Who’s gone 1×9 or 2×9?

I’m tempted

1×9 on my second bike.

1×9 x 2 here

2×9

32-11 cassette, 26-38 chainrings. Span out once on a road descent at like 37mph or something. Never really wanted or needed lower gears for climbing.

I’ll probably be using this sort of set up for the rest of my life on my main mountain bike. I don’t know why you’d want more, and if I was going for less, I’d go the whole hog and go SS.

How do you find it and how did you do it? i.e. what crank and cassette ratios?

I’m tempted cos i never really move off the middle ring, and when i do its too big a jump

11-34×32 and 12-36×32 on 29ers

1×9 and 2×9 on all our bikes. 22 / 36 for the win with 11/34 cassettes

Who needs to pedal beyond 25 mph offroad?

Here is a little chart I made ages ago for a 10 speed 11-36 cassette.

Just ignore the 36 column for 9 speed. Green is a double, red is a triple (on the left). Bold are the gears you’d expect to get, so small small and big big aren’t in bold.

1×9 and 2×9 on all our bikes. 22 / 36 for the win

Who needs to pedal beyond 25 mph offroad?

On that subject, who needs a 22??? What are you climbing? A brick wall? 😉

If you make the switch can you keep your triple chainset and just put two rings on it? which one do you not use – outer or inner?

Also are regular shifters ok if you adjust mech properly?

Running 32/11-34 on a recent 29er build. Cant say i have needed a lower / higher gear as of yet, and that’s riding Alpine terrain.

realman – I don’t like to walk and I do sit and spin. 22 :34 gives me the ability to climb at 2.5 mph at a reasonable cadence. Especially handy on the tandem

I use the 22 a lot – basically i change into granny ring early on climbs and use granny 1-5. gives loads of close ratio low gears. Always another lower gear when I run out of puff / have a step halfway up a climb

damo – I use granny and middle, standard mechs (stops adjusted)but shortened chain,

damo2576, look at the picture of my bike I posted above. Normal XT chainset, with the 3 standard chainrings taken off, and 2 new ones put on where the inner and middle go. That’s a normal front mech, and normal shifters.

TJ I was being sarcastic 😆

Some mountain bikers in being faster then other mountain bikers shocker..

Thanks, I might go for it!

Realman – where you get the santa cruz chainstay protector?

Came with the bike, but its not that great, had to cable tie it at both ends to stop it moving around. If it falls off I’ll replace it with a proper one from lizard skins or something.

I tried various set ups over the years, starting with 32/44, then 30/42, then ended up with 28/40, done the same way as Realman. I think it’s perfect, would never go back to a triple, and have no need for anything as small as a 22 personally. YMMV.

2×9 at the minute. I like 1×9 the best I just don’t like trying to get a chain guide to work without rubbing.

I’ve got 2×9 on both my proper bikes and it’s fantastic… You lose only the top 2 or 3 gears which you very rarely get much use out of, and you get back a load of ground clearance and (depending on how you do it) possibly weight loss. I’ve almost never missed those highest ratios and even then only on the road or on really simple descents. Frankly losing out a bit there isn’t a major concern to me.

Also 1×9 on the rigid and it’s pretty nice. Wouldn’t want it for long weekends and I do miss the higher and lower gears (I can’t get away with 36T on the 1×9, it’s just slightly too much for me over distance) but it works well still and it’s a nice variety. Being forced into pushing the higher gears is good for the legs.

Obviously fitness plays a big part, some people say “Who need 22T”? Well, lots of us. Or at least lots of us need a lower gear than you get from a 30-something middle sometimes. If I didn’t, I’d lose it but I wouldn’t have got through our week in france with a single ring, unless that single ring was very low in which case I’d have missed the high gears badly. Just don’t have the power or the endurance, I can pedal up most steep stuff on 32T but I can’t do long climbs like that. And I don’t think that’s unusual at all, I’m in decent shape but I’m not a cycling machine, most people aren’t.

Oh and 1×8 on the commuter and 3×7 on the pointless 90s steel mtb.

1×9:

Lol@ alpine boz

My bikes have been 1×9 for 5 years, using an N-gear Jump Stop on the inside and a bash ring on the outside. I’ve settled on a 11-34 cassette and a 33t E13 Guide Ring. The only time I’ve gone back to triple rings was for a week-long road trip of the Welsh trail centres a few years ago, where I definitely needed the granny ring on a couple of “I’m going to die” occasions.

1 x 9 with a 36T ring and 11-34 cassette. Got it on a 29er and 26″ bike. Fantastic – no more dropped chains and so much simpler and lighter. Great for riding and racing. No probs getting up hills either.

GB

how does the chain not bounce off on a or 2 ring setup using a front mech and no bash guard?

how does the chain not bounce off on a or 2 ring setup using a front mech and no bash guard?

Same way it doesn’t bounce off on a 3 ring setup using a front mech and no bash guard?

Happily using a middleburn duo on my race bike. I think from memory it has 40&29 rings but may be a 42&29 rings. Very light and works well.

I don’t know why you’d want more

Where your gear chart shows 85 for 38:11 my 44 outer is going 104 inches, don’t sound like much but it’s about 5ft in a couple of pedal cranks…So, my triple weighs next to nothing more then yours, and yet I’ll go past you like greased weasel shit on the trail…

So all you doubles? Do me a favour and ride to one side of the trail, so you don’t get in my way when I come past you, ok? 😉

Also notice that my highest gear is a bit bigger then your 2nd highest gear. So a triple has less then one gear higher then my double, and I like to spin.. 😉

So a triple has less then one gear higher then my double

so you have to be in your highest gear before you even get close up behind me, you mean?

how does the chain not bounce off on a or 2 ring setup using a front mech and no bash guard?

I’ve only lost my chain once, was on the Sheepskull run @ FOD which is bloody bumpy on a HT with all those roots. So I actually lose it less than when I was 1×9 with DMR chain guide (which may just be shit)! I do use a bash though, looks weird and wrong without it. I also have my mech set up so the 3rd click (which should put the chain to the outer ring on a triple) just pushes the mech a bit closer toward the chain, which helps to stop it coming off on the inside.

I’d think of it that YOU have to be in your highest gear before I might realise that I’m having to pedal slightly quicker then you..

we could go on for days realman. 🙂

the point is, you have to pedal and awful lot faster than me at a 5ft per rotation advantage…

nickc – Member

“So, my triple weighs next to nothing more then yours, and yet I’ll go past you like greased weasel shit on the trail…”

If you’re pedalling flat out on a 44/11 setup then yes you will. But what are the odds of that on “the trail”? Lets say approximately none 😆 Except on featureless trails and roads.

“racing_ralph – Member

how does the chain not bounce off on a or 2 ring setup using a front mech and no bash guard? “

How does it not bounce off the top and bottom of a triple? It’s no different. The only downer is that since your biggest ring lacks the outside shifting stud thing you can’t pedal it back on if it goes off the top, but then you don’t do that often with a triple either. Doubles will have better chain tension than triples as you don’t have to cover such a range of gears so that does help.

the point is, you have to pedal and awful lot faster than me at a 5ft per rotation advantage…

You know that chart is gear inches right? Which, correct me if I’m wrong, means that when we’re both in our highest gear, pedalling at the same cadence, you’re going 5 inches more per complete crank turn then me. Not 5 feet…

er, no…you need to multiply by 3.14…

Gear inches give the equivalent diameter of the wheel, to get distance travelled…see above

So you travel roughly 15 inches further then me..?

[hijack]We’ve seen Middleburn rings mentioned, what others can you recommend?[/hijack]

But what are the odds of that on “the trail”?

if I’m in my 44 and you’ve got a chain ring with a smaller number of teeth, and our cadence is the same. I’m always going to be faster…OK?

Anything other then middleburn are quite nice. Unless you love constant chainsuck destroying your chainstay that is. Shimano deore steel do the job.

if I’m in my 44 and you’ve got a chain ring with a smaller number of teeth, and our cadence is the same. I’m always going to be faster…OK?

How big are you? I’m quite an aerodynamically sized guy.

😉

So you travel roughly 15 inches further then me..?

maths not your strong point, then?

I run 1 x 9 on my all-mountain bike, and find it just perfect for going up, along and down 😉