As an aside is a chain guide really needed on a 1x setup ? I thought part of the benefit was better chain tension / retention ?
Depends, many people do without, but I still get occasional chain drops on chattery fast/rocky stuff especially when the chain & rings are a bit worn. Less so on the hardtail than the FS though.
I find I get drops *sometimes* when in 9th or 10th and going over rocky stuff. I guess the combination of a non-straight chainline and chain tension at a minimum is what does it. That is with a fat thin chainring and a clutch mech. Nowhere near as much of a problem as when running 2x though.
I am hoping a minimal guide will do enough to stop this and I won’t need a massive dh style roller jobbie.
ETA probably exacerbated by my use of silly small chainrings, no doubt if I was to man up and run a 36t then I would be in a straighter chainline more of the time.