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  • 1 x 11 – not convinced
  • charliemort
    Full Member

    @ cubic boy – that seems to confirm my thinking that I’d need a 30. I’m reasonably fit but heavy (15 stone) so do use a lowish gear – also gives something in reserve to flail up short steep bits

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Therefore, the assertion that you need multiple gears to do ‘proper mountain biking’ is demonstrably false.

    No-one thinks *everyone* needs a certain gear range, that’s daft so save your fingers.

    However, any given individual might *need* low gears. Just because some hardcore bikepacker can do it on a singlespeed doesn’t mean we all can! These people are hardly your average weekend warrior.

    andytherocketeer
    Full Member

    what one person needs to win a race,
    what I need to ride the range of terrain I ride,
    and what other people claim is all you need,
    and what people tell me I need (when they don’t even know what I ride)…

    are 4 entirely different things.

    i have 21 single speeds presently, with 2 clever mechanical devices for selecting which of those 21 speeds to use and when, even if some are effectively duplicated.

    edit: heck, even 1×1 32:16 is more than you need, what with a rider almost on the podium at the last DH worlds with no chain, and then Gwin winning a world cup round with no chain.

    make it simple, bin the cassette, both mechs, shifters and have an even less cluttered bar (not that 840mm bars would be what I call “cluttered” or full), and ride a dandy horse! no mech to get twisted round cassette, no mech to spack spokes, not rear hanger to snap, no KMC vs Sram chain fanboi-ism… and races are winnable!

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    Sanny
    Free Member

    I have to admit to finding no discernible advantages for me in a 1x set up. I love climbing steep and loose climbs where I am on the limit of traction. I currently run a 22 36 on my mountain bike and would happily drop it to a twenty. Riding Helvellyn a few days ago, it was interesting to see my mates pushing while I was riding. For me, having low gears that I can winch up climbs is part of the fun. If you prefer 1x, good on you but it would reduce my enjoyment so there is no incentive for me to change. 😀

    traildog
    Free Member

    No-one thinks *everyone* needs a certain gear range, that’s daft so save your fingers.

    That’s how the thread started though. One person was dismissing 1×11 as fashion because he didn’t get the point. The point is that different gearing works for different people and different applications.

    I am a big fan of 1x gearing on my main mountain bike which I use in the hills (even the lake district, shock horror). I find it the best solution for that. It goes more than fast enough on that terrain and I can climb with it.

    However, I also have a mountain bike with a triple on the front as I use it on the road and it also pulls a trailer with my kid in.

    tenacious_doug
    Free Member

    No-one thinks *everyone* needs a certain gear range, that’s daft so save your fingers.

    Have you read the last 4 pages 😆

    philjunior
    Free Member

    When climbing some stuff I’ve ended up in my bottom gear wishing for more to come (22-32 on one bike and 22-34 on the others). I’ll put the biggest sprockets I can on whenever I replace the cassettes.

    I like to ride up what I can, and whilst I’m sure some pro could ride stuff on a singlespeed that I can’t get up on my current bikes I have a slightly lower bottom end than you can get with a 1×11 and would appreciate an even lower bottom end.

    And anyone who thinks a 42T dinner plate sprocket looks nicer than having a double up front needs their eyes testing.

    That said there are bikes I’d consider that can’t accomodate front mechs, and I’m sure I’d cope with 1×10 or 11, although I have already looked at Hammershmidt cranks. And much as Sanny puts his climbing down to having the lowest of low gears, I remember him munching up some ridiculous inclines when everyone else was walking on a day out with an unusable granny…

    molgrips
    Free Member

    The point is that different gearing works for different people and different applications

    That is a better way of putting it.

    Except singlespeeding – that’s just silly.

    And anyone who thinks a 42T dinner plate sprocket looks nicer than having a double up front needs their eyes testing.

    It doesn’t, but it works better – you can save weight, cost and front shifting. I still have 3x on everything, mind, but I can see the advantage of 1x. Not 2x so much though.

    Having said that – I could go 2x on my race bike if I could adjust the chain lines and perhaps increase the size of the middle – to reduce front shifts in the madness of an XC race. Also the Patriot might benefit from a bash ring.

    I’ve actually gone from 2×10 to 3×10 on the road bike – initially to fit super low gears for base training in a hilly area, but now I’ve got 11-25 on the back and kept the triple because I like the closer ratios than a typical compact setup.

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