I currently ride a hardtail with a traditional 3×9 gear setup, and with 10 speed cassettes now readily available I wondered about the feasibility of achieving a 1×10 setup without too much compromise at either end of the range. I never go lower than 3rd largest rear cog in small front ring going up hills, and never higher than 7th rear cog in big front ring when going downhill, so full range isn’t needed anyway.

A single 34 tooth front cog with 11-36 rear cassette seems to cover the same kind of rang so why not? means no front derailleur and changer as well.

Am I being stupid?

Mark

Mark,

Feed the details of your current drivetrain into the Sheldon Brown Gear Calculator and then repeat for the 1×10 setup.

You should then be able to compare the gearing of the two arrangements, to see if your stated gear usage is covered by the 1×10.

I’ve been running a 1×10 for just over a month (though 1×9 occasionally for last 3 years). I have the same gearing (34 + 11/36) and I would say it covers most riding situations (from Bikepacking, Welsh mountains and local woods).

The only negative I would say of 1×10 over a triple setup is for racing. Sometimes it is quicker to change from a big ring to the middle for downshifting than clicking though multiple gears.

For general trail riding I would say it is spot on as long as you don’t mind missing the granny gear.

I have 34t up front and 10 spd 11-36 at the rear on my Spicy.

It’s perfect.

Just do it, you’ll not regret it – I’m considering converting my other bike.

Really this thread appears so flippin often they ought to make it a sticky.

Mark – almost certainly you won’t miss either you bigger or smaller gears unless you ride a lot in the really high UK places like the Lakes or Scotland and even then, a reasonably fit rider can just about get by on 32t front 36t rear. I’ve been running 1×10 and before that 1×9 for about three years and I wouldn’t say I was even reasonably fit and I’ve found it fine.

You almost certainly won’t need a front ring any larger than 32t apart from fast road descents. 32t front by 11t rear is about 20mph when doing 90rpm; more than fast enough for most situations and definitely fast enough for 90% of off road situations. Anyone claiming differently is either flattering themselves or is an ‘expert’ category DH racer.

You almost certainly won’t need a front ring any larger than 32t apart from fast road descents. 32t front by 11t rear is about 20mph when doing 90rpm; more than fast enough for most situations and definitely fast enough for 90% of off road situations. Anyone claiming differently is either flattering themselves or is an ‘expert’ category DH racer.

I sure your right, but how fast are you legs going at 20mph on 32-11 ?

I sure your right, but how fast are you legs going at 20mph on 32-11 ?

Absolutely.

Don’t forget also, many of us like the bigger gearing and may or may not be racing or riding the Alps.

Excellent responses everybody. I should have mentioned that I also have a full susser, so for anything exceptionally gnarly I still have a 3×9 fully-sussed option. Most of the riding I do on the hardtail is in the north downs and occasionally the peak district. I also commute on it, but never get higher than 7th on the big ring, so won’t miss the high end gears.

I may go for it. Thanks for the advice.

Mark

The number one reason for changing over for me was the simplification of the front setup – less to go wrong/snap etc – and I could run a reliable chain device on my Spicy which I could trust not to jam or break half way down seriously testing DH.

I’ll be going 1 x 9 at the weekend with a 32/11-32. When things need replacing I’ll go to a 32 or 34/11-36 10 speed. I can ride everything near me on a 1:1 set up and I reckon by the time I’m struggling with that it may be quicker to get off and push.

I sure your right, but how fast are you legs going at 20mph on 32-11 ?

I did mention it but to answer specifically here, you’re going 90 rpm in that gear at 20mph, so yes you’re pedalling pretty quick but the reality is that 20mph is itself pretty quick.

To put it in context, the average winning speed down the Fort William track is 22 mph; down Mont St Anne it’s 24mph and down Champery it’s actually only 14mph! (OK so at Pietermaritzburg the winning average speed was 28mph but it’s an exception!)

So for your average rider (and I mean average rider not average DH racer who competes at Senior or Expert level events in the UK) to be hitting 20mph on any UK trail is going pretty quickly.

Ideally I would have liked to have a 10 speed dual control lever similar to my current 9 speed, but it seems that Shimano have abandoned dual control now and there doesn’t seem to be such a thing as 10 speed dual control. Can anyone confirm this or is there hope.

(PS don’t comment about how rubbish dual control is, cos I love it)

Mark

Dual control is rubbish

and I’m pretty sure it’s now been dropped.

Yep, no 10 speed DC.

The only negative I would say of 1×10 over a triple setup is for racing. Sometimes it is quicker to change from a big ring to the middle for downshifting than clicking though multiple gears.

I disagree, I love it for racing, Nice and simple, nothing for ones addled brain to think about!

To put it in context, the average winning speed down the Fort William track is 22 mph; down Mont St Anne it’s 24mph and down Champery it’s actually only 14mph! (OK so at Pietermaritzburg the winning average speed was 28mph but it’s an exception!)

Citation? I would have thought it faster.

I operate a 32, 11-36 setup and I ride a lot of high places in Scotland, mostly over 914m. It works a treat for that.

When my commuter bike broke and I had to use that for a spell, it was a pain. For trail centres / easier riding / racing, I’d definitely go with a 34. For hitting steep stuff, 32 is all you need. If you’re spinning in 32:11, you definitely don’t need to go faster!

EDIT: Citation found (at least for Fort Bill). I stand corrected:

Pretty flipping fast still.

I know the speeds aren’t as high as you think they would be are they. At least, you don’t tend to think of 20mph being all that fast, but over any kind of off road terrain, that feels a heck of a lot faster.

The citation is the latest issue of Dirt. It’s referenced in the write up of the first round at Pietermaritzburg.

Just to mention, you are talking about average speed, so top speed is greater. 90rpm isn’t that fast, but when I ran a maximum of 32×11 I often found I was annoying short of a gear or so.

I had 1×10 with a 32t ring at the front and found that I couldn’t manage all the climbs I would have liked to do so went back to 2×10.

To run 1×10 I would probaly need something like a 24/26t on the front…….I am not very fit though!

I use 36 front and 11-36 rear on my fully, which has taken me over the peaks, trail centres, everywhere I’ve needed really. The only place I struggled was riding up Jacobs Ladder, but that’s rock hard on any gear!

I use 38 11-36 for my race bike, I prefer the simple nature of the single ring, no chain suck, no faffed shifts, no dropped chains. I don’t have issues being under/over geared, the only problem is a bit of chainslap rattling down hill with the chain in the bottom end of the cassette. Not a problem on the race bike as you keep the chain tight peddling everywhere.

Thanks again for all the comments. One last question….

Given that I’ll still be running a rear derailleur to take up chain tension, surely I could use a 36 up front for most stuff, then if I plan a trip to Scotland or Chamonix I could swap it for a 32 or 34 for that purpose. Seems simple to me, you’re not tied into a single size cog forever.

Yes you could though you may need to remove links when putting on the smaller chainring and you’ll likely need to adjust the front mech.

There wouldn’t be a front mech!!

OK, the chain device (if you’re using one)

You’d not need to remove links either, the rear mech will take up the slack.

Speaking to a lot of the guides at Bike Village who ride back country singletrack in and around les arcs and la plange they reckon a 32 front ring is perfect for around there, and for the high stuff around Scotland as JCromton says. Normal stuff 34 would be OK i think. An 11-36 gives a big range of gears on a 10 speed set up.