[DirtEveryDay]

I like to run duals up front, especially thanks to where I'm stuck calling home, but feel limited with the standard 36t I've been running all these years. Figuring I could be pretty varied with a 26/38 combo. This would allow me to atleast stay in the race on some Enduro DHs this year, and still get my rip on!
But I'm not having a lot of luck! I thought it would be fairly easy to find...

 

[syadasti]

Truvativ use to make a 38T pinned and ramped ring but I don't know if you can easily find them these days.

 

[ire]

I used two standard rings that came on my Hone cranks, but I also had a bash guard to protect them

 

[- seb]

You say DH worthy, but if you're running a bashring of any sort you can get away with the flimsiest of rings since it aint gonna be hitting anything. E13's chainrings are lighter than most XC ones.

 

[freakrock]

You say DH worthy, but if you're running a bashring of any sort you can get away with the flimsiest of rings since it aint gonna be hitting anything. E13's chainrings are lighter than most XC ones.

buth they aren't ramped

 

[- seb]

buth they aren't ramped

Yes I know, I wasn't recommending them. My point is that if he has a bashring he can just pick any XC ring which WILL be ramped.

 

[MattP.]

buth they aren't ramped

I think he was just pointing out their weight to prove that you don't necessarily need a burly chainring to be "DH Worthy."

 

[Dogboy]

Here you go:
http://www.blackspire.com/qs/product/83/5948/263225/0/0
Both sizes you are looking for.
But honestly, a 24/36 combo is usually sufficient. Especially paired with a cassette with an 11t small cog. 36 is pretty standard fare for DH courses these days so it should do the trick, but Blackspire saw the demand and offers the 38.

 

[DirtEveryDay]

Here you go:
http://www.blackspire.com/qs/product/83/5948/263225/0/0
Both sizes you are looking for.
But honestly, a 24/36 combo is usually sufficient. Especially paired with a cassette with an 11t small cog. 36 is pretty standard fare for DH courses these days so it should do the trick, but Blackspire saw the demand and offers the 38.

Sweet! Thanks man. Yeah, still pondering the 22/36 setup I have now. It's been working, but I do actually run out of gears. I don't "only" race, but screw around in general and actually have used up the 36/11 combo and been wishin for more!
And our local track up here has the sweetest sprint to the finish line. Basically pop out of the trees into an avalanche runout and hit the ground pedaling ...Everone I've check on is running a 36/11 top end and they're hitting 44mph, according to the Sherriff and his radar gun the one year. I want more!
So it's silly, but if it works, why the hell not? I don't like that I gotta run a bit more chain(weight), but it may be worth it in smiles.
And XC rings get toasted bash or not. Don't know why, I've used them before and they just get all warped and stuff. I've been a big fan of RaceFace "race" rings for the last year or so. Good stuff! I'd call em "burly XC" stuff.

 

[DirtEveryDay]

Ouch! $65 for a 104 38t! 36/11 might just be fast enough! lol!

 

[Cant Climb]

You dont need it to be ramped.....i've been running 26,32,38 on my Heckler for like 5 years....shifts fine......

Salsa makes nice chainrings.
Light, strong, fairly cheap too.

I picked up a couple 38T Saint rings last year.
Some guy was selling them because they were heavy

 

[DirtEveryDay]

How's THAT work? And if it works OK, why do they make ramped ones? Is it pinned?
So...you're running a straight up, singlespeed 38t ring?

 

[Dogboy]

You dont need it to be ramped.....i've been running 26,32,38 on my Heckler for like 5 years....shifts fine......

Salsa makes nice chainrings.
Light, strong, fairly cheap too.

I picked up a couple 38T Saint rings last year.
Some guy was selling them because they were heavy

Do you run thumb shifters?

 

[Cant Climb]

How's THAT work? And if it works OK, why do they make ramped ones? Is it pinned?
So...you're running a straight up, singlespeed 38t ring?

Yeah, the 38 has no pins or ramps........nothing......is smooth.

I run a low-end 26 tooth Shimano. It costs like 4$......works fine. I think it is steel....

To run the 3 rings i had to dremel some of the inner plate on the front derailler off.....the plate was too long and would get hung up. I didn't have that problem with older XT derailler though. Just this new one i got, new shifts better though.......even dremelled.....

 

[DirtEveryDay]

Do you run thumb shifters?

Yeah, what he said.

 

[Cant Climb]

Do you run thumb shifters?

hahaha....i guess you are saying the 26 is old school.

 

[Dogboy]

hahaha....i guess you are saying the 26 is old school.

No. I'm saying that I remember the days before ramped/pinned chainrings. You used friction thumbshifters to jam the chain up onto the next gear and then tweaked it back to trim it.

 

[davep]

Back before I coughed up the $$ to have a purpose built DH bike and a trail bike, I used to ride a foes fly with two rings. I ran into the same problems finding rings in good sizes with ramps...so I went w/o ramps. Around here, the granny is for the long slog up the hill...kind of like a low gear box. Then once at the top, shift to the bigger ring and go down. For this limmited shifting (never really under power) I had no problems running non-ramped rings. There was an article on NSMB (I think) on diound something similar w/o a front der. The guy was running some guide ring (envy maybe) that would keep the chain on w/o the der. then would just shift from 'high' to 'low' by hand when he got to the top.

I will however agree that 36/11 should be enough (that is what I run on the DH bike). Unless the terrain is quite smooth, I find at that speed, I am better off pumping/hopping/flowing rather than trying to pedal and time pedal strokes, etc. Maybe work on leg speed..

I guess things are a bit different on trails appropriate for a more A/M bike...I end up riding more gear inches on the trail bike and even more on the road bike..

 

[DirtEveryDay]

Maybe work on leg speed..

Actually, that brings up a point I forgot about and actually a little excited about!
About 3-4 months ago I started questioning my crank length choices. I've been running 175s on everything since I've been riding mtbs, really. Read some dumb article that mentioned crank length and spinning, and I checked out some graphs and WHOOPS! I'm 5'8" with a 29"-30" inseam...I'm supposed to be on 160s according to most of the chrts, but I think 165s are good enough. And I just nailed a pair of 165mm Saints on Ebay for $80 a week ago!
Maybe we'll try the 36t one more time! Maybe I'll be able to keep my feet on the pedals plus not bounce down the trail on each stroke!

 

[DirtyMike]

I ran 24/38 for years with no troubles. Used an aluminum Azonic DH ring for the 38. No ramps, no pins, still shifted without any trouble. I Did need to Lathe it just a bit to make it fit in teh center postion though. Currently I am running the 24/36 that came on the new cranks. Only reason I went with teh 36 is I didnt want to run old rings on the new cranks.

 

[DirtEveryDay]

Miss the two teeth?

 

[davep]

Actually, that brings up a point I forgot about and actually a little excited about!
About 3-4 months ago I started questioning my crank length choices. I've been running 175s on everything since I've been riding mtbs, really. Read some dumb article that mentioned crank length and spinning, and I checked out some graphs and WHOOPS! I'm 5'8" with a 29"-30" inseam...I'm supposed to be on 160s according to most of the chrts, but I think 165s are good enough. And I just nailed a pair of 165mm Saints on Ebay for $80 a week ago!
Maybe we'll try the 36t one more time! Maybe I'll be able to keep my feet on the pedals plus not bounce down the trail on each stroke!

It definately takes some work to be able to pedal at very high cadience. Way back in the day, there was a saying in the bmx world 'spin to win'.....I always under geared my bike during the week to just ride around town.

whenever you are just riding along on some pavement or smooth trail, shift to an easy gear, and concentrate on smooth, circular pedaling...as a high speed. If you ever use clips, you can also pedal with a single leg, to work on perfecting a circular pedal stroke.

 

[DirtEveryDay]

Great...one more skill I don't have!

 

[frorider]

i've been running 22/38 for a while now (currently on the uzzi) w/ xt front der, RF bash, heim / LRP roller guide. shifts perfectly. i just buy whatever 7075 pinned/ramped 38T ring is around; usually buy raceface. universal cycles usually carries those (in silver only).

 

[DirtEveryDay]

Damn, 22-38 is a reach! Would it be faster/smoother with a 24t or 26t?
And I couldn't find a Race Face ramped 38t...

 

[DirtyMike]

Miss the two teeth?

Not at all, I was pleasantly suprized how little change there was. couldnt tell the difference post parkinglot test ride.

 

[DirtyMike]

Damn, 22-38 is a reach! Would it be faster/smoother with a 24t or 26t?
And I couldn't find a Race Face ramped 38t...

Actually if your running a dually up front on a big bike, the chances are your not really shifting that much up front. More like just on occasion, so tyour 22-38 shift is a bit rough, but stil consistant

 

[frorider]

tahoe riding has some long steep uphill singletrack, so i'm kinda partial to a 22T granny. the race face ramps/pins are aggressive enough that the upshift is damn smoove to the 38..and yeah, on some rides it gets shifted a lot.

...i just checked universal's site, and RF's site, and it looks like the 38 ring doesn't exist anymore. you might call RF directly to see if they have any left over from last year.

 

[TWeerts]

i have a single 36t on my sxt, and i find it hard to run out of gears. i do know people who are faster than me, but i can pretty much do all the features (long, high speed jumps, steep jumps, drops) they can w/ the 36t. the only thing i am missing is the rediculous late-90's look of a HUGE chainring