I'm finishing up my new city bike, and have just realized that FD I had earmarked for it won't fit; it's for a narrower seat tube. Crankset is Deore LX triple, I think 28-38-48. I took the bike for a spin, and it dawned on me that I really don't need all three chainrings - it's completely flat around here, and I won't be doing any long trips on it. My question is: is it possible to take off two chainrings and leave only the middle one? If so - what would it involve? Would I need to get shorter bolts for example? Or is there a chainguard (cheap if possible
I could install in place of the outer ring?
Riding a triple sans FD seems just wrong to me, although I'd do it if other options were expensive / difficult =).
TIA