mdilthey

Hi Gravel-munchers,

I wrote up a guide on 1x10 for cross, gravel-biking, endurance riding, touring... It's actually a way more fun drivetrain than I anticipated.

Enjoy:

Max, The Cyclist- 1x10 Guide

flargle

I've repeatedly seen guys dump their chains with narrow-wide rings and non-clutch ders.

Enthusiast

Hey, Max. I've recently come back to the forum after a couple years absence. It looks like we have similar styles. I've been using 1 by drivetrains for a while now (my last big tour was cross the country in 2012 on a 1x9 34t and 11-34t) Glad to see I'm no longer the only crazy one. I love the simplicity of one shifter and I never found myself missing a top end or smaller jumps between gears. Each position on my bars created an aerodynamic "shift" to fine tune the resistance. And you get really good at standing climbing! Hope this drivetrain works for you!

Narrow/wide chainrings and clutch derailleurs are newer tech I haven't tried - do you find them really useful? I'd drop my chain every week or so, didn't seem to be such an issue.

Kopsis

I did it three times in one CX race two weeks ago. I'd done several races prior on my 1x10 wide/narrow setup with no problems, but this one had some fast singletrack with just enough big roots to really get the chain bouncing. In other races the rough sections were pretty slow and technical.

So depending on where/how you ride, you might get by with a non-clutch RD. But given that Type 2 RDs have gotten very affordable (I just picked up a brand new SRAM X7 Type 2 for under $70), if you're serious about using a 1x10 setup do yourself a favor and spring for the clutch RD.

flargle

I think (correct me if I'm wrong) that if you're Shimano road 1x10 you don't have a good clutch der option, and might as well go with Sram shifter as well.

Kopsis

True, the Shadow Plus derailleurs are all using the Dyna-Sys cable pull ratio. That makes them incompatible with Shimano 10 speed road shifters, I believe the new 11 speed Shimano road shifters are now using a Dyna-Sys compatible ratio (and would work with a Shadow Plus), but obviously that gets pricey if you're not already running 11-speed. There is a clever "hack" whereby a hole is drilled in the Shadow Plus RD lever arm half way between the existing pinch bolt and the pivot. This effectively bumps the pull ratio back up to 2:1. I suspect you could do the same thing (with no permanent modification) using a small stainless steel hose clamp, but that's probably a discussion for the Mechanic's forum.

BluesDawg

Not according to this interview with a Shimano rep. Shimano XTR M9000 11-speed Component Compatibility FAQs - Useful for Cyclocross? Gravel? - Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos

"Will the new M9000 XTR derailleurs work with 11-speed Dura-Ace, Ultegra or the new Shimano 105 STI shifters? In typical new component group fashion, no. The cable pull is different. No clutch option for road Shimano road shifters yet."

fietsbob

Traditional CX kit was 2 disc Chainguards on either side of the single ring , [<c> 1048/4 an example]

now that the chainminders have become popular, the inside disc was replaced with one of those..

keepamonte

I've been running a 42 and 11-28 this year and it's been fine all season so far. With gravel racing around the corner I may switch back to my 53/39. I'm also considering getting a CX1 rear derailure as well and eventually getting a 11/32 as well but I'm wondering if I'll spin too much on the tight hard pack here.

gamby

Great writeup, Max!

Also--now I don't feel so self-conscious about the weight of my CX beater (~28lbs)

unterhausen

the way I ride my gravel bike, I think that I would be a little too limited with that top gear. I have a 42-11 top gear and I want more sometimes, but that's probably just laziness. I'm convinced about 1x on mountain bikes, that's for sure.

Barrettscv 

This worked great for me, nothing else needed and never a dropped chain.

Hdpearson13

Understand I also feel that way. I beleive I should be able to put a 46 if gravel racing and be ok with the 46-36 combo for low but haven't yet. Would a 46 be to small in a gravel race?

gamby

46x11 puts you well over 30mph at a decent cadence. I don't know if you're gonna go much faster than that on gravel.

cc700

i am running an x9 clutch rd with a n/w up front and loving it. i'm running 11-36 with a 40t and i'm very unhappy when spinning downhill, but gravel climbs are no problem.

also it looks boss as hell on my bike so i'm liking it for all the aesthetic reasons too. if i ever take my gravel/cross bike for loaded touring, i'm sure i'll swap out for a full compliment of gears... but i've never dropped a chain with the narrow wide and now that i have the clutch type, i'm really liking the drivetrain.

unterhausen

that's great on flat ground, but around here we are either going up or down when riding gravel I ran the numbers in a gear calculator, 46/36 isn't in the right ballpark