10 Speeds of Awesomeness

I have been planning to give a 10 speed setup a go for a while now, but never had the money to put the plan in motion...that is until I won a Sram X9 10 speed setup from Whistler Bike Park and Crankworx....holy crap, YESSS...I love it when a plan comes together.

The wierd thing is they sent a 9 speed chain and a 11-32 cassette...I found it a bit odd but free stuff is free stuff...right? With the help from some friends at Sooke Mountain Cycle and Oak Bay Bikes Westshore I was able to get my hands on a sweet KMC 10 speed chain and a 12-36 cassette, thanks guys for being awesome. Oh yeah, I now have all the parts, lets get this started. Just one little problem...how am I going to set this up...do I go with a dual ring setup, single ring? What chain guide can I run or should I run one at all?

These were all questions I had to find answers for. First off I had to figure out what gearing would work best for me and the terrain I ride. I wanted to get rid of the front derailleur, I friggin hate them, so I think a single front ring is the way to go. I am not one of those riders who likes to mash the big gears, I prefer to sit and spin in a smaller gear...so I had a choice of running a large granny or a small middle ring. Well the 30 tooth middle rings are hella expensive and you have to custom order them, and my roomate just happened to have a 28 tooth granny ring sitting around...well it's either free and set it up now...or expensive and a wait....well....since I am a cheap bastard...28 tooth it is!

Next up is a chainguide, I had issues last time I put a blackspire stinger on my Rune with my Atlas cranks...just not enough room, add to that getting a guide to work with a ring that small is not an easy task, next year MRP is coming out with the Micro G2, but that is a ways off...and we all know I don't like to wait. Another option was to create a guide...well...I am not that handy...lol, so the last option was to just wing it and run no guide at all, booyeah...that sounds like the way to go for me.

My favourite not so local shop already had my bike for some warranty issues so I just had him install it...yes,  I am that lazy. They recommended I stay with the two rings in front as they thought the chain line would be too messed up to run with the granny, ok...I am flexible...sure let's give that a try. After I picked up the bike and rode it around a little it became apparent that the chain line in the middle ring and bigger cogs in the back were less than optimal...sweet, this lets me give the 28 ring a try...and Lorien just happened to have a Granny God in stock...awesome...let it be done!

I was a little nervous about the no chain guide setup...but I was loving the looks of the little chain ring/guard setup in the front...and the chain line looked way better than expected, my mind was put to ease on my first ride though...and the few rides since have reinforced this opinion.

The feeling of a new drive train is...so good, especially when you have been nursing your old one for so long....so crisp, so nice...and no front derailleur is the best thing evar.

I will keep ya'll up to date and let you know if the 10 speed can hold up to the wet west coast winter under this big dude...only time will tell. Till then I will enjoy putting it through it's paces.

Have you been running a 10 speed setup? If so post it up in the comments and let everyone know how it has been working for you.