[Closed] Is the front mech dead, what set up are you using?

32t front 11-36 rear, will probably go 30t front when the current ring wears down. I built up my last bike with a front mech to try it again after a season of 1x10 where I sometimes missed a lower gear, but I hated it - I learned to stand up and pedal for extended periods of time instead.

If I was going away to ride in proper mountains (with the intent to pedal up them) I'd just fit a granny and manually shift the chain depending on ascent/descent rather than dealing with a front mech again.

11-36 back. 28t on front. Zee rear mech. I live near big hills and like a low gear for spinny uphills.

I hate front-mechs. Had an ALfine for a couple of years to avoid them. I think next year I'll go for a General Sherman cassette and a 30t front ring.

11-36 with 36 up front can ride up almost everything locally been this way for 4 years before that 11-34 34 upfront 9 speed.

I'm guessing the front mech haters are the ones who can't set them up.

Note: I run 1x10.

..I can set them up fine. It's just that they get clogged up with very sticky clay-like mud round here. The chain gets jammed and leads to chain snaps/drops/dropout snapping.

I like to ride up big steep hills here and in the alps. Can't see me ever going 1x9 or 10 for that just not low enough for an hour plus grind.

Running 2x9 (inner and middle +bash)

on 29'er

-ran 33T x 11-36T for first year

-replaced with 32T x 11-36T

slightly easier getting up bigger hills in wet, and cadence seems more suitable from the 1T drop in front chainring size, the 33T always seems mismatched with rear?

recently tested new SRAM 11-speed with the huge 42T cassette and 32T front, and was seriously impressed with ability to spin up steep muddy climbs, which is the only situation my 10 speed lets me down.

My last bike came fitted with 2x10 and it was my first ever front mech. I planned to ditch it the minute it dropped the ball but it worked perfectly for 2 years. The granny ring came in handy when spinning uphill in winter slop.

Now that I'm building a bike though I'm going 1x10 for mainly aesthetic reasons. If I don't like it I won't be scared to fit a front mech.

I just find running a single up front has really helped with my riding as it forces me to ride properly uphill rather than taking the easy option and just spinning up in the granny.

Also like the idea of no front mech, cable and shifter, much prefer the clean look of my bars without all the clutter.

Would love XX1 but the cost is inane, I'll just stick with a move to 1x10 for the mo!

What ever is cheapest... All six Oab bikes are 3x8 and 9 speed and will stay that way

Yeah the front mech's as dead as the 26 inch wheel 😉

The granny ring came in handy when spinning uphill in winter slop.

Was loving having a granny today, proper sloppy, greasy conditions so keeping a decent cadence going was pretty much crucial to stop the rear wheel spinning up.

At nicely manicured places like trail centres I don't need a granny, but as it's doing absolutely no harm it'll be staying for the time being.

2x9. 24(I think)-36 front, 11-32 rear.

11-36 10 speed Shimano cassette with a SRAM thick/thin 28 on a 29er.

Before that, ran a 11-36 10 speed Shimano cassette with a Hope 32 on a 26er.

The 29er setup is marginally lower geared than the old 26er gearing, but I chose it for very long days in the hill with bikepacking gear. A 30 tooth up front on the 29er would give me marginally higher gearing. I ran it with the 32 to start with, but found the low wasn't low enough for 'bale out' gearing.

The SRAM XX1 cranks and chainring are great. I am considering going 11 speed at some point, but no way am I paying £250 for a cassette, that is going to need to drop down in price a lot, and remain competitive weight wise. before I'd go with that.

Front derailleurs are the work of the devil. Horrible horrible Heath Robinson things. Ugly, mechanically questionable, impractical, unnecessary.

I run a 1x9 hope/sram setup on my mini-dh bike. I wouldn't say that double ring set-ups are dead just yet though.

28t XX1 on the Krampus
32t XX1 on the TallboyC

its a flawless system so far, TallboyC setup has been on a year with zero adjustment, plenty of miles in the peaks, chains never been off

just building a budget Highball for my brother, thats got 30t Works SRAM on X9 Cranks, with 11-36 out the back and an X9 Clutch mech, will be interested to see how the setups works in comparison

Common consensus is that front mechs may be a thing of the past then?

I remember on my Enduro how it used to get clogged with mud and have issues shifting.

With the vast array of cassette sizes and front ring combos. I just can't see the point in them anymore?

32,11-36 (x2)
33-17
38,11-28
42-16
32,11-25

I wouldn't say that double ring set-ups are dead just yet though.

Always going to have a place for riding in the big hills

On my Mmmbop I've got a 1x10 set up, 11/36 cassette with a 32t ring. It's OK but I miss the lower gears for steep/tech climbs and spinning out on the road can be a problem.
Gearing on the full suss is 2x9, 11/34 cassette with 22/34 rings, bash and Stinger. I prefer this combination to the 1by10.

XX1 looks interesting and I'd like to try it but it'll need to trickle down the range before I can afford it.

i run a 2x10 on my full sus and a 3x9 on my hardtail. Is it me or is 3x9 becoming old skool? 😀 Definately seeing less front mechs out on the trails!

I run 1x9, 2x10 or 3x9 depending on what bike I take. The 1x9 bike had its front mech removed due to clogging issues, but the other 2 bikes seem ok.

Is it me or is 3x9 becoming old skool

There's no point in it for the riding I do but I guess if you have one bike for everything it's probably useful.

3x9 has been old school round my way for years, double and bash is very much the norm.

2x9 - 36/22 with 11-32. I imagine changing to a 1x10 will only yield a minimal weight saving which won't make climbing as easy as a 22t, nor as fast on the flat as a 36t.

1x would suit most people for ride up bomb down style. These days I climb much faster not having a granny ring, cadence same as it ever was.

XC you might want a double.

XX1 30t up front. I would go 32t but the 2 teeth lower are a life saver on longer climbs with the missus where if I were on a 32t I couldn't pedal slow enough to stay back with her 😆

Im still running 3x some days i ride up stupidly steep hills or am just being lazy so granny is usefull. Some days ill need to do a long road section to get to trail or a long fire road descent and a big ring is handy.

The front mech is a thing of the past for me, either singlespeed or XX1 on my two bikes.

I run the XX1 with 32t up front but I'm about to get a 34t for it. So far I've had no issues with getting up climbs around my way.

I can't see me going back to having a front mech again.

XX1 has already trickled to X01 - ok the cassette is the same

XTR update will surely have to be 1x11/12? - that will trickle

front mechs will be the domain of BSO within 5 years

1x10 30x11/36 on the xc race fs and 3x10 on rest. I can barely get up long greasy chiltern climbs in 24x36 so it'll be staying for me.

9sp 11-32 and 22/36

I suppose I don't use the bottom gears loads so could go to 24/36. Problem for me is that with 1x10 which I have considered I can get a low enough gear maybe with 30/36 or similar but a 30 or 32 front with 11 on the back just isn't high enough. I moved to a 22/36 as 22/32 was too low and would seriously consider having a 24/38 or something if it was doable.

1x is definitely harder work than a 2x setup. I love it, but I don't think it's for everyone by a long shot. Beginners, casual cyclists, unfit, lazy people will all hate it, and certainly some perfectly-fit people will prefer to sit and spin. So I don't think it will ever conquer all. But I have it on both my mountain bikes and there are no plans to change.

Superficial, I think you hit the nail on the head. I find 1x9 harder but so much more rewarding as I feel as if I'm putting in so much more each and every time I ride.

Will still make the move to 1x10 to help with the climbs but for me, front mechs are dead and buried.

I'm guessing the front mech haters are the ones who can't set them up.

Surely gearboxes should be the future, do away with derailleurs completely?

I'm not the fittest but run 32t on the HT and 30t on the FS both with an 11-36 cassette. It's hard work at times on some climbs but my problem is always that if I have an easier gear I'll end up using it, so quite often with a granny I felt like walking would be faster. 1x makes me push harder.

I run 11-36 out back with an x9 type 2 and an x9 crank with Wolftooth 28t spiderless thick/thin ring with bash guard up front. Runs great and gives me ratios suited to the riding I do.

I'm really loving the look of the Pinion gearbox and am considering one for a hardtail build, but it ain't cheap, seems to me to be the gearbox solution. Though I'm not sure I need such a wide gear range with 18 gears. It would be good if they built an 11 or 12 spd lighter and more compact box.

1x9 on my dh bike, singlespeed on my hardtail and bmx, and will be back to 2x9 on the road bike whenever I can be arsed to fit a new lever and mech. Probably not til after winter now! 1x9 on the road is fine though. So yeah almost dead for me, I hate the bloody things. Don't really do much in the way of climbing on mtbs anyway, it's all about the dh!

Not on my bikes. Properly set up they are almost a "fit and forget" component. The only issue I seem to have is in icy snow whereupon they may freeze up. Chances are that the rear mech freezes up first though. Hence I run an Alfine on my fatbike(and even then it's set up as 2x11).
You've got to remember that this is STWland. i.e. it's not representative of what's going on across the UK as a whole.

2x10 as for me anything less than 36 up front and it's far too spinny for me (FOR ME NOT ANYONE ELSE FOR ME) so until XX1 and more strength it's 2x for me. Also there is a lot of hills round here.

XC racer here, 36t and 11-36 1x10. I'll go XX1 next time around. Would probably still run a double on a trail type bike, until XX1 equivalents get cheaper!

1 x 9, 11-28 with 32 chainring

That's a do it all bike, for everything from all day off-road epics to the daily school run across town with two kids and trailer..

If I got back into riding Dartmoor on a regular basis I would give myself a wider range cassette to help deal with the steep, technical climbing..

1x10 32t 11-36 gets me up anything on my local welsh mountains and set up with clutch mech and chain guard it really is hassle free and secure

2x10 on the Soul, (38/26 with 11-34 cassette & clutch mech) and (apparently) old school 3x9 (44/32/22 with 11-32 cassette) on the Cube. Prefer the 3x9 if I'm honest, but that might be partly down to how sweetly it shifts.