Thinking of going Double?

Have you been on the fence about going from your standard triple crankset, to a double? I was. I read the articles, saw all the ads, seen them at the races. Well, I finally made the switch earlier this year on my XC bike. Why go double? Most of us spend a lot of time in the middle ring, dropping down for the steep climbs, and shifting up to the big ring for the long downs. So a double that has a one ring a bit smaller than a normal 32 middle, and one a bit larger sounded good to me. You could go
all out and buy a crank, shifters, derailleurs, cassatte, and chain to go full 2X10. I went the cheaper route. I went with a Sram XX crankset, and ran my existing components.

The XX crank is not the cheapest double out there, but it is one of the lightest. I’ve also used the FSA Comet double. And it can be found for just over $100.

Using a 2 X 10 crank with my 9 speed components worked out fine. I did have to spend sometime dialing in my front derailleur. And dont forget to shorten your chain.
The biggest thing I noticed by going from a standard 22-32-44 triple to a 26-39 double is, I can push a bigger gear than I thought. I was scared the 26 tooth ring paired with the 34 cog in the rear, and 29” wheels whould be to tough on some of the steep climbs. But it wasn’t that bad. And it didn’t take long to get used to. The double also seemed to up shift quicker.

So far I’m happy with the switch I made. With all the options out there, 2X10, 3X9, 2X9, 3X10, even 1X9 or 1X10 it can be a tough choice. So what are you currently running? And if you have tried a double setup, how did you like it?