I fancy ditching the granny and big ring and losing the front shifter and mech. I’m not a hardcore rider by any stretch of the imagination. I doubt I’ll miss the range of gears I currently have. No-one’s every been fatally wounded by running 1×9 have they?

Currently have a pg990 and a kmc chain. I fancy a pimpy looking (well ok, silver) 34t front ring and it seems narrow/wide is the way to go.

Any suggestions? (It’s going on an XT m770 chainset) Assume I’ll need some shorter bolts too?

Did it back in 09 I think, 36 up front SRS chain Guide and 11-34 on the back, it hurt for a bit but as I was on a 7 month holiday I just kept riding until my thighs filled all my jeans and I needed new trousers.

Worked in Oz, didn’t work so well in the lakes.

1×9 is fine, my winter bike has it. The stuff I can’t ride up on it is either stuff I’d never ride up or stuff I just need to get stronger

Currently running 1×9 on the race bike NW chainring and 12:36 cassette

A friend is running 1*9 with no guard, standard mech and a narrow wide chainring with no issues

Yup, here on my HT. Put gears on it as the trails dried. Loving it. 32 SS front ring and 11:34. It’s a bit spinny at top end and have managed all my local South Downs climbs so far. Have dropped the chain a couple of times on rougher descents, so have just taken a couple of links out and fitted a homemade chain device to see if that helps.

From reading above, it sounds like a N/W might well help even though the mech is not clutched.

It’ll work fine, you’ll just need some shorter single ring chainring bolts as you say and also check the chain length as you can probably drop two links.

36 1×9 11-32 here, Straitline Silent guide keeps everything in place. Climbing can be torture but fine for where I am at the moment.

32t single chainring (not NW), 11-34 cassette and a superstar components chain guide. Riding on Dartmoor.
Have been using it for well over a year and have loved it. I’ve only ever dropped the chain once.

Can climb just about everything i’d want to on Dartmoor, unless wet and slippy. However, just about to switch back to a double up front, as have been doing longer rides in prep for 24/12 and am finding that it’s not low enough to spin and is taking too much energy out of me for a 24 hr race.

Yup 1×9 on two bikes one is 32T + 11-32 and the other has 11-34

Was hard work to begin with but like singlespeed I guess you just get used to it. Tend to winch up steeper climbs rather than relying on gritted teeth and popping cartilage

Just switched off it back to a triple as for my mainly xc riding I missed the crawler gears on the long drags up and the big ring for tarmac and fire road bits.

Come winter the triple will come of again as rides are typically shorter and sharper and it won’t clog in the same way with a single.

Yep, 32 up front with 11 x 34 on the back. Great for fatbike duty.

I did it as my cranks granny ring threads broke : /. 11-34 and 32 chainring, did use 34 but found that really hard work for big climbs, 32 is better. On-one single speed ring has been a good find.

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CROOSS/on-one-stainless-chainring

i run a Saint chain guide, its been great so far. wasn’t too expensive compared to the other guides out there.

1×9 using 32T Hope integrated bashguard ring and chain guide, 11-32 sram990 cassette & x0 mech – faultless so far.

I was running 1×9 34t NW with 11-36 cassette on my just riding around HT. Was fine, and that was with a long cage deore non clutch mech. Didn’t do anything to gnarly but never lost the chain.

I didn’t bother with shorter bolts either just put the NW chainring on backwards, it’s a raceface one if that makes a difference.

I’ve now consolidated my bikes for the time being and changed it all to 1×10 with a Zee rear mech ans slx 11-36 cassette.

I’m running a 1×9. Have been for a long time. The rear is 24? Front is 30T. I think thats key- a 30T. Gives the average rider a useable spread. Any bigger and you will be peeved/beasting yourself. I still get off and push- partly because climbing a hill on a slack/long-forked bouncy bike is shit.

Currently running 1×9 on the race bike NW chainring and 12:36 cassette

Doing exactly this on my full sus. No problems with dropped chains despite the lack of chain guide and clutch mech.

If you have no ambition to ride up really technical steep trails, 1×9 will increase leg strength and is fine. If your doing all day epics, stick with a granny ring and middle ring (spinning is way more efficient than grinding, regardless of your leg strength).

I went to France for a weeks training with some national level racers. The stuff they had us riding up wouldn’t be possible without a granny ring…

I’m running a hope narrow/wide and its fine withought a clutch rear mech, works really well.

Currently racing with a 34t 1 x 9 (11-34). Never looked back and don’t struggle with too much climbing.

grenosteve – Member
If you have no ambition to ride up really technical steep trails,

Yeah… I’m at sea level and really all not that many hills here. Nothing that would be that much of an issue 11-34 / 34t and hey, if it sucks I’ve got a FSA double chainset that’s sat in the box waiting to be used, or back to triple.

Yeah, the fat bike I got is 1×9. Standard mech, chainring and no chain catcher.
Not had the chain fall off yet.

It’s bloody murder trying to haul a fat bike up a big hill like that though! Made it to the top of Innerleithen hill OK, but the next 3 or 4 hours around the Minch Moor were ….unpleasant.

just done it with my old orange patriot. got some used parts off eBay to go with bits i already had. 34t renthal ring up front, sram 9 speed cassette(11-32) and sram 9 speed chain, deore rear mech and an slx shifter.
no shifting issues but its only been up and down the street to see if it was okay.