I'm looking for a way to covert my sram red etap 2x 11 speed group to a 1x system to get lowest possible gearing for gravel riding and still be able to use for road riding. Right now I have a 34 small chainring and 36 lowest gear on my cassette with the wifli and a wolftooth roadlink. It's not great as I have chain droop in my 11 and 13 tooth. I try not to cross chain this combo. More importantly, I've joined a gravel group and my lowest gear isn't low enough for me.

What I hope to do (other than get a new bike which isn't easy right now) is to pull the battery on my front derailleur so I can't accidentally shift the FD, get a 38? chain ring and an 11-42 cassette. I hope this will be adequate for faster road sections and low enough for steep dirt hills. My 32 knobby tires work fine for what I'm doing.

One thing I don't know is how to measure the chain for a 1x setup so help with that would be appreciated. Also any feedback or other ideas please.