I’m using a full guide but others have got away without one, depends how smooth a rider you are i guess. Also, i regret going 33t up front, going to look at putting a 30t ring on the perhaps

33t works fine in the hilly SW. 1000ft climbing/10miles on average.

Forces you to suck it up and get on with it.

I’m thinking of going from 3×9 (with a 32t cassette) to 1×10 (with 36) and I live on the flat plains of E Lancs. I’d been thinking about 34t on the front – is this excessively brave?

Andy

I’ve been running 1×9/10 on all my builds for 3 years. Bought a new bike recently that came with 2×10 and its brilliant! Not sure why I ever bothered to go to 1×10.. The gear range is better and with the new clutch mechs there isn’t any more dropped chains. I realise that it’s more weight, more expensive, more faf to replace and doesn’t looked as radcore.

I’ve got 32t plus zee in hilly basque country, so far no problems, but I am thinking of getting a 30t for summer proper when I’ll be in the Pyrenees proper.

As for Chain guide, I’m using a bash and a N-gear jump stop – not dropped a chain yet.

Aye, a lot of the options for <32t chainrings seem to involve having SRAM detachable spider cranks, though I’m sure I saw something about grinding down the chainring tabs (!)…

I ride a pitch taht must be 32lbish with coil lyriks in the Peak district. I ride 33 up front and 11-34 on the back (as i was too tight to buy an 11-36 cassette)
Some climbs are tough but not undoable

In the best STW tradition, I’ve worked it out – 1×10 loses about one gear off the top and one off the bottom compared with 2×10, which in turn is about one off the top and one off the bottom less than 3×9, so there’s not that much in it.

What are you comparing to, a 3×9 with a 34 cassette, or a 32?

Either way one gear higher than you need means a walk…

To be clear, comparing 3×9 with a 32 cassette to 40/28 and a 36, to 34 and a 36.

22/36 is a very low gear; not sure I actually *need* one that low.

I ride 32 up front and 11-36 cassette, if anything I’d rather have a smaller chainring but as above this isn’t really possible with most chainsets. As glasgowdan says, I have never spun out, on or off road, and I’m not that slow I don’t think.

Each to their own though, I do probably spin faster than some. I think that’s a better technique than learning to push slower up hills though, look at track cyclists and that, they’re well fast with their very high cadences

For reasons known only to FSA, my cranks (Afterburners) have a carbon spider. Don’t really fancy filing that 😛

As an aside, those of you who’ve gone 1×10 – how much of the dreaded single-ring chainsuck do you get? Due to local filth, get two-ring suck lots between granny/middle, and occasionally between middle/big which is one of the reasons I’m thinking about changing.

Never had any chain suck issues at all, I think a lot of that is down to chain wear TBH.

I was running 36/11-36 on a 140/160 AM bike – just doing same on new 180mm AM bike.

all depends on you…

Whats your cadence like? I can’t do high speed spinning so don’t really get on lower than a 36, like to have the 22/24 there to help. I did 1×9 with a 36 for about 18 months, I got much stronger but it just wasn’t worth it as I also pushed a lot.

I’m going from a 2x 9speed set up to a 1x 10spd set up. From the tables below taken from sheldon brown you can see I will lose my three lowest gears. However, the flip side is my bike will be a whole pound lighter for losing the shifter, mech, granny, bolts and bb mount roller guide. So swings and roundabouts. I’m doing it for simplicity sake. I reasoned that I am carrying around a pound of bike that I only ever use a few times a year. I believe the future is the XX1 system.

[/url] image by mattbibbings, on Flickr[/img]

[/url] image by mattbibbings, on Flickr[/img]

I recently built up my new Meta AM 1 by 9, to see how it was, before I bought the 10sp chainset, and I have now gone for the Zee 1 by 10, it will give me one lower gear, which will be nice, I also run a 36, and find that fine for climbs around nidderdale, middlesmoor – nought bank – knott etc. Lofthouse and peat lane are pretty horrific, but they’re horrific climbs…

If I go biking in Molina or somewhere I will likely get a 32t chain ring as the long road climbs will need kill me on a 36

I’ve just got back from a weekend’s riding in Wales. I’m very unfit at the moment but found that 1×10 was pretty spot on. I’ve got a 34t front ring and 11-36 at the back on a hardtail 29er. There were a couple of times where I’d have probably used an easier gear if I’d had it but I didn’t really need to and managed fine.