My superfly has a 2×10 set up with 11-36 cassette. However, my FS is 1×11 which I find better.

I’m just starting to get involved in XC racing and noticing that I struggle to find the correct gears in the 2×10 configuration which wastes energy. I never have this issue on 1×11. I’ve run the gear ratios and I lose the two very bottom gears, 1.3 and 1.4 from 2×10 to a 30t front 1×11 with lowest gear at 1.5. I also lose a bit from the top end 6.8 to 6.4. This seems ok to me but…..

Does anyone else run 1×11 on XC ? Is it better to persevere with 2×10 and just practice getting the gear selection right?

I race on 1×10 but then I mainly race in East anglia.

To me, the big jumps on xx1 would be a deal breaker.

I never find any of the gear jumps too big on XX1. They feel pretty much right for everything, the only possible issue for racing maybe being that the highest gear isn’t that high, although you can change this by using a different front ring as long as you don’t mind losing a bit at the low end.

I only noticed the gear gaps on 1×11 by moving “back” to 2×10 when I got the XC bike. It doesn’t bother me whatsoever. I really dislike the constant gear changing on the XC bike even when just doing an endurance training ride, I’m up and down the gears constantly.

Was asking some guys the same question, as I’ve just ordered a 1×11 race bike. SRAM X0-1. Feedback seems pretty good, only criticism seems to be the lack of top end speed, but realistically how often will you be using the smallest ring in race conditions? I suppose lightweight race bikes can get away with a 1-11 setup as they’ll climb better without needing the same ‘low end’ ratio that 2/3 x 10 has

Vast numbers of people do!

Me among them. It’s great.

Cheap way to try would be to 1×10 it, and maybe you could stick with a 11-36 on the rear with the right front ring.

Most of the people I know who are racing seriously do.

I just went 1×10 11-42 on my XC bike for the weekends race, went from 24/39 to a 32t. More fitness and I’d happily be pushing a 34t on there. No real problems, if there was a lot of flat fire road and some monster climbs it might be a race issue but thats not that common.

I just changed from 2 x 10 to 1 x 11, for racing and general riding.

Its worth doing some research on what gear ratios you currently have and what you would loose by going 1 x 11 (Sheldon Brown gear calculator online, sure theres probably others). I found with my 2 x 10 set up I really only had 13 gear ratios, I used 1-3 on the granny, then onto the big ring from then as the other 7 gears on the granny are double ups (ie 4th gear was pretty much the same ratio as 11th gear). Whilst 7th gear (3) might be slightly lower than 14th (3.1) I never dropped onto the granny and up 3 on the cassette to find it (maybe some people do).

Hence for me the difference between 11 gear ratios and 13 ratios is negligable and I don’t notice it at all – plus the weight saving loosing a shifter, cable, mech and double to single crankset helped offset any slight percentage differences between gear ratios.

Also with the SRAM cassette 10 – 42 you don’t really loose any upper or lower gear ratios, running 2 x 10 (26:38 front 11-36 rear) I had ratios from 1.4 to 6.7, running 1 x 11 I have 1.5 to 6.4. With the Shimano cassette you will loose out somewhere, either top or bottom end – shame cause I generally preferred Shimano previously.

Very happy with the SRAM 1 x 11 set up, planning to convert all my bikes now. For me, its the best change to mountain bikes in years.

this is helpful

Hi Julz (it’s Kat!)

Good post, I’m debating going 1×10 on my XC bike (can’t afford 1×11 sadly) worked out if I went 1×10 with a 32 I’d loose two from the top and 3 from the bottom. Likewise going for a 30 I’d loose 3 from the top and 2 from the bottom.I have to say I quite liked being able to easily flick from the big ring to granny when heading into some of those steep climbs at Cathkin though. Since I’ve got the parts I might just try anyway. Maybe you could try 1×10 first with what you’ve got and see if you like it?

I found 1×10 fine for racing (11-36, with 36t ring, 26″ wheels). There were two places I can recall it was a pain: Margam, grinding up the climb to the monument in a howling headwind. I just MTFU’d a bit. And Mayhem at Gatcombe Park, where frankly I ended up walking, but then most folk did.

YMMV, worth a try for sure, the extra range of 1×11 is definitely useful.

from memory i remember lots of XC riders at the worlds in Norway were 1 X 11. Could be wrong though

I came across this while searching for some gear ratios for new bits I’m ordering, probably too late to help the OP but I’d echo the comment from Gavdog about using Sheldon Brown to work it out.

The one thing that struck me from Sheldon and the above chart is why more people don’t run 30 or even 28T on 1×11, at least for general riding. I get close to the top end of a 38/11 ratio once in a blue moon so the ratio on offer from a 28-10 or 30-10 seems pretty usable in almost all occasions, save for the odd road ride to the trail. Plus you keep a bottom end closer to a granny ring.

I am sure I’ve read somewhere that a small front chainring is more in line with how SRAM envisaged it being used, but few have followed. Surely it would save on the notorious wear of the 42t sprocket too as you’d find it was really only a get out of jail card.

Or have I completely misjudged the ratio calculations??

World Cup star Marco Fontana has been running a single chainring for a few years now.

He started off with 1×10 on his 26er. By about 2012 he’d moved to a 29er, and is now running 1×11. This is the bike he ran at the London Olympics:

^^Nope but people tend to think of fresh legs and dry trails when choosing chain rings not 11hrs in going up SpongeBob with legs the consistency of overcooked noodles.

Racing with 1x is great – less chain noise, less to screw up when breathing out of arse. I run 1×10 with a T-rex and 30T front. The T rex might come off soon as I’ve done a lot of training.