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What do you think about one or two front chain rings for cross? Sizes?

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I run two rings, 34x46 since I like to keep my cadence up. A failrly common single is a 42.
Thank you. I will try out the 42 tomorrow. I usually ride a 34/46.
I run a single 42 with double bashguards to keep things on track. Seems to work good. I rarely have lost a chain on this bike.

In the back I run either 13-26, 12-25, or 11-25. This is a campy setup but all good so far. Just got the 11 cluster this year to give me a bit more meat to grab on the flats. We'll see how that works out lol.
I prefer 38/44. I stay in the 44 most of the time but have the 38 for heavy races or races with more climbing than average.

I think two rings are better than one because, well because I do. I wrote up some thoughts on my blog ...
I tried a single ring and never could get it adjusted right and keep it there. It would work great for one race, during which the watcher got knocked out of place, so it would start dropping the chain in races (on training rides I was never delirious enough to knock it off). The 42 tooth ring was a little large for my rabbit cadence.

Last year I put the derailleur back on with a 38-46 combo for a nice tight chain. I love it.
i bet a guard, a good watcher (n-gear), and the right tension and chain length would avoid this problem...or double guards. But that doesn't mean it's better.

Two rings is certainly a lot more versatile for those of us who ride our bikes not just at 'cross races. I sometimes commute or mtb-ride on mine, and like the double rings. I personally prefer a wider range, either 36/46 or 38/48 for this reason. If am going to deal with the extra weight I want more usable gears out of it. The # of gears that overlap in something like a 38/44 is pretty big...prob for most 'cross races it's fine but for the occasional road section I like the extra range.
I've always rolled a 46-38 with a 12-25 or 12-27 depending on the mud factor.
Going to try single this year. 42 w/ 11-26 or 11-25.

I am running a outer CX World Guard and an 'N Gear watcher on the inside (this is the best one by far!). Maybe another guard if there are chain issues, we will see.

This is only for the "race" bike. I have another cross rig with a 36/46 and H2O cages. I agree that single rings makes the bike much less usable in terms of riding, but I think it will kick butt in the races! And it looks pretty mean!
last year i ran a 38/42 with 12-23
this year i will run a 38/44 with 12-27 on my a bike and a 36/44 with 12-27 on my b bike
JUNIOR
I ran a 42 x 12-27 or 12-25 for the last two years.
This year I am going to use a 38x46 and 11-26 or 12-25 but I am really tempted to drop the extra ~150 grams and go single again.
I'm running a single 42 with an outer cxworld guard and a 12-27 (no inner gaurd or third eye, etc). I dropped the chain once last weekend racing, however have ridden it pretty hard on the trails without any drops so it probably was operator error. We'll see how she holds up at this weekend's race.
The inner guard is the most important one. If you drop the chain to the outside, no big deal; if you drop it to the inside, you can get the chain crammed between the crank and BB = doubleplus ungood.

My setup: 42 x 12-27, Salsa Crossing Guard + N-Gear Jumpstop + shorten the chain as much as possible. No problems last season.

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