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NewRetroTom
For the stuff I ride where the gradient is constantly changing 3×9 would be hideous and would completely ruin my mental flow and momentum.
I suppose a lot of this comes down to personal preference. I still have 3x9 on both mountain bikes and have been looking recently at modernising my full-sus with a 1x11 system.
One of my concerns - genuine or not - is that with a 3x9 set-up, you can dump a heap of ratios with one click. If you come round a blind corner and are greeted with a sudden climb you can just click the front mech onto the inner ring & move instantly to a massively easier gear.
With a 1x set-up, I guess this takes a few clicks and anecdotally on rides with some mates who run 1x set-ups when we encounter these kind of features on unfamiliar trails there seems to be a fair amount of muttering & crunching from the drivetrain as they try to get the chain across the cassette quickly.
Someone earlier summed it up for me - with 3x you have middle ring for most stuff, inner ring for steep climbs & then big ring for fast descents and fire roads etc.
I am curious so will likely swap. If it turns out that I prefer 3x9, I'll stick the 1x11 on my Wife's bike as I think she would appreciate the simplicity of only having one shifter and put the 3x9 back on mine.
One of my concerns – genuine or not – is that with a 3×9 set-up, you can dump a heap of ratios with one click.
There are downsides to 1x12 systems, I don't think anyone sensible doesn't recognise that. and the issue you point out is certainly one of them. Another is that lack of top end speed...There's no getting away from the fact that a big 44 plate and 11 cog is going to make you go faster on a road/smooth track (whatever) than a 32 chain-ring will.
The upsides are that for 99% of your riding, they're mostly just fine, and you're not going to give it a moments notice (like you didn't with any other gear set up you've ever run before) It''ll cope, you'll be fine. Gears are after all, just a way of moving a bike, there's no right or wrong way of doing it. If 1x systems don't work, then choose something else that does.
Nope, my AXS performs faultlessly
There’s no getting away from the fact that a big 44 plate and 11 cog is going to make you go faster on a road/smooth track (whatever) than a 32 chain-ring will.
I use the big ring a lot on my Epic, although not so much on the other bikes. 2x12 looks like it'd be ok as (with 28/38 and 10-45) it's only a little lower at the top end and a bit higher at the bottom end. It doesn't look like there is any point changing until I'm no longer able to run 3x9 though.
On the BFe (the only bike I have a 1x set-up on, and has a 32 up front and I think an 11-42 cassette) I do find it runs out of gears pretty quickly at the higher end, but given the type of riding it's used for it's not an issue. It'd be pretty annoying on the Epic though.
How does one successfully realign a bent mech cage?
I've found sticking each plate in a vice and copying a "good" mech works on 10sp. Part pulling the cage and part squeezing...
Don't know if it will work on 12sp though... (be close enough)
It’d be pretty annoying on the Epic though.
yep, for folk who're used to that "cruising" gear, it's pretty annoying, but the truth is that's just not the case for most* mountain bikers, and like all mass produced stuff, 1x systems are made to accommodate the masses not the few.
* queue the thread being deluged with "I'm Spartacus" posts agreeing that they will all miss a 44/11 gear....
Never having to set up a front mech is quite a nice advantage of single ring setups for me. The 1x11 setup on my hardtail feels like it could do with a bit more range when I'm bimbling around the Pentlands, as there's some unpleasant climbs as well as long road drags, I may upgrade it to a 12 speed drivetrain soon. I've not had any issues with the 1x12 setup on my full suspension bike.
The thing about the top ratios, is that other than on the road you really don't use 'em much. I thought I did, but I was mostly in the big ring but not in the highest gears. And 36/10 is as high as all but the top 2 IIRC. Offroad, I mostly just spin a little faster- I used to like pushing a big gear but I'm pretty sure I got faster when I stopped doing that. (and I always think it's worth remembering that downhill bikes don't use big high gears)
Also,
I've built loads of bikes with 12 speed. Rear derailleur alignment is critical and a lot of bikes straight out the box aren't straight, not helped by derailleur hangers that are made from plasticine. It's easy to see why the indexing goes out when you can flex it by hand.
What some seem to forget with 2x and 3x transmissions before clutch mechanisms was chain suck hell - single speed was sometimes necessary because you just wanted to ride for more than 2 hours.
Yup, I had 2x9 with a chain device and even then chain management was an issue. Now I literally can't remember the last time I had a chain come off, clog or suck except in a crash. (and even that was last August) narrow/wide chainrings are sorcery
The thing at present is that there are lots of wide range 8/9/10 speed cassettes about at the cheap end of the market (Amazon/aliexpress/ebay are full of them) and I'm sure there are lots of people with still functional 8/9/10 speed mechs/shifters either still in use or sat at the bottom of a spares box...
Giving an "off brand" 11-46, 10 speed cassette a go isn't actually much of a risk if it gets you the thing that pukka shimano/SRAM 12 speed promise which is more range, without the cost. Who really cares about the bigger jumps between gears when your a couple of hundred quid up on the deal?
Why not?