[Closed] Why is 1x9 so good?

It's just the latest STW bandwagon, and probably OK if you only ride Trail Centers 🙄

I see it as less weight and practical* gear range with no overlap.

* one size does not fit all however!

Front mechs are a joke. That's the overwhelming reason for me.

I don't need the easy gears a granny ring supplies, i dont care about spinning out on a road/fire road descent (it is MTBing).

Though i do need some gears to make the bike comfortable usable off road for myself.

Shorter mech, better chain security, less chain, less weight, less noise, greater reliability, more ground clearance. Looks better too. It also makes you a "stronger" rider too. I'm not any slower, most probably faster up the hill than anyone i ride with with a triple. When i have a go on a granny ring now, it's not any easier, just takes longer.

Different stroke for different folks though. I'm not going to worry whether people are using a double/triple/single.

I've been running 1x9 on my DH bike for years, never really considered sticking a triple on it. Is that what baffles you?

On my AM and XC bike I noticed that I just never shifted up front. I just left it in the middle ring and with 9/10 outback I just didnt feel like I needed more range. Its down to where your ride and how you ride.

1) simplicity of use
2) less weight by quite a bit
3) ability to run a proper chain devise
4) neat cockpit
5) aesthetics

If it's a fashion thing then I'm one of the ones who started it 😀

I've been running 1x9 and now 1x10 for about four years. My reasons for going down this route initially were simplicity and weight. Going 1x9/10 saves about 300-400g depending on what kind of chain device you then fit (and you will need one unless you're riding very gently).

The overwhelming benefit in my view is that you're always in the right ring up front and given that shifting big rings is a real faff and works less than perfectly right when you need it to work really well, there's a big benefit to be had for the ease and simplification of set up (think about why people like to ride single speeds and you're on the right lines).

All of this would only be valid if actually you didn't need your other two rings.

The big ring is a waste of space; you only ever need that if you're riding on the road, which I never do. A 32t to 36t middle ring is more than big enough for all off road riding (personally I don't see the need for anything bigger than a 32t and I've yet to be under geared going down hill).

The granny ring can be missed, but even a 100kg heffer like me still managed to ride around the Alps with nothing but a 32t by 36t low gear.

Its not really that different to 2x9 or 3x9 I like riding rough stuff and I was always dropping the chain. I rarely used the big or little chain ring so it seemed like a logical step. It is a pain on big climbs as I am not really fit enough to ride up everything, I will probably be pushing up parts of Llandegla and CyB this weekend but it offers me the security of knowing what my chain will be doing when I come clattering out of a rock garden.

FWIW I run 2x9 on my HT as I use that for more trail sort of stuff. I would be using it for Llandegla but we are riding Snowdon on Sunday and thats what big bikes are made for.

EDIT:

If it's a fashion thing then I'm one of the ones who started it

I've been running 1x9 and now 1x10 for about four years.

[willywaving]I used to run a DMR single ring guide on my GT Timberline and later Revel 4X back in the 90s[/willywaving]

1x9 is alright, I liked it, I also like singlespeed and having a triple.
Oh and I had a bike with a double for a while, I quite liked that too.
Does this help?

I used to run a DMR single ring guide on my GT Timberline and later Revel 4X back in the 90s

I think you're willy is bigger than mine 😀

because I can and I want to

Don't use the granny or outer cog, so why keep them on?

If it's too hard to pedal with 1x9, then I'll push - and not afraid to admit it 😉

Plus with a chain guide (mrp g2), I can continue to put the power down when it gets really bumpy..

Pretty much what geetee and xiphon said. I haven't had a front mech for over 3 years now, and can't really see an occasion when I might want one. My initial main reason wasthat I hate front mechs because I am shit at maintaining/aligning them.

Its quite ridiculous to claim it is some new stw fashion to do this when people have been riding 7-8-9 speed for years. Its only gears for christs sake.

If it is steep enough for a granny ring, I'll probably walk it. Managed 26 miles with over 3000 feet of climbing on Sunday (not in a trail centre) and didn't feel undergeared.

I only realized how lazy i'd got as a rider when i changed to 1x9. I'm not very fit, but have very rarely found an incline i can't get up, so don't miss the granny ring. Although this is helped by running a significantly lighter bike than normal.

And FWIW, I run 32t front, 32t-11t rear.

In the days gone by, the only way to run a single front ring, was via a heavy DH specific chain device. ( Remember the sandwiched MRP plates + rollers?)

Single MRP/e13 have developed their G2/LG guides, the weight has just fallen off, increasing the appeal to trail bike riders.

For the riding I like to do most a front mech is a liability... with a bit more effort and grunting I can make the 1x9(10) drivetrain do all I need, except for the really big stuff where I use a Hammerschmidt to get me a low winching gear.

If 1x9(10) works for where and how you ride then it's brilliant. My local forest is a bike wrecker and having strong kit with as little to go wrong as possible is sensible. Losing the front mech makes a huge difference as it really is a frequent cause of problems.

For me singlespeed is the ideal drivetrain as there is little to get damaged and bounce off; but it doesn't work well where I ride unless I am in the condition of my life, it's dry, the bike is 20lbs for the climbs... but still built for the descents. So for me singlespeed is too much of a compromise to be my main use bike.

I've tried a Rohloff in Gearbox and hub options but they were not the answer for me.

Next logical step is 1x9(10) since you get a good enough spread of gears for most riding. Yes, you no longer have the winching gear for huge climbs and the big gear for the road home but I'm happy to pay that price on my hardtail (which I mainly use in the local forests).

For a 1x9(10) type chain security but with a bigger spread (i.e. the low winching gear) for the big days in the hills I have a HammerSchmidt on my big bike... it's not as weighty as people think and it works brilliantly, I've never lost the chain off the front (despite losing the funky plastic guide ages ago).

has anyone got any weight save data? i am considering trying 1x10 on my heckler.

i already have a e13 chain device and an ally 32t chainring. do i have to use a shorter cage rear mech, or can i just take some chain links out and carry on?

so i guess i will save the weight of:
shifter
cable inner and outer
front mech
4x granny ring bolts
granny ring
big ring
difference between an xt middle ring and a renthal ally ring
several links of chain

and add
chain device

and, i get to put the reverb remote under the lh bar

I recently went from 2x9 to 1x9/ Removed my left hand XT shifter, XT front mech, cables, inners and bolts and it weighed about 340g.

I've never had a problem with a front mech out on the trail in over 20 years (plently of problems with rear ones, though). I can't believe that up here in t'North a 32 ring with an 11/32 cassette would suffice. You lot must be rock 'ard.

I find 1x10 spot on for my riding. I think I'd find the narrower 9 speed cassettes a bit limiting, I run a 36t ring with 11-36, a little bit spinny on the road, but fine otherwise.

Because my bike used to be a singlespeed, but I needed gears to carry a kiddie seat and it was only supposed to be temporary and I was too lazy to put the front rings back on.
4 years on the kiddie seat has moved bikes and it's still 1 x 9

But I do have another bike with proper gears on for when I go to places with proper hills.

I've never had a problem with a front mech out on the trail in over 20 years

I was having issues last night with a simple top 1x9 guide. It's been fine all through the winter but the ground was solid last night and I was riding really hard so the chain bounced off a few times... time for a full top and bottom chain guide.

Like failedengineer, I've been riding for about 15 years and [u]never[/u] had a problem with front mech's.

I understand why DH'ers don't use front mechs, but don't see the logic in pretty much everybody else not running one.

There's a couple of comments about "if it's too steep I'll just push it". Surely thats what a single speed is for?

I've also ridden singlespeed so can see the other side of the coin, as it were.

Isn't it just SS lite?

flatfish - I only use a single ring up front. If I ride uphill in a granny ring, I just spin like a whisk... while not actually gaining much ground. It's faster/easier to walk, while pushing the bike. Nothing wrong with that...

Also, without a bottom roller, my chain just bounces off...

.. hence the use of a single ring chain device 😉

What chain guides do you lot use?

Don't on-one have a nice basic one that attaches to the seat tube?

DH = SuperStar Laser

AM = MRP G2

My front gear cable snapped once on a ride. I jammed a stick in the front mech, using middle ring only. 18 months later the stick fell out. I removed components and went 1 x 9

been running single chainring set-ups on my mtbs for nearly 20years too, personally I only run 1x8 and 1x7 on my DH bikes (5 gears would be enough for a race bike). I absolutely hate the extra chainslap you get from anything bigger than an 11-28 cassette when descending in the smaller sprockets it'd be horrible with enough chain for a 36T sprocket flapping about.

Nae use to me. Switching to a single ring for me would be a compromise I don't feel the need to make. I enjoy steep, nose of the saddle climbs as well as the flexibility to just spin when I need to. If it works for you, great but for me it's a solution to a problem I don't have. I'd love a hub gear that doesn't weigh a ton and is reliable but until that arrives, I'm happy to keep with the triple at the front.

It's made me a stronger and quicker rider, especially uphill. Have yet to find something I can't ride up with 32t 11-34 if I attack it appropriately.

pretty sure most of us could find you something fairly easily chief.
do you just not ride properly steep or technically challenging climbs or climbs with damp/wet/loose surfaces?

I only ever used the big ring to keep chain tension on rough stuff, so that was first to go. Then the granny ring went when I found I used it so rarely as to make no difference. Chuck that stuff off bike, lower weight and less faff and clutter. WIN!

I didn't have all the parts when I built my hardtail up for 3 x 9 gears so ended up with a 1 x 9. So far so good.

porter_jamie - Member

has anyone got any weight save data?

I worked it out at the time (massive nerd that I am) based on quoted weights, and it saved me about 330g.

Just sold me 1x9 so just got a couple of singlespeeds.

I like 1 x 9.

Saved about 370-400g going to 1x9.

Now run a e-thirteen G ring and bbg bash and jumpstop = 120g or something.

you simply need to subtract the weight of all the components you ditch and add the weight of those you're adding.

could be as much saving as 2lb, as little as none.

Don't use the granny or outer cog, so why keep them on?

What he said and because its cool.

because its cool.

... and because it makes people ask me why I'm riding a bike like that which means I can explain to them in detail about it in the car park at the trail centre instead of being up on the hill riding my bike (with 3x9 obviously... ) 😆 .

Getting of and pushing is a defeat for me :() It's why I gave up on the s/s). Same with a 1/9 set up round by me, theirs far to many steep technical climbs for me to do without a granny. I like to feel some resistance when I'm pedaling on descents as well, so I need the big ring for that. But each to their own whatever works for you.

works for me on a light hardtail... i already had 9speed stuff so just a case of not fitting LH shifter. also, it's nice not having to think about that shift or getting the surprise when you're not in the front ring you thought you were. downsides.. not quite enough range now i've put summer tyres on but i don't care about speed on roads any more.

I went 1x9 on my 29'er over winter as the front mech was just a shelf for crud.

To be honest there's nothing I've ridden on it yet that will make me put a front mech and another ring back on.

Set up is 32t front and a 12-36t rear on a 29'er. awesome innit

If I had the legs for it I'd do it, but I've not. I can however see all the benifits.

fathomer that is why I have done it - to encourage me to get fitter/attack rather than spin in granny. If I don't get fitter and it effects my riding for the worse then I will stick the granny back on...

Why clutter your bike with equipment you dont need or use? 1x works very well indeed if your rides are not too epic, and it loses significant weight, faff and expense.

"Isn't it just SS lite?"

Sort of yes.

I have a front mech (dual ring) on my other bike. It works OK and it's nice to have a granny ring to spin when your legs are in shreds. But I always found the mechs awkward to setup right - noisy etc. And they are terrible mud traps. Also, the gap between rings traps filth badly. Having a single ring is a much cleaner setup IME.

I've been using a E13 Hive top-only guide which works well for XC - just remember to keep your chain as short as possible.

I haven't read all the posts but I guess everyone is saying how great a single ring up front is.
For balance I've never had any problems related to front mechs or shifters but I have experienced rear mechs going in the spokes and snapping off mid ride which is a complete ball ache.
So I can see the point of alfine/rohloff much more than I can for losing the front mech, if preventing mechanical failure is the issue. unfortunately still too expensive for most but maybe one day that is what the majority of mtbs will be like? Obviously running a hub gear means losing the front mech so maybe the 1x9/10 users are just ahead of the game.

@docrobster Too expensive??

Second hand chain guide - £25. You don't *have* to buy a brand new one, at £130..

Pack of single-ring chainring bolts - £5?

25mins of your time - free.

@docrobster Too expensive??

xiphon - think they were referring to expense of hub gears not going single chainwheel lol

Ah, whoops! Too much coffee has given me trigger fingers..

Is 1x9 possible without a chain guide? - just intending to ride XC in the chilterns on it, before I go out & try it without & end up making a fool of myself 😉

Is 1x9 possible without a chain guide?

Just don't change gear at the front... easy

Just don't change gear at the front... easy

Ah well, suppose it was too much to expect a sensible response on here especially on a friday

A 1x9 without a chain guide - 60% of the time, it would work every time, even with a singlespeed specific front chain ring.

Adding a jumpstop, i was still dropping the chain now and again, but not at all with a bash added. I presume though its never going to be as fool proof as a fully caged system.

Horses for courses. Back in the UK, I used to ride Rivington, the Lakes, Yorkshire, CYB (all over, wherever Singletrack or MBR maps inspired) and a 3x9 was just right. Where I live now, the trails are flowing managed singletrack and a 1x9 or 1x10 would be perfect. I won't be riding many other trails, so I'm considering trying 1x9 with a ghetto chain guide (will look in my big box of bits this weekend and see what gaffa tape, miscellaneous round things and zip ties can bodge up). A few severe rock gardens and mean a chain guide is necessary for me (chain jumps occasionally even now).

pretty sure most of us could find you something fairly easily chief.
do you just not ride properly steep or technically challenging climbs or climbs with damp/wet/loose surfaces?

This. I can't work out if all the people who ride 1x10 are extremely fit, or they're riding easier hills than I am, or they're the sort of people I see pushing up hills. Like everything in life there's probably a bit of all three, but I know I would struggle with a few of the climbs in the peaks if used 1x10, and I'm not a believer in getting off and pushing. I broke my small ring at the start of a ride the other day and rode just in the 34t middle ring. 95% of the ride was doable but it really bugged me when I had to get off and walk the 5%.

I'd be interested to give it a go, though.

I'm sure there's plenty of stuff I can't ride up but I doubt I'd be any better at it with a granny ring. I'm miles away from any proper mountains and as long as no-one spinning slowly in the granny ring gets in front of me I've had no problems with all the natural riding I've done in the south east, nor any trail centres I've visited - indeed I sometimes get up climbs when standing up and juggling my position to balance traction and power that those with more gears have failed on. If I rode places with steeper hills then I might do things differently because I don't like getting off and pushing.

I don't see how even lower gears would make slippery climbs easier when traction is the overwhelming challenge - using a higher gear reduces the peak torque at the wheel and thus the likelihood of exceeding the available grip - as long as you can apply enough torque at the pedals to avoid stalling.

you've clearly never climbed a long very steep loose/challenging climb

fair doos.

dunno what you ride in the south east but I haven't ever found a trail centre climb that couldn't be done in middle ring.

I don't see how even lower gears would make slippery climbs easier when traction is the overwhelming challenge - using a higher gear reduces the peak torque at the wheel and thus the likelihood of exceeding the available grip - as long as you can apply enough torque at the pedals to avoid stalling.

The popularity of mountain biking has increased (it is the new golf!)

New genres of riding have been created for the new riders to the sport - "trail riding" and "AM riding" - i.e. bimbling round trail centres (see the "gisburn slab" thread for reference)

For this sort of riding 1x9 is ideal, and hence its popularity appears to have increased somewhat. Obviously people have been using 1x9 setups for years, but they were usually from the dh side of the sport.

The XC riders tended to use the traditional 3x9 setups as these were necessary for proper xc riding out in the hills (when trail centres never really existed)

1x9 is great and bimbling round trail centres on AM bikes is great - its a cooler form of riding than getting lycra'd up and heading out into the proper hills.

to my mind drive setup is as much a personal choice as pedals or bars;

needs to suit the individuals own fitness, riding style and chosen terrain...

nobody's quite the same. clips/flats, wide/narrow, riser/flat, SS/1x(n)/2x(n)/3x(n) does any of it really matter?

just ride your bike....

Any reason you can't use your front mech as a chain device?

none at all if you don't mind a shite chain device that drops your chain

Dickyboy - Member
Just don't change gear at the front... easy

Ah well, suppose it was too much to expect a sensible response on here especially on a friday

To be fair to Messiah, its a fairly obivous solution to your problem.
Stick your front mech in a fixed position on the middle ring if you like, in order to remove the temptation to shift.
Then try out 1x9 for a session and realise that its the way forward.
Then go out and buy a simple chain device, as even the Chilterns will have you coming unstuck at some point.

I rode about 4 or 5 hours without a chain device, then my chain came off twice in one ride. I tried the lightweight superstar device but it was too flimsy and fiddly, im now running their slightly beefier b/b mounted version and its been flawless so far.

cookeaa - Member

to my mind drive setup is as much a personal choice as pedals or bars;

needs to suit the individuals own fitness, riding style and chosen terrain...

nobody's quite the same. clips/flats, wide/narrow, riser/flat, SS/1x(n)/2x(n)/3x(n) does any of it really matter?

just ride your bike

This nails it...I have 1x9 on one bike and 3x9 on another and compact on the other. Different bikes for different riding, all good in their own right...Just ride, it's all just bikes 😉

All of mountain biking is an exercise in making things harder than it has to be, for the sake of enjoyment. Sometimes it's quite nice not having sufficient gears. the appeal of 1x9 to me is part simplicity and lightness but mainly it's just that it's a bit like singlespeeding except less ridiculous.

[b]"All of mountain biking is an exercise in making things harder than it has to be, for the sake of enjoyment"[/b]
eh? :/

and single ring with a spread of rear gears it's nothing like single speed either.

GW - Member

eh? :/

Not a hard concept... Ever come down a mountain offroad when there's a perfectly good tarmac or fireroad option?

And of course it's a bit like single speed 😕 Restricts your choice in exactly the same way.

Missed ya!

To clarify my position, I haven't been riding MTBs in this modern gnarly stylee for that long - I started out on them as a kid in the '80s on the flatlands of the East Midlands but then didn't ride offroad from the mid '90s until 2010. I spend most of my riding time in woods in the south east, trying to be as fast as possible downhill and reasonably quick uphill. I had a bike with 3x9 but hardly used the big ring so getting rid of it helped with getting over logs and suchlike (especially as someone that couldn't bunny hop) and preventing teeth:leg moments. Went 36/22 to avoid losing too much top end. Found myself using the granny more than was ideal and shifting from 22 to 36 was a bit clunky. Went 32/22 and didn't miss the extra 4 teeth but noticed I could stay in the 'middle' ring all the time and that by doing so I got quicker at riding up hills. After a while I decided I really didn't need the granny ring for the riding I do so got rid of it. A simple process of elimination!

About to go 1x10 as I need the 9 speed bits for another bike, so that'll give a low gear of 32:36. For those that remember the tooth counts of old drivetrains, what would the ratios have been on my '80s MTBs? The first was 3x5 non-indexed, the second 3x7 Rapidfire.

I used to be a 1x9er and hated front mechs but just had a weeks riding in Wales and the granny ring came in handy especially going up Snowdon! Not sure whether I'd have got up as many of the climbs without the granny. Even spinning in the easiest gear is still quicker and more enjoyable than walking up.

Aw shucks.. you too honey Xx 😉
I always choose the most fun option TBH, whether that's walking up a fire road or coming down something loose/steep/jumpy/flowy.. wouldn't ever think of it as making things harder (some of the hardest trails to ride are 'cause they don't flow and therefore aren't so fun.

chief - 3x7 would have been something like 11(12)-28 cassette and 24(26)/34(38)/46(48)

I run 1x8 on my FS bike, which I've re-built out of the home parts bin for one purpose...mucking about in the woods / local trail centre. I had the option of a front mech etc in the box but it's not necessary for this bike. 1x8 gives me:

1) c. 3/4 pound in weight saving
2) one less set of cables and mechanical gubbins to initially set up and subsequently keep clean
3) better ground clearance
4) enough gears for the bike's intended use

The bike rode poorly in the granny ring anyway (4bar suspension and out of date platform technology) and I'd rather grunt than twiddle on the way up (and every once in a while I'll be pushing). I could comfortably manage my usual Tuesday evening on this bike XC loop on this too if I felt that way inclined.

By contrast my rigid 26'r, which is for long days out and kiddy seat duties has a full complement of chainrings (although the granny ring rarely sees any use thanks to living in the South). I also have a (still) unridden SS to try out.

Even spinning in the easiest gear is still quicker and more enjoyable than walking up.

No it's not.

1 X 9 (26T X 11-32T)
front mech as chain guide only

[img] [/img]

Always been a 1x man. No idea why, as some bikes have had more gears but they were rarely used. There's the odd time when I could do with a bigger or smaller ring but there's no medals given for cycling to the top so if I can't carry on, i'll get off and walk. It's generally faster but maybe not as cool as spinning away like a mental.

No it's not.

yes it is. more enjoyable could be argued, but it is definitly quicker. anyway, when i go out for a bike ride i go out to ride my bike, not take it for a walk, thus the granny ring stays.

1 x 9, (26 x 11-32)

[img] [/img]

I'm perfectly happy to admit to wanting to lose some weight off the bike, wanting to see if I could still make it work, from a riding perspective with 1x9.

This was partly to do with me being quite a bit stronger (exclusively SSing for 2 years, prior to going back on a sprung geary.

I do appreciate the simplicity of the riding without any front gears and the faff ans embuggerance that they can bring and as some have said you save about 0.75 of a pound.

I've had a whisper from the legs that it may not be the best for big old days in the hills, but its only been a quiet word. Moving to 10spd and a 36T cassette should sort me out on that front.

I'm enjoying the part of this thread which is all about telling other people what they enjoy 😆

I can't work out if all the people who ride 1x10 are extremely fit, or they're riding easier hills than I am, or they're the sort of people I see pushing up hills

Well I've not walked anything since going 1x10, if I had to then I'd change back, can't be doing with that. So I'm obviously in one of the other 2 camps.

you've clearly never climbed a long very steep loose/challenging climb

I know you'll really struggle with this concept, but some people may actually be fitter than you. I'm sure you ego won't actually let you comprehend that.

1 x 9, (26 x 11-32) ?

Surely you must spin out very early ?