At the moment on my 2009 5 I have the regular 3 x 9 xt.

I’m asking the view of the collective do I go sram 1 x 12 eagle nx

The conversion is not such a big deal and with eBay bits I can do it for under £100 ish

However does it make sense and will my legs be up to it

I can do my regular ride now totally in the middle front ring without only a bit of a knee killer on a short section ( I’m 56 and getting back into riding again)

So over to you lot

Gear Calculator

Should help you work it out for yourself? I’m a tired 48 year old with a 32/ 11-50 set up and reckon there is little that could stop me.

Cheers theboatman, like all these things it’s a bit the unknown I guess.

I’m fine fitting the bits and can set up, it’s just the unknown I guess

You can still have the same low and high gears that you would have with the 3×9 just not as many in between. In fact you can probably go lower than you would with 3×9 so I wouldn’t worry about lack of climbing gears.

Got a dropper? Wider bars? Tubeless?
3×9 here and there’s nothing wrong with it, (as long as you are competent at changing gear and setting up a simple mech.)
I’d spend the money elsewhere.

APF

Cheers Jordan, I’ve just checked the low ratio from theboatmans post and as you said the ratios are ok for the climb if not a little better

I like the idea of a single up front as it gives me space for the dropper lever when the post arrives.

My 5 will then with the 1 x 12 be trick apart from the wheels being too small, ah well you can’t have it all I guess

Alex, I’ve got the wide bars, a dropper on the way but am running tubes.

I only use the big ring carting back home down the road so I’ll probably not miss the very big gear too much

@montylikesbeer It’s only around eight months since I went from 3×8 to 1×12 and yes, I occasionally run out of spin on fast tarmac descents(which was really the only time I used the big ring) but the rest of the time off road it is so much easier just using the one shifter.

@monkeylikesbeer I made the move to 1x as my left hand got f’ed up when I was 18 and as the years progressed in winter’s those front mech changes started to grind me down as my thumb is essentially mainly bits. I loved the progression to 2x set up with an 11-36 cassette on the mtb, but never looked back after the 1x. Started with a 10 speed 30/ 11-42 which was all good and my current slx/ sram 12 speed thing is mint. I don’t miss the cross over gears, and love the look of 1x although the massive cassette makes me chuckle, which is probably a sign of my age. Tubeless is a winner for me too 👍

Thanks for the confidence to give it a go.

So off shopping I go with before and after pictures to follow

You’ll have slightly easier gears for going up the hills, you’ll have slightly less gears for bombing down road descents and you’ll have less in-between gears than you have now.

The in-betweens will be far less of an issue than it sounds as the gears you will have will be more usable. The gears for climbing will be great and the annoyance of not having enough gears for speed won’t be noticed that often (although it depends on how much road you have to ride to get to your trails).

It won’t be bad, but it will take a few rides to get to used to the idea of not having to change gear at the front. It works for many, but likewise isn’t for everyone. If you can upgrade for less than a 10 quid then give it a bash.

What’s the cost of 12 speed conversion?

What’s the cost of 11 speed? I don’t think there’s much difference between the 2 off road.

What’s the difference in weight? Some of the cassettes are very heavy.

Chain line might be better with 11 speed on a non boost frame

I’ve got two bikes running 2x and one newer acquisition running 1x, and my big worry with the latter was climbing gear. I’ve had no problem with the 1×12 Eagle, loses a tiny little bit on the fast end but that’s not been a concern to be honest, if I’m moving that fast that I’m spinning out in 32-10 I can afford to freewheel. I paired it with a cheapish oval front ring to smooth out climbing input with the 50T at the back and it’s been great.

Actually, come to think of it (sorry, stealth ad): I’ve got a spare NX Eagle Shifter if you haven’t bought one yet – happy to sell on. The bike came with a discrete clamp shifter, I swapped to a matchmaker version when I upgraded my brakes.

I’ve got a 30 up front and 11-42 on the back of my XC bike, so the top gear isn’t very long at all. Even so there’s only about 300m of road locally where I spin out, and I can just coast for that part.

£100 for a shifter, derailleur, chain, cassette, freehub and chainring? Not bad

Was hoping for a Peak District Jacob’s Ladder argument. To which the answer will always be clockwise.

I’d save for a new bike rather than trying to roll an 09 orange 5 in glitter. The 12sp chainring, cassette, jockey wheels, and chain need to be in v good nick, as well, or it’s not worth bothering – so doing the whole thing for 100quid on ebay sounds fanciful.

Cheap option would be 1×9 with a bigger cassette. Can get a Sunrace 9 speed 11-50t.
Plus a goatlink and a narrow/wide ring.

The conversion is not such a big deal and with eBay bits I can do it for under £100 ish

Have you factored in a new XD Freehub into that estimate?

You could still go 1×10 or 1×11 and stay with an HG pattern cassette, the only minor downside being that 11t is the smallest sprocket you can have…

Current Deore 4100/5100 seems like very good VFM IMO, possibly coupled with one of the slightly pricier Sunrace cassettes to save a wee bit of weight and whatever 32t N/W ring you can find to fit your XT cranks.

I’m not sure that extra click is really worth the effort.

Cheap option would be 1×9 with a bigger cassette. Can get a Sunrace 9 speed 11-50t.

Plus a goatlink and a narrow/wide ring

This is what I’d do on a 2009 bike

I put eagle on my similar vintage stump jumper s-works last year replacing xt 3×9. The 11-50 will fit a standard free hub. I find the 50t is really too low to be useful (possibly a function of the 26” wheels) but other than that it’s great.

Thanks folks, I completely get the sprinkling the 5 in glitter comment.

It will probably lead into getting a new bike in a year or so.

So far I have the front ring, rear mech and front shifter and have spent £83.00 so I’ll probably be over the £100 to be honest