Novice mtb'er here. I bought my bike second hand and it came with an "odd" drive train for an all-mountain bike: 11-34t 9 speed cassette, 34t front ring with E13LG+ chain guard, non-clutch derailleur. I'm looking to get a lower gear for spinning up fromme - I can climb with it fine as it is but am getting some discomfort in my knees and just want to take it easy.
Having trouble finding just a plain old 32t ring for the front, seems like everything is narrow wide, also 32t is the smallest the chainguard will accomodate. Would be happy with a 30/32 front with guide. Want to do this for as cheap/easy as possible, the bike's not worth a lot. Not really feeling converting to 2x9 (will need a proprietary specialized hanger, shifter etc) any suggestions what to do or what to buy?