Been pondering a drivetrain change on my Anthem X 29er it’s the entry one with Deore, the bike rides lovely, upgraded a few bits including the wheels to Crossmax SLR’s, which gives me the option to change the freehub body to a SRAM XD 11 speed item.

Currently geared at 42/32/24 with an 11-36 cassette (10 speed on the back), I have used the 24/36 gear, but have used the 42 but seldom with 42/11, so by using the 10-42 cassette and a 28tooth chainring, I get the same first gear, but only get a top gear equivalent to 42/15 which is third sprocket on my current cassette.

It will make the bike easier to clean as the front mech and suspension linkages seem to be very compacted in that area making cleaning difficult and prone to debris buildup mud/leaves etc.

Anything I have missed that will make this a bad idea? (Ignoring the prices, that’s not an issue motorbike just sold, so more space in the bike cave 🙂 )

Get an excel spreadsheet drawn up. I did the same for my 1×10 calcs.

42t is pointless up front, unless you do lots of road, or you pedal bonkers fast downhill.

32t up front, or 30t is fine with a 11-40 or 11-42 block for the vast majority of people.

This helped for some comparison though there are some full on calcs out there.

The 10 & 42 give you the big extra range over the 11-36, it’s the extra on both ends that means you get a much more suitable front ring for both ends -ie not having to run something too small to keep a decent moving speed gear.