[Closed] what are the advantages of 1x11?

No front Mech, one less shifter on the bars, lighter?

1. about 500g off for 'slightly' less range.
2. less stuff on your bars.

You can run a single-ring chain device, DH ring or narrow-wide ring to virtually eliminate dropped chains.

I'm currently running 1x10 on a narrow-wide ring with a "stealth" granny for monster climbs. No front mech or shifter, just drop the chain onto it by hand when you know you're going to be slogging your way up a monster.

It's one more

It's very trendy

It's 9 (or 19) less.

It's 9 (or 19) less.

The biggest "advantage" for me, the one i found the most surprising was just how it "simplifies" trail riding. Just one lever to press, no front ring to worry about / choose. I know that sounds odd, and i thought i might miss the ability to suddenly downshift a large ratio jump, like you could do with a 3x or 3x setup, but no, i just love riding, and not having to think about gears really!

If using a sram cassette you get a much bigger range than 1x10 or 1x9. Really nice not having a feont mech. I went from 2x9 to 1x11 and not needed any more gears even on steep climbs and roads. I use to swear by shimano and not look at sram. Now ive tried it I'm sticking with sram.

It's great for the mechanically inept who, apparently, struggle to set up a front mech.

It's easier to select the right gear for whatever situation, unexpected steep climb etc, no horrible grinding sound when you try to move too many gears at the same time.

What maxtorque said. Gears aren't complicated but simplifying them does gives one less thing to consider when riding.

I like how quiet it runs.

11 gears, instead of 20 on a double, with a 70% overlap between the two tens

Sorry to disagree folkes but I tried a steep grassy climb (up Hareden Fell in the Trough of Bowland if anyone has done it) on my friends Capra. The Capra climbed the tricky muddy stuff better than my beloved Whyte XT120, but once it got really steep it needed that granny ring, and the Whyte kept going. The Capra would have been brilliant with a granny. I do however prefer going uphill rather than down.

Surely that depends on ratios. My 1x10 has pretty much the same bottom gear as my old 3x9

The biggest "advantage" for me, the one i found the most surprising was just how it "simplifies" trail riding. Just one lever to press, no front ring to worry about / choose. I know that sounds odd, and i thought i might miss the ability to suddenly downshift a large ratio jump, like you could do with a 3x or 3x setup, but no, i just love riding, and not having to think about gears really!

+1, find it really easy and freed up a nice space on my bars for my reverb.

1x10 on mine but I'd echo the comments about simplicity.

On the downside, the steps between gears are a bit larger (than my previous 11-32 9 speed) which is noticeable imo, mine's a 1x10 with an 11-40T so it would be less so on a 1x11 with same range.

Happy I swapped but I did the relatively cheapo bodge with an expander ring. Still a couple of hundred though.

The steps on a 1x10 are the same as you'd be running the same cassette on a 2x or 2x set up.
1x11 Sram has big gaps, which is one of the reasons Shimano have a tighter spread on their 11 spd cassettes.

Just simplification. With a typical 2x10 set up you've actually only got about 12 - 14 gears anyway as there is duplication of ratio's on each chainring (near as to make no difference), so you're already almost there, so why carry all the additional superfluous metalwork around with you?

1 by 10 for me at the moment. I will probably go xt 1by11 as I basically need to replace my entire groupset and it's cheaper to do that than buy a cassette and an expander. I love the simplicity, the lack of cleaning caked mud from around the front derailleur and the weight saving.

For an 11-42 range do people typically sacrifice the high or low gears? I'm currently running a 34t front (27.5 wheel) but thinking of going 36t when I replace chainring.

Nickjb; pretty much doesn't quite cut it sometimes 🙂

34 x 11-42 here, no issues with spinning out and it's a nice low gear.

Recently changed from 34 x 11-36 10 speed and the extra low gears are nice.

GB

ferrals- I matched (as closely as I realistically could) the low end at the cost of a couple of top end ratios.

1st gear on my 1x10 (32T/40T) is about 9% higher than my 3x9 first gear (22/32) but is manageable for me.

1st gear for me is 32 x 36 (26"). If I can't cycle up with that ratio I'm quicker walking.

Massively mediocre rider, cheers, that's What I did initially, but I spin out at times, guess I'll give a 36t a go and if it's to hard go back to 34t.

1x whether 10 or 11, the overwhelming advantage is binning the front mech. Worst design ever. Brute force method of shifting and frequently the cause of chain jam, drop, and gouges in frames, especially carbon.

Going 2x10 to 1x, well I went to 1x10 and using Sheldon Brown's gear ratio tool I worked out I'd basically lose two gears top and bottom, and generally I wasn't using them so I'd cope. 1x11 is just one extra cog, so you'd lose slightly less.

I suggest playing with Sheldon's gear ratio tool and see what different it makes.

It`s for people who like a limited range and have only one thumb and lack the ability to set up a front mech

1st gear for me is 32 x 36 (26"). If I can't cycle up with that ratio I'm quicker walking.

You must have an amazingly low cadence. 1st gear for me is 22 x 36 (26") and that's still quicker than walking.

ferrals- no problem, hope the bigger gear suits you nicely.

You must have an amazingly low cadence. 1st gear for me is 22 x 36 (26") and that's still quicker than walking.

22x36 @90rpm is ~4mph so comparable to, maybe a smidge over walking, and 90rpm is not that fast of a cadence especially off road

same speed on 32x36 would be ~60rpm which although slower is not [i]that[/i] slow for grinding up a hill

Simplicity, reliability, as many gears as you actually need offroad and it doesn't half make the bike a lot quieter!

Downsides? Cost is the obvious one, but the trickle down is slowly trickling down... The only other one I can think of is that chainring size becomes a very important decision to make, and us 1x11 riders seem to obsess over chainring size almost as much as the Singlespeed riders what ratio they are running! With a 3x10 setup, everybody has got gears they don't use, be they at the top or the bottom of the range, and in a 2x10 setup pretty much everybody has got a gear they hardly use. 1x11 takes that gear away, so chainring size becomes a much more crucial part to the setup.

The only thing that would tempt me to go back to a 2x setup up front on an MTB would be the need for REALLY low gears if say I was doing some enormous climbs, and/or solo endurance events. But that said, I'd probably just bung a silly small 26 or 28 T chainring on a 1x11 and freewheel down the descents a little more, it seemed to work OK for Aaron Gwin at least!

I've been using 1x10 (with Hope expander and a 32 tooth chainring) but considering going back to 2x10. It's probably psychological as much as anything, but I do miss that granny ring.

Lighter
Simpler
Easier to keep clean
Better chain retention (with narrow wide ring)
Looks neater both around the BB and on the bars (subjective I guess)
You don't have to think about changing front sprockets before a climb
It puts a nail in the coffin of hateful front derailleurs

I like it. I was running 1x10 before I got 1x11 and most of the downsides of 1x10 (No 'bailout' gear, non-OEM) are gone. It's the future, and the sooner the folks at Shimano realise this, the sooner SRAM will get some competition and prices will fall.

[img] [/img]

Worth comparing the numbers to see what you actually get.
SRAM 10-42 big range, with some big steps but covers all bar 2 gears of a 2x10 set-up.
11-40/42 quite a bit less, but closer gaps.

So for the range I can see how the SRAM is popular. I have 11-40/42 on a 10sp setup, the gaps are fine for me and it's good rather than great. I'll be upgrading to the SRAM version when I can. Mostly for the grip shift and range.

Worth comparing the numbers to see what you actually get.

You're not from around these parts are you, bringing facts to an argument! Tsk tsk 🙄

😆

Sory, couldn't resist...

Looking at your chart there, you really are only losing one, maybe 1 and a bit gears by going with a SRAM 10-42 cassette over a 2x10 setup. The 24/38 chainring setups are more common now, but provide a BIG jump. I was using 24/36 before myself which was much smoother. With a 24/36 and an 11-36 cassette, I was getting 490% range, to narrow it down to 420% range really doesn't feel like a big trade off at all. My 1st gear is ever so slightly taller (more like 1st and a half if you like) with a 30T and 10-42 setup, and my top gear is 3:1 which is exactly the same as the 36T and 9th cog (out of 10) on the back gave me previously. So I have to push the tiniest bit harder up very steep climbs as my bailout gear isn't quite as low as it was, and I run out of puff before 30mph on the roads/fireroads... I'll live with that for the simplicity it brings!

it means you're about 4 down-shifts from the gear you want in a hurry. Vs 1shift with a front mech.

ahwiles - Member

it means you're about 4 down-shifts from the gear you want in a hurry. Vs 1shift with a front mech.

But that's OK, because modern gears shift so fast and so well, the time taken to go down 4 gears on the cassette is close to identical. Unless of course you don't want the gear that a front downshift gives you, in which case you're doing recovery shifts and it's slower.

TBH for me the biggest differences are chain retention, mud, and chain retention in mud. The third especially can be a big deal on some bikes, front mech can be a real choke spot so removing it helps mud fall away and takes away one place that it gets rammed into the drivetrain.

I did like 2x9 though, some part of me things that 18 is the correct number of gears for a bike.

@mboy mentions solo endurance events. I did the Yorkshire Dales 300 last weekend on a 1x10 setup on a 29er. I've a 32T chain ring, just changed it from a 30T the week before as the 30T had worn out and I could only get a 32T in the local shops, the cassette is the usual 11-36 with 40T extender. I didn't have much problem with gearing, well beyond feeling knackered on the later climbs!

Quite a few of the riders were on 1x setups, including the first back, so it's not that unusual. I don't recall seeing any 3x setups, the remainder were 2x or singlespeed.

I've got 1x11 (SRAM X1) on my Whyte running a 32T at the front and the only downside is that I spin out a bit on the road. I really like it mainly as it's so simple and doesn't drop the chain even in horrendous mud!

As far as trendy I'm guessing I must be as I'm considering an oval 34T for the front!

If you care about it you can run a frame with shorter chainstays and or use wider tyres with better mud clearance (no front mech

I'm still on 1x10 because try as I might I can't rationalise £150+ mechs and cassettes. Round here the biggest hills have a prominence of about 100m so easy enough to blast up in 32-36 and then recover a bit. Having said that after years of riding SS only I didn't miss the granny ring in places like the Lakes either, 32-36 actually feels quite spiny when stood up and mashing!

maxtorque - Member
The biggest "advantage" for me, the one i found the most surprising was just how it "simplifies" trail riding.[…] i just love riding, and not having to think about gears really!

This is it for me. My own bike will probably stay on 2x until the current drivetrain wears out, but having borrowed a few bikes on 1x11, I love not having to think about front shifts. I've also noticed that in the places I ride regularly, the range I'm currently using on a 34t cassette with my granny ring roughly corresponds to a 1x setup with a 42t back and 30 - 32t front.

The walking speed argument never reallys stacks up for me. Some people prefer to ride even if its not faster.

But that doesn't mean you should gear for what I want either does it

thanks for the replies everyone.

i won't be changing my groupset on my bike for a while,as it still works,but when i do upgrade,it's something to think about.

my bike is steel (26" too) so the weight isn't a big issue,and been pretty lucky with front mech issues too.

i am very tempted to go 2 x 11 new xt,as i use my bike for everything (it's my only bike currently).on road as well as off,so like having the big chainring.

will take 1x11 into consideration though.

Also, a walking speed of 4mph up a hill that's too steep to ride a bike up? That's probably a bit optimistic. Having said that, I've been in situations where I'm riding so slowly that I'm going no faster than someone walking and pushing a bike...

Front mechs get sprayed with crud and clag up, and when you think about it, its a pretty old-fashioned agricultural design

Superficial - Member

Also, a walking speed of 4mph up a hill that's too steep to ride a bike up? That's probably a bit optimistic.

TBH it's not often that steepness alone makes you need or want lower gears- on really steep stuff you can't generally spin up it anyway. It's really long grinding climbs, those ones that are just [i]slightly[/i] too steep or too draggy and burn you up.

For me it's the road past mamore lodge, and I think for quite a few others, that is the Climb Of 1x10 Regret. I can get up it, but it's not that much fun and I could definitely go lower. Or I can walk up it, at basically the same speed as pedallers.

Still happily on 2 x 9 here. Gripshift so shifter weight is **** all. Front mech weight more or less what a chain device weighs. I only use about 5 gears anyway.

1 x 10 made sod all difference to 1 x 9 in my experience so don't think I'll ever go 1 x 11 unless it's already on a future bike I buy.

It's great for the mechanically inept who, apparently, struggle to set up a front mech.

This.

I just got some shifters that attach to the brakes so my bars are very tidy. This seems to matter to some.

what on earth has the front mech 'set up' got to do with the price of fish? I think you're missing the point. It's a slight point I'll grant you but a point nonetheless. My front mech was perfectly set up before I went 1x10 but I still think 1x10 (or 1x11) is simpler, cleaner and and just easier. Nothing wrong with front mechs but if, like me, you come to the conclusion they are of no use whatsoever then why have them? The same argument applies to 3x10 vs2x10. If, on the other hand you feel you benefit from having a front mech then why change?

I expected to hate it - I've been riding mostly Rohloff and Pinion off road for many years so used to a very wide gear range and lots of ratios.

Unexpectedly so far it's been going really well. It's only done southern riding - Isle of Wight and North Downs - on a hardtail but I've yet to drop a chain and not yet had to push up anything. Particularly with SRAM brakes the bars are really nice and clean.

On the downsides, I'm expecting that the lack of the really low ratios I'm used to on the other bikes will become more of a problem if I take it anywhere properly steep.
It was finickety to set up - took me far longer than I remember with 9 or 10 speed.
I snapped a chain on the third ride (then rethreaded it wrong and messed with the cable tension to try and get it shifting. Still not right).

i am very tempted to go 2 x 11 new xt,as i use my bike for everything (it's my only bike currently).on road as well as off,so like having the big chainring.

what on earth has the front mech 'set up' got to do with the price of fish?

Many people on many threads have quoted difficulty in setting up a front mech or general maintenance as a reason for going 1x. Anyone with even basic ability should be able to keep a front mech running well with very little effort.

Biggest for me is frame designs can be better with a 1x system. Sooner 1x is the norm, the better.

I'm 11 speed, maybe use 9 of the gears, the 10 tooth and 42 tooth hardly get touched.

I'm not sure about everyone elses bodies, but i feel like i much prefer harder for a shorter time rather than easier for a longer time, hence if i'm in pain on a climb, i insist on giving it some to get it over and done with, when i did have a granny ring and when i've tried bikes with a granny ring, it only seems to eek out the pain for me.

They are also MTBs, what does it matter if you spin out on road sections? my 1x11 gets me about 28mph comfortably anyway.

Front mechs and multiple rings are terrible anyway, even when they are working "perfectly".

I'm on 1x10 11-36 out back 32T front. I've not yet found anything I can't climb up in that that I couldn't get up with a regular granny ring, so It makes no sense to carry the weight of shifter, cable, and mech and granny ring.

easy decision.

I have had the 1 x 11 fitted as original equipment to my new bike.

I didn't expect to like it, as I have always been a Shimano man for geared systems.

I like it alot, it shifts very well, makes hardly any noise or chainslap.

Seems very logical in in hub geared sense of changing.

Simple up or down selection, makes riding on the trail easier - seem to concentrate on the riding more than the gear selection.

1 x 11 will become my new preferred system in future , SRAM or Shimano.

For me, as normal trail rider, much better.
Regards

Denis

1x anything is 'Enduro' innit? Therefore it has to be awesumz.

1x anything is 'Enduro' innit?

Also, a walking speed of 4mph up a hill that's too steep to ride a bike up? That's probably a bit optimistic.

Precisely.

There is a climb near me that takes around 20 minutes and has a few sections that are pretty steep. Last week I didn't feel like killing myself, so pushed up the steep bits. This week I was more up for it so rode the whole way up (using my 22x36 granny for the steep bits). Overall I was 3 minutes faster this week than last week. Of course that may not have all been on the walking bits, but I've yet to encounter any climb where I'm anywhere near as fast walking up as I am riding. As soon as I get off and push I know it's not going to be a good time. If nothing else, once you've dismounted it's hard to resist the temptation to take a little breather.

But, of course, all of this misses the point. You either enjoy the challenge of trying to ride all the way up a hill or you don't. If you don't that's fine by me, but if you do then going 1x just makes things that little bit harder.

Having said all that, I've just put my HT 29er back to 1x10 (with a 28T chainring and a 42T expander sprocket). I tried that setup in the winter and didn't like it, so went back to 2x10. But it's summer now and I'm a bit stronger (not fitter, but stronger) than I was in the winter, so I'll give it another go.

chestrockwell - Member
Anyone with even basic ability should be able to keep a front mech running well with very little effort.

They're easy to set up. It's keeping them perfectly indexed that's the problem. Slightest cable stretch, muck, worn chainring, worn chain and it's screwed, chain dropping, jumping, won't shift easily, jams or you get chain suck.

It's a terrible brute force design. Whack the chain hard with the cage to drop it down, jam the cage against the chain to ramp it up.

I was fed up with endlessly having to redo it to keep it sweet, and even then chain suck and jamming was pissing me off. Chain suck is rare on 1x with a clutch, but even when it happens it's not going to jam behind the cage and gouge out your frame.

2x is worse than 3x. 2x is a nice idea in that the range of a 2x10 covers most of what people use in say 3x9. Problem is 2x10 is a much larger jump between the chainrings and that means more harsh shifting and inevitable problems. I got hacked off with my SRAM 2x10, 26 jump to 39. The big drop back down frequently would drop the chain entirely, regardless how perfect I got the stops.

And don't even get me started with 2x chain guides, except to say one MRP guide got ripped apart thanks to much of the above.

Binned, 1x10, I'm so much happier, and fitness meant I really don't miss the couple of gears top and bottom I lost.

Easier and simpler
Can run a n/w ring
Less weight
Can put a 22t emergency granny on and change by hand if [i]really[/i] needed

The only real disadvantage of 1 x 10 has been the lack of a very low granny equivalent (without rebuilding mechs and adding dinner plate unramped aftermarket 42t cogs)

1 x 11 removes that disadvantage and Shimano XT 1 x 11 means not having to change to a different free hub (I think)

I didn't realise how much less faff 1 x 10 was until I hired a bike on holiday that had 2 x 10 and godawful CTD levers on the fork and shock. I seemed to spend the whole ride either in the wrong setting or pressing levers like I was playing the piano!

Don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, a minor point for me is that its easier to clean!

They're easy to set up. It's keeping them perfectly indexed that's the problem. Slightest cable stretch, muck, worn chainring, worn chain and it's screwed, chain dropping, jumping, won't shift easily, jams or you get chain suck.

Bobbins, unless you're using stuff far past the point it should be replaced. Doing this will affect any system.

Bobbins, unless you're using stuff far past the point it should be replaced. Doing this will affect any system

Completely secure chain which never comes off and doesn't slap all over the place has to be the main benefit for me, plus just works so simply that you stop having to think about gears at all.

I went 3x9, 2x9, 1x9, 1x10. No thinking when using it. Can't dawdle up hills so it keeps me fitter. Minimal maintenance. Doesn't drop chains. If my local hills were bigger I'd probably go 1x11 but I'm strong enough to cope fine here.

Has anyone mentioned how much the behaviour of full-sus bikes changes with chainring size? It's a really big deal and 1x11 solves a ton of problems, as well as making it easier to fit in big wheels and tyres.

However there are plenty of current bikes which are designed for 2x or 3x and with the switch to 1x11 they bob horribly uphill.

Many people on many threads have quoted difficulty in setting up a front mech or general maintenance as a reason for going 1x.

Anyone with even basic ability should be able to keep a front mech running well with very little effort.

Indeed.
But it feels more like you're projecting something a bit personal, around "mechanical prowess" onto people's personal choice of bicycle drivetrain... The world is full of minor differences Get over it...

On both of my bikes the front mech on my 1x setups have given me no hassle at all 🙂

The simple up down the gears just works better for me. The main things when considering it is to look at the numbers (top of the page) and try it as personal experience trumps the internet every time.

Indeed.
But it feels more like you're projecting something a bit personal, around "mechanical prowess" onto people's personal choice of bicycle drivetrain... The world is full of minor differences Get over it...

Yeah exactly. I think front derailleurs are a PITA, and that's not because I'm a mechanical moron. It's probably because my super strong legs put more tension through a chain so the front mech needs to work harder. Those with 3x and 2x setups off road probably have little chicken legs or something.

Also, I expect almost all 1x users have spent time on 2x and 3x setups previously and are therefore qualified to answer the question being asked. Whereas conversely most people who are still on 2x/3x have never used 1x for any length of time.

Lighter, more secure but most importantly one less thing to think about when riding.

Recently borrowed a bike while my shock was in for tuning, it was 2x10 as opposed to my usual 1x11. I kept finding myself getting confused, messing up sections etc as I was distracted by thinking about gear shifts. Imagine it'd be worse in a race scenario when on the limit.

But it feels more like you're projecting something a bit personal, around "mechanical prowess" onto people's personal choice of bicycle drivetrain... The world is full of minor differences Get over it...

I can assure you I'm projecting nothing and have stated many times that my 'mechanical prowess' is somewhere around average at best. I just find it amusing that people seem to need to make up reasons for going 1x and go on about it as if it's some super evolution in MTB's when it's simply another choice that has up sides and down sides.

There's no right or wrong answer. If you like 1x then well done, there needs to be no other reason.

When 'new' products come out that prove to be popular, those who don't like or can't afford them inevitably find numerous reasons why they're not so good and that they're just the result of marketing hype, like everyone buying them are just brainless sheep...

I have an open mind about this, but I gave been very grateful for those going 1x11 or 1x10 in particular as it has meant that I have been picking up chainrings cheap, both on classifieds here and elsewhere. This means that I can change my xt level 2x10 drivetrain ( rings, cassette and chain ) for about £75 which is less than half the price of a 1x11 cassette last time I looked. As things stand at the moment am not convinced that for me it is worthwile spending all the extra cash to gain a slight performance advantage.

As far as dropping chains etc. I have just come back from a week in the alps and with a clutch mech I had not one chain drop in the entire week, that was without any chain device fitted.

As a "bottom 20% fitness" rider, I was really wary of 1x11 and loosing my granny ring, but this year I got a 1x11 on a Codine 29er. Love it to bits. The bars look less cluttered, its far simpler to move between gears without grinding when not paying much attention and discovering the ground is now steeper. Im now amazed that I ever had 27 gears when 11 is more than enough.

Its probably not worth a specific upgrade, but if your looking at a new bike or drive chain anyway its a definite plus.

It just works really well, na faffing about and have plenty of range - for the riding I do, multiple front rings seem an unnecessary complexity. I was getting annoyed with the amount of duplicated ratios which always seemed mad.

Simplify and add lightness seems appropriate to bikes as well as cars to me.

Can you add lightness???

© Colin Chapman

[img] [/img]
A lightness applicator