[Closed] Ghetto 1x conversion

Can you ride everything you want in the 36t ring?
A narrow wide chainring will hold the chain on better. If the rear mech clutch already most are. That will hold the chain really well without much need for a guide.
You can also expand the range at the back of you want.

A narrow/wide ring is worth it, but you can leave the front mech on (without the shifter) and use the limit screws to centre it over the chainring. The only issue then is the range of the rear cassette. If it's a 11-32 or 11-34 you might find the 36-32 or 34 is a struggle up the steeper climbs.

BTW I'm just doing similar on my winter/back up bike which is 2x10. I have bought a cheap chinese 11-40 10sp cassette from ebay. It was £25 or something. It'll be interesting to see how long it lasts through winter.

generally, you need

- a wide range cassette - 11-40 or more
- a NW ring- 30 to 34t is usual

You don't really need a clutch mech. If you have a chainguide then even more so.

Just get a second hand narrow wide , thay should get you going

Hi guys,

Mike: Mostly, working my fitness up to it, there are a couple of hills nearby that I do struggle with if i leave it on the 36. The rear mech is a Shimano Deore 10 speed Shadow Plus according to the product page. Not sure if thats got a clutch or not?

Muggo, are you saying to use the front mech as a chain guide itself? That's a clever idea actually. What do you run up front? a 34? My rear casette is 11-36.

Reggie: Thanks, gonna have a look at some casettes, spoke to a friend whos rather expensive Spesh Enduro has a 10-50 makes me think perhaps i could do with a slightly bigger range. I'm guessing its ok to keep the same 10spd derailleur even if the casette range changes?

I wouldn't. You're not really gaining anything except a slight weight saving, but you may end up losing the chain all the time.

I did this to my Trek FS, made it 1x9, then I realised there was no way the chain was going to stay on as the suspension compressed and made my chain slack. I didn't even ride it, although I should have just to verify that.

But that was a 32T chainring. You don't necessarily need a wide range cassette, as long as you are happy with the low gear. However 36 is pretty big.

Muggo, are you saying to use the front mech as a chain guide itself? That's a clever idea actually. What do you run up front? a 34? My rear casette is 11-36.

The rear mech is a Shimano Deore 10 speed Shadow Plus according to the product page. Not sure if thats got a clutch or not?

the Plus bit means it does have clutch, there should be a little lever on the mech to turn it on and off (off for wheel removal/install)

I use 36T front and 11-36 back on my 29er XC race bike, but 32 & 11-36 on my 29er BigWig 'trail' bike. Am happy with both in the peak district, but am at the relatively fit end of things.

Wheel size makes a difference to gearing as well so your 27.5 bossnut will be overall geared a little lower (easier) than on a 29er.

I would certainly add a narrow wide ring - they can be picked up cheap, £20 quid at On One and Uber Bike Components. Maybe go with 32T if you're struggling a little with gearing.

[quote=muggomagic ]
Yes the front mech was a temp chainguide while I waited for the N/W chainring to arrive. I only changed it as it was quite worn anyway.
You could try it that way and see how you get on then can choose whether or not you want to spend out on a wider range cassette and N/W chainring.

or just leave the inner ring and shifter on as well and not change gear..

* remove front mech, cable & shifter
* remove chainrings
* fit narrow/wide with short bolts (superstarcomponents.com)
* no need for a clutch mech

wouldn't. You're not really gaining anything except a slight weight saving, but you may end up losing the chain all the time.

I did this to my Trek FS, made it 1x9, then I realised there was no way the chain was going to stay on as the suspension compressed and made my chain slack. I didn't even ride it, although I should have just to verify that.

It's not 1999 any more. None of that happens now with narrow wide and clutch. And when it does start it's a good indicator your ring and chain are gubbed.

Got an ibis mojo 140 running 1/10 with a snaggletooth and 11-36. Never dropped a chain and given it beans.

I'd leave it as is until after winter once the existing stuff is all worn out. 1X is nice, but it's far from necessary.

Then get a new chain, cassette and narrow/wide chainring in a size that suits where you ride. For the cassette you can get 11-40 10 speed now, or stick with 11-36 if you're fit enough.

None of that happens now with narrow wide and clutch.

Yes, that's what I'm saying. I didn't have clutch or NW, so I'd have lost the chain.

I'm sceptical of these folk saying you don't need clutch on a FS - can't see that being secure, but like I say I haven't tried it.

cp: good points, i ended up looking at my rockhopper gearing actually, for some reason its getting on my nerves its a 3x at the moment haha, never use the biggest chainring.

Think I am gonna invest into a narrow wide ring and probably go for a 32t and take it from there. For the cost of a narrow wide ring, i can always reinstall all the components and revert it back only losing under £20 so worth a shot. My thinking was to try and do this on the tightest budget/least part changes possible and this will be a decent start.

Thanks for all your help!

I spent just over a year with a "ghetto" 1x8 setup on my Wazoo, simply swapping the 38T chainring for an One One 34T Ringmaster, while using an 11-30 cassette. Usually ridden in 29er mode, on the road, with the very odd bit of light off-road on fairly level terrain.

By and large, it served me well, until I discovered https://veloviewer.com/segment/2558982 hidden in plain sight around late September... Parallel to Woodmill Lane I had been riding all year as local hill training. I could just about climb Dell Road in 34-30, but my knees were sore later in the evening after a few reps.

So I went back to 2x8, which gave me access back to the 24T inner chainring, giving me the option of using 20/23/26/30 {26/30 replaced by 28/36 on my fat wheel that's now in place} sprockets with the granny ring depending on how good I feel.

1x does have it's positives, but for me they don't include trying to climb a ~20% peak road gradient about five times on a fatbike hill rep session. 😈

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CROOSS/on-one-stainless-chainring can apparently be used as a 1x, I've got one in my spares box (along with a singlespeed kit I've yet to try), it's a bit cheaper than https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CROOTHTH/on-one-ringmaster-chainring currently.

So 1* is shit because you used a 30tooth cassette

Why not just leave it as it is?

My bike is 1x11 (as is a project that I've just built). My old bike was 3x9 and I love the new 1x but unless anything was broken on a 2x10 set up then I wouldn't change anything unnecessarily.

It depends on your riding but I guess the bossnut doesn't have anything that big on the back (36T?) and there's no way I'd get up a lot of what I ride in 36x36. I struggle with my 30x42 at times 😯

Wait until things start wearing out and then look at doing it. It does look cool though and I like just having one shifter