Can I buy a full-suspension bike with 3 chainrings and a "long" derailerur, then replace the big chainring with a bashguard? or do I need a short-cage deraileur designed for bikes with no big chainring? I will shorten the chain, of course.
Absolutely. I run a 1x9 on my hardtail with a long cage rear derailleur. Does it function well? Yes. If I hadn't had a long cage already would I have bought a medium or short cage? Yes.
If you shorten the chain that will help with chain slap, dropped chains etc. And if somewhere down the road you upgrade or need to replace the rear mech., you can buy a med. cage.
My full-sus does not have a guard, so I don't know if what I did on my hardtail would work for you. However, did you consider keeping the big ring and getting an external guard to protect all 3? When I bought my HT it came with the big ring replaced with a guard. I loved the guard, but found myself wanting that big ring from time to time. The LBS hooked me up with a HUGE big ring and a guard to protect it all, and I've been a happy camper ever since.
(I want a bashguard to have more clearance to go over logs, etc which is why I'll get rid of the big ring).
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