The Salsa big ring is a perfect choice because it doesn’t have ramps or pins, which means when you are in the little ring you can use smaller cogs without the big ring starting to grab the chain. This is key to my 2x9 riding style which is to minimize front-shifts by staying in the little ring and using a wider range of cogs. I thought that the lack of ramps and pins would mean that shifts to the big ring would be grinding and slow. This turns out not to be true: the shifts are smooth and take just a fraction of a second longer, but that’s all.

The Surly little ring is also a perfect choice because it is steel. Little rings wear faster, which leads to chainsuck (seems to be a parania of mine). A steel ring solves this problem and will last forever. Well worth the extra weight in my book.

And you won’t go wrong with SRAM’s chains and cogs. The Power Link is a mechanic’s best friend. No need to pop rivets or take apart your front derailleur if you want to take your chain off.

Be sure to check frame clearance: I have just a couple mm on my newer frame, and I suspect that the old frames built specifically for the CODA double might have been designed with a bit more space.

I finally bought one of these tools after years of trying to hold chainring nuts with a screwdriver or my finger, neither of which works too well. Highly recommended if you do any chainring swapping.