Has anyone else set up a 1x drivetrain for $450 or less? What did you use? What was the result; did it work? Are you planning such a drivetrain? How low, in terms of cost, do you think you could go? Are you now, or will you in the future, be in the posession of a 1x drivetrain that will cost less than the comparatively expensive drivetrain detailed in the article linked to in the original post?
I did this setup on my wife's ex mini velo.
36t 165mm cranks - <usd$10
Sunrace 11-32t 8 speed cassette - about usd$10
Stock 6 speed chain - $0
Revoshift 8 speed - <usd$10
Altus rd - about usd $10
So that is <usd$40 for the mod. Lol.
Low gear of 22.5 inch, high gear of 65.5. Plenty low for casual rides, good range for cruising.
Planning to do another bike with the same setup except with Altus M310 shifter, which would be <usd$10 again.
Actually if you are not fussy about brand or chainring interchangeability, there are plenty of cheap fixed cranks of whatever teeth you want. Eg 32t 170mm is quite common.
And 8 speed cassettes are very cheap. You can get one for <usd$10 from taobao. Even Sunrace's new 11-40t goes for sgd$15 only.