Originally Posted by
Sierra_rider
On my mountain bikes, I am so glad we are in the age of the 1x12...I hated the old bikes with the triples. I started out racing XC on a triple, just as 1x was starting to catch on. I know how to shift and adjust a derailleur, but I had a few instances where a downshift and some harsh bumps would lead to inopportune chain suck. Not to mention that I was constantly busy with shifting.
I’m not a racer but the way I use triples on mountain bike rides is close to 3 separate 1x’s. At the top of a hill, I might shift up to get more speed (and to keep the chain from flapping around) but I don’t do a whole lot of shifting on the front when climbing. Again, I have this weird little device that allows me to change the character of the bike by simply pushing a lever.
In my experience, chain suck is caused by the chain hanging up on the chainwheel and being sucked into frame. The hang up is due to a burr on the chain that doesn’t allow for the chain to release. Bumps had nothing to do with it.
Chain slap could occur but that was easily fixed by going to a larger ring to tighten up the system on downhills. Fairly common to do that before clutch derailers.