[Mguts1]

I recently bought a Trek Fuel and was thinking about taking the biggest chain ring off and putting a guard on there. I don't really see myself using the biggest gear that much. I used to ride a lot on the street, but hardly ever do anymore. Out of curiosity, I was wondering what all of you have on your XC rigs.

 

[oldfart]

Big ring. Although I can see going to a dual 36 X 24 with a bash. I ride to trails where a big ring or bigger gear than a 32 X 11 is useful.

 

[UNHrider]

big ring here as well. unless youre consistently smashing your big ring into things why replace it?

 

[kickstand]

I often miss my third chain ring on my bike. Not so much on downhills but I am used to having a few more choices when riding on flat ground.

 

[splat]

Big ring on XC bike , Bash Gard on FR/DH Bike
It is amazing that my big ring still works , I have removed enough teeth from it due to rocks and logs .

 

[Zenkis14]

I run a 1x9 on my XC Cannondale. Love the simplicity, never go back to full gears.

So yes, I have a bash guard taking the spot of the 3rd chainring

 

[dhmatt]

I run a 1x9 with a chain guide on my Blur w/32t and, it is great for everything I ride.

 

[maddog17]

big ring but my next ride i'll put a bash guard on. never seem to use the big ring anyway.

 

[UNHrider]

why do you guys run the bash? are you really hitting that much stuff? I mean i occasionally will run my big ring into a fallen tree or rock, but not often enough where i felt i needed a bash guard.

 

[greengreer]

i run a 22/36/bash setup on my XC bike, kind of an experiment to see if i would like it- I rarely find myself missing the bigger ring and never use the lowest few gears so I am going to switch to 28/40/bash or maybe 26/38 with an 11-28 cassette out back...

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Three rings and a Tooth Fairy bash guard.

 

[TreeSaw]

Our trails are FULL of huge rock gardens and logs to cross so I have a bash guard.

 

[JustMtnB44]

1x9 with bash. I never use a big ring on MTB trails, so why have it? I do smack the bash ring into logs on occasion so it's good for something.

 

[joelsman]

bash, with 34t or 36t rings + granny is all I need for trails. big ring for downhill roads or to take up chain slack on the way down.

I recently took off my big ring so I could shorten my chain so it won't slap around as much. when it comes time to replace the chain rings I will get a 34 or 36 instead of the 32.

 

[scabbyass]

i run a mrp 1x guide , no bash guard and a 32 . great set up and extremely light with no problems at all . i have ran 1x 9 set ups for awhile and i love them , this set up is on my blur xcc .

 

[spacemanspiff06]

1x9 32x11-34 is where it's at. thinking about 34x11-36. i don't particularly notice using my bash too much but it's got a few dents that would have done it a $60 44t. even if you don't smash it, bash guard = 1/2 chain guide.

 

[steve owens]

I never used the 3rd ring up front. I guess it depends on where and how you ride. Around Pisgah, the 3rd ring would act as a pretty good crampon for logs. I have single ring and double ring on my bikes,normally with guides.

 

[SkaredShtles]

I use my big ring all the time out here on XC rides. Hell - I even used it probably 1/3 of the time on Porc Rim on my 6" rental bike. I like pedaling and going fast.

 

[longhaultrucker]

2x9 with basher on my 29 all this year. I also use a 2 spd Shimano SLX front mech to avoid any setup hassles.

 

[cecil]

bash guard, more often im glad i have it rather than the 3rd ring, although sometimes when we do an all day ride we find ourselves on the road getting to the next trail head and run out of gear..

 

[Al-F]

My trails here get pretty flat so 3 rings. However, when I was in Korea I never used the big ring on the trails. Heck, I used the granny gear there maybe even more than my 32.

Heres a thought; have your cake and eat it too. what I mean is if there are places you ride a lot that need the big ring keep it...if there are places you ride a lot that need the bash guard use it instead.

Now, to have your cake and eat it too: if you can keep up with this, then buy a bash guard and keep your big ring. when you ride a lot of flats areas go big ring. you get into big rocky obstacles and logs that you case a lot replace with the bash guard and don't forget to lock out your big ring so you only have the 32/22.

 

[Senorfrog]

I run a 36 up front and a bash. really need a chainguide or at least one of those jumpguard things thats like a ghetto chainguide. though my der hanger is bent so I can't go into 1st on the back, but im coming off a singlespeed so anything below 36-20 is awesome (there are a lot of big hills where I ride)

edit: and i switched to the bash for good reason after I dominated 2 different 3rd chainrings on rocks/logjams. Also I like it better because when you go over logjams you don't get slowed down by your chainring catching on the log, instead you just slide over it. plus it keeps your chain from coming off the outside.

 

[Leppah]

I've run a bash ring for 6 years now. Never used the big chain ring. The only time I used it was when I was on a road. Now my bike doesn't hit the roads. I have a different bike for that. Plus, I'm heavy. I go plenty fast downhill and don't need a big ring. If you're going down dirt trails and you actually need to use your big ring, you're going too fast for your own good.
I also switched over because i took a spill a long time ago and my big ring took a chunk out of the back of my knee.

 

[metalhead119042]

I ran a bash with 2 rings up front for the longest time and recently got myself a chainguide, and I'm running 8 gears in the back. Needless to say, I'll never be running more than one ring up front again

 

[Leppah]

I had one ring on my bike two seasons ago. It was fine for the local trails. But for places like moab, i had to keep walking up the really steep stuff. I didn't have the power for it. So i switched back to two rings up front with a chain tensioner that has a roller on it.

Metal head. Nice sig. I love Primus. Actually the older stuff though.