The more I think about this the better it sounds. My angle is really from a maintenance perspective - simplicity is good. Chain-rings and derailleurs all cost money. OK so front derailleurs don't die often or even need that much maintenance but fundamentally changing gear causes additional wear on the chain and chain-rings. I've come to decide that the reason I find myself changing is that the bike by default is not geared for me given the type of riding I do (switching from middle to large chain-ring mainly on my hard-tail).
So I'm thinking:
a)
38 front chain-ring with a bash guard - I'll use the bash-guard on another bike.
b) Switched the 11-32 with the 11-34 from my full-sys bike
This will mean I can test out single-speed ratios of ~18-38 but also close to my lowest 'usual' off-road ration of 1:1 (currently 32:32).
Things I may consider:
1) a 12-36 cassette from 29er set-ups. I have read posts suggesting the additional torque from 36 on rear hub might be too much for lightweight hubs.
2)
E13 XCX chainguide
