Going From 31t to 34t Chainring

[eric_james]

Hi I have what appears to be a 31 tooth single front chain ring. I know the BCD but I want to know if it will make much difference to the chain by fitting a 34t chainring. The chain has a fair amount of play in it while on the largest cog at the back
just the current one is crap and want a nice looking one is the only reason
Any ideas thanks

 

[tintin40]

Hope make nice looking rings? And made in GB

 

[eric_james]

hi TinTin will going from 31t to 34t make much difference to the chain?

 

[eric_james]

It's for my son's bike. I have looked and most are 32t rather than 31t. 32t to 34t looks like 9mm.

 

[tintin40]

hi TinTin will going from 31t to 34t make much difference to the chain?

i went from 32 to 36 with 9-45 cassette the chain is under much less stress then when with a 9-50. Doing away with the big ring and x2 set up has made getting the gearing correct much harder.

 

[eric_james]

His is 9 speed with a 31t front chain ring. Will this affect the chain much going from 31t to 34t?
The rear cassette is ok for climbing but he wanted a slightly bigger front chain ring

 

[tintin40]

only way is to ride and see if it works for him.
That's what I did. In my case the 9 makes up for not having a big ring. 45 is more than plenty for going up hill. One day I may try a 38 if I can fit one to THM cranks.

 

[robfinger]

It's a noticeable difference in both how the bike climbs in low gear and how fast it goes when you hit the 11t sprocket on the cassette. I got a few bikes, all 9-speed, one has 30T chainring, two 32, one 34, and one 38, and I can feel the difference between them all.

Chain tension greatly depends on the rear mech as well. But if you're worried about it being too short with the 34T there's a good chance all will be well as they're usually fairly slack unless someone has messed with them.

 

[eric_james]

Hi, we fitted a 34t narrow wide front chain ring. All fine so far and no chain drops yet. Chain is also fine

 

[robfinger]

Narrow-wide pretty much is the cure for dropped chains, so you did good there