bluewhite08

I ride a hardtail on some really rocky stuff in central PA. Having tried some singlespeeds, I now find my triple-chainring annoying...chain slaps around, chain drops, shifting the chainrings sucks...etc. So, impossible as it may be, I would like to simplify my drivetrain a bit...I dont want to go full-on singlespeed, but maybe run a single chainwheel and a shorter chain (anybody have luck with a megarange cassette on a mtb??). Any suggestions?

Chone

Use a crankset with two rings and bashring and maybe try a shorter chain too (8 speed if you are currently running 9 or 7 if you are running 8 or I don't know).

But you should really just bite the bullet and make your ride a singlespeed if you are that desperate for simplicity.

PSUfan09

do i smell a stater?

jaypee

I'm of the opinion that a 1xN is the way to go. I recently built up an On-One Inbred as a 1x9 and couldn't be happier. Once I get my new wheelset, it'll be a 1x5 with the advantages of gears while having a dishless read wheel.

ed 

I wanted to do the exact same thing! I built a bike for cruddy weather, so I didn't want do mess with a front derailleur, so all I did was use a Shimano Hollowtech crankset (pretty much any decent crank will be fine) and took off the granny gear and big ring. I kept the 32 tooth middle ring in the middle position. I rarely lost the chain off the inside, but I ALWAYS lost the chain off the outside of the ring, so I installed a BBG Singlespeed bashring (not really a bash ring, more of a dress up ring) on the outside of my crankset. Now the outer ring won't allow the chain to come off. Problem solved.

I love this setup. On my most frequented trail network, I really only have two descents that may benefit using a 44t big ring. I have gotten stronger and lighter, so I don't need a granny gear anymore. I run an 11-32 8-speed cassette in the rear. This is like the best setup I have ever had.

Granted, I still have a bike with a triple chainring, but for most of the trails around here...the 1x8 is fine.

Try it, you'll like it!

barba

Easy, buy a single ring front crank.

bluewhite08

ok so i looked at the e thirteen srs chainguide...expensive, but gets pretty good reviews.

can you still pedal a chainguide-equipped bike uphill? (i like climbing)

also, what is a 1Xn setup, and how does it enable you to use a non-dished rear wheel?

Maelstrom 

I am a fan of that setup. I am not at the level to ride it solid on all my trails. Some uphills just kill me. But it removed a lot of the mess I don't like.

Chainguide will not affect climbing. They are essentially fancy chain tensioners that work better.

jaypee

You'll most likely not anything so complicated for your front. On mine, I'm using Profile cranks with a 32t Surly chainring in the middle position. In the outer, I've a Spot chainring guard. I just ordered an N-Gauge JumpStop to take care of any issues with the chain popping off towards the inside. (Only happens when a rock or stick gets in there somehow) Running a regular, non-derailer chainring such as the Surly helps as the teeth are a bit taller and aren't ramped or pinned like a regular chainring, thus helping to keep the chain in position. The E-thirteen and other downhill specific systems tend to add un-necessary drag. Keep it simple, and while it takes more effort to get uphill due to the lack of super low gear ratios, it's still more versitile than a regular SS setup.

A 1xN setup means 1 chainring up front with N = however many gears you have in back. I'm currently running a 9-speed SRAM setup in the rear, but when I switch over to my Hadley rear, I'll pare that down to 5 speeds. Since the flanges on this particular Hadley hub are centered (5 gears on one side, disc mounts on the other) I'll be able to build a dishless wheel which is significantly stronger. Profile also makes a similar hub which allows for 6 speeds.


I'm in Wisconsin so I don't need the range I'm assuming you do up there. My knees would most likely explode apart at the speed of light.

edzo

single ring up front, spacers and 4 cogs in the back. all the gears you need

Maelstrom 

In reality I could use a 2x9 setup, but I didn't find I could use the small ring as I wasn't able to shift quickly enough due to some of the abrupt ups and downs. So I am trying to adapt to using a 1x9 setup

ed 

I tried a 2x9 setup, but I didn't like the chainline. I was running a 32/44 with no granny. I moved my crankset further in toward the frame to center the two chainrings with the center cog on my 9-speed cassette. The result was a crap load of noise from the chain rubbing the derailleur when I was in my lowest and highest two combinations. My big ring was moved in further away from my smallest cog and my middle ring was further away from my biggest cog than the granny used to be when I ran a 3x9. I can't stand foreign noises like that, so I moved my crankset back out and put the granny back on.

I'll probably stick to a 3x9 on that bike and a 1x8 on my other.

WorldWind

This is probably not what a lot of you want to hear but dropping your chain or having it slap around are not symptoms of a bad drive train. They are symptomatic of … shall we say, less than proficient riding skills.

I don’t know about where you ride, but I would never give up my triple. Doing that would make it impossible to navigate the trails I ride.

I’m not saying there is not a place for double or even single ring cranks within the mountain biking ranks. I have a cross bike with a double, a 13-28, and narrow tires but it is limited as to where it can carry me. And for creek crossings at the bottom of a steep ravine I carry it. I have to run it across trailhead styles and up steep loose rooted climbs. Places I can ride or jump on and over without a dab on my xc-bike.

Where you are riding on washboard, stutter bumps, or rock-strewn sections and can’t be on a larger ring, the key is a short cage derailleur with a tight spring and keeping an even tension on the chain. Even when you are weaving through boulders or stumps and can’t get a full pedal revolution a quick halfback pedal and then forward with a timely shift should get you up or down a ring. If your rig won’t do that with a little practice, I would be looking to adjustment before I was ready to bail on the triple.

The down side to having a tight drive train is you need to always be mindful of your gear, and never try to shift to any of the larger cogs while you are on the big ring.

vw addict

Simplicity? Take your brakes off.

Maelstrom 

Brakeless and gearless ...bmx style

Jason222

Lots of good posts here. Get a chain breaker and take some links out, or try what others have said. I recently broke my chain (too bad it broke at the master link too ) and I shortened it by 3 links or so. I have A LOT less chainslap that I normally do, and it skips around less.

mx_599

i use a 1 x 8 with an e.thirteen

vw addict

Ya dig?

ed 

"Worldwind", you're being a little single minded. (not to offend) Some riders have trails in their area with climbs that are do-able with a 32 tooth chainring. Sure, I have a little of both here in my area but I have two bikes. My 3x9 is wonderful for when I run out of energy, but my 1x8 makes me stronger.

The key is not a short cage derailleur. It may work for some, but not this application. I jumped off a small staircase with a tight drivetrain and did fine. I shifted to a smaller cog and did the same jump...my chain flew off the chainring because of the slack. I put a bash ring type thing on the outside and it was just enough 'lip' to keep the chain on the chainring.

You can only take so many links out before you rip off the derailleur. Even if I make the chain tight as heck in the biggest cog on the rear...when i shift down to the smallest cog, the chain will be a little floppy. When I jump off something and land at higher speeds, sometimes the chain would bounce off the chainring. I never had it drop off the inside obviously because when the chain was looser (on the small ring) it was being pulled toward the outside. When It was on the inside cogs, there was enough chain tension for it not to come off the chainring. It's just the nature of the beast.

Sure, you can say that the world of 1xN bikers have less than proficient skills, but when you're hitting larger bumps or doing small jumps...the chain will be prone to flopping around, just like all chains do when there's slack. I don't really consider washboards and small rock gardens technical riding. I call that mountain biking. If you consider "proficient skills" shifting into your biggest cog to take up chain slack before you bomb that downhill or jump...that just doesn't make sense. If you're saying "proficient" riders should have enough finesse to suck up every bump in the trail / staircase...whatever while going 30mph in a small cog so the chain doesn't flop off the chainring...I have to disagree.

These drivetrains are a little prone to jump off your chainring unless you ride conservatively, I guess.

I think you'd be surprised how much work your front derailleur does besides just shifting. It also acts as a bit of a chain guide (keep it in check anyway). These are probably things you already know, so I'm sorry if I am insulting your intelligence in any way, it's not my intention. I'm just sharing my experience so others won't have the same problems scratching their head as long as I did.

Cheers.

MadMan2k

That'd actually be scary on a MTB. It's damn hard to do a footjam, especially a back footjam, and there's a lot more rotating mass.

(It is sweet on a BMX though)

WorldWind

“Chelboed”, Single-minded is probably not to bad a way to describe my way of thinking when it comes to mtn. biking. I see it from only my narrow perspective. (road racing, team mechanic, retail, and trails advocate) Don’t think there is any way you are going to insult me buy having a valid opinion. That is what we are here for. To share and grow from others experiences and the opinions that grow out of them.

You are absolutely correct that their are plenty of trails that are perfect for 1xN and 2xN bikes, but that was not among my points. Nor did I intend in any way to imply that riders of those bikes had less skills. It has been my experience that the exact opposite is the case. I have found that riders that gravitate to cyclocross and fixed gear off road bikes have ‘better than most’ riding skills. But I don’t think that they converted their bikes because they couldn’t control their chain from slapping the frame or jumping off their rings.

The solutions I have found to work for my 3x8’s is to use a short cage with a modified spring, and use chain position to eliminate slapping and dropping. I am pointing this out because it works for me. I am not saying it is the solution for everyone. I don’t use a bash ring on any of my x-c bikes. I just don’t need it, and I am a very aggressive rider.

When I leap from a table top I move to my big ring and one of the smaller cogs (depending on what the terrain calls for) as soon as my rear looses traction. I apply a little rear break to facilitate this shift quickly and control pedal rotation. I place my right foot in the two oclock forward position and immediately return the cage to the middle ring position. As I land my crank arms are almost parallel and the chain is off its trailing tooth and ready to drop. As I absorb the drop I begin to peddle the second I have traction keeping the chain tight and completing the shift into the gear I want to be in. I try to translate as much of the energy in my body mass into that first two peddle strokes and take advantage of the added traction afforded by the landing.

The key to not having your chain jump ship is to keep it under tension even if you need to use your rear break while in the air. The short cage, if you can handle it eliminates a little lower chain sloppiness and a tighter spring helps a little more but is not a cure for hard landings with no tension on the chain.

I know that their are plenty of drive trains that are a pain to shift, that no amount of adjustment will fix and if you have one of them I know that my words are just so much wishful thinking as far as they apply to your riding but I do think there are solutions to them less drastic than loosing some range of gearing you may really need.

Blazinall91

I run 1x8 and as soon as I'm done with new drivetrain 1x9, I love it, I never really used my large ring and never really used my small ring, and with my e.13 SRS I have yet to lose my chain which comes in very handy. I'm running a 36T front ring and in the rear 9 speed 11-34T cassette.

mcoine

Internal gear rear hub

jag89

im half converted i took my outer 44t ring of and slapped on a e-thirteen bashgaurd and its running 2x9 at the moment allthough i never use the granny ring im just waiting from some cash to roll my way and they i can get an e-thirteen SRS to complete my 1x9 conversion. at the moment its just fine. i just hate front mechs though!

WorldWind

You know when I went back to re read the lead in post for this thread the poster asks about wide range cog sets and I don’t know that any one has addressed that.

I have a rear wheel that has a White hub and a Shimano 11-34 seven cog cassette. I use it occasionally on my Everest when I am going on slower group rides with lots seated climbing and talking. Normally I run an 11-28 on a Hugi silent hub.

The wide range cassette shifts ok, it will make three cog up shifts, but not as crisply as the 11-28 will. The derailleur on that bike is a Dura-Ace and the shifters are the older Suntour indexed top levers. The crank set is a compact Suntour triple and I do use my rings to facilitate large chain movements on the cassette.