Chainring Advice

My Kona fat bike is set up as a 1 x 10 with a 24t chainring. I have had the bike out for a half a dozen rides so far and feel that the chainring is too small. My Trek is also a 1x and I run a 34t on it and feels too small at some times. Should I swap my fat bike ring for something bigger or once the snow flies will I be thankful for the smaller ring

Most 1x fat bikes spec the same size which leads me to believe that this is the best option but I am looking for opinions

I do not (yet) own a fat bike, kirk, so please take this with a grain of salt but–from what I understand, fat bikes excel at climbing due to their traction and gearing. Are you topping out in the small cogs every ride? If not, you may just need to adjust your shifting habits and stay closer to the middle/bottom of the cassette. You’ll have a better chainline and still climb the crap out of everything. If you still find it too easy, by all means swap out the front ring for a 32 or better.

I checked a gear ratio calculator when you picked up the bike, and it looks like a 30 tooth chainring would give you roughly the same gear range as you have on your Fuel

3 Likes

I have 32 on mine set up as a 1x11 with the large in the rear being a 40t and I’ve been thinking about dropping to something like a 30t.

I currently have to be flying down somebody gravel or asphalt road before I run out of gears at high speed but it feels like I should have one more easy gear at the top.

Thanks for the responses guys.

The problem is not having gearing light enough to climb, in fact it climbs like a mexican tour mule, It’s that I am spinning out relatively quickly. It seems to me a fat bike is more about cruising than speed. I am almost always in my smallest rear cog (11t) and spinning like a mad man. I feel like I need a bigger ring to push. As I said, perhaps with the larger tire footprint coupled with the resistance from the snow a 24t is ideal but I feel like I need more pedal resistance. I’ve been to Spider Lake and Area 25 with it so far and although there are no big climbs there I never got anywhere near the 42t cog

I talked with the guys at the LBS Saturday and was told that if the chainring was to be bigger it would require a new chain and derailleur. I don’t understand why and if that is the case, I will not bother with the extra expense.

@Someguywithbikes I remember you saying that now and I should have swapped it then

New chain and derailleur? Chain maybe if the current one is too short to accommodate the larger front ring but new derailleur makes no sense to me.

You want some fries with that sir? My guess

I often change the rings or cassettes on new bikes. Did it on my cross bike recently because I was struggling to get it up hills. Do it.

Maybe wait and see until it deals with snow. You can be our trail breaker for packing down the snowy trails. :slight_smile:

1 Like

GS vs SS cage length is my guess. Shops present the best possible setup to the customer, maybe ask them why they suggest a new der next time you’re in.

What do you mean by GS vs SS Randy?

Depending on how much chain you have and the difference between your biggest gear to smallest (in gear inches) the short cage rear der may not take up all of the slack leaving you chain dangling like a wet noodle. This is all just a guess though. It used to come into play a lot with touring bikes that had triple cranksets, you’d never see one with a short cage rear der or the der would be hyper extended.

If his current derailleur has the correct capacity for his cassette (which it should since it came like that from the manufacturer), then the size of the chainring is completely irrelevant on a 1X setup.

You may need a longer chain if you go to a bigger chain ring but your current derailleur will be perfectly fine.

3 Likes

If his chain is getting longer or shorter to accommodate a bigger or smaller chainring I don’t think things are exactly the same. It might work, it might not. Asking why would answer the question. Looking forward to hearing the outcome. I agree that in a 1x setup this seems counterintuitive and that it shouldn’t make a difference but its the only thing I can think of, Might be a mistake on the shops part. Doesn’t hurt to ask,

I agree. My understanding was that the cage length on the derailleur was based on the range on the cassette (for one by setups). The front ring shouldn’t affect that.

@muddy I have a 24T ring on my fatbike, but the largest cog on the cassette is 36T. I’ve never wanted for an easier climbing gear even in the winter and snow. If my cassette had a 42T cog I’d be putting a 28T ring on the front.

1 Like

Alright I am going to dig into this further. It sounds like bigger is the way to go.

Thanks to everyone. Even those of you who made it more complicated :slight_smile:

1 Like

I have had a norco bigfoot 6.2 with a 28T and 11x42 set up and a Norco Ithaqua with a 30T 11x42 set up currently and found them both great! Liked the 28T set up the best! Great range of gears for me ! I use the bikes year around and loved the 28T 11x42 set up!

I’ve had a fat bike for a few winters now. It’s a 2x10 with a 24T & 34T chainring and 36T on the cassette. I don’t think I ever use the 24/36 gear combination even when plowing through fresh wet snow. I spend most of my winter riding on the 24t chainring and mid cassette.
I rarely ride it in the dirt, but when I do it’s all on the larger chainring.
Would definitely recommend getting a larger chainring for Halifax riding.

1 Like

Ok so I have to chew on this for a bit. Maybe wait until the snow flies. I now know I do not need a der but will perhaps need a new chain. This would be due to a bigger ring requiring a longer length. I get that and makes sense. I have a chain at home that LITERALLY has one ride on it and came off my 34T 1x so it should be useable. It just might need a few of the links removed

It’s just a matter of spending the $100 on a new ring. I don’t have a problem with that but I think I will wait until the snow flies and see wha’ts up. Or maybe I will do it next week.

Thanks for all the help guys

4 Likes