[Closed] N/W front with 9 speed?

NW works 9/10/11
It will be better than nothing, I had a run of leaving the clutch off on a shimano mech with NW and it seems fine though if it gets rough you might have some issues.

I run 1*9 on my cx with a NW ring and non cltch mech, never dropped the chain.

You need to use a 10 speed chain though for the ring to hold it

Thanks you two.

So Restless, are you saying 1x9 with NW and the NW teeth don't do anything to hold the chain on?

Although her bike's a mountain bike, it's not usually used as such.

A couple of years ago I used a superstar NW ring on a part worn 9 speed setup. Worked perfectly, never dropped the chain once 🙂

I ran 1x9 with a n/w. Tried without a chainguide over xc terrain, and no chain drops. But just for security, I put the chainguide back on, just in case. ( I had it anyway and they don't weigh much).

Thanks.

The reason for asking is I have a spare NW and the current front ring and guide got bashed (by me) last week.

I had 2 bikes with the setup you describe - 1x9 NW ring, no clutch mech, 9-spd chain.

No way on earth were those chains staying on the chainring over the rough stuff without a chain guide. I didn't think a 10-spd chain would work with a 9-spd cassette, but I suppose if it will then it may stay on the ring better.....

Have got 1x9 NW, no clutch on a brutal aluminium HT. There's a fair bit of clattering going on but the chain has only come off once and that was in a high gear over some rocks

A 9 speed chain will be too sloppy fit on the ring, they are designed to retain 10/11 speed chains

10 speed chain on 9 cassette is fine, I've been running like that for a year now

I have run a 9 speed chain[non clutch] without dropping it on NW

A 9 speed chain will be too sloppy fit on the ring, they are designed to retain 10/11 speed chains

9 speed and 10speed internal widths are EXACTLY the same, it's the external width (i.e.: plate thickness) that's different so NW works exactly the same with 9 or 10 speed.

IME if you can't go for both clutch and NW then the NW bit is more helpful than the clutch as long as you keep the chain length suitably short and the mech has decent tension.

I've been running 1x9 with NW and no clutch on my XC race bike for the last 2 years and only dropped the chain once int that time, Enduro bike is the same but has a chain guide as i would;t trust it without a clutch.

a happy narrow wide 9sp non clutch user here.

full enduro jumpy fun riding. I do have a top guide though.

Yeah I know the inner width is the same but they have still been designed around 10 chains. I went by the advice on wolf tooth's website...

"If using a 9 speed drivetrain use a 10 speed chain (shifts and works well on a 9 speed drivetrain and fits the ring tighter for better chain retention)."

I'm using a NW ring on a 1x8 setup without a clutch mech and it's working so far. On a commuter not a mountain bike admittedly, but it was dropping the chain a lot before I fitted the NW ring.

Yeah I know the inner width is the same but they have still been designed around 10 chains. I went by the advice on wolf tooth's website...

"If using a 9 speed drivetrain use a 10 speed chain (shifts and works well on a 9 speed drivetrain and fits the ring tighter for better chain retention)."

that doesnt mean its not bullshit.

Recently swapped to a superstar N/W front ring on an existing 9 speed set up with no other chain retention. No dropped chains yet on the HT riding xc and the likes of Swinley.

that doesnt mean its not bullshit.

Good point 🙂

ou can run a N/W with 9 speed, you can bodge a 10sp Shimano mech to work with a 9sp SRAM shifter, and I've seen people successfully running 40t cassette expanders with 9sp cassettes too.

Does the chain fall off now?

I just recently went to 1x10 from 3x9, using a race face nw and zee clutch mech, the chain kept dropping, and eventually i figured out why, i had put on a 9 speed chain stupidly. Anyway swapped it to a 10 speed and haven`t dropped a chain since ( 2 months riding red and black tc routes), so maybe it does make a difference

Eldest son is 1x9 with just a NW chainring - 9 spd chain, 9 spd non clutch mech - hasn't dropped once.

Ha! Just when I thought the thread had a conclusive answer.

Think I'll look to buy a cheapy 10 speed mech and cassette. I already have a chain and shifter. I'll try just the NW first and then see what's necessary.

In our house, upgrades to my bike mean 2nd hand-upgrades to other bikes. I works the same in reverse for phones / tablets hence my battered 1st Gen iPad.

The 1x9 Inbred in question is used for riding to school (wife's a teacher) with th odd and slight off road venture so it may be fine).