Anyone doing it?

A benefit of 10/11 speeds is running a double with the ratios and jumps of a triple, so it seems an obvious jump to run a single chainring and have almost a double.

Any thoughts?

I’ve got 1×9 on my “fast hybrid”- which obviously isn’t a road bike, but does the same job. Works fine for me, I’d not want to do a bunch of cols on it but I’m yet to really run into a downside for my non-epic riding. Using a mtb cassette so the ratio gaps are wider than road, which I prefer, but not everyone would get on with that.

Suppose one thing is, you ditch less parts than you do with mtb, assuming you stick with the same left hand brifter anyway.

Oh- it was a total bastard when the gear cable snapped.

I have a LH brake lever 😎

Yeah I know I won’t lose as much weight, and it’s just a number of equations really as to whether it’d work for me, just wondered if anyone had done it.

And a “fast hybrid” is NOT a road bike (to me, at least)

Done it as a temporary measure while waiting for parts.

I like single ring setups on the MTB, but on the road bike it felt all the drawbacks with none of the benefits.

I do live in a very hilly area though.

Headwinds can kill yer, I’ve seen me smashing away in the granny recently pushing big* power and seeing 10mph.

*lulz

I currently run (30, never once used!) – 42 – 52 / 13-25 and rarely use the top.

Must be similar to a 48 / 12-27

need a tow wee guy? 😉

Uh? why wouldn’t you go 11/28?

What’s the point?

Other than the weight of a front mech and a chainring, which seems pretty inconsequential unless you’re trying to beat the Germans at building the most ridiculous fairy’s fart of a light bike, I’m not sure what the benefit is.

Yup 1×10 on my cx type thing*. Not a great chain line at the extremes, so some efficiency losses there I’m sure. More losses from tight spring on clutchy mech, maybe. 48T and 11-32. Mtb bb7s, with Mtb pull drop lever, bar end shifter.

*fast hybrid, if you insist! 🙂

Just after a “quite rainy” 93 mile, 20mph ave. ride.

Gone 1 x 10 on the frankenmuter (dropbar inbread on 30c tyres) works fine adjusted chin line for the gear used most often. Thats using 10sp road shifters and 9sp mtb mech with 10sp cassette.

I’m 1×8 on my road bike. 39t chainring and 11-28 cassette great for everything apart from the downs and sprints

When the clocks go back I stop using the big ring on the winter roadie and just spin on the 39 with a 12-25 block through the winter until the clocks go forward again.

Does that count?

Gets challenging when winter training bunches get a bit more tasty but its increased the cadence I’m most comfortable at, stopped me being a big gear masher and made me faster!

Venge LR. No cutlery was harmed in the making of this bike.

nope – but my cross bike is currently 1×10 38T 11-32 and have accidently taken it on a few road rides which it has been great on (turn up for mtb club ride to find it’s not on).

I’m planning on selling the road bike (and SSing the CX) and getting a bike with 1×11 with an 42t and 11-32 cassette on a road wheelset and maybe an 11-36 on a CX wheelset – will be fine for the riding I do!

I’m running 42 front and 11-32 on my pickenflick and its great for relatively flattish road rides and bridleways, etc

SRAM have launched an 11-36 for their CX1 group. That is a lot of range for the road. I’ve got the 11-32 on my 80% road crosser. I did joke the other day that I wondered if anyone would try and one-up it for a cheap XX1 cassette.

cynic-al – Member

And a “fast hybrid” is NOT a road bike (to me, at least)

Yah, that’s why I said it’s not a road bike. But, like I say, I use it in exactly the way most folks would use a road bike so it’s still a useful comparison- if I liked drop bars I’d probably have a 1×10 road bike instead

Bez – Member
What’s the point?

Other than the weight of a front mech and a chainring, which seems pretty inconsequential unless you’re trying to beat the Germans at building the most ridiculous fairy’s fart of a light bike, I’m not sure what the benefit is.

Erm, also teh weight of a sti unit vs. a lever, only having one shifter, no messed up front shifts, so most of teh benefits of the same set up on an mtb I’d say, but I bet you’ll still prefer your own opinion.

Northwind – Member
Yah, that’s why I said it’s not a road bike.

So you did 😳

Does 1×1 count? Fixed? And yes, it is definitely a road bike. Same geometry, carbon forks, proper Ritchey drops, front and rear Shimano R650 calipers, and mudguards.

The 34 is pretty redundant where i live so i effectively run 1×10 most of the time when riding compact.

No idea where or how some of you guys ride but ive got a 50/34 with a 25/11 cassette and in S.Wales most rides I’ll use ALL the gears !! Gearings a totally personal thing, but I can’t even begin to imagine the point of a wide ratio single ring “proper” road bike. Why compromise yourself for a front mech and a couple of grams of aluminium.

Spent a wee bit of time with a gubbed front derailleur on my road bike a while ago. Was OK for riding on my own but a real pain for group rides.

I’d not be interested myself al. Only downside I can think of is heavier cassette and wider ratios?
I am going 1×10 on my crossed for next season. But I do know what gears I need for cross.

no messed up front shifts,

I don’t think I’ve ever “messed up” front shifts on a road bike. On an MTB on a number of occasions with short sharp climbs but on road bikes you don’t really get them the same way so you have time to handle gears correctly.

I run 1x on both MTBs but I don’t see much benefit for road.

Seems to have been ‘a thing’ for a while…

bargin price too;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/vintage-holdsworth-monsoon-bicycle-retro-/381114788109?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item58bc36290d

Ned rapier – 93 miles, 20 mph average in the wet with flat pedals 😯 I doff my cap to you sir.

road bike? or cx/commuter/hybrid bike (like almost every bike in this thread) ?
1x on cx yeah could do that, 1x on commuter yeah it’s pretty flat so would stay in one ring.

road bikes for me are 42-52 x 13-21 (old 7sp), and 34-50 x 11-27 (actually a CX bike used as road bike when I don’t want to ride it on trails), and tbh, for hills I could probably do with more range.

there’s a reason cav and wiggins don’t ride 1x except in the velodrome

edit: and yes I had a gear cable snap on my old 1×5 raleigh winner, with a hilly push home once.

On the MTBs there seems to be an advantage in terms of clearance to designing the front much out of existence: the frame designer can do some exciting stuff if you’re happy with 1x.

I can’t see that those advantages are there with a pure road bike. Am I being unimaginative?

I can’t see that those advantages are there with a pure road bike. Am I being unimaginative?

Might be possible to reduce the Q-Factor further whilst keeping the BB shell wide for frame stiffness?

Seems to be an important ‘thing’ for road riders.

BD – Can’t see much either. The only reason I’m doing it is that I started out with SS and put a cassette on the back for a SDW ride. mtb cassette costs the same as a road cassette, and I didn’t have to buy, fit, cable up and rewrap the bar tape for a front mech.

but on the other hand, I’m not anywhere that hilly at the moment. When I had a double on a borrowed road bike commuting for a few months, bassically used it like a 2/ 3 speed. small ring was for lights and hills, big ring was for flat and down. I probably only used 2 or 3 of the cassette sprockets. Now I use all the gears every day and cassettes last longer.

gotama – ta! But closed roads and a lot of people to draft helped!

What size cassette you thinking of using? gone 1×10 on my cx 42×11-36 which I do some roadwork on, gets up and down everything I want on and offroad but switching back to the roadbike occasionally highlights what is so good about road bike gearing – the close ratio gears. Those small jumps are really useful for pounding out the same rhythm when there’s little changes in gradient/headwind, less of a concern if you prefer mashing the pedals tho.

I don’t think I’ve ever “messed up” front shifts on a road bike.

All the bloody time for me, over the top, dropping off the inner, bloody front mechs!

andytherocketeer – Member

there’s a reason cav and wiggins don’t ride 1x except in the velodrome

I’m not at that level…but I know some testers used to run a single ring to save weight.

taxi25 – Member

No idea where or how some of you guys ride but ive got a 50/34 with a 25/11 cassette and in S.Wales most rides I’ll use ALL the gears !! Gearings a totally personal thing

Indeed, it’s not as hilly where I ride and I am often hammering it, sometimes in a chain gang, so I don’t need low gears.

atlaz – Member

no messed up front shifts,

I don’t think I’ve ever “messed up” front shifts on a road bike. [/quote]

I probably haven’t either, but it is one less thing to think about.

D0NK – Member

What size cassette you thinking of using?

I’d need to sit down and think, but probs 48 / 12-27 or lower

“I bet you’ll still prefer your own opinion.“

Ah, cool, STW is as passive-aggressive as ever, I see 🙂

I just wondered where the win is. Personally I can count the number of fluffed road front shifts I’ve ever had on one hand, I think, and you don’t lose any bar clutter by losing an STI. Weight, yeah, point taken, but again is it really of any consequence? Assuming we’re staying with STIs, I’d be far more bothered by mismatched levers 🙂

I do see the point of all this on an MTB, I’ve been 1xN in the past myself and will likely do it again (though I found a close-ratio 2xN with a short road mech just as good TBH); and I’m down with a proper singlespeed setup even on the road. It’s not that I “prefer my own opinion”, I just genuinely don’t see where any win is on the road. YMMV, natch 🙂

Sorry, I over-smileyed that.

12spd 10-32 with a 42 ring would be very nice for a general training setup on a road bike if 135mm spacing became the norm. Someone at SRAM was already well ahead of my when I suggested it though, and finished the sentence for me. So I reckon the big boys are considering it already.

Bez – Member

“I bet you’ll still prefer your own opinion.”

Ah, cool, STW is as passive-aggressive as ever, I see

…

Sorry, I over-smileyed that. [/quote]

😀

I know it’s not as significant as with the MTB, if just struck me as workable and with some benefits (I have a load of 10s chains in the house and there’s a scuffed up 10s shifter lying around at work).

This is somewhat motivated by moving chainsets around a bit (42/52 onto Brompton, wait for the thread!) and thinking a nice single on the road bike could work.

I imagine Sram/Shimano will release 12s when the shitness of Di2 routing and low-cable-pull 11s shifting has become the norm. My biggest concern about going 10s is the shifting.

I think cadence is a more important thing in road cycling – the 1×10 block might have the same range of gears but you’d have some pretty big jumps between the gears that aren’t really a worry on the trails (especially if the trails are coming alive…).

Out on the road I just want to drop one cog (for a gradient, into the wind etc.) and try and keep the same kinda cadence, so I think a narrower range block and a double chainset wil be around for a while yet.

I seem to agree with Bez. Fluffed shifts are rare on the road and you don’t have the same bouncing around to contend with that has driven folk to chain guides / clutch mechs / narrow-wide rings on MTBs.

Weight saving always gets rolled out as an excuse but doing that anywhere else elicits derogatory weight weenie taunts so I don’t think anyone is really doing it for the weight saving.

I can totally see the advantage for frame designers having more space to work with. I’m just not convinced that spending money changing your 3x to 1x and hobbling your gear range is that much of an upgrade.

Full disclosure: my main bike is 3×9 with 26″ wheels and inner tubes. My commuter is 3×7 with 26″ wheels and inner tubes. I’m not exactly “with it” in terms of latest tech 🙂

I do agree with breatheeasy, I recently changed from a 12-27 to 11-28 10 speed block, and find a couple of jumps in just the wrong place, find it quite frustrating. I imagine a 10-32 would be quite unpleasant in anything less than 12 speed, and even then it wouldn’t be ideal IMO.

Sure it’ll come mind!