I’ve been looking back through the responses to my earlier thread about selling the Five and thinking about it some more I think I’ll keep it (for now). As the transmission is worn out anyway, I was thinking about making it 1×10 with a 28T chainring, but Orange claim to have spent years optimising the pivot position for a 32T ring. So will that mess up the feel of the bike?

I still maintain that the Five is the wrong tool for the job. Following my two recent fractures it is going to be a while before I ride anything that remotely justifies it and I feel a bit of an idiot bimbling along a forest track on it. However: a) I enjoy riding it (even on tame tracks it’s fun), b) I mostly ride on my own so there is nobody else to care that I’m massively over biked c) second hand prices for 26″ bikes are so low that it’s hardly worth selling and d) who knows, maybe one day I’ll ride some tracks that justify it.

I reckon, with a bit of a diet it would do OK as a bimbling machine so 1×10 makes sense. But I like to climb, I like to spin when I climb and I use my current 24×36 combination quite a lot, so that would mean a 28T chainring (with a 42 sprocket).

I always thought with the weight of my 5 it suited a small granny spin for climbs. Don’t think you will reduce weight that much by losing a ring and shifter.

True. There is something attractive about having fewer levers to fiddle with though and 28×42 is the same bottom gear as 24×36. But sticking with 2×10 is certainly an option.

Edit: Ooh, sneaky, you changed your answer while I was replying 🙂

🙂 My first answer didn’t really make sense ! But IMO a small granny spinning gear and a decent larger for the ‘bimbling’ would be the way to go. I use a 24-38 and 11-36 setup on Soul and it covers all my bimbling 😀

tbh Just ride it, with a double/triple you’ve all the gears you need and 1/2lb either way isn’t going to make a real difference to you.

I run mine with a 32T 1*10. It’s rare that I wish for extra gears but if I did, I’d opt for the 40T rear expander ring so that I could still get a decent lick on the fire roads and not lose the top end.

28T front and you’ll run out of gears at the other end too quickly IMO.

My heckler def feels better in the middle ring than granny, with a 28 you will be moving the chain in relation to pivot but as it’s not much the difference may not be very noticeable.
You’ll be losing a fair bit off the top end too, personally I’d either stick with a 2×10 setup or toughen up a bit and use 32×11-36.

ive got a 2 x 10 on my 5 pro, running a 34 front & 40t Hope jobby ont rear .

As pointed out above, you always need a bit left, with your option you’re too limited .

30/11 is my hardst gear on the FS and I spin out too easily on flag bits. It’s on my FS so I don’t plan on long fireroad/Tarmac flat sections, but inevitably they do happen. 30/40 gives me enough of a bail out gear, 30/10 would be nicer at the other end.

Not a lot of love for 1×10 here then. I used to ride a fixie with a 54″ gear around the (hilly) roads up here, so I reckon I’d be quite happy spinning 28×11 up to 20mph. Any more than that and I aint pedaling on the Five anyway. But they are all fair points. I wouldn’t really be gaining anything by going 1×10.

I am sure there is loads of 1x love.

Not done it yet on the Orange but my hardtail is 1×10 with 11,36 at the back & a 30T ring.

Yes you do run out but heck, I am not racing. I can just get up Winter hill San Marino with the 30T so happy with the gearing, but perhaps a better option would be a 32T & an expander on the back, just have not trumped up the cash.

However, I think for long all/multi day rides I would prefer 2×10.

For DH i can understand the 1 x whatever setups and for weight weenies in XC i get it too….but for general trail riding on bikes that already weigh in excess of 30lbs (in most cases) i dont get it….seems like a fashion thing, riders have seen the top Enduro riders doing it and thought “i’ll have bit of that on my bike”….

….the other reason you hear is that it reduces the chances of a mechanical or a dropped chain, i’m sure it did at some point but there are chain devices for double chainsets so going 1 up isnt actually necessary to stop dropped chains particularly with NW rings and ‘clutch’ mechs on the scene….likewise i’ve never had a front mech, it’s shifter or cable break on a ride….and if it did i’d just manually put the chain on the other ring and carry on.

The last bike i bought second hand has a 1 x 9 setup, it is crap….on the rare occasion that i have dropped the chain off the chainrings a front mech catches it so to speak and you can sometimes use the mech to move the chain down onto the next ring and barely slow down….on this setup i inherited the chain dropped from the single chain ring and wrapped itself round the bottom bracket causing paint chipping and proving to be a right pain to unravel and get back on….the bike is booked into the LBS this week to have a 2 x 10 setup installed….its a long forked steel hardtail so i really couldnt give a toss about the minor weight saving.

what is one man’s crap is another man’s marmite.

I am neither a DH or WC ww & it works for me.
I am also NOT a superfit god on a bike, I am a 50 something who typically likes a 2 to 3 hour real ride.

It just works for me.
I didn’t do it for weight, more for simplicity & lack of need,
but we are all different – thank goodness.

but for general trail riding on bikes that already weigh in excess of 30lbs (in most cases) i dont get it

1×10
34 Up Front
11-40 on the back
Bike is easily sub 30lb (140/160mm FS)
Reasons? Simplicity, no need for a front mech, simplicity, good range of gears.
I wouldn’t got to 30t as the spin is just too fast for me.
I’ll be getting SRAM 11sp when possible.