wvridgerider

Something is drawing me into this, 1X10 on the road. Why I dont know, I am not fast dont care about being fast and it is rather hilly around here. Anyone try it?

hueyhoolihan

in '95 i had a custom bike made and toured the us on it for nine months. i specified 1x8. never had any problems, like unshipping chain, or wanted more gears. i think i initially had a 13-28x39 8-speed xtr freewheel and when it wore out i bought a 7-speed 12-32x38. i now run 1x1.

i honestly don't understand why just about everybody that is not actually in a race would prefer something more than a 1x10 or 1x11.

FBinNY 

The case for double or triple front rings is fairly simple. The bulk of the weight is already invested in the cassette and RD, so with all that in, leveraging it for wider gearing, with a 2nd ring and FD, is a comparative bargain, in terms of weight and cost.

I'm convinced that many riders, would fare better with a smaller jump up front, than the typical 14t 39/53 or 36/50 compact drive. Given that cassettes almost all start at 11 or 12t, I'd prefer something like 38/46 or 40/48 up front. so the gear ranges had good overlap, and when the math is right, pack lots of closely spaced combinations in the mid range that I use on level to slight inclines.

I'm reconciled to stock cassettes, since specials a re a problem in Hyperglide (by any name), but still use classic non-gated chainrings so I can set the interval to exactly what I want.

lopek77

Specialized Bicycle Components


- Crankset 40T
- 11 speeds cassette (10-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36-42)

hueyhoolihan

like bike.

Jiggle

I agree. I'm riding a 36/46 with 11-28 11 speed right now. I posted a chart with the gear range in another thread and got comments saying it "overlapped too much". That is how your average cyclist thinks: Greater range must always be better without further analysis.

I was annoyed with my 39/53 because at around 20mph +/- 2mph I was forced into front shifts.

The 14 tooth jumps are for people who ride in the mountains. That's not most of us.

ThermionicScott 

That, and somehow redundant gear combinations add weight. I haven't figured out that thought process yet.

As an aside, I really like the 48/39 on my main road bike. Even with a relatively-tight cassette (13-23), there is enough overlap that both rings are usable on flat ground, so I only need to shift the front when the terrain is about to pitch way up or down.

tcarl

In rather flat Illinois riding, 85% of my mileage is in just four gears: 42x15,16,17 and 19. I also don't want chainrings to have more than about a 10-tooth difference between them - 42/52 or 42/53 is best for me. And I have no use for freewheel/cassette cogs smaller than a 13 unless I get into big hills.

Kopsis

What do you perceive would be the benefit? I run 1x10 on my CX bike because eliminating the front derailleur makes it easier to keep the drivetrain working in the hostile conditions of a CX course. The loss of ratios is not a liability when you rarely spend more than 30 sec at a given speed. On the road, 1x10 works ok, but there's really no benefit.

wvridgerider

Not sure why but I might try it. If I do there will be a report. I know the jumps might not suit my riding style though.

Bill Kapaun

A good reason why you don't want a 1x?

bud16415

If you are attracted to the simplicity of a 1x10 are not fast and don’t want to be fast and live in a hilly area. I would figure out what 10 speed appeals to me and what front ring I would want and I would build it on a triple crank putting the ring in the center position and add a granny ring 12 tooth less. Where the big ring goes put on a chain guard.

Unless someone sells a double crank where the outer ring is in the center of the cassette and would take say a 28/40 combination.

Forget you have the granny there unless you run out of gas, and then be glad you have 5 or 6 nice low gears to fall back on.

wvridgerider

I just enjoy trying different things. I used a treking crank before and really liked it. My low gear now is a 34-30 combo and I manage it up the climbs here. Over the years I have tried different combs and by far the 2X10 is the best shifting and gearing that I have ever used. I just might try a 28X42.

wvridgerider

Oh yea I went 1X10 on the mountain bike and it is nice without the mud catcher on the seat tube.

Barrettscv 

I had a 1x10 with a 44t chainring and a 12-27. It was great for Illinois. I was normally using one of the middle cogs and could shift up and down to adjust.

I might try a 39t with an 11-32, depending on where I rode.

Darth Lefty 

Why?

A 11-32 cassette has similar range all by itself (2.9:1) to an "alpine" 1970's bike boom 10-speed with a 52-40 front and 14-32 rear (3:1); and it gives you 8-10 effective ratios rather than six. With a 42 front you'll get about the same gearing. To go lower, you can do 11-34 cassettes with Shimano using a 10-speed road shifter and non-Shadow RD. You can do 11-36 cassettes with 10-speed SRAM, which is compatible between road and mountain parts.

Why not?

You have to sacrifice really high or really low gears. So if you want to bomb descents or tow trailers or take a full set of panniers up a steep grade, it's probably not a good idea.

A modern compact double road system with 50/34 front and 11-32 rear has a total range of 4.3:1. With the same cassette and lower and higher rings, it goes both lower and higher than the single cassette, with shifts of the same spacing as your 1x system. You could argue the upper couple of shifts are wasted. A modern MTB triple system with 42/32/24 front and 11-32 rear has a total range of 5.1:1. A double system with a 36-22 front and 11-36 rear gets 5.4:1 and the low gear is bonkers.

ljsense

I had a similar urge at one point and built what had been a singlespeed CX commuter into a 1x10 commuter with a 42t chain ring and I think a 12-27 cassette. It used a bar end shifter.

Eventually, it became a 2x10 again with brake/shift levers. These are the reasons:

I lost the chain off the front chainring a couple of times even though the chain line was good and the teeth were tall and straight.

I missed the big gears. I'd be going fast and then just think "oh well" as I spun out. I also missed the fine tune. It felt like there were a couple gaps where I was missing a gear combination.

Single chainrings don't look as pleasing to my eye as doubles. Doubles just look right to me, and I missed the appearance.

I was looking for a chain watcher so I wouldn't have to deal with a dropped chain on the way to work, and the cheapest options were front derailleurs. The thought of putting a front derailleur on as a chain watcher pushed me back into 2x10 land.

I'm happy there. There is symmetry. The cables make sense. There is no issue matching a brake/shift lever with a brake lever. There are no lone bar end shifters hitching a ride on one side.

fietsbob

Noted: those 10-42 11 speed cassettes retail for $300 + when they wear, as They Will..



Of course a 9 speed cassette driver on the end of a 3 speed IGH doesn't need but 1 chainring

I like my 1 by 14 .. Rohloff. IGH. it's even better in a 20" wheel ..

KBentley57

gsa103

Main problem with 1x10 for the road is that the road cycling has a higher range of speeds. When mountain biking, your cadence is all over the place because of bumps and terrain, so having big jumps between gears isn't that significant. Even in relatively flat terrain, you want to be able to cover 8-30 mph while pedaling, just because of wind, minor hills and start stopping. You can get that with a 1x10 but its going to come at the expense of big jumps between gears.

I find a compact crank gives the best benefit. Basically, you ride a compact like a dual 1x10 setup. With a triple, you're constantly shifting the front, because there's only about 1.5 cog difference in the cranks. I do wish someone made a 30/46t sub-compact though. Enough high-end for most riding, and plenty of low end.

rowebr

IRD makes one for a decent price:

IRD Compact Crank 46/30 New in-stock assorted lengths!

ThermionicScott 

"Constantly"? Not in my experience. With the right chainring and cassette pairing it's more like "hang out on the middle ring 95% of the time, and shift to the big or small rings for extreme terrain."

Take a look online, you might be surprised by how many 46/30 offerings there are out there. Thankfully, others agree it's a very sensible combination. Even a 46/34 combo built on a plain ol' 110mm double crank gives some nice options with a modern cassette.

gsa103

Part of the issue may be that my area (SF Bay Area) tends toward more extreme riding, so my experience was the opposite, maybe 5% on the middle ring. I would either want the big ring or the small ring, and the middle one was never low or high enough for general use. On the flats, I'm fine with the standard 50t and 11-28 cassette, which I'm usually right in the middle of the cassette, with good room to adjust up or down. I can see where the 16t cog would be nice.

If you're spending 95% of the time in the middle ring, it seems like a 12-25 cassette and 50/34 compact would be about ideal, although a 48/34 is probably closer. Tight spacing and you can drop down to the 34t for strong headwinds, etc.

That IRD 46/30 crankset is the first one I've seen. If you go to Chain Reaction and look through their selection, there isn't a single crankset like that. The closest is an XTR 44/30t. The major manufacturers are definitely not on-board yet.

ThermionicScott 

I can see how wildly-varying terrain might make that drastic front shift more useful, but I'm not sold yet. I borrowed a friend's bike with a 50/34 for a couple weeks and absolutely hated it. Perhaps with a 48T big ring or 36T small ring I might have hated it less.

One shop is hardly representative of the market at large! Try again.

AlmostTrick

With one chainring you will either have wider gaps between gears, or a narrower total range than a multi ring bike.* Doesn't mean it can't work for you though.

I recently bought a new 1x9 bike, and although I may still make adjustments with the ratios at the cassette, I don't see any reason I'd need to hang another shifter, cable, derailleur, and chainring on it.

*or a nice happy medium between the two!