Hi guys,

Can anyone offer me some advice one the difference in gear range on a 2×10 and 1×11. I understand all the obvious benefits, weight savings no dropped chains an all that, but I’m after some advice from someone who has gone from 2x to 1x, have they found climbing more difficult or long rides needing faster gears.
I’m thinking of purchasing a whyte t130 single chain ring and I’d be pig sick if I was disappointed with the gear range because it can’t be converted to 2×10.
Cheers

Sram 11st (10-42) vs 2×10

Basically for any chain ring you can see what you do and don’t get. I think you can end up with 2 1/2 gears missing with 11sp

I’m running a 30t up front, have used 32 and 34 as well. Depends on your riding and fitness really. I find I have more useful gears. IYou will need to go XX1 for 28t option

someone who has gone from 2x to 1x, have they found climbing more difficult or long rides needing faster gears.

*raises hand* had no issues at all. As it happens I went from 3×9 to 1×11 and don’t miss the granny or big ring. So much so that all my mtbs are now 1×11. Note that this is with a sram 10-42 cassette, 30t on the (effectively a 29er) fatbike, 32t on 26″ ht and 27.5 fs trail bike and 34t on the 165mm 27.5″ ‘gravity’ bike

I love the idea of 1×11 but I don’t love the cost.

To be honest I will be moving to 1×11 when I can get it sorted on my XC bike, 1×10 on my trail bike 11-40. That is a bit limiting (as the numbers above show)

For SRAM 1×11 I’d be looming at 32t unless it was really hilly. The leaves you with the range of roughly 2x with a 12-32 cassette. I would have a 30t in the spares box for certain things (like this Sunday when I’m racing a lot of long ups and I’m not feeling on good form)

I’m currently riding a 29er 2×10 and to be honest it’s only the steepest of climbs I use the two larger rings, should fine judging buy what you guys are saying.
Cheers

There is a lot to be said for spiderless/splined crank interfaces. I own a 28T ring. I don’t use it, but I could…

😉

I have gone from a 3×9 to 2×10 to 1×10 and then 1×11, the 1xX gearing is the best mod I’ve done and it’s now the standard for anything I would buy in the future. I live on the South Downs so most of my riding is about either going up or coming back down again 😀 When I first converted from 2X10 to 1×10 I made sure the low gearing was pretty much the same so I was confident in climbing my local hills, this ended up with a 30t chainring and I have stuck with this. It does mean that on my 1×10 bike I spin out on the downhill sections but I’m fine with that and happy to let gravity do its thang. I’ve been over to Afan for a weekend when my bike was 1×10 and had no problem with the climbing or decents there!

Personally I wouldn’t go back to 2×10

The top end on the 2×10 is pointless anyway. 28t chainring, 11sp, job done, not missing any usable gears.

Ive 1×10 on my 29er hardtail, hardest gear is 32×11, I have never spun out on it off road. Tried on road down a hill recently, think I spun out at about 32mph, the 38×11 on the 2×10 is pretty pointless.

Have not touched the 10t on my trail bike with a 3030t ring either

Ive 1×10 on my 29er hardtail, hardest gear is 32×11, I have never spun out on it off road. Tried on road down a hill recently, think I spun out at about 32mph, the 38×11 on the 2×10 is pretty pointless.

You may reach terminal pedalling velocity higher, but 32-11 is very skinny above about 22mph, so slight downhills on the road (not all of us drive to ride) can be a pain. 1×11 (SRAM at least) mitigates this.

1×11 is great for me, but you’re not me OP, it may be great for you, but it may not.

deanfbm – Member
The top end on the 2×10 is pointless anyway. 28t chainring, 11sp, job done, not missing any usable gears.

for you, you would not be everyone one. I can think of lots of times I’d like harder gears than that. I was racing and hammering in 39t it is useful sometimes to have more range.

I went from 3×9 to 2×9 when I fitted a bash – then 1×9 when my shifter packed in

I then went to 1×10 (34 with an 11-36 cassette) and it was fine – if a little hard on longer climbs. But you got used to it over time

I then had a bit of time off the bike – and when I went back I just put an extender on so now it’s 34 with 11-40

As njee said – it worked for me. I suppose the only way to find out is to try it before buying but you’ll grow into it

EDIT: I don’t really race

I just don’t get it.

I tried 1×10 for six months on my Solaris: 28T NW chainring, 42 tooth sprocket and a RAD cage. It worked just fine. The downsides were not that great and if I neeed to go 1x to get the geometry I wanted I might consider it, but overall I just couldn’t see the point.

Once I’ve set it up I’ve rarely had to touch a front mech. They’ve never given me any problems, they weigh next to nothing and I don’t drop chains.

The 1×10 setup meant I didn’t have a big enough gear for road sections and my bottom gear was still 10% higher than the 22×36 I had with my 2×10 setup. I could still get up everything I could ride before, but after six months I developed a sharp pain in my left knee. It may have been coincidence, but it’s getting better now that I’ve gone back to 2×10.

Also, I may hardly ever use my lowest (22×36) gear. But when I do want it (like at the end of a long day) I really want it.

Still, each to their own.

I agree with roverpig. Phrases like “you get used to” not having a proper bottom gear and the idea that nobody should ever want to pedal above ~20mph seem ridiculous to me.

So as with everything, it’s horses for courses, and 1x is not for me.

Phrases like “you get used to” not having a proper bottom gear and the idea that nobody should ever want to pedal above ~20mph seem ridiculous to me.

Take a look at the chart at the top, see what a 32t 10-42 covers. It covers a hell of a lot of it.

EDIT: I don’t really race

I do, and still find it fine (as was 1×10 with 36t and 11-36), so that’s another use case it works for 🙂

Phrases like “you get used to” not having a proper bottom gear and the idea that nobody should ever want to pedal above ~20mph seem ridiculous to me.

But it’s not always like that, it’s personal. I agree, I don’t want to compromise, I don’t want to walk up hills or ‘get used to’ anything. I find 1×11 perfect for what I want to do. I’ve taken my MTB on road group rides, and averaged >20mph, barely touching the 10t (32t chainring). It’s more than enough up to about 26mph (far better than the 11t).

That still may not suit, but for me, it’s perfect, not a compromise in the least.

I was worried about spinning out, in reality with a 32t front ring – no chance. Still hitting 35mph+ downhill.

Agree Sunday + Rover, I just couldn’t see 1x working for me. I’m still running 3x as it came on the bike. I rarely use the big ring (Although I have) so could go 2x easily enough but 1x just wouldn’t give me the range and saving a few grams just isn’t worth it.

The only think that comes close to offering the range would be 10-42 but I’m not in the habit of spending more to get less as I really can’t see the point.

32×10 @ 35mph is about 140rpm, and you’re nowhere near spinning out ??

The biggest difference is the ££££. The gear range is near enough the same. I’ve had 1×10 (32 to 11-36) on bikes before and it was a comprimise in terms of simplicity and ground clerance Vs gears, and it was good for it’s intended purpose, but 2×10 is good at other things. 1×11 is just a no comprimise option, but it costs ££££ where 2×10 SLX or X5/X7 just does the job.

Been using 2×9 for years and then spec’d the new bike with SRAM XX1. Bloody love it personally! Hasn’t stopped me getting up any of the climbs I do, plenty gears for pointing down the way, raced with it and used it for a week in the Alps last year. One of the best bits of kits I’ve used. It is expensive, but any other new bike I would choose in the future will have it too.

32×10 @ 35mph is about 140rpm, and you’re nowhere near spinning out ??

It’s a bit over 120rpm with 2.3″ tyres, so getting very spinny, but not quite as implausible. Point is that it’s good up to c30mph, and even on the road I rarely pedal much above that, crouching is more effective!

From memory/feel it was about 28/29mph that 39/11 got too spinny for me to bother pedalling and just tuck on a decent.

Prices will most likely come down in a year or so like any new kit. At least I hope so. I’m new to Sram drivetrains but very impressed with X1 so far.

Prices will come down when SRAM start doing different things with cassettes I’d say, X1 is getting there, but it’s still all quite intricate (and hence lighter than XTR 10 speed, despite the increased number and size of sprockets).

When you can get a heavy pinned steel cassette we’ll see prices nearer £50 or so I reckon.

The thing that everyone seems to miss when talking about 1×11 vs 2×10 vs 1×10 is the effect of chain ring size upon how your suspension works. Bikes that climb well in a granny ring will bob loads in a middle ring. Bikes that climb well in the middle ring will stiffen up too much in the granny ring.

I’ve just had a look through my Strava data and on the odd road segment I’m frequently hitting over 30mph downhill and not spinning out with 32-11 27.5″ or 34-11 26″. On the steepest quickest bits I occasionally hit 40mph and that’s too fast for my legs to add anything but who pedals that fast off-road?

When you can get a heavy pinned steel cassette we’ll see prices nearer £50 or so I reckon.

But what’s the point then? Instead you could run a double with minimum weight penalty but improved gear ratio’s.

i went from a 3×10 set up to a 1×10 set up after spending a few months experimenting on a single speed. all wagon wheelers (which i love)

i know its not exactly what the op was asking but i managed much better than i though i would with less gears. i’m not really bothered about the weight saving (or racing these days) but i think gearing is ultimately dictated by were you ride and how you ride.

if i lived somewhere flatter, id be running a single speed set up all the time. I’m also riding alone almost all the time so choosing to limit things a bit makes sure I’m still making life hard…

But what’s the point then? Instead you could run a double with minimum weight penalty but improved gear ratio’s.

It’ll still weigh less, simplicity, better chain line, reduced wear, aesthetics. Dunno, I’m not that fussed by the cost of the current stuff! As I said in my previous post though, 1×11 isn’t a compromise for me, functionally I prefer it to 2×10. I don’t need a wider range, it brings nothing.

But I was merely pointing out that SRAM XX1/X01 are not expensive solely because it’s new.

One of the advantages is the disadvantage. It’s a bit like singlespeed, sometimes it’s just nice to be forced into a set of gears, the reduced range stops me from twiddling up hills and also helped cure me of my too-high-gear descending. it doesn’t really make sense but neither does just about anything else about mountain biking.

Also last night I set up a front mech for the first time in ages and that can **** off. On the other hand… It’s now snowing and the one thing 1x gearing is really bad at is snow, since you can’t do the “steady power in a low gear” thing

On 40 front with 11 rear 43 mph downhill it the limit of where the spinning legs become blurry in motion…

It makes me wonder how do people cope with those steep, rooty, muddy climbs having single ring (32 or 30) – there are some around that the only way of getting to the top (at least for me) is getting to 24-36 and try to spin as gently as possible, controlling the rear wheel not to over-spin too much. No chance I’d make it on my middle ring (which is 30t)!
In the summer – no problem, you can even stand on the pedals. But does it work in winter glop? I’m talking about the mentioned technical and steep climbs…

Pretty certain there are some very steep, very technical and sometimes very long climbs which my mates and I wouldn’t be able to ride up if we didn’t have a granny ring. Depends where you ride, I guess, and how happy you are to get off and push once in a while. Or am I wrong? Can a 1 x set-up give you as low a gear as the lowest 2 x?

Ride singlespeed for a few months then 1 x anything will seem easy.

Can a 1 x set-up give you as low a gear as the lowest 2 x?

It can, depends entirely on chainring size. I used to run a 32/44 double, with an 11-34. Even accounting for different wheelsizes I now have an easier gear with 1×11 on a 32t ring.

We’re all different though. I’ve not had smaller than a 28t chainring in 10 years, and don’t miss it. I’m fairly fit, the bike’s quite light, I’m not seeking the most crazy technical climbs I can. IMO by the time you’re in 22-32 or whatever you’ve got so little momentum that you’ll stall on anything tough anyway. A bit more speed works in your favour, and I’m strong enough to be able to make it work.

I can’t think of any climb at all that I’ve failed on 1×11 that I would have made if I’d had a lower gear, and I can only think of two climbs full stop that I’ve failed on – one I’ve never cleaned, and only seen one person do it, one I’ve done in the dry, but just too steep in the wet, again it’s a minority who clear it.

That’s not to say it’s perfect, but for me it works very well indeed.

Can a 1 x set-up give you as low a gear as the lowest 2 x?

it *can* (dependant on the c/ring choice) but I found that if I was in the grany ring on my 3×9, and getting into the biggest sprocket, (22-34) I’d be faster walking anyway.

Pretty certain there are some very steep, very technical and sometimes very long climbs which my mates and I wouldn’t be able to ride up if we didn’t have a granny ring. Depends where you ride, I guess, and how happy you are to get off and push once in a while. Or am I wrong? Can a 1 x set-up give you as low a gear as the lowest 2 x?

30-42 is as close as you can get to the same gear as 24-34. And as he said, by that point you’d be quicker walking the bike up so probably only going to use that gear for short periods to get over obstacles without stopping.

Ride singlespeed for a few months then 1 x anything will seem easy

It’s not quite the same, SS is usualy rigid so mashing the pedals is fine, do that on a FS and you’ll go nowhere just bob horribly. It’s also lighter at the back which makes climbing over obstacles easier, and there’s the certainty it’s not going to skip or slip, I’m not quite so agresive on a geared bike just becasue theres that 1in100 chance the chain will snap, gear slip, gost shifting, or any other problem and pummel my nuts into the stem!

Can a 1 x set-up give you as low a gear as the lowest 2 x?

Not according to that SRAM chart above, you’d need a 28t chainring which seems far too small for flat and DH riding…and that only takes you down to the ratio provided by a 24t granny on their chart, most of my Shimano ‘double and bash stuff’ has had 22/36 as the chainrings….a 22t x 36 lowest ratio is lower than that SRAM 28t x 42 on that chart…which always brings me back to sitting firmly in the ‘whats the point?’ camp….

For steep, techy uphill stuff i love being able to stick it on the 22t granny and have a huge range of low gears…and for pedalling on the flat and certainly on DH stuff i like to have the 36t chainring and then the spread of gears out back with nice close ratios.

I ran a 1 x 9 setup on the hardtail when i bought it and didnt like it, uphills were a slog and i could spin out downhill…seemed a lovely idea for the simplicity of dropping a shifter from the bars and reducing clutter but in reality it only provided me with the gears i wanted for the middle ground of any particular ride…as soon as anything became extreme uphill or extreme downhill i didnt have the suitable gears and after a while this started to grate, i’m not interested in getting off and walking up hills i know i can cycle up with the appropriate gears so i soon fitted a double and bash to that bike…perfect, no large gaps in ratios, no loss of gear ratios at the extreme ends…a gear for every situation basically and for me thats what a MTB is about.

re. the dropped chain thing, admittedly i wasnt using a narrow/wide chainring on the 1 x 9 but i lost the chain off the front a few times, it wasnt any better for chain retention than any other groupset i’ve ridden, i can count on one hand the number of times i’ve lost the chain from the chainset on a ‘double and bash’ setup.

Cost is an issue for me too, in my opinion MTBing should be (fairly) cheap, we ride bicycles not hi-tech, over engineered motor vehicles…the chain is still shifted by derailleurs and our legs still provide the ‘engine’….in the grand scheme of things they are not particularly difficult to build and maintain…

…so spending money on a clutch mech, bash guard, chain device, narrow/wide chainring, expander sprocket, RAD cage, replacement 16t sprocket to compensate for the jump in ratios you’ve created etc etc….just seems mental when i can order a new 2 x 10 drivetrain from Ribble for £145….the SRAM 11-speed groupset is around £500 from most places, that rules me out when is doesnt give me anything that a 2 x 10 doesnt already have…in fact it takes away ratios!

I dont get it either.

I’m not sure why this is such a divisive topic, what works for others may not work for you. Simple.

For steep, techy uphill stuff i love being able to stick it on the 22t granny and have a huge range of low gears…and for pedalling on the flat and certainly on DH stuff i like to have the 36t chainring and then the spread of gears out back with nice close ratios.

Am I right in thinking you’re a Surrey Hills native? If so we’re riding the same trails, and personally, I have absolutely no use for a 22t there! That’s not to say you don’t, but apart from the aforementioned two climbs I’ve struggled with (and would do so irrespective of chainring size), 1×11 has been fine, in fact 1×10 was absolutely fine too. What prompted me to change was realising that I was doing 30 miles up there without coming out of the 42t outer when I was running 2×10.

I have 2×9 and 27 to 34 is about as spinny as I think sensible, with the option of standing if it is steeper. Much more than that and it is bordering on unridable.

I was toying with a 1×10 setup and a 30 front ring to 40 rear would be almost as spinny I reckon.