Is the front mech dead, what set up are you using?

2×10 as for me anything less than 36 up front and it’s far too spinny for me (FOR ME NOT ANYONE ELSE FOR ME) so until XX1 and more strength it’s 2x for me. Also there is a lot of hills round here.

XC racer here, 36t and 11-36 1×10. I’ll go XX1 next time around. Would probably still run a double on a trail type bike, until XX1 equivalents get cheaper!

1 x 9, 11-28 with 32 chainring

That’s a do it all bike, for everything from all day off-road epics to the daily school run across town with two kids and trailer..

If I got back into riding Dartmoor on a regular basis I would give myself a wider range cassette to help deal with the steep, technical climbing..

1×10 32t 11-36 gets me up anything on my local welsh mountains and set up with clutch mech and chain guard it really is hassle free and secure

2×10 on the Soul, (38/26 with 11-34 cassette & clutch mech) and (apparently) old school 3×9 (44/32/22 with 11-32 cassette) on the Cube. Prefer the 3×9 if I’m honest, but that might be partly down to how sweetly it shifts.

There’s life in the FD yet and it’ll get a shot in the arm in future. I used 1×8 on an XC bike with a big fork/bar and 60mm stem in the late 90s and haven’t been convinced that 1x is a cover-all in all the years since then. Depends what you want to ride, gear range etc. It’s getting close to a do-all option for many, just a bit pricey currently.

I get the whole 1x for simplicity but for climbing proper hills and actually riding all the way it’s far more efficient to spin than it is to grind.

Is the 1x set up the next step from you can climb anything with a standard double and an 11-23 on a road bike, when it’s been proven that you can sustain a far higher output for longer with an ‘easier’ gear than a macho big gear grind?

I get the whole 1x for simplicity but for climbing proper hills and actually riding all the way it’s far more efficient to spin than it is to grind.

Depends on how strong you are and that too. Personal.

Depends on how strong you are and that too. Personal.

when it’s been proven that you can sustain a far higher output for longer with an ‘easier’ gear than a macho big gear grind?

🙂 and if you live near any real hills

1*10, 11-34 block with a 34t thick thin, works well for me in calderdale- long draggy climbs are a chore- but getting fit generally sorted that issue

There’s life in the FD yet and it’ll get a shot in the arm in future.

Cheeky 😉

Yeah. I loved that.

How come 3 of the top 4 of the last Highland Trail Race were on singlespeed then? There are one or two ‘proper hills’ in that IIRC 🙂

Definitely not dead for me, 2×9 on the full susser and 3×9 on the HT, i do have a single speed as well for winter slop riding. I tried 1×9 once and whilst it was fine for general riding it did feel compromised on climbing ability and top speed, it managed rather than excelled.

2×10 on the 26″ Full suss (24,32+bash and 11-36)

3×10 on the 29er HT (22,34,46 and 11-36) but that covers everything from mountains off-road to long road sections.

Since getting my first 10 speed (as in 2×5) as a kid in the 70s I can’t remember ever having any hassle with a front mech. The rear, yes. They need adjusting as the cable wears, are prone to getting bashed and wear out. But the front has always been a fit and forget item for me.

I’ll be sticking with my FD until 1x 11 is a sensibly priced option (£300 for a cassette 8O).
I’m a spinner, not a grinder when it comes to hills.
Running a 22/36 front and a 11-32 9sp rear which gives me a nice range for the sort of riding I do.

1×10 (32 & 11-36) on my hardtail, but I think I’ll stick with 2×10 for the time being on my 29er fs, so not totally dead. Different tools for different jobs.

Climbing in North Wales for the first time on a 1×10 yesterday nearly killed me, however it’s character building. 😀

I’m coming up for a year without a front mech. I started off with a Hammerschmidt 1×9 set-up, which I really liked, and I’m now running 1×10 with a 30t Wolftooth ring up front and a 40t General Lee adatper at the back.

32:16 rigid SS

36 with an 11-36 cassette on the Meta.

Can get up just about everything in the Plymouth/Dartmoor areas, as well as back home in the Mendips (Bath).

Didn’t have any issues when I was in Scotland on the Meta either. Once the front ring is shagged I’ll probably loose a tooth or two off it though for the next one.

Was loving having a granny today, proper sloppy, greasy conditions

…..and for that reason I am out. 1 x 10 for me, 11-36

As somebody who is fairly ancient and not likely to get much fitter I doubt that I will be able to manage without a grannyring to winch up hills with. Yes I suppose 1×9/10/11 systems are simpler and lighter but the difference is so marginal that for me it is not worth it. On my 2 bikes I have only replaced 1 FD in 5 years of grinding around the Peaks, Dales and Scottish mud and grit so its hardly a major issue. In fact its rear mechs that I tend to kill and have longevity problems with which would presumably be worse when working over a wider range of sprockets

2 x 10 here 22/36. while dérailleurs are used rather than gearboxes, front mechs will remain. its not about needing the granny ring for climbs, its about chain line! keeping the chain straight reduces wear, drag, noise. Cant say i’ve ever had a problem with a front mech, just learn to set it up properly and use it properly!

I have lost the outer ring admittedly , but the line still works, the middle ring sits in line with around sprocket 8.

3 bikes, all 1xsomething.

BFe – 1×9 – 34t/11-34
Mr Hyde – 1×9 – 34t/11-32
Lee Cooper – 1×1 – 32/16

Admittedly I live in a very unhilly part of the country, but the Bfe has got me round Glentress, Innerleithen, Borrowdale, Whinlatter, CyB, Laggan, Penmachno, etc. just fine. Round here I ride it like a singlespeed and stick to a 34/17 gear which is fine for local rides, Thetford, Sherwood and Wakerley. Anywhere else I find anything I can’t spin a 34/34 up I’m happy to get off and push on anyway.

1×10; 36 & 11-36.
Not very hilly around here.

First ride on my new 26/38 chainset today, was 32t single ring on front before – but it’s a fast bike and I wanted to be able to pedal harder.

The granny ring came in handy when spinning uphill in winter slop.

Exactly. 1×10 was fine in the summer, really needed that 26t ring today though.

Have 2×10 on the FS, 3×9 on the ageing HT & a 32:16 Rigid SS – each has it’s uses/merits.

As has already been said, I reckon front mechs are as dead as 26″ wheels.

It’s obvious to me that there are increasing numbers of people that are willing to push their bikes up rideable inclines. In line with this increase, the stigma of so doing is starting to fade to the point where pushing is the norm and not some sort of namby pambyness.

It’s clear that this will lead to an increase in people riding 1×9 or 1×10 set ups as there is no point lugging the extra weight of a front mech up a hill if your intention is to push anyway.

Everybody seems to dwell on going up hill
For me it’s the top end speed that suffers going 1x

Tried 1 x 10 for about 3 months and gone back 2 x 10 I just found it ball ache on long day rides and missed the chance to rest my legs a bit . Setup wise never had a problem with a front mech in fact they have lasted longer than any other part of my bike .

I would like to go 1x but there is no way I can without pushing a lot. My 22 x 36 was well used today

Looks like the front mech is alive and well for many people.

I prefer 3x over 2x, so not much chance of going 1x. I find I spin out on 2x to quick on the link sections on my longer rides. Whilst locally I spend most time in the big ring. Not because I’m awesome because it’s quite flat.

2 of mine are double, 2 single but the single ring ones are certainly more limited in usefulness. Maybe if I could afford 1×11 that’d change but though I like the 1×10 on the hardtail there’s no way the big go-anywhere-do-anything bike is going to lose so much of its capability.

does anyone do a 10-38 or 11-38/11-40 cassette, 10sp??

I think just those General Lee adaptor things?

SRAMs had a go; mostly as they can’t make a decent front mech for toffee.

it’s one of those things, like chainstay u brakes, elevated stays and 27.5 that’s a marketing fad.

SRAM traditionally dealt with that shortcoming by making their shifters compatible with Shimano fronts 😉

I couldnt wait to get rid of the front mech, now using XX1 with a 30t front ring. Its the best upgrade i have ever done, even better than going to a dropper post.

I’ve gone 1 x 10 on both my bikes, I only really miss the granny on very long steep climbs but otherwise no problem.

For me front mechs are for road bikes… it must the where and how I ride 🙄 Actually… there is only one local hill where I need the inner ring on my road bike so maybe I should make that 1x???

I’ve not used a front mech on a mountain bike for years and will not go back unless its for a mile munching clown wheeled thing for cummuting… in which case I’ll buy a cross bike… and even then I might go single up front!

I had a HammerSchmidt on my big bike but its now running XX1 and its all I need even with a 32 up front for the stupid big mountains. I love XX1… the first properly thought through mountain bike groupset 😉

On my hardtail I run 1*9 with a 30t and 11-34 which is great for the local forest where I ridebreak hardtails. Sometimes its over/under geared but I can live with that because nothing last long in there.

For me front mechs are for road bikes…

This is the bit I don’t understand. Everyone accepts that a front mech is a good idea on a road bike, but a mountain bike has to deal with a much larger variation in gradient and trail conditions, so surely it needs a wider range of gears.

I guess if I was dropping chains a lot or something I might see the point. But a front mech has never never caused me any problems and the granny has allowed me to get up some climbs that I’d have to walk otherwise (and I don’t go out on my bike for a walk), so I’ll stick with it for now.