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I've happily run 1x7, 1x9 (in 2001 before it was "fashionable") and 1x10 in what I'd call proper mountains - places like Spanish Sierra Nevada, Swiss Alps, Austrian Alps and Pyrenees. But I do appreciate that different people have different needs in terms of fitness, weight health etc - it is all riding bikes so all good. Especially great to have Ton back in the hills 🙂
My reason for 1x was various home made 29er frames with true 16" chainstays so no way of running a front mech. Singlespeed was fine for most stuff at home - including those bumps where you live Rich 😉 but holidays in the big places needed a few more gears. 1x7 was to fit on my existing SS back wheel, but now got a spare wheel that runs 1x10 (horizontal dropouts so prefer bolt in hubs).
I seem to remember my first high end MTB (Deore II on a fillet brazed Kili Flyer) came with 26:28 as the lowest gear so no different than my current bottom ratio.
Mmm postie too old/fat/unfit thats a new one on me he must be losing it since he moved to the lakes.
Or not 😉
For me i see the sense in a say 22.36 double with a standard cassette but id rather have a triple if im honest. But hey thats me and i am too old/fat/unfit/drunk. For me its not that the gears are any lower but that you have a bigger selection of closer ratio gears to work through
Btw though i do know nowt tho as i rode a singlespeed when i lived in morgins
esselgruntfuttock - Member
what is a Sir?It's a person who's at least 6'3", weighs at least 18 stones, says what he thinks & takes no shit.
Sir.
Have we met?
TBH I do take a lot of shit right up to the point where I snap & then I turn into The Hulk!
If you can generate about the same power at low cadence and high cadence then you'll get on well with having a narrower gear range (eg 1x10). If your legs work best when working within a narrow rpm rang then you'll need a wider spread of gears (1x11, 2x10, 3x9 etc.)
I've been running 1x10 for about 4 years (and 1x9 for a short while previously). I'm quite happy to push to give my legs a break although it's usually only where it's so steep that anyone sensible is pushing!
I'm fine with 1x10 and I can't say I'm mighty, I'm a 10 stone runt... And yes that does include actual mountains 🙂
But I reckon it's maybe not the ideal default option for a bike. Having said that I suppose the enduro's targeted at more experienced riders who know what they want and don't want?
With regards to gearing run what ever works for you.
I'm happy with 1x10 (32:36/11) riding in the lakes. Some really steep stuff and I'm off and pushing, no slower than people riding in the granny though.
Having said that I suppose the enduro's targeted at more experienced riders who know what they want and don't want?
yeah, i bought it because i am new to this mountain biking stuff..... 🙄
Not how I meant it... More that it'd be pretty inappropriate on an entry level bike where a lot of people wouldn't know 1x from 3x and couldn't make an informed decision. But for the more experienced market it's reasonable to have spec choices that won't be for everyone, because people can make that call themselves. And to be blunt, if they buy a 1x bike and don't like it, can't really grumble.
and don't like it, can't really grumble.
come back and tell me that when you are 50 sunshine........ 😆
I love 1x10, but really....aren't we ****ing our knees up majorly without training correctly (most here won't) by pushing big gears up hills?
Some advice Ton.
1) Stuff that is so steep that you can't climb it on a 1x10 setup is quite often to steep to comfortably climb with a 160mm bike.
2) Run less sag at trail centers both front and rear. This makes a world of difference, I tend to run 23 percent rear, 20 front for trail centers. 33 rear, 25 front for steeper long stuff.
ton - Membercome back and tell me that when you are 50 sunshine........
I won't be buying a 1x11 bike when I'm 50! I'll get a double, rather than buying a 1x bike then complaining it's only got one chainring 😉
It'll be all hoverbikes anyway.
A shame you are not getting on with the bike.
I've been on my E29 for a month now and it's a great bike. Yes, it has a tonne of travel but still handles amazingly and it didn't detract from me having fun at the few trail centers I've ridden.
It's a bike that does shine when it gets proper gnar. (but still great to ride normally)
I changed the 30t front for a 32t as I have leg muscles.
what is the reasoning behind the 1 x thing? is it purely a fashion led thing?
one of 2 reasons:
-you lose some weight by losing the other 2 rings, shifter, mech and cable. you then remove the middle ring and invest in a narrow wide ring. you then realise that to get the best out of the narrow wide you should be running a clutched rear mech and its associated shifter and possibly add a chain guide/bashring
-you lose some weight by losing the other 2 rings, shifter, mech and cable.you then add this weight plus a bit more by fitting a dropper on the bike
either way, the bike lizards are going to get the money out of you... 😥
I changed the 30t front for a 32t as I have leg muscles.
but really you are a soft shyte like the rest of us, because you are using a 42 tooth expander on the back.
I'm 55 years old and 83Kg. I run 1x10 on a 29er: 30T up front, 11-40T at the back (Hope TRex). I reckon that I've lost about 1 1/2 gears at either end of the range when compared with a 3x10 on a 26", I'd have to go through it on a gear calculator to make sure.
The above is fine for big days out in the Lakes and the Dales, the usual reason for getting off and pushing is lack of technique on rough climbs.
Would I go back to a 2x or 3x setup? I don't know. I like the simplicity of the 1x: click up or down until you run out of gears, you don't have to think about front/rear combinations. Occasionally still go up two gears when I mean to go down two gears though 😳
I'm not particularly fit at the moment and weigh in at a whopping 94kg but I'm finding 1x10 alright. I've got a 32 on the front and 11-36 on the back and although I know having a granny on the front was easier I don't really miss it. Most of my riding life has been on a 1x9 setup until a few years ago when I got my Alline 160 and I prefer not having to worry about a front mech playing up. I think you just have to change your riding style and deal with not being abboe to sit and spin up things like you did in the past.
I would like to add that I don't feel 1x or 2x is better than the other, just that they suit different people. 2x never slowed Tracy Mosely down when all the other 'cool kids' went single ring.
To. kP
I'm not particularly fit at the moment and weigh in at a whopping 94kg but I'm finding 1x10 alright. I've got a 32 on the front and 11-36 on the back
I'm not particularly fit at the moment and weigh in at a whopping 124kg but I'm finding 1x10 alright. I've got a 32 on the front and 11-36 on the back, although I am going to try a 30t on the front to see if that's better.
1 x 10/11 is not for me, I could and have used 1x 9 but prefer actually a triple more for the top end speed.........a lot of riding is joining the bridleways for me or riding to somewhere to start the off road, more gears the better.
edit all bikes now weigh less than my first mtb in 1991 so I consider anything light/lite
A good review Ton of the pluses and minus points......new career as a reviewer? 8)