Older bike has 2 x 10 XT and the newer one has 1 x 11 XT. I’ve bust the new bike so I have been back on the older one for the last few weeks, and feel that 1 x 11 is somewhat limiting. The gap between the bottom two gears is a bit too big and I do use the top gear for smooth downhill bits but find I am spinning out.

I am now plotting a new bike and that’ll be 2 x 11, probably XTR mechanical.

Old school here…

Hardtail 3×9 Deore (mostly) groupset, but with a lower spec 11-32 cassette and a KMC chain. I keep flirting with the idea of going 1xAlfine.

FS is running a 2×9 SRAM setup, the same as it was originally. It needs a new cassette and chain.

Road is running a 2×9 Tiagra chainset. It still feels new.

29er Hardtail: 1×11 XT (11/42 with 30t)

27.5 Full sus: 1×11 XO1 (10/42 with 32t oval)

Prefer the XT, shifting feel is nicer and I like the double upshift.

XT 1×11 on both of my mountain bikes and I think it feels great, hardtail has got 11-42 cassette and 34t chainring full suspension 11-46 with a 32t chainring, both wearing well but I do use KMC SL chains, whether that makes a difference or not I don’t know.

My gravel bike has got sram apex 1×11 which is ok but doesn’t feel as nice as my mtbs, I don’t like how sloppy the mech is too.

Went straight from 3×9 to XT 1×11 last year; old drivetrain shagged, 11 speed cheaper than 10 in Black Friday sales. 11-42 with a Hope 32t on the old 3x cranks. Works fine. I’d go 11-46/34 with next set-up if I wasn’t going back to a 2x system (fed up spinning out).

I was incredibly boring and just went for the same I had before, 11-36t slx cassette, new chain and a N/W 32T chainring. Thanks for your inputs though. The money “saved” by not upgrading to 11spd will eventually go towards a new bike in a few years (currently dribbling over the Kona Process 29 CR DL).

3*9 Shimano mix on both mine and my wife’s MTB.  Find we use pretty much all the gears, every ride. Suits us fine.

1* seems to be getting there,  so will replace with whatever Deore is available when the time comes.

3*10 on my tourer (possibly should have stuck with 9 speed, but hell, you only live once 🙂)

3*9 Sora on my wife’s AWOL – superb bit of kit, well impressed. Feels a bit cheap but works so well, much nicer than the previous gen Tiagra. Easy but precise shifts, simple to fettle cheap spares.

2*8 on the roadie, but the STI’s are worn out and only shift cleanly first go about75% of the time 🙂. Time for a new roadie.

Three bikes are normal shimano 3×9 with nothing remarkable to tell.

Her best bike is Sunrace 11 speed 11-46, xtr shifter, xtr mech with a wolftooth cage, kmc chains.

Mine is XTR shifter, XT mech with one-up shark cage. KMC chain and Hope 10-48 cassette.

Still pondering the spec for a new build. Keep hearing stuff that puts me off eagle for middle of nowhere riding so thinking of staying 12 speed. That means I can keep to shimano shifting. I love the Hope cassette but it limits me to DT or Hope hubs but I’m looking at Onyx Racing hubs so that means I’m now looking at the Garbaruk cassettes. Then 10-50 11 speed becomes an option. The whole thing works out a bit lighter as well and the top sprocket on the Garbaruk is replaceable (as in spares actually exist).

For the riding I do my perfect 1x experience was 11-46 Sunrace plus XT 11 speed. Ultra reliable and great shifting at lowish cost. Recently did a new build from scratch and went for 12spd GX Eagle. I can’t say the extra range is night and day and boy is it fussy about cleanliness and set up. If and when, given the choice, I’d go back to 11 speed.

NX 1×11 (shifter, rear mech, chain) with sunrace 11-46 cassette – works great

2 bikes with XT 1×11 (shifter, rear mech, SRAM chain) with XT 11-42 cassette – also works great though for the heavier bike, I’d switch to the 11-46 if riding big hills.

The XT is a bit more clicky/definite in shifting than NX but really makes no difference. None of the set ups seems to be wearing unreasonably though the nice black coating on the sunrace cassette disappeared quickly off the teeth of the most used sprockets and some of the shift ramps.

Certainly can’t ever see me going back to anything other than 1x and with the 11-46 cassette I’ve got the range I want without excessive jumps between gears so moving to 12 speed will only be when I’m already replacing a load of stuff at some point in the future.

11 speed XT shifter and long cage mech with Surance 11-50 cassette and KMC chain. 32 tooth One Up NarrowWide.

Running it for about a year. Very happy with it. Shifts well. Great range and with relatively cost effective parts.

1×11 on a shortish travel FS.

Absolute black oval 36t and Sunrace 11-46. XT shifter/SLX M7000 mech/KMC chain.

Perfect for the Dales.

Works Components Oval ring 32t, Sunrace 11/42 (prefer Shimano 11/46), M8000 mech & shifter. 27.5″.

X01 Eagle on my Sentinel, X01 11spd on my Fuel (which is about to become a hash up of GX/X01 Eagle now I’ve got all the bits I need) & GX/X1 11spd on my hardtail.

GX Eagle on the full sus (170mm cranks, 34t chain ring, 27.5 wheels) and the 27.5 hardtail has 1×10 with Saint shifter, SLX mech, Works oval 32t on 165mm cranks, XT 11-36 cassette and KMC X10 gold chain. The latter is super reliable and tolerates near zero maintenance, the former is very good with a massive range, very quite and great chain retention, but too new to know how tough and reliable it is.