Planning to convert my old, battered 140mm hardtail to 1×10 to try and shed some weight, and wondered what ratios people are running.

atm I’m angling towards 36 with 36-11 cassette but I’m worried this might not give me enough low gears.

Obvious alternative is 34 with 36-11

32 with 34-11 would work for low gears but wouldn’t be enough at the high end.

Any thoughts?

i’m running 34 – 11/36 and its fine for round me in Yorkshire

So far, I’ve only struggled on one hill that was just steep AND long on the way up to Weets Top. A quick breather and I was fine after that

its a heavy-ish bike as well but I’ve found with a 34/36 ratio that you can get up pretty much anything as long as you can tell your legs that they dont hurt!

I wouldnt want to do long XC days on this bike but I have done a few 5 hr rides and its been fine

I run 11-36 with a 36t ring, it’s fine, wouldn’t change.

No point using anything but an 11-36 cassette with 10 speed IMO, otherwise just stick with 9.

Great, thanks! I do like this forum 🙂

Good point re the cassette, njee20

I’ve been trying 32/32 with my current triple ring setup and I’m worried it’s not quite low enough for long drawn out climbs.
But then I figure if that was my lowest ratio I’d get used to it, like I did when I went SS for a year.

Go 34 then, slightly easier gear with an 11-36 cassette, and more top end.

34 front 11-36 out back.

I’ve gone 32- I miss the higher gear occasionally but not as much as I’d miss the lower gear on a long day (it’s not the steeps, it’s the drags)

I’m a little bit of a pedal masher though, and what I found surprised me, i get up to the 32/11 and spin like mad and it only bloody works! If I had a higher one, I’d be in that and just stamping harder and probably not going as fast. It also makes me feel like a boss.

35 up front and 11-36 on my Meta5. Not had any issues with the ratios so far.

right (controversial point coming)
what other people do it not worth listening to unless you know where they live, what sort of cadence they do and how they ride.
If you are a fast spinner then you can get away with a lower front (better for 1x setups)
If you are not or live somewhere with proper hills (20% or more) then you might not.
It is very personal 🙂

It’s quite possible to run 2x with 32/34&36 so try that for a bit and see how you go keeping it in 1 ring.

what other people do it not worth listening to unless you know where they live, what sort of cadence they do and how they ride.

+1, and how fit they are, and what sort of bike they’re on etc etc.

Doesn’t mean you can’t canvass for popular opinion though.

For me , 32 and 11-36
Ride fod , afan and local stuff
I like spin rather than push a big gear
Top gear still gives 20 mph on the road

too add the one I forgot that I normally make….

I can’t get the top speed I want from less than 36, my legs don’t go that fast. Also when in the tech stuff I prefer my 1 crank to do something useful.

36 and 11-36 on my meta AM, just about drag it up most stuff so would do the same for HT, in fact that would give me one lower gear than HT currently has. You will adapt to your lowest gear pretty quickly if you ride a fair bit.

You’ve just got to bite the bullet and try it. I’ve got 11/36 on rear and 36 up front. If I’m killing myself on the odd hill, I’ll walk the bike to the top, I ain’t proud. If legs are spinning frantically downhill, I’ll freewheel. You just gotta get used to it, but its worth a try.

I’ve got 32 to 12-36, it’s low on the downhills, but not unbearably slow. Certainly by the time I’m in 32-12 there’s not much to be gained by pedaling, and if there is then the track’s too boring to wory about it.

I used to use a 38t on a hardtail and just about survived, I’d not use it on a FS though as it relied on being able to stand up and really heave on it, FS would just bob.

My most used bike is SS though so struggling in too high a gear followed by freewheeling is second nature. The FS just exagerates the speeds they happen (struggles in an easier gear on the way up due to pedaling ineficiency, struggles on the way down as it picks up more speed so you spin out of a higher gear) so 1×10 on the FS is like SS on the HT.

Thanks all.

I quite enjoy technical climbing so 34/36-11 seems the best way forward.

Was planning to invest in a Renthal chainring but those new Works Components XX1 clones have caught my eye too…

I used a 34 up front with a 11-32 at the back when going 9 speed. At times I wished for another low gear. Now running 34/36-11 and it made a nice difference. When changing the fron ring I may go 32 as I only ever spin out on the road, and would find a lower gear a little more useful, even if it was used only every once in a while. There may also be a little more ground clearance, but that is not such an issue with a hardtail.

I’ve got 32 to 12-36, it’s low on the downhills, but not unbearably slow. Certainly by the time I’m in 32-12 there’s not much to be gained by pedaling, and if there is then the track’s too boring to wory about it.

+1

RicB – Member

Was planning to invest in a Renthal chainring but those new Works Components XX1 clones have caught my eye too.

Very good, these. Remains to be seen how they last, mind but then normal single rings last for a very long time so even if it lasts half as long that’s fine by me.

Doesn’t work for me, but I’m not a fast spinner. If I put 1 pedal stroke in I want it to mean something. I rode something with 32 up front a while ago, felt like spinning out all the time.

I run 34 up front mated to an 11-36, but that’s on an 650b XC race bike though.

I’m assuming the bike is currently in use? Probably has a 32 tooth middle ring?

Just ride that for a bit, don’t change up or down at the front. If you find you are doing fine, then that’s great. If you want a bigger chainring, it will give a good guide rather than going for a 36 and needing less…

I can ride a 32x 1x system find 90% of the time… But when I go to the Peaks etc, I need the granny. Don’t get ride just because you think it’s cool!

I run a 33 on the front and an 11-36 on the back, live in Peak, am a pretty average rider and find that’ll get me up everything though very occasionally, mostly descending on the road to be honest, I’d like a slightly higher gear.

I used to run 32:16 singlespeed on the same trails, so I’m not averse to pushing biggish gears, but I can’t see anything other than misery with a 36-tooth chainring round here, you could ride it, sure, but why bother with gears at all in that case.

Whatever you do, get an unramped chainring. I’m using a Surly stainless one and it’s ace and should last a long time and a Superstar top-guide thing and it works fine.