1x Gear Set-Ups

How are they working out for you?

Who still prefers a front mech arrangement?

I like them.

They aren’t for everyone.

Nothing more to see, move along! 😛

95% of the time… GREAT
5% of the time… i want just 1 more click…

Mike -bedtime reading..

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/1×11-cassette-weighs-as-much-as-the-rest-of-my-bike

Brilliant, wouldn’t go back, especially as you can now get the dinner plate sizes on standard cassettes negating the need for expander sprockets.

Brilliant on some bikes, annoyingly flawed on others

So far?

So good.

Love it on my Krampus as I don’t get any chainline issues.

Spotty dog on my Whyte too, as if its that steep I need another gear, I’d be off an working anyway.. 😳

Would not go back to a front mech

By the same token I refuse to fit anything bigger than a 36 tooth cassette and, strange as it may seem, I have got better at climbing.

What doesn’t kill you etc

Depends on where you ride for me 1×10 is perfect at the minute.

Rode my 1×9 for the first time in ages today. Takes a bit of muscling up some steep stuff but I can’t say I missed having a smaller ring up front. A bigger one would have been nice on one trail but it wasn’t like I wasn’t having fun at the speed I was going.

Totally happy with 1x

Not for me thanks – but then I am a terminally late adopter 😉

I like 2x on my toddler/faux-tandem bike (what was my old XC bike) – handy to have twiddly gears for seated climbing with the extra weight and someone small sat in front of you.

The proper MTBs are both unextended 1×10 (32t chainring, 27.5 wheels) – enough gears for my hills and I cope fine visiting more mountainous places (though I’d probably go 1×11 if I lived in the mountains).

I use the dropper remote a lot so its very intuitive to have left thumb controlling that and right thumb controlling gears, with no remembering which front ring I’m in.

Really like mine as a general rule, although it turns out aluminium sprockets are crap (who’d’a thunk it…).

not convinced, it would be a black mark for a frame to be 1x only.

remove the front mech and instantly need a clutch rear mech, NW chainring and top/bottom guide AND lose a gear or two.

advantage seems to be losing something from the bars.

Very happy. I think i’ll get a wide range cassette at some point though. 32×36 is low enough most of the time and fine for local stuff. I’m probably more fickle about big jumps in gear ratios though, so not sure whether i’ll be disappointed with an 11-40t cassette.

Have gone from 1×10 11-36 which I struggled witha bit at times to 11-40 with various expanders/Rad cages which was really good, to 1×11 Shimano with Sram 11-42 cassette on both bikes now which is the best gearing setup I’ve ever used, wouldn’t dream of going back. Range is about the same, shifting is sequential, less cables, less clutter, less mud gathered, better chain retention, no redundant gears, reverb under the bar.

Doesn’t suit everyone, but it definitely suits me.

Best thing since dropper posts 🙂

Did +30 miles and 5000 ft yesterday, only pushed up one bit and tbh with a granny in the past I needed to push up that bit.

Only miss is more top-end but once the current cassette needs replacing I’ll be putting an 11-46 on and upping the front to a 32T.

I like ’em. Narrow/wide rings making a chain device not essential made a huge difference, and the new kit makes it all much more practical for more people so it’s all to the good.

If, say,hypothetcally, say someone was thinking a bout bringing to market a lively trail 29er with 12*142 back end, 30.9 seat tube, 68ish degree head angle and in purple then 1* drive train to tuck the back end in would be an acceptabe compromise (Am i right? Am I right?)

Incidentally, have settled on 34 front with 10* 11-42 as the set up, started with 30 tooth from but getting to the trails or fire roady bits were blooming tedious. Nowt against from mechs really but 1* is easier as I get older.

A more measured response than my first.

I do like them but if there was a bike I really liked that was 2x or 3x then it wouldn’t be a deal breaker. I’d considered having a 1x bike about four years ago when the Genesis Latitude came out but only got round to doing anything when I bought the Solaris a couple of years ago and thought “why not? I can always add a front mech if I don’t get on with it”. But after a couple of months where I did struggle to begin with, I’ve not thought about it a great deal.

Just built up a fat bike with 28T oval chainring and a 11-42T cassette so I’m definitely pro 1x but not fanatical about it.

I’ve been running a 1×10 with a 11-36 cassette and 28T ring up front. Been perfect for 2 years, never looked back. Range is more biased to the low side, I can spin out quite quick. Just pressed the button on a ‘proper’ 1×11 SRAM GX set up today on a 10 – 42 cassette and a 30T ring which can fix my lowest gear and give me a higher range. I really see no point in 2x or 3x systems now. Struggling to think of a single disadvantage. Plenty of issues/disadvantages with front chainrings and mech’s.

I’ve been really happy running 1x on my Dialled Alpine, never ran out of gears and accompanied by a Clutch mech/NW ring has got rid of the annoying chain drops 2x occasionally gave me.

I’d guess it would depend on what the bikes intention was as to whether not having the ability to run a front mech would have a knock on effect on sales.

I’d be happy to test a long, slack 29er for you though 😉

remove the front mech and instantly need a clutch rear mech, NW chainring and top/bottom guide AND lose a gear or two.

I went 1×10 on my FS, needed the rear mech, cassette, shifter and NW chainring. No need for top/bottom guide. I needed to buy new stuff anyway as the cassette was finished and the mech was bent. Overall what I bought extra then was the NW chainring. I have a chainguide for my HT as I don’t have a clutch mech.

Not for me thanks – but then I am a terminally late adopter

Same here – I don’t replace stuff until it really needs replacing.

Despite being able to correctly set up a front mech I do prefer a 1×11 setup although I occasionally miss having a higher gear on road drags but I try to keep those to a minimum. KS Lev southpaw where the front shifter should be – excellent.

Having said that 1 got my first 1×11 setup on a new bike and made sure that there was an option to fit a front mech if I didn’t like it 😉

soobalias – Member

remove the front mech and instantly need a clutch rear mech, NW chainring and top/bottom guide AND lose a gear or two.

Absolute rubbish tbh. A top guide is a nice-to-have, especially for harder use- as standard, 1x ring alone has superior chain retention to a dual ring setup but add a top guide and it’s essentially flawless for most people’s use. Clutch mech is not required, again it’s a nice to have (and equally nice to have on a 2x setup)

Poll was close to half and half, but as 1X people shout the loudest I reckon those results are screwed 😉

@ DezB – Don’t forget this is effectively the nursing home of mtb, though

TBH the 1x people have to shout to be heard over the people who’ve never tried it and don’t really understand it but have formed really strong opinions about it 😆

@Northwind

+1 about the NW chainring, not had a single dropped chain when using one. The only time I’ve dropped a chain was when I had to use a triple chainring as my cranks had fubarred and I also didn’t have the clutch mech engaged. I engaged the clutch and all was well for the rest of the ride. Not had a problem with NW ring without the clutch engaged.

I occasionally miss having a higher gear on road drags

apart from the expense of changing this is the constant niggle

edit: the NW support above is encouraging

Been running 1x setups on my main bike for the last 7 years. Recently went 1×11 on my new bike with a proper big range cassette and its superb – only bit I’ve walked up since getting it was Fremington Edge on the Ard Rock but since 99% of other people were and I had about another 20 miles to ride that day, I thought “why the hell not”?! Never go back – I want to 1x my cross bike as well.

remove the front mech and instantly need a clutch rear mech, NW chainring and top/bottom guide AND lose a gear or two

Agreed you need a NW chainring but there’s no need for a clutch mech or guides. As for the missing gears just power through (swoon)

My first setup was 1×9 all I did was fit a NW and remove 350g of ring, shifter, mech and cable. Those NWs are really good

Still running 1x on all my MTB’s

1 (32) x 11 (10 – 42) on my main man (TR Scout 27.5)

1 (34) x 10 (11 – 40) on my 26″ hardtail and the missus HL 5 spot.

Initially I missed the option to ‘dump’ onto the granny at any point, but not for long. It’s good to get rid of the mud magnet front mech and make space on the bars for the dropper remote.
I don’t miss the front mech at all.

I like it so much I’ve gone 1×11 on the road bike (well, commuter roadie)

I don’t ride up crazy steep stuff in Scotland or Wales so don’t really have a need for a granny. However what I do find with 1×11 is that I use a lot more of the block compared to having two or three rings on the front which in my book is a good thing. PLus not having the extra weight of the mech, shifter and cables and less faff makes it a winner in my book

…and don’t really understand it but have formed really strong opinions about it

Nope, I’ve looked but can’t see any of them… (not on this thread anyway!)

I wasn’t talking specifically about this thread but even so, you didn’t see Soobalias’s post?

1x with these new expanded cassettes is good when set up right with the main downside of reduced durability. Permanently banishing chainsuck, the faff of keeping front and rear shifting running sweet and almost non-existent chain drop suits me and I won’t be going back!

If I was selling 1x only bikes, I wouldn’t spec anything less than 11-42 with a choice of 30-32-34t up front dependant on wheel size, as you have to cater for a wider audience.

I know some manage 1x on standard cassettes but I found climbs easier with a 42 even over a 40. IMO You have to be pretty fit or the climbs relatively mild to push a 32-36 or 32-34 all day long on steep hills without going for a small ring up front.

Just to be clear I’m not against drivetrain choices. There are definitely applications that will demand at least a 2x set up.

Can we get steel NW rings yet that will wear at a similar rate to steel cassettes, the chain then being the weakest link 😆

chestercopperpot – Member

Can we get steel NW rings yet that will wear at a similar rate to steel cassettes,

SRAM make a steel narrow wide. I think it’s a subtle troll, putting the most durable chainring right beside the least durable bottom bracket. “We decided to improve the longevity of one part, can you guess which?”

But tbh with alu rings being so inexpensive it’s not a disaster to replace them every couple of chains.

@chestercopperpot – I’ve had a 40T extender from the start, it’s not often I use it but when I do I’m glad it’s there. I use it so infrequently the same one is married to its third cassette! I do have a replacement which will go on with the next cassette change but once that wears out I’ll be using a wide range cassette like the Sunrace.

Raceface BBs? Pfft! I’ve seen souffles with more strength. Mine failed completely after less than 1500Km of riding, replaced it with a Hope which is still good nearly 6000Km later.