Originally Posted by Scorer75
Can I swap a 53 chainring for the 46?
This is one of those questions that looks so simple at the outset but becomes progressively messier the more you look into it. The short answer is "Almost certainly not."
1. You didn't give us much data about what actual crankset you have. Looking in my catalogue the only Truvative cranksets I see have 104mm 4 arm chainrings. I couldn't find a 53t chainring in that configuration.
2. If you did find one, you'd be advised to lengthen your chain to safely cover the big/big combination.
3. If you lengthen the chain it'll probably exceed the slack take up capacity of your rear derailleur.
4. Once you solve all of the above issues, it's time to consider the front derailleur. The arc of the derailleur that came with your bike won't match the larger diameter 53t chainring. If you move it up high enough that the heel of the derailleur cage will clear, you're going to have problems with shifting and rubbing in your granny ring.
5. How is your front shift cable routed? Most bikes like yours use top tube routing and an up-pull front derailleur. All of the front derailleurs that are designed for use with 53t chainrings have under the bottom bracket cable routing and down pull derailleurs.
See what I mean?