I’m thinking of building a gravel / adventure / cx / whatever you want to call it bike, using a 1 x 10 drive train. Apart from the SRAM options, what other single ring cranksets are out there that come with, or can take, a 38T front ring that would be suitable? The frame I’m thinking of using has a BSA BB, so am I right in assuming that I could use a MTB one, with shims to compensate for the narrower BB shell?

I’d probably just use a standard crankset with one of these:
http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/cyclocross-io-chainring-narrow-wide-style.htm

Using a Shimano CX70 with Superstar 38t NW on my Kona Jake. Works perfectly and looks so much better than the gopping Tiagra 4600 crank.

Possibly depends on whether you want mtb or road q-factor. I far prefer the former due to a leg issue which, from looking, gets expensive. You could run any of the SRAM cranks that have a direct mount ring and use a GXP BB along with an absolute black (or a n other) direct mount cx ring. You can also get a 110bcd spider for the Middleburn cranks.

Rotor cx1.

gopping Tiagra 4600 crank

They are grim aren’t they? (looking at one right now)

Pinnacle Arkose 2 (the 2015 one) came with 1×10 as standard

Rotor CX1 here.

jeff – Member
They are grim aren’t they? (looking at one right now)

Awful. It looks like it belongs on an early 90s Raleigh Lizard

Pinnacle Arkose 2 (the 2015 one) came with 1×10 as standard

Yes, that’s what I have. It’s a pretty basic FSA mtb square taper crank though.

If I use a MTB one such as the Rotor, what’s the best solution for the fact that the bb shell won’t be as wide as a MTB one – use a mtb bb or some kind of spacer? Also, if I use a road double, but with a single narrow wide ring, don’t I end up with an unused spider, or can they be removed as well? Cheers for all the advice so far.

From a shimano perspective I think the road and mtb Bb are more or less the same so assuming you’ve got a 68mm shell then you just space as you would with an mtb. Not sure how the rotor bb works but I’d assume the same principle.

For road double you’d mount the ring on the main spider and the inner ring bolt holes would be left unused in much the same way that everyone did with mtb cranks when we all started going 1x in our early enduro radz days

Rotor 3D on mine, in 110bcd, with 40t superstar NW ring.