About 5 months ago I had my 29er changed from a 2×10 to a 1×10 however it seems that the lowest Gear is not as low as it used to be, making steep climbs harder work and I’m also getting tired after far fewer miles than before. Combine this with doing less riding due to the Winter and I’ve become awful at tackling steep climbs.
It’s a 29er with a 30T chain ring and a 11-42 cassette.
I’ve thought the easiest thing to do might be to replace the 30T with a 28T chainring? But I wondered how much this might effect the top speed until I can’t pedal anymore. At the moment the top speed is about 44kph until it becomes too fast to pedal anymore, which I’m only doing for less than 5% of a ride anyway, so its not used much, so what would be the max pedalling speed if it was changed to a 28T ?
My rides are very hilly so the low gears are needed far more often than high ones.

41

24*36 would give you 0.67 (assuming that’s the 2x ratios)

30*42 would give you 0.71
28*42 would give you 0.67

I’m just setting up 1×10 with 34×11-40 on a 29r. Wondering how that’s going to pan out!

Simon d Barnes at 41 agreed.

I’d be getting you front mech and shifter back…..

To add to what garage dweller put, 24*32 gives 0.75, so you’ve lost less than one gear from your previous setup as far as ratios go (assuming you were running ‘normal’ 10s kit).

If that is really causing you a problem then I’d suggest trying a 28 is a good place to start (if your cranks can fit it- cheap if they can, expensive if not). You may find you’re happy with it- I thought I’d really miss the 42 chainring on the triple when I got rid of it, turns out, not at all.

After that, options are probably to spring for something like slx 1×11 with an 11-46 cassette or go back to 2x, and that really is something that’s up to you

24*36 would give you 0.67 (assuming that’s the 2x ratios)

I’ve just had a look at the Spec of the 2×10 setup I had.

It was 22*36, as opposed to the current 30*42. I take it this gave 0.61 ? As opposed to the current 0.71. So the new setup is 17% harder than the old. I suppose it’s like losing two gears ?

If I changed to a 28T then that would give 0.67 so still not as easy as the old setup but might be enough to make the longer rides do-able (by me at least) again.

That’s a good couple of gears then to give you about 0.61 on the oem setup.

If you want the gears back I think you might need your front mech out of the bin or an 11spd setup with a 50t as (you rightly say) the 28t ring wont do it.

I might keep the 1×10 and go for the 28T chain ring, the gearing ratio of 0.67 is probably not that far off the 0.61 that I used to have, and the weight saving of a 1×10 setup probably makes up some of the remaining difference.

If I’m still not happy with it then I’ll probably wait until I need to replace the entire drivetrain again and go back to 2×10

41 km\h – that’s a far off dream for me off-road

41 km\h – that’s a far off dream for me off-road

Descents on easy Smooth surfaces are the only time I’m pedalling at 41km/h. I was on a ride once with a mountain bike group when I had 2×10 and my front mech broke so I was stuck in the 22T granny gear all ride with a top speed of 30km/h. There were sections of the ride where I was close to getting dropped because I couldn’t keep up.

Just go back to 2* when you can.

Restricting your gear range at both ends makes no sense to me.

If you link trails with roads or fast tracks why spend more time on them than necessary, then not have a low enough gear for steep trails?

1* works fine for playbikes.
If you drive to trail centres you don’t need higher gears.

Perfect for the flat, the fit and the fashionable.
Not so good for the rest of us.

Perfect for the flat,

Not flat around here (Dales)

the fit

Have you seen my belly?

and the fashionable.

No, you really haven’t seen me have you? 😆

100% agree with rusty spanner.

For most people’s riding, a 1x makes little sense. The best gear setup is a wide enough range to suit your climbing/flat/descending needs with as close as possible ratios to maintain a good fast cadence. You won’t get that with a 1x. You have to sacrifice range or jumps in ratio.

😀

Having been a 1x naysayer for a while (I even wrote to Orange telling them that our club though it was a mistake), I bought a 1x Trek 29er with 10-42 and 30t. I’ve done the maths and lose 1/2 gear at the low end and 1 gear at the high end vs standard 2x.

I can safely say I’m a convert, don’t miss gearing at either end and the inter gear jumps are fine. Indeed with 2x I often double shifted to a higher gear.

Being able to put a reverb lever underneath close to the grip is good too.

The best gear setup is a wide enough range to suit your climbing/flat/descending needs

Yup, 1x does that for me.

as close as possible ratios to maintain a good fast cadence.

Disagree, my cross bike had a close ratio cassette and I was forever double shifting because the steps were too close together for me.

I assume you’re running a triple with a road cassette to get your max range minimal gaps?

OP, if 1x doesn’t give you the range you need at the price you want, go back to 2x, regardless of other peoples preferences. If it does, stick with it, regardless of other peoples preferences. Sounds like you have a pretty pragmatic approach to it so carry on! Out of curiosity what crank do you have?

I don’t think you are comparing 1×10 and 2×10 fairly-the easier gears at least.You changed to 1×10 5 months ago so it looks like you have been riding all over winter with a slightly higher gear ratio.Winter climbing and long distances are a lot harder than in summer and spring especially where we live!Give it a full year for a fair comparison.FWIW I ride 1×11 11-42 on my 26 inch big bike and 1×10 11-42 on my 27.5 long travel hardtail-I’m over 50,a stone and half overweight,lucky to ride twice a week and cope fine though I certainly struggled when I had an 11-40.I also ride 2×9 but much prefer my 1×10.I understand that a 29er’s gearing might be a bit harder but I’d stick with it.

As a confirmed luddite , I’m not a big fan of the 1x setups, but I guess it depends on what you ride .
I can see the sense of 1x , if you are doing , say , 10mi at a trail centre , and then throwing your bike in the car .
or Bronson in the Transporter. Whatever .
But , if you are doing more of a luddite type ride , like out of the back gate , with a decent bit of luddite hoofing , then you need a wider range.
A luddite like me might run a triple chainring up front .

I raise and lower my seat manually .
And , I call it a saddle.

I’m not even 50 yet .

like out of the back gate , with a decent bit of luddite hoofing , then you need a wider range.

I ride around calderdale and can happily do 3000ft of climbing in 15-20miles on a 1×11, I don’t need any more gears.

It’s all good

If the 28t is an option for your crank then try it, as others have noted you could always go back to 2X if it’s still not right, it’s better to have gearing that works for your riding…

I do love these threads, the 1x condemnation society assemble to rubbish the notion of using a single chainring as the choice of blind fashion followers and trailcentre faries…

It’s just a bicycle drivetrain, shimano and SRAM are still more than happy to sell front mechs and 2/3x chainsets to those of you still grumpily living in 1988, who still love pulling clumps of mud out from behind the BB… 😉

Have to disagree Mr MuddyFox 😉

I hardly ever go to trail centres (I’m talking in the frequency of once a year if that), most of my riding is riding in the fells, hills and mountains. I’m fine on 1×10 on my 29er (32T oval with 11-40 cassette), anything I can’t get up with it, I wasn’t able to get up on a 3×9 so it’s not as if I’ve lost anything.

1x is hard work to begin with – it took me a good two or three months to begin to get used to it, and that was with a 30T chainring. I can’t, for the foreseeable future, see me going back to a 2x or 3x system. I’m certainly no spring chicken, 50 has disappeared over the horizon.

If you’ve tried 1x and don’t like it then put a front mech on and go 2x or 3x, it’s your bike, your enjoyment.

In the interim period , I have just read that NX groupset test .
I am thouroughly convinced , despite the typo.

I have placed an order for a Santa Cruz , and thrown the kettle in the bin , in favour of a tap that dispenses boiling water.

Does ANYONE remember the Mountain Tamer Quad ?

I’ll get me coat…

Please forgive my potentially silly question regarding gearing upgrades…

If I ever get around to replacing the 8-speed setup on my Wazoo with say 10-speed, is it usually practical to use the existing cables, or should a new set of cables pretty much always be part of the upgrade cost?

I didn’t realise how clunky the 8-speed was until recently, when I took my 2006 10-speed road bike out on the road for the first time in a few years, which was still amazingly butter smooth.

Would an oval ring be worth a try if a 28t ring wouldn’t fit straight on?

Give it a few months to get stronger. 30t x 42 is really quite a low gear – the same as the easiest gear on a 24 x 34 triple, I think.

If I ever get around to replacing the 8-speed setup on my Wazoo with say 10-speed, is it usually practical to use the existing cables

Always replace the cables!

Would an oval ring be worth a try if a 28t ring wouldn’t fit straight on?

Oval rings generally require even shorter spider arms. 30T is the smallest you can fit for either round or oval rings on 104BCD and both require different mounting bolts – the oval actually requires thinner bolts on the shorter axis to avoid fouling the chain.

If you want to go below 30T oval then direct mount is the best option.

You can mount a 28 or 26T oval chainring on the granny ring mounts though and if you want you can machine off the 104BCD mounts too. This is what I’ve done and I think it’s a perfectly good solution. I did think of taking a couple of millimetres off the face of the granny ring to move the chanline outboard a bit but haven’t bothered, as it all works fine the way it is.
However, some people are probably more bothered by having higher gearing than I am – I’m not because I spend as little time as possible on flat going and even less on tarmac.
So, for what I do it suits me and I’m far too old to be bothered about what everyone else thinks or does.

I had the same dilemma. You just can’t get the range on 10 speed for a true 1x replacement. As said 11-42 is OK for trail centres but not proper riding.

11 speed fixed it for me.

I run 11-46 XT on one bike and a 10-42 sram on another. I prefer the sram cassette as it doesn’t look so MASSIVE.

As said 11-42 is OK for trail centres but not proper riding.

B0110x! See my post above in reply to muddy fox. It’s fine for long days in the hills.

The thing is 30×42 might seem a low gear on a smaller wheeled bike but on a 29er it’s not that low.
15-25 mile rides with up to 3000 ft are okay. But riding on multiple days, or doing rides 30+ miles and that’s when I notice how much harder this 1×10 setup feels than the old 2×10 setup with the 22T granny gear.

Swanny – yep small triple or small double with a closer ratio cassette does it for me. At the mo I’m on 20-30-40 with an 11-32. Would be happy with a smaller ring than 40 though, and would like closer ratios still.

Each to their own, if you don’t mind the jumps then 1x is great, but I like the closer ratios to help keep a nice cadence.

Jumps? There’s actually very little difference in the ratio changes on the Sunrace 11-42 cassette vs the Shimano 11-36. An average of 13.8% vs 12.3%, the Sunrace gaps are closer to those on a 9spd cassette.

The difference in cadence going from say 95rpm in one gear and shifting up is only a matter of 2rpm between the Sunrace 11-42 and the Shimano 11-36, assuming you keep the same speed.

Well, I’m not that bothered about a proper cadence or close ratios – as long as I’ve got a low enough gear to get up the steepest stuff that I want to ride (some of which is pretty steep) and a few more gears for the less steep bits then that’ll do me. Most of the time I’m out on my own anyway, so I don’t have to bother about keeping up with other people on the flat bits.

So I’m using an 11-42 cassette and 26T oval chainring, with 26″ wheels. Given that I ride a singlespeed a lot of the time I’m used to less than optimal gearing.

…proper riding…

Swanny – yep small triple or small double with a closer ratio cassette does it for me. At the mo I’m on 20-30-40 with an 11-32. Would be happy with a smaller ring than 40 though, and would like closer ratios still.

Each to their own, if you don’t mind the jumps then 1x is great, but I like the closer ratios to help keep a nice cadence.

And to each their own is the key point!

OP, I run 1×10 with 11-36 on a 32 ring. The 26′ wheels give me a best climbing ratio of 0.89 and a max speed of 44km/h at 120 cadence.

I have noticed 2 things : any prolonged need for a lower gear and I am better off walking. Any prolonged need for a higher gear and that’s not MTB anymore.

I wouldn’t trade the loss of the front mech for any “improvement”.

Having said that. I’ll probably go for a x11 11-40 when the cassette is worn out, in case I put on weight or get too old.

PS : I have no issues with anyone preferring more rings.

There were sections of the ride where I was close to getting dropped because I couldn’t keep up.

Getting dropped ? On a MTB ride ? Does that actually happen ?

I’m running 32 oval with 11-36 on a 1×10 on my 29… Fine for most my riding but i also left the granny on the cranks so on a long day or when i know there is a big climb i just manually shift the chain. I’m tight though and didn’t want to spend any money!!