1x Gear Set-Ups

chestercopperpot – Member

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

Wolf tooth do a cool thing with direct mount carriers and lightweight stainless outer rings called CAMO (or lightweight alloy outers too)

It’s sort of direct mount but with 5 bolts. Which isn’t really direct mount. But still good, and light.

CAMO

Love the concept. Leaves left side of handle bar free for dropper (in for a penny….). I think the manufacturers have overlooked the perfect chain line though, and have fobbed us off at present. 1 x with an oval ring here, i need all my gears (32 front, 11/42 rear), and use them all every ride. Tis hilly round ere. Aesthetically is definitely better too. Never drop a chain.

Sitting here staring at a drawing and trying to decide whether to delete the front mech cable stop or not. No harm in keeping it I suppose. Keeps peoples’ options open.

I’ve 1x, 2x and 3x systems in use. They each have their merits for different types of riding. The only one I’d not build now would be 3x, just because 2x can be made to cover the same range.

I’ve ruled out several frames as being incompatible with a front mech and I know others who’ve done the same. I expect to see fewer 1x specific frames next year.

@ Northwind – I know but one steel ring doesn’t weight much more so may as well have them you know! In heavy use/abuse scenarios if I was speccing bikes to sell I wound’t want pissed off customers returning with chain drop after say 10-11 months.

It’s ok for after-market not so much new sales.

@ Northwind – 94 BCD man WTF 104 come on 😉

Paxis Works, 60 quid though 😯 it’s made of steel not gold! Where’s all this cheap Chinese steel they keep going on about?

Have yet to see any point in a single chain ring. Why?
This.
Cannot ever remember breaking a front mech or even have one stop working. Rear yes and when they do you can sometime actually get home with pleasure with more than 1 gear and more than one chain ring.
So zero disadvantage with front mechs. They don’t clog up either and mean that you don’t always need such a longer rear one either. Which breaks more easily .
A single ring means whopping great gaps in the cassette. Maybe not an issue to anyone brought up on MTBs with gaps but for those of us cycling before then the gaps mean that you cannot get a decent and consistent cadence going. a 2 tooth jump is big enough and really almost more than ideal.
I know that bigger wheels than before mean that lower gears are needed for the same degree of effort up hill but its getting silly. I don’t see any more riding of silly steep hills now than I did 30 + years ago. Of course riders are more varied nowadays.
Back then, I suppose, the percentage of cyclists in general, commuters aside, was more enthusiastic, ie people didn’t dabble at it as they do today so maybe the mass market for making things easier wasn’t there.
The single chain ring will stick around for a bit but soon people will decide to re-invent some new fangled triple chainset idea and the fashion will change.

Best drivetrain i’ve ever ridden:

32(oval) x 50 Di2 XTR 😆

i liked 1×10, had a 32 or 34t (for racing) and 11-36 out back but for the grippiest of gloopy or loose climbs i ran out of options so went back to my 26/38 double up front. As others have mentioned with the new 11 speed options going to 46t out back i should think with a 32t up front this should enable me to go back to 1x.

That XTR looks sweet.

Been using Rival CX 11×1.

I like the lack of faffing in the mud.

Great to use on the road in colder/winter.

Faster I get, the more I notice the jumps between changes and looking forward to using my double in spring/summer.

Good gearing choice helps but the some of top end X-drive cassettes are a but expensive.

Front mechs do clog up, they also reduce chain life – I used to get through 2 or 3 chains a year with a 2x setup, now i’ll get a chain to last a whole season. Changing between rings was grindy and clattery, sometimes dropped chains. Ditching the front mech and reducing the parts count just makes things simpler and just works better. I’ve got all the range I need with my 1×10 setup and it’s just simple and works. It’s never clogged up, never dropped a chain, far more mechanically sympathetic.

If you get on fine with a 2 or 3 by setup then fine, but I’ve ridden them both and prefer a 1 by, by far.

How does a front mech’ wear out a chain?

Remember that many folk on here are mechanically incompetent, though we are now seeing less of the “I can’t set up a front mech” posts.

Can’t say I’ve ever had a problem with front mechs getting clogged up. Frozen rears are more of an issue, at which point having a working front at least gives the choice of 2 or 3 ratios.

I’ve even gone single ring on my road bike…

I’ve never had problems with front mechs in terms of adjustment or shifting. But they don’t hold the chain on anywhere near as well as a narrow-wide ring does, especially without a chain guide. Before NW rings were invented I’d gone 1×9 and then 1×10 for the chain retention with a singlespeed ring and simple guide and the simplicity of shifting and mud clearance.

I like 1x a lot – with smaller cassettes it feels like a better version of singlespeeding and with bigger cassettes a better version of 3x! The only problem with it is if my wife rides my bike she may struggle without such low gears (my lowest on both is 32/36) but I’ll be pulling a small child and carrying a toddler on the 2x bike so maybe it’ll be ok!

I’ve never had a front mech clog up solid enough to stop a chain but they’re definitely a chokepoint for mud, more so on some frames than others- I remember doing an early UKGE round with sticky mud and everything was full of slimy, sticky crap- and the front mech was gathering it up and mashing it into the chain. It’s not really that big a deal IMO but it’s nice to have one less thing to trap mud.

(I made a little mud shield that deflected mud away from the mech on one of my hardtails, I forget which- it was short of clearance and it really helped)

It’s funny, I was thinking about this on Friday.

My hardtail has 1×10 32 front with an 42 expander at the back. It’s hilly here (edge of exmoor) and for most rides that’s all the range I need and the set up has been very hassle free in the two years I’ve run it. I do sometimes run out of gears on flat pedally trails and a few hours into an exmoor ride I miss the lowest gears I’ve lost compared to a 2 x 10. I don’t like pushing if I could ride it.

My FS has 2 x10 slx. Rode it on Friday and nailed a particularly steep techy climb for only the second time. It was a really fun ride and I came away thinking that there was no real disadvantage to 2 x10 – it shifted flawlessly, I avoided pushing anywhere, my chain didn’t drop and, being fairly intelligent, I was not confused to the extent that my ride was ruined by having to cope with 20 instead of 10 gears as certain (MBUK I’m looking at you) mags would have us believe.

So I’m kinda not that fussed either way, 1 x wouldn’t stop me buying a bike but I wouldn’t search it out either.
I think the expanded range cassettes are probably a good thing since they are starting to give back the range you would have had with 2 x 10 but I have a nagging feeling that it’s just bringing 1x set ups to a place where there was already a decent solution.

Run the front mech cable guides down the downtube (or use p-clips off bottle bosses) for side swing mechs – they have an integrated cable stop.
Keeps options open and keeps things clean. They also shift better than any other front mech type.

How does a front mech’ wear out a chain?

It wears the gold/black/other coating off the outside, then you have to buy a new one because it starts to look rubbish of course 😉

I’ve heard very good things about these new side swing front mechs – and the cable can share the same routing as the stealth dropper guides.

C’mon Mike, you can’t leave us all dangling like that! Where’s the Albert 29?

Best stealth add evah!

Edit: just had a look at ‘website’, still no wiser

Not fussed either way: My main mtb is 1×10 (only 11or12-36 at the back though) and I can get it up pretty much anything I want and don’t run out of revs at full speed (perhaps being a lazy freewheeling git helps 😳 )

Fair enough, 1x offers frame makers the option to use bigger tyres and still keep short chainstays – which some people seem desperate for

The 2x alternative (or the extreme solution for 1x/short stays/big tyres) is some variation of boost hub, maybe with a bigger Q factor chainset

However, it does seem odd to me that “we” mostly seem ded keen for gearboxes (centralised, non-suspended weight being two of the most cited advantages) but then in the same breath also embrace **** MASSIVE cassettes that are either heavy or extortionately priced for wear and tear parts

Scaredypants – side swing mech improves tyre clearance on short cs bikes or those with huge tyres. Doesn’t have to be 1x specific to go down that route.

thestabiliser – Member

C’mon Mike, you can’t leave us all dangling like that! Where’s the Albert 29?

Best stealth add evah!

Edit: just had a look at ‘website’, still no wiser

I shelved the PA29’er. Might revive it one day, but currently working on a couple of 27.5 projects and a new 4X/fukkabout frame.

Website is gonna be down for a while. Just using Instagram for now.

Have yet to see any point in a single chain ring. Why?
This.
Cannot ever remember breaking a front mech or even have one stop working. Rear yes and when they do you can sometime actually get home with pleasure with more than 1 gear and more than one chain ring.

as awesome as it is riding with that fear I reckon it’s happened only once or twice in 10 years so I’m happy to sacrifice it

So zero disadvantage with front mechs. They don’t clog up either and mean that you don’t always need such a longer rear one either. Which breaks more easily .

Zero disadvantage? It moves the chain by force, it needs it’s own shifter, it needs a cable and stops, the cable runs are never that friendly for a front mech based on where it is. Also I think my 1x Mech is the same length as the 2x it replaced.

A single ring means whopping great gaps in the cassette. Maybe not an issue to anyone brought up on MTBs with gaps but for those of us cycling before then the gaps mean that you cannot get a decent and consistent cadence going. a 2 tooth jump is big enough and really almost more than ideal.

Whereas on a tight block on the road bike it mostly feels like your clicking way more for no actual difference, constant cadance sounds great if your riding constant terrain but it’s mountain biking where we generally don’t unless your rolling fire roads.

The single chain ring will stick around for a bit but soon people will decide to re-invent some new fangled triple chainset idea and the fashion will change.

Fashion seems to be the way to dismiss it, same as wide bard – crap really but fashion says, like carbon and rear suspension and disc brakes…

Simply for me having been 1x for the last 2 1/2 years on both my XC and trail/enduro bike it just works. Full Stop!
Currently running SRAM GX with a range close to my old 2x setup, top speeds are similar, hills climable are the same.
Chain retention is great, longevity is up there too.
Chainline seems to be the realm of the geeks, personally I moved 1 BB spacer and it runs great.
No Chain device – needed a roller for 2x
Simple gear changes, none of those massive gaps from using 2x
Good positive changes across the cassette the resonable gaps work as when I change I expect a change!!
10-42 seems a good range, if I was selling new built ikes I’d look at putting XD drivers on the wheels from the start.

I still bet in a couple of years time you will be sold 2x on the basis of lighter ( no dinner plate cassette) less gaps between ratios and better chainline and better wear characteristics .

1x gear trains with huge rear sprockets are fashion led to get folk to buy stuff,

To answer the OP – I am not really a new bike buyer but I would never buy a bike that couldn’t fit a front mech unless it had a gearbox / hub gear.

Would people be put off buying your bikes if it had the ability to fit a mech? would they be put of buying if the frame did not have the ability to fit a front mech? I suggest the second group is much smaller than the first.

1x gear trains with huge rear sprockets are fashion led to get folk to buy stuff,

Started 1x back in 2009, passed on it as I wasn’t riding enough to keep the required fitness up, nothing to do with fashion just wanted chain retention.
Now I have it because it does what I need better with less faff than a 2x setup. How is that fashion?
Dinner Plate Cassette sounds more like the fashion victim….

If you don’t have a dinner plate cassette with 1x gearing you do not have the gear range required for the sort of riding I like.

Ok – for most its fashion led not utility led

What I mean is using the term “Dinner Plate Cassette” makes people sound fashion victims putting looks ahead for function.

I presume those that don’t like 1x yet are reasonably fit riders, either haven’t tried it or have a relatively narrow range of comfortable pedalling cadences. Any engine (mechanical or human) will have various power curves caused by a variance in ability to generate torque at different revs. The more power you can generate at low revs relative to your peak power at optimum revs, the less low your gears need to go etc.

Though with the latest 1×12 and expanded 1×11 the gear range is pretty huge.

if you don’t have a dinner plate cassette with 1x gearing you do not have the gear range required for the sort of riding I like.

I know it’s fallen somewhat out of fashion now but plenty of people ride singlespeed, up hills that challenge many riders with gears. Why would you assume that someone whose lowest gear is 50% higher than the lowest you personally need to get up a hill cannot ride up that hill? Do you honestly believe that it’s impossible for someone to generate equal power to you at 2/3 the cadence, so maybe 40rpm vs 60rpm – are you so awesome that no-one’s legs can be 50% stronger than yours?

tjagain – member

If you don’t have a dinner plate cassette with 1x gearing you do not have the gear range required for the sort of riding I like.

Ok – for most its fashion led not utility led

Is there anything wrong with being fashion led? It’s a bike, for having fun on, not a political ideology.

I like it, but sometimes I regret having to push harder rather than being able to spin up something steep (32 at the front, 11-40 at the back). But I also then regret all those bacon butties over the years that made it that hard.

I don’t like it because its a system that creates more wear and is weaker. a solution in search of a problem.

I think tho I probably use my gears differently to most. I have ( on my only bike left with a dérailleur) it set up so I have 8 low range gears and 8 high range gears. (2×9 setup) Drop onto the granny ring at the bottom of a climb and use 6 or 7 gears for climbing then back onto big ring at the top – ie I use it like the low range in a landrover so I never have bad front shifts as they are done under no pressure before the climb. Most folk seem to use a 2x setup as a 1x with a bailout gear so try to change at the front when its under pressure.

Using the gears the way I do means much improved chainline over a 1x setup

Cheifgroove guru – you miss my point. lots of the rides I do have long steep climbs I need those very low gears. I also do not drive to ride – so need a high gear for thed road home. 400% gear range is the minimum I need, to get that on 1x gearing means huge jumps between gears and also spending time on climbs in 1st which has a horrid chainline. On a 2x setup I might be in third on the same climb – with a nice chainline

I love it 99% of the time – only drawback is that if you’re in the larger sprockets and need to backpedal, for example, to ride a step on a climb, or if you put your foot down and need to get the crank level to set off again, the chain will jump down the cassette. I ride XT 1×11.

There is less wear and tear on a 1x setup. My chain life is 2 to 3 times better since moving over to 1x, there is far less wear on the chain and i’ve never snapped a chain on my 1x setup whereas it was not uncommon with my 2x setup. The chain is bent sideways alot when you operate the front mech, especially on upshifts, this is what puts the strain and wear on the chain.

Although cassette wear is slightly worse with my 1x, chainring wear is almost non-existent. I used to go through a small chainring every couple or so years with my 2x setup.

My 1x setup is so trouble free and maintenance free that I forget to actually check it.

I’ve been using 1×10 setups on a couple of Genesis Alpitudes (one on the Isle of Man, one in Greece) and get on with it just fine – maybe because I ride singlespeeds more than geared bikes anyway.
However, I recently bought a s/h Liteville 301 which came set-up as 2×10. My first impulse was to convert it to 1×10 too but I tried it a few times as it was. What impressed me most was what a good bike it is for technical, rocky climbs and how nice it is to have seriously low gears to winch yourself up stuff like that. Ok, it might be no quicker than walking/pushing but I like to clean stuff like that, not take a bike for a walk.

So, time will tell I suppose – it might still end up running something like a 28t chainring and 11-46 cassette.

tjagain – Member

lots of the rides I do have long steep climbs I need those very low gears. I also do not drive to ride – so need a high gear for thed road home.

Sounds to me like you need a double. Have you considered ditching your 1x setup?