All great stuff, glad the idea has been looked into before and I didn't get totally rubbished.
I'll just explain the reasons for my madness. Never been a rider who manages to get out much, had a Commy Meta 4x with a 3x9 set up. Did a weekend at Afan, loved it but couldn't do with all the noise from the chain slack and all the shifters/derailleurs. Sold the Commy due to little use. Got an invite on a Boys one at Afan a couple of years later, only MTB left in my possession was my commuter Inbred running S.S. 36x12, my Bro had a 32 ring so he chucked it on to give me a fighting chance. I got my 70.4 gear inches from Sheldon Brown's calculator, but I may have misunderstood.
I can't remember which trail it was there but at one point we came out on a fire road next to some wind turbines, it was a long ride (about midday until 5ish) that involved a bit of pushing for me. Felt like I was going to die when we got back to camp, but it was superb, superb , superb on S.S., nothing rattling, except my arms, only noise was a lovely solid thudding.
Now bought a 456 summer season which unfortunately has sliding dropouts so unless I'm v lucky with chain length, will need a tensioner anyway which start to look like derailleurs which i didn't want. Like the look of the NC-17, it will fit in nicely with my stealthy build, but it really looks like a stripped down derailleur so a sane man would probably ask the question - why don't you just have a 7/8 or 9 speed cassette, 11-23 so it keeps a low profile, short cage mech, short chain and one ring up front?
Yesiamtom- my Bro said the same thing about the gearing as you yesterday ' you just had too high a gear, stick with single speed'
Have to say I'm not particularly fit, but the week after that Afan ride I felt like I could've done Mike Tyson in his prime.
Got some thinking and experimenting to do!
Oh and if anyone knows if a Saint mech is massively heavier than a meduim cage SLX or an short X9 can you let me know, because (shallowly) I quite like the look of the Saint.
Ta
Al
