[Closed] 1x Road drivetrains, anyone done it?

Depends what you use your road bike for I guess.

I've got SRAM 1x10 on my Pro6 that I use on the road - 42t oval ring and 11-32 cassette, nice range, no nasty gaps and will be perfect over the winter.

depends on the range you need and tolerance for ratio gaps. I have a 1x10 40t 11-40 and the range is great but it is a bit gappy. Fine on cross/gravel bike but for pure road I would probably still go for a double.

The guys who rode for Aqua Blue last year did, and it's safe to say they weren't overly complimentary. Whether that worries you or not is your call, for me it still needs some refining before I'd fully invest in it.

I ran my 'cross bike as a road bike for the duration of the spring and early summer using 1x11, it's Force CX 1 with a 42t chain ring and 11-36 cassette, which is for all intents and purposes the same spread as 50/34 and 13-28.

I've also done a few big and hilly rides on it, biggest was about 250km with 4000m of vert in North Wales, didn't struggle with anything to be honest and I'm more than happy with it.

The fact I've got a proper road bike now with 52/36 front and 11-28t rear is by the by.

I'd have absolutely no qualms about having a road bike with 1x11 as my only one.

I don't do much serious roadying, but did do the Fred on 1x10 2 years back - was OK but a bit sub-optimal. There is no 1 x drive train that is right for both climbing Hardknott and descending Kirkstone. Did it on a double this year and found it far better.

I guess the FW is a bit of an outlier, it would be fine for flatter, more rolling stuff. Personally I wouldn't be arsed about ratio gaps unless racing / testing, but an experienced roadman probably has higher standards.

I personally wouldn't.

Without the constant need to concentrate on how to ride changing surfaces/obstacles that you have with MTB, I find a lot of my thinking/feeling is about cadence and I change gear a lot on a closely stacked cassette.

Also one of the major benefits of 1x is reduced handlebar clutter but on a roadbike where you already don't have a dropper lever, the shifters are integrated into the brake lever so no issue there to solve.

There is no 1 x drive train that is right for both climbing Hardknott and descending Kirkstone.

50 x 11/42 would give you slightly more range than 50/34 x 11/28 which is what I had last time I did those two.

That said, I'm in no rush to 1x my road bike, despite having it on my CX and MTB.  2x works very nicely for road use as you spend more time adjusting by one gear either way to maintain cadence, rather than jumping from one extreme to the other as the terrain changes.

I reckon fine for range, but not for gaps, as per others. You're sat pedaling away, any more than a 1T gap is a pain on the flat really.

If you have a tolerance for big gaps then it'll be fine. I'm fairly sure it wouldn't actually affect your efficiency to a measurable degree.

I started riding 1x11 on road before it was really a thing. Probably 6 years plus now.

for my local rides in the alps I used 42 front 11-40 rear ( xtr cassette ) for flatter stuff I use 46 or 50 front with 11-30.

i had ten bikes which were split between 2x11 and 1x1 systems and under pretty much every circumstance 1x11 for me was faster.

Eveyone will have different opinions and experiences but for me after covering 14,000 miles in two years, I now no longer have anything other than 1x11 road bikes.

Well My Road bike currently has a Shimano 2x10 is setup: 50/38 with a 12-30 Cassette (110 - 33.5 Inches), its an odd setup, it works well enough for me but it's getting on a bit now, having done the sums and browsed whats available on the market I could achieve a similar range with a 1x10/11 cassette (say 11-36/11-40/11-42?) and a 42/44/46t chainring? There's a few options to adjust for hills vs steps...

My Gravel bike is 1x9 38t/11-32 and that operates well enough both on and off road, admittedly with some slightly annoying range gaps, my MTB is 1x10 32/11-40 and again does the job.

It's an experiment I've been mulling for a little while, My plan would be to keep the current cranks and get a 130BCD N/W ring (or two) and some used SRAM levers plus a new MTB mech (apparently SRAM Road/MTB use the same cable pull in 10 and 11speed) and a cheap 10 or 11 speed cassette (Depending on the shifters) just to try the concept...

The alternative is buy a whole new 2x11 group again but TBH I'm not racing, I'm able to grunt up a hill given a reasonable gear and I'm not too fussed if I "spin out" on a descent for general use 105-27 inches would probably do and there's a couple of way to produce that range....

I've ran my roadbike with 1x11 for the opast few years and had no issues with it.

When I say road bike, it's actually a gravel bike (a Bokeh) running 1x11 Force with a 42t up front and a 10/42 at the back. It's done weeks in the Alps and had no issues with a lack of gears either climbing or descending. The gaps between ratios doesn't really bother me either.

Personally I'm a big fan of it but as always, some won't be.

50 x 11/42 would give you slightly more range than 50/34 x 11/28 which is what I had last time I did those two.

Personally I needed more on the bottom end for HK on that particular route, but you're right a 50 paired with a 42 would be OK for fit people up and down.

I remember looking at it for this year, as it goes, but there looked to be issues with the simple mechs I had to hand clearing a big cassette without using an aftermarket link.

I have switched to 1x for my winter/4 season road bike. I am running a 48t ring with an 11-34 cassette and an Ultegra RX DI2 mech.

So far it has been faultless and for my local riding area (South Leicestershire/North Northants/Rutland) the gear ratios have been fine. The only time i could do with an easier gear is on the steeper climbs, say 10% or above. Having said all that, if i was going to ride in a hillier area like the Lakes, Peaks etc I would most likely take my other bike with a double. Lots of long climbs would not work for me on the 1x but for the right rider/terrain, its great.

I remember looking at it for this year, as it goes, but there looked to be issues with the simple mechs I had to hand clearing a big cassette without using an aftermarket link.

you can get a hanger extender for £3 on ebay so it's not a big outlay - the cassette is the expensive part

Running 1x10 on my cross bike with 38T front Absolute Black NW ring 130 BCD on SRAM Red carbon cranks and 11-28 on the back. It's fine but you will spin out in fast club rides. I ride a lot of fixed, so find the range OK.

Off road it's 1x9 with a 12-32 on the back.

1x is about chain retention tech. Not much need for that on a road bike, or most allroad/gravel bikes ime despite it being a more common option there. For proper CX, fair enough.

i had ten bikes which were split between 2×11 and 1×1 systems and under pretty much every circumstance 1×11 for me was faster.

My SS is my fastest XC MTB, but that's not about the gearing combo either 🙂