Extralite have developed an ingenious solution to the ever-popular 2x9 setup. The Octaramp Gara replaces the traditional middle ring with a specific 2 chainring setup that uses the male chainring bolts to mount to your existing spider. The 28t chainring attaches to the 42t and gets around the problem of the maximum 30t on a 104BCD spider. Lets face it, if your racing and you need to reach for the 22t you might as well be walking, DNF'ing or just staying in bed. Everything is faster with the Gara, shifts are crisp and sharp with the heavily machined 15 ramps, there is less to worry about in the front shifting department - at race pace you can leave it in the 42t for most of the time and drop it to the 28t when your feeling the pinch - the 28t is a great balance between blowing out your knees and spinning the cranks like a mad-man. Additional your front derailleur needs to be "limited" to operate in a smaller range, but a big advantage if your'e running twisters is that shifting is unbelievably fast. You drop a good chunk of weight as well if your coming from a 3x9 setup plus there is going to be a lot less wear on the front drivetrain due to the minimal shift-up and shift-down scenarios.
The 42t chainring is black anodized the 28t is a bronze anodize and as always the graphics are laser etched for long-term durability.
If you are unsure of your BCD or your crankset compatability - and we can tell if the Gara will fit your setup.