Like the sram x01? Im pretty unfit but one of the bikes im looking at is fitted with one of these things. I much prefer the 2x to 3x chain rings so is going to one front ring a step in the right direction or just bloody hard work on those really steep hills? last thing i want to be doing is buying a bike that i can only ride downhill!
You don't need to be fit as such but you do need a little bit of that bloody-minded, I will-tame-this hill attitude to the climbs. Not in spades, 1x11 wouldn't be that hard, but just a little bit.
So if you're a regular, not-fit sort of rider who doesn't mind digging in on the steep climbs you'd prob be fine. If you know yourself that you're a bit of a fanny, happy to dismount when it feels a bit hard, then it's going to be a struggle.
Alternatively it will fetch a good price second hand, you could buy an entire XT groupset and be quids in.
You don't have to be any fitter if you run the smallest (28 tooth) ring in the front. You will give up top end speed, though.
Low gear traditional triple 22F/34R = 0.647
Low gear usual 2x10 double 24F/36R = 0.667 (3% higher than above)
Low gear XX1 28F/42R = 0.667
Not at all! I have a 30t ring and it's much easier than my previous 2 by 10 set up. Am loving having an easy gear to fall back on and its not making me lazy it's allowing me to keep pedaling up stuff I would have pushed up.
I'm really unfit these days. I find a 1x10 fine. YMMV, of course
Less fit than you need to be to ride a singlespeed well!
On a side not I changed to a double ring set up at the front about a year ago(unusually I have a 30/42 set-up so no granny ring) and don't miss the granny ring ,think I'm running a 34t cassette and not found anything that I cant get up yet.
It just takes a different mindset ,things that you may sit and wind/grind up you attack instead.
I'm still running 1x9. It's harder work up hill on occasion but I just try a little harder.
Even 1 x 10 is enough to climb most steep hills. 1 x 11 makes it that much easier again....
To push 1 x 10 i need to be fitter than I am, that's one of the reasons I've done it.