Originally Posted by
chaadster
I'm not following you... Are you saying that if you have a double, you need to shift between front chainrings, but with a 1x, you're fine? Why is that? Couldn't you just stay in the small ring on a double after the climbs, or does the gear range on your 1x offer much taller gears than you would have in the small ring on the double setup?
I think 42 is about as small as I'd want to go for a 1x. My other bikes have either a 34 or 39 small ring.
I give up a little on the low end with the 1x setup but don't climb any long hills in the winter so it's not a problem. In the summer I use a 34 small ring and an 12-26 cassette and that gets me up the long 8-10% hills. To use the 1x in the summer I'd need an 11-32 which is probably available but would need a different derailleur in the rear (currently using Force).