Going from 3×10 to 1×10; advise please.

I’m looking to run 1×10 on my Five because with the type of riding I’m doing on it I’m barely using the granny or big ring, I’m dropping the chain too much and I can fall back on my hardtail for XC stuff. I’ll be replacing much of the drivetrain (which is pretty worn anyway). I’ve compiled a shopping list, please point out any errors, fill in the gaps or feel free to flame any of the components/suggest alternatives.

What I have now:

Crankset: SLX M670
BB: Hope (this will stay)
Rear Mech: XT Shadow 10sp
Cassette: Shimano HG62-10
Shifters: SLX Rapid Fire
Chain: Some kind of Shimano

What I propose:
Crankset: Hope with spider and 32T 104PCD retainer ring (this seems to work out cheaper than spiderless) and Hope bashring
Rear Mech: Zee (wide ratio version)
Shifter: Saint
Cassette: some 11-34T one
Chain: ?

So I could do with suggestions on cassette and chain please and whatever else. I’m hoping not to need a chain device with the retainer ring and the clutch mech. Oh and if anyone has anything to say about crank length…

ETA: I understand the Hope crankset comes with tools to install it, what will I need to remove the SLX?

Got it right there, get a decent chain though

dont bother is my advice. fashion is not always good.
unless you are a very fit and strong rider you will regret it. imho,

Candodavid; thank you, any suggestions for the chain?

Your Hope BB won’t work with the new Hope cranks, they have a 30mm spindle, your SLX are 24mm

Why not wait for the 11speed XT. Single chainset is what £89? Already saved £150 there over the hope..

Your Hope BB won’t work with the new Hope cranks, they have a 30mm spindle, your SLX are 24mm

Cheers, good spot. So I’ll also need a Hope 30mm BB, the tool to install it and the tool to remove the 24mm one.

Why not wait for the 11speed XT. Single chainset is what £89? Already saved £150 there over the hope..

I know nothing of this but have read good things about the Hope kit, plus the Five is a Hope factory edition so the cranks would look nice with the rest of it. But what with the above BB issue I’m tempted to just keep the current BB/SLX cranks and swap the 3 chainrings for a single, unless that’s not possible for some reason.

You could save a small fortune by just bolting the retainer ring straight to your existing cranks. Just get some single chain ring books. A fiver from Evans.

Unless it’s knackered, there no reason to change your shifter either.

Cassette… Get an 11-36, and if you have an alu freehub, get either slx or xt.

Chain… I find kmc x10.93 long lasting and shiny 🙂

You could save a small fortune by just bolting the retainer ring straight to your existing cranks. Just get some single chain ring books. A fiver from Evans.

Unless it’s knackered, there no reason to change your shifter either.

Cassette… Get an 11-36, and if you have an alu freehub, get either slx or xt.

Chain… I find kmc x10.93 long lasting and shiny

Thanks for the suggestions, tempted to go this way for now. The shifter is *a bit* knackered, the bottom cover is missing and grime is getting in there. Still works, but feels a bit gritty.

some single chain ring books

😯 eh?

I kept my SLX cranks, and used short (single speed) chain ring bolts like cp said, jobs a good un 🙂

Bike 1×10 set-up by matt303uk[/url], on Flickr

Books = bolts

The superstar NW ring I fitted used the standard bolts as it has spacers built in.

Some narrow wide rings come with washers so you can use normal bolts. Don’t buy new cranks, it’s illogical! Just get a shadow plus mech in medium cage, a narow wide ring/bolts or washers, shifter and an 11-36 cassette (sram one at £27 at crc is nice) and a basic chain (a new bersion of what u have will be fine).

I kept my SLX cranks, and used short (single speed) chain ring bolts like cp said, jobs a good un

Looks really good (Nice On One). Does that set-up work well (as in chain staying put, shifting well)?

Thanks for all the advice so far everyone, you’ve saved me over £200 at a guess and a lot of messing around.

You already have a fantastic chainset so just get a narrow wide ring for it.

Is your cassette and chain worn? If not keep them as well.

You already have a fantastic chainset so just get a narrow wide ring for it.

Is your cassette and chain worn? If not keep them as well.

Chain is pretty knackered, cassette maybe not so but it’s a Deore with a steel lockring that as I understand it should not be on an aluminium freehub, so it needs to go.

Have a think if you’d ever want to drop a 40 or 42 tooth expander cog on the cassette. If you may want to it would be sensible to get a cassette that readily accepts one rather than having to take a hacksaw to it. I think that means XT, not sure about the SRAM equivalent but I’m sure someone will pop along and tell you. Or check on the one-up, hope, superstar, everyone else who makes expander cogs websites and see what they say.

I went from 2×10 to 1×10 and it was one of the best changes I’ve made.

There is a chance you’ll miss the bottom gears if the terrain is very steep and technical upwards and your slightly out of shape, and will certainly miss the top end if you ride a lot of flat tarmac – but for general trail riding it is superb.

As said above don’t bother with a new crankset unless you have money to burn.

I have nearly the same on my HT, which is SLX shifter, XT cassette, 3×10 crank with Hope 34t retainer in the middle ring position. SLX clutch rear mech and a 40T T-Rex expander.

The FS has better components but is essentially the same in function. The main difference between the two seems to be the shifter.

SLX is somewhat clunky in operation compared to XT on the FS. If I was to spend again I’d buy at least XT shifters.

I use Sram PC1071 chains with split links and never have a problem. 2 KMC chains fell apart at a link (one side pulled out), so won’t be using them again.

Looks really good (Nice On One). Does that set-up work well (as in chain staying put, shifting well)?

Shifts really nice, chain stays put, I’m running it with a Zee rear mech (11-36 range) but given you are putting it on a full-susser I’d go for a mech with a bit more range to allow for chain length change and in case you add an extender.

See twonks post above.

I’m in the process of moving to a 1×10 from a 3×9 to see how I get on, I used an 11-36T SLX cassette (£23) and hacksawed the pins holding some rings together to use a superstar expander (for which there is a discount code on another thread), also see this thread:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/40t-t-rex-or-similar-with-slx-cassette

Very easy to do- 3 pins which a cheapo saw will get through no problem. A spacer is a bit of unavoidable collateral damage but that is also removed

The plus is that the SLX cassette is about a tenner less than the XT equivalent, and the lockring seems to be where a good deal of the weight difference is. I was using a 9 speed XT cassette so just transferred the lockring from that. Even a cheapo SRAM locking seemed to be much lighter than the SLX one.

Consider keeping the granny ring in place (minus front mech & shifter). It only weighs around 22g and when you really need it only takes a few seconds to get off and manually move the chain across.

I rarely use mine but it’s nice to have when I do.

Just don’t mention it. If people notice it, don’t deny but don’t volunteer that you have a stealth granny!!

Good call on the “stealth granny”, since changing the wheels from 26″to 27.5″ on my Sptifire, it’s a tad harder getting it uphill and I’m off to the Alps in two weeks.. Off to garage to dig out an old 22T …..

I did the whole 1×10 thing a while back.

Fitted expander ring and one up rad cage.

Shifting is perfect, ratio is spot on, only ever found one hill I thought I could do with a granny.

Amidoinitrite?

Thanks for all your input, I went with this:
XT Cassette 10-speed CS-M771 11-36
KMC X10 SL Silver Chain 10-speed 1
ZEE 10-speed rear derailleur RD-M640-SS Shadow Plus 11-36T
SAINT Gear Shifter Rapidfire Plus SL-M820 10-speed
Hope 32T retainer 104 ring
Hope 32-34 Bash

I noticed some play/grinding in my rear hub during this, so I stripped down and rebuilt the Hope Pro 2 Evo rear after ordering the bearings. Then found out a spacer had disintegrated. Then **** up the drive-side seal because I’d never serviced this hub before and learned the hard way that if it doesn’t “click into place”; don’t improvise (nevermind, a new seal is £2). Anyway, what with work stuff etc. etc. that’s why it’s taken this long. I *think* I have the chain length right, even to take a 40 T-Rex should I need it. Just ridden around the block tonight and it shifts well, I’m hoping to try it out on my local trails tomorrow.

As ever, Hope were beyond helpful.

Looking good. And VERY green.

IIRC a 38mm straight glued plastic wastepipe fitting is perfect for knocking in that hub seal.

I tried some 40mm waste pipe, maybe it was heavy gauge or something but the inside diameter was too small (it just stuck on the back of the freehub). Working round the seal with a tyre lever did the trick in the end.

Bump.

It rides and shifts lovely and I don’t miss the granny/outer… but I wouldn’t mind an extender after the last climb at Llandegla recently.

Orange are flogging a demo Alpine 160 in their deals section with the same cassette and mech as I have (and I’m just guessing the Alpine has at least the same chain growth as a Five). I’m mindful of concerns about 1×10 with Zee on an FS/with extender.

Will I die?

I’ve gone to a medium cage mech after a few Zees have died on me, whether it’s to do with chain growth I don’t know, but I refuse to keep paying for them twisting and snapping regardless.