[Closed] Humble pie: Going back to 2x10

It's OK mate - you're just ahead of the next trend.

2x9 is the sweetspot. 😉

I don't think there is any single one solution for everyone.

If 2x works for you then that's what matters. 😀

I went back to 2x11 on two of my bikes yet to put a front mech on yet 🙂

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Your new 2x10 gears have less range than 1x with a 10-50 cassette.

Ssshhhhh they don't like big cassettes.
Gx eagle does look good

I can put a 34t chainring on at the front, and be the same. It will cost me about £10. I used a 32t because that's what I had lying around.

Whereas going to SRAM Eagle is going to set me back the price of a kidney.

What's the efficiency like of one of those 12 speed setups when you're in the big 50t sprocket?

Probably absolutely fine and nothing you would notice. Kidneys must be going cheap round your way 😉

I get them from the butcher's down the road. Steak and Kidney pie, mmmm!

I expect you to have some trouble running a narrow wide chainring on a double set up . The chain will not always go straight back onto the chainring with the narrow wide chain links corresponding to the narrow wide chainring .

26-42 - you'll be going vvvvveeeeeerrrrryyyyyyyyyy slowly

without having to mess around swapping over chainrings

It's your bike you can do what you want . . . . .

oldnpastit - Member

What's the efficiency like of one of those 12 speed setups when you're in the big 50t sprocket?

Excellent- the bigger the ring the more efficient the chain

Speeder - Member

but you have had to fit a load of ugly extra weight which is ok?

GX eagle cassette (you can't buy it yet but it's on the way) is claimed 450g (ime SRAM claimed weights are pretty honest). Mech is 290g. But you discard front shifter, cable and mech, a chainring, and teh XD freehubs are generally about 20g lighter.

So let's say XT- 125g for the shifter, 146g for the mech, somewhere around 40g for the chainring and bolts, something like 50g for the cable. Saving about 380g

And we're adding cassette and mech weight. Let's forget about the OP's 11-42 because it weighs almost exactly as much as the SRAM 10-50- that skews things, it's a monstrosity. Assume a more sensible cassette, say an 11-32, at 286g. And an XT mech is about 240g. So that's a saving over the 12-speed of 214g

So that heavy rear cassette? Saves 170 grams.

Had to fit a 40T expander for a guy today, up front was a 36/26 boy was that chain slack at 11:26 & tight at 40:36. Said he needed the low gear though. Must be going somewhere really hilly as it isnt locally

Bought my bike as a 2*10 and immediately converted to 1*11 XT. Not happy with range so I went Sramano with a a GX cassette. Fine for most usage with a 30t. However....
Going to the Pyrenees so have re-fitted the front mech with an SLX all-mountain chainset 22-36, which should give me something like 700% range if I can get the der to suck up all the slack!

I went 2X for recent trip to Andalucia, boy was i glad about that ! The only slight issue i had was at times it was hard getting to drop from the 34T down to the granny, but that's likely because i was running a 34T N/W ring on it, quick stop at the bottom of the hill, spin cranks and it would drop fine.

The gears were a god-send though on some of the climbs we were hitting.

And as for those 10-50t cassettes: seriously? 10t? 50t?

So, you're going 26x42 and querying someone who will prob be running 32 or 34x50?.

Oh dear.

Horses for courses - bit like wheel size..

Stage races I go for a 2 x 10 as I like the wide spread of gears.
(38-24 & 11-42)
Shorter XC stuff 1 x 11 as I don't need the range.
(30 & 11-46)

I prefer to spin more on longer races as I find it saves my slightly knacked knees....(I'm 46)

I'm still stuck in 3x9 land on all my mountain bikes.

I've never ridden one, but aren't these wide range cassettes really 'gappy'?
I just imagine being 'in between' gears a lot of the time....

aren't these wide range cassettes really 'gappy'?

No. There's a fairly pronounced step on SRAM 1x11 as you drop onto the biggest cog IME, but overall it's not really noticeable. 🙂

It's just better than 1x10.

but 1x11 is the bomb

It's just better than 1x10.

Define better. Your better is probably not the same as my better. I've done 3x6, 3x9, 3x10, 2x10, 1x10 and now 1x11. I can say with 100% certainty that 1x11 is my bestest, shortly followed by 1x10. I have no doubt whatsoever that 1x12 is even betterer, but not so much so I'm going to ditch perfectly functional kit for it, so when I next need to replace my drivetrain it'll be 1x12 (or 1x13 or more whatever it is at the time). What I really want is a gearbox that really works. 1x, 2x 3x stuff is all just a making the best out of a pretty flawed fundamental design.

2x9 is the sweetspot.

Its true if you have 2 chain ring you really only need 9 out the back, but I've moved to 2x10 as new part arent being produced for 9 speed.

Im thinking about 1 x on the front only because the triple looks old fashioned.
I shall be spending money to have less gears that I will notice and less weight that I won't.

Don't worry, triples will back soon. I'm still using one. As you said its horses for courses. Despite what was said above single chain ring set ups are very gappy. Its nearly impossible to avoid a 2t gap but anything else does tend to create a step and thus can play with cadence etc. Depends where you ride I guess and, as I have said before, background and other riding. Old codgers like me were brought up on straight through 5 speed blocks and notice big steps. Same on the road. My 11 speed 12-25 cassette is nicer to use than the 11-32

Maybe my maths is messed up, but I think it's impossible to get the range I'd want with anything less than a 10-46t cassette.

I'd want the equivalent of 32t/11t at the top end - I stole my next-door neighbour's KOM with that yesterday on a tiny unnoticed byway (yeah me!).

And at the bottom end I'd want 22t/34t. That's what I had on a rented Trek (29er) a few weeks back, which was pretty hard going up a long hot 10% climb for an hour, most of which I spent longing for a lower gear. But I'd be OK with that.

A distinct lack of humility in this so-called "humble pie" post...

I thought there was already a great choice of 1x haters threads...? 😉

Don't worry, triples will back soon

They won't they [i]really[/i] won't. Neither will 26, elastomer forks and flex stems.

Hmm - I've just gone 1x10 (32 & 11-40) on one of my bikes from 2 x 9 (22/32 & 11-32) to see if I like it.

All my other mountain bikes are either 3x9 or 2x9 so will decide what to do once I decide if 1x10 works for me.

A distinct lack of humility in this so-called "humble pie" post...

Strava says I took 58 minutes for the climb. The KOM is just under 26 minutes...

An hour on a 10% slope is pretty unusual (for the UK at least), I wouldn't base my gearing selection based on an outlier, it's the tail wagging the dog.

Currently I'm on 32T front with 11-40 on the back (XT cassette with 40T extender), this was fine for the HT550 the other week. I found, even after four days' riding, that I was rarely in the lowest gear as when things steepened slightly you needed to be able to have a bit of oomph to push through things and you couldn't do that in 32:40, I would typically be in 32:32. The 40T was used on long easy drags, say 5%.

The only gap I notice is the one due to the 17T sprocket being taken out to allow for the extender. Why would you notice the gaps anyway? It's like riding in the middle ring and changing gear at the cassette and no-one complains about the gaps there. I read somewhere (Sheldon Brown?) that ratio gaps under 12-15% aren't really noticeable since that's within the natural cadence range of most riders.

26-38 and 11-36 2x10 on 650b wheels, go anywhere, do anything. Relatively very cheap.

I like the 1x10 (32t and 11-42) on my Zesty (26") but I'd not want to winch it up a big hill after a long day riding, it works well for shorter, more fun rides than all day epics for me. But, I have actually chucked the 22t granny ring back on recently (yet to use it) as I'm running a triple crank, without the mech, so if I get really knackered I can manually shift down for big hills.

Choice, innit. For a single, all rounder bike though, I'd go 2x.

An hour on a 10% slope is pretty unusual (for the UK at least), I wouldn't base my gearing selection based on an outlier, it's the tail wagging the dog.

I'm taking this bike to the Alps for the Tour de Mont Blanc in two weeks time. Looking at the map, it seems to be 4 days of 10% slopes.

I think my "friend" who persuaded me to do this said 2000m climbing per day, but I'm hoping I misheard him.

EDIT: +1 core.

2000m a day? What are you doing in the afternoons? 😆

TBF if I was doing the mt Blanc tour I'd probably fit the lowest gear I could get away as well. 😆 But as other's have pointed out hour long 10% climbs are pretty rare.

Afternoons? Why, eating tartiflette and drinking cheap red wine of course!

aren't these wide range cassettes really 'gappy'?

I've just come from 3x10 (24/32/42 x 11-36) to 1x11 (32 x 11-43 Shimano XT) on a new bike (both 27.5), and I do find the step between gears quite noticeable, but not *too* bad. The gear range is *just about* OK.

My feeling is that for big rides, I'd be happier with 2 or 3x10, as there's a bit of extra range at each end, and a better choice of gears for long climbs. The 1 x 11 is OK for shortish rides, but I don't think it's an improvement. One downside that I haven't seen mentioned is that these big rear sprockets mean that the rear mech is really close to the ground and more vulnerable to rock/stick damage. The chain line at the extremes of the cassette is an engineering abomination, too (as is a 10T sprocket) - IMHO.

I have a front mech to put on if I decide I need it, but 1x11 is not bad enough to do that yet.

I still like my 2x10 on the full suss. 40/28 with 11-36. Nice range IMO, I'd spin out on just a 32.
The hardtail now runs 1x11. 32 with 11-46. That was et up for bikepacking and it worked well. Will change it to a 34 or 36 for normal riding

I've run 1x nearly 20 years - I did dabble with a front mech on a build I did a few years ago but that was with a road block to get a very close ratio set of gears - was utterly pointless and went quickly back to 1x. big steps are fine so long as they're pretty even and I can deal with a bail out big cog but a front shifter is just a pita.

If it's steep enough I need to be in less than a 34/40 I'll get off an push - it'll be faster and I'll use some different muscles.

Each to their own.

interestingly, SRAM aren't going to bring out 13 speed because of the unlucky number connitations, so they are already working on a 14 speed cassette

Like a few on here I've tried all the options and currently just managing with a 1x11 changed from 32 to 26x10/42. I ride mostly in the Peak district and can get up most climbs (just) are the climbs here typical or extreme ?

I too think the 2x11 would be perfect now

I too think the 2x11 would be perfect now

Don't worry, triples will back soon

They won't they really won't. Neither will 26, elastomer forks and flex stems.

Thing is if you are going to have a front mech it costs nothing to add an extra chainring. Weight is negligible and it's really useful.

38/26 - 38s not really good enough for road transitions or decent fire roads, 26 isn't exactly alpine. 38 is quite big for a lot of single track (I wouldn't race on 38) and 26 is pretty useless for that so you're in no mans land a lot of the time.

42/32/24 - leave it in the 32 (the most popular 1x chain ring) for everything apart from road/fire road/descents or steep climbs. Think the granny on my XTR M980 weighs about a fart.