Originally Posted by
aquateen
I currently have a compact double and was thinking of going 1x9 on my cross bike. I assume I need a new crankset. Do people ever use track cranksets for this purpose?
Historically (1x is NOT a new idea for cyclocross racing), people used their old crankset and substituted a big ring with no teeth to help prevent dropping the chain to the outside.
A track crank would look pretty, but wouldn't function as well on rough ground without a narrow-wide chainring or chain keeper.