, no chain slap. I find nothing bad about this setup unless you need lower gearing than a 28 front chainring/42 rear cog will provide.

[fatallightning]

29er? I like 38/24

[majorpat]

it's a hardtail 29'er. Riding on moderate terrain, lots of ADK dirt roads, some bikepacking gear on occasion. Not a weak sister but no longer a spring chicken either.

[SpeedyChix]

it's a hardtail 29'er. Riding on moderate terrain, lots of ADK dirt roads, some bikepacking gear on occasion. Not a weak sister but no longer a spring chicken either.

I'd go 24/38 (or 26/38) with the 29er. Pick your rear cassette based on that.

Great gear calc is http://www.gear-calculator.com/#

[old fat man]

Do you ride a 32 or 34 currently? I was riding a 34 single ring a few years back and tried going to a 26/38 to have a bigger gear for the roads. I hated it, always felt like I was shifting the front. If you need the lower gear, I'd suggest no bigger up front than 36. Otherwise you'll spend so much time shifting the front and never feeling right. I suggest 34/24 with an 11-34 or similar in back.

[wombatspeed]

I am running 34/22 rings in the front of my Ti 29er hardtail that I use for endurance racing and general riding. Combined with a narrower range cassette (32-11) that is all the gears I ever need a) at the bottom it avoids the pie plate and extra weight at the back and is fine even up steep climbs in hour 6 of a race and b) at the top end the 34 11 spins out at >25mph. Enough for me. Faster than that I tuck on the MTB...

The additional plus (as already mentioned by a previous poster) is that you won't end up shifting your FD much. 34 is good for everything but steep and/or long climbs. Racing in the Rockies I shift down before a long uphill, and then back to the 34 for the long flats & descents.

You could of course do that with a 38/24 as well if you add a 36 cassette. But I prefer more tightly spaced cassettes.

Anyway, everyone's strength, preferred cadence, riding style is different. So YMMV and all that.

[majorpat]

Thanks for the info, probably going with a 38/26 and an 11-36 cassette...and ride lots.

[raygunner]

Bumpin' an older thread.

Curious what I should go with for my new 29er.

38/24 or 38/26 crankset?

With an 11-36 or 11-34 cassette?

Some bikepacking, some general riding and maybe even I'll even use it for something like D2R2.

Any advice would be greatly apprecaited, thanks!!

[Matthew]

I am running a 26er hardtail. Going 2x10 as well. Will do some cross country racing/trail riding here in Michigan. Was thinking 38/26 with the smaller cassette in back. Anyone from here in Michigan have any advice? Speedychix? Thanks, Matthew.

[SpeedyChix]

I am running a 26er hardtail. Going 2x10 as well. Will do some cross country racing/trail riding here in Michigan. Was thinking 38/26 with the smaller cassette in back. Anyone from here in Michigan have any advice? Speedychix? Thanks, Matthew.

I'm running the 2x10 on a 650B HT, 38/26 and have a 32T as my large cog in back. Around here or something like Island Lake, I never use the 26T. If I'm riding something like Big M or Poto I'll make use of the 26 up front. I probably could make do with a 28T max in back but what's on there is working fine. On fresh days Yankee is 38t front, if I'm hammering and/or tired the 26t will get used a bit on a couple of the climbs.

I've been really pleased with the change from 3x9 to 2x10. It's also what got me to start riding SS ; )

[Matthew]

That is likely what I will run too. I was on a 3x8 with 42,32,22 chainrings and on most courses I could use the 42 up front until I got into the hills or I was fatigued. Virtually never used the 22! If you ever get to west Michigan PM me. Owassippie is a great place to ride and Luton Park is fun too. Big M as well. Matthew

[Mikej]

Thanks for the info, probably going with a 38/26 and an 11-36 cassette...and ride lots.

Yeah, xtr? That's the way to go. 40 28 is the race crankset, it has a different Q factor - narrower. You going m9000?

[majorpat]

Yeah, xtr? That's the way to go. 40 28 is the race crankset, it has a different Q factor - narrower. You going m9000?

XTR? I wish...got an SLX setup on the new frame but no real feedback yet. Winter here in Siberacuse.

[ofcounsel]

Bumpin' an older thread.

Curious what I should go with for my new 29er.

38/24 or 38/26 crankset?

With an 11-36 or 11-34 cassette?

Some bikepacking, some general riding and maybe even I'll even use it for something like D2R2.

Any advice would be greatly apprecaited, thanks!!

I've got two 29ers, one hardtail and one FS. I run 2x10 with a 38/26 up front and a 11-36 cassette on my FS. An average weekday of MTB riding for me is about 11-15 miles and 1100-1500 feet of elevation gain. But on weekends, I sometimes go up to about 20-30 miles and about 3000 feet of elevation gain per day. I'm in my mid-40's and about 5'10" and about 235 lbs. I ride about 4-5 times a week.

It all depends on the amount of riding you do, how strong and how light-heavy you are, etc. But I give you my general stats to give you a baseline for comparison. My guess is that if you're lighter weight than I, and ride about the same types of distances, the a 38/26 and 11-36 is plenty of range for you. and the 36 would be a good bail out gear if you run the 26T front.

[Benneke]

I prefer the 11-36 to the 11-34 for all kinds of riding, for me the options are more important than the quick jumps. For trail riding with a heavier bike I like a really low gear, right now I'm running a 22-36 on my trail bike and it works well for me. For more race pace riding, you will want a small chainring 26 or bigger or else you will rarely use it.