The maximum setup I used with a 1x9 drivetrain was an 11-40 Sunrace cassette. This worked well with both 50T and 56T single chainrings. However, when I tried using 60T and 69T chainrings, I encountered issues with the chainline and chain length. The Sora derailleur couldn't maintain enough tension, which led to chain drops. Throughout the year that I ran the 1x9 with the 56T chainring, I never experienced a chain drop.

Eventually, I switched to a 1x11 setup (11-46 x 60T / 11-40 x 69T chainring). Currently, I am using the 11-40 cassette with a 60T chainring. I have a clutched derailleur, and the 60T chainring is narrow-wide, which prevents/limits any chain drops.

I run a 1x10 setup with a Zee groupset with an 11-36T gear ratio and a 48T chainring. Although I'm using the SLX Shadow Link on the Zee derailleur, it's designed to handle a maximum of 36T (up from 28T) with a 25T capacity. I believe I could switch to an 11-40T gear ratio with a 52T chainring, but I don’t really need that much range on this bike. I prefer to keep the gear gaps close, similar to my 11-speed setup.