Originally Posted by
bald1der
I tried to find what I was looking for on a bike locally and on line, even if I spend another $400 upgrading the shock I still wouldn't come close to the cost of the bikes out there.
I think you're right on the chainring. Although I haven't had a chance to ride my normal route yet I can definitely see where the 34 might be too low. My original thought was a 38. I may wind up changing in the end, but for now I'm going to give the 34 a chance. Fortunately I now have all the proper tools so it's just a matter of getting a chainring and making the swap. I intentionally left a couple extra links in the chain thinking that I might go with a larger chainring.
When I changed the drivetrain over on my Scott Sub Cross to a 1x11 setup, I also put a 34 tooth chainring on. On the rails to trails and canal trails, I felt it worked fine. I still did not use the speedier gears on the cassette but was still able to ride 12mph and a bit above. In my opinion on my Sub Cross, I wasn't setting it up to be a quick bike, just something to enjoy the trails with.
Now of course the new bike I just built, my State, I did put a 40 tooth chainring on that with it's 1x11 drivetrain. But am considering changing that out for a 38 tooth, especially once I go riding some trails that have steeper inclines.
** I too enjoy the tinkering. It's fun to make the changes and even to build the bike entirely up and different than what the manufacturer sets their bikes up with.