Hi all, I would appreciate some help.

I’m planning to upgrade to 10 speed but am in a quandary over which way to go. I don’t race so a race set up is not a consideration. I use this bike for everything from long all day rides to short trail centre blasts.

I currently run 3×9 (44/34/22) with 11-32 cassette and have no problems with that set up.

What are the advantages to running 2×10? I think I would go with the M785 (38/26) with an 11-36 rear cassette if I went 2×10.

Or would a traditional triple set up be more flexible with 42/32/24 and an 11-34 cassette.

Any advice would be appreciated.

1 x 9 works for me

2×10 should give you all the range of a 3×10 with fewer redundant gears.

1×10 gives you most of the range, with less faff.

3×10 is pretty much the same as 3×9 range-wise

wasn’t there a shimano web page running through this?
Asks because i’m also interested

2×9 works for me so 2×10 will be good too – all the lower gears I need and only losing a couple of top gears that I never use offroad compared to a triple.

On my 3×9 I found I only ever used the big chain ring to put the chain on for descents, to stop it falling off, which happens because it has enough links to fit on a big chainring …

I did a new build at 2×10 and love it. I spin out at highest speed trails but don’t care. I use all the gears so don’t think I’m ready for a 1x, tho I like the idea of it.

You get 2 more gears and give Shimano or Sram a load of your dosh? Personally I am sure most people were ditching gears (2×9) so I can’t really see why the big S’s think we need more.

The whole point of having more gears is the jump between them is smaller. Do you really have a problem with this?

as for x9 vs x10 – I am convinced I notice the closer gear ratios and that makes cadence smoother when shifting. But I could be imagining it.

Downside is the chains seem to stretch quicker, makes sense as they are thinner.

I had a Specialized epic as a test bike for a week last year with a 2X10 setup and liked it but not enough to ditch my perfectly serviceable 3X9 until it’s worn out.

Buying new I’d be 2X10 for sure.

Downside is the chains seem to stretch quicker, makes sense as they are thinner.

Chains don’t stretch in the conventional sense of the word – the bushings wear. Not sure there is anything in the manufacture of 10 speed chains that would make them wear faster but happy (or unhappy as I’ll be using them eventually) to be proved wrong.

Downside is the chains seem to stretch quicker, makes sense as they are thinner.

9/10 speed are the same internal width and chain stretch is caused by rollers/pins getting worn so 9/10 speed makes no difference…

fair enough I stand corrected

What we need is 1 x 12….then be could all ditch the front mech for ever….
….I’m developing a hate for my front mech, even tho it’s working fine.
2 b 9 here, get up everything except jacobs…but we all know that’s the fist-sized rocks fault 😛

Campag will no doubt have 12 speed soon 🙂

http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/campagnolo-12-speed.html

I love my front mech. Holds the chain in place and changes gear.

2 x 10 is fine and works well but I wouldn’t call it an upgrade particularly.
Certainly worth considering if you were speccing a new build, but you’d need more money than sense to actually change over an entire 3 x 9 drivetrain and shifters on an existing bike (IMHO).

Love Tubs – Member

What we need is 1 x 12….then be could all ditch the front mech for ever….

Lots of us have ditched them and gone 1×10 – will never look back.

Lots of us have ditched them and gone 1×10 – will never look back.

What gearing?

34t front, 11-36 rear for me.

I think buying a mini saw was a better investment. One of the best upgrades I have made.

3×9 and 3×10 give you effectively the same spread of gears, just with 3×10 they’re slightly closer together due to smaller gaps in the chainring sizes. Effectively you get about 14/15 discrete ratios, similar to a Rohloff, but with lots of duplicate ratios within the setup.

2×10 gives you almost the same range as a 3×9/3×10 (depending on chainring sizes of course), but assuming a common 26/38 setup, compared to a 3×10 you are losing a very very tiny bit off the bottom end (not even a ratio, more like half a ratio), and you’re losing about a ratio and a half off the top. So think of it as having effectively about 12/13 discrete ratios. In other words, if you never ever use your largest chainring with the smallest sprocket on the back, 2×10 makes sense for most people.

1×10 with an 11-36 cassette gives you more than enough ratios for most people. You lose a couple of ratios off the bottom end over a 3×10 setup, and a couple of ratios off the top end (depending on chainring size), but for many people like me, who never use the smallest three sprockets in a 3×10 setup ever and don’t mind not having a granny ring, it makes a lot of sense. It gets rid of a whole lot of crap… You lose the horrid device that is the front mech, a shifter, some chain links, you can fit a nice short/medium cage rear mech etc. And you can run a chain device so you never ever drop your chain!

1×10 works… It’s not for everyone (but some people cried when Shimano stopped making 26/36/48 chainsets!), but if you’re strong enough in the leg to never need a granny ring and you don’t ever use the top 2 cogs when you’re in the big ring, go 1×10 and you won’t look back…

32T ring with an 11-36 here, tried a 36T chainring but found it a bit much. Might try a 34T over summer when the trails are drier/faster.

ok then, side question: I run SRAM 2×10, in big ring on the front I can’t get big sprocket on the back, the chainline simply won’t do it. To run 1×10 will it work to:

* get rid of the granny
* put my new smaller ring on the front in place of the current ‘big’
* move it inboard a few mm with spacers

or do I need to swap the new ring for the granny and replace the current ‘big’ with a bash? Tho I’d rather not, I have no need for a bash ring, there are no rocks where this bike rides and the point of this is to cut down on clutter.

ta

soz for the hijack I made a new thread instead: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/sram-2×10-to-1×10-how

Many thanks for all your feedback.

I would say I’ve not got strong enough legs to get away with 1×9/10 for some of my rides. I still use the granny in the Lakes and Dales on really long grinds.

I was thinking that at some point I’m going to need to replace my middle/granny rings, rear cassette and chain (on my 2nd chain with that set up) but that lot will come to over £100.

I can sell my 12 month old 9sp XTR shifters for around £95-100 and probably get over £100 for my existing XT chainset, XT cassette, XT front and rear mechs. I can get a complete new 2×10 or 3×10 2012 XT M780 transmission group from Germany for £330 so it’s only £30 more to totally replace everything than just the rings etc in a few months time.