Do I need narrow wide chain ring for x1 setup?
 

Hi All

I am building up a x1 road set-up on a late 80s steel frame. I want to use a SRAM 10 or 11 speed cassette on rear and a x1 chain ring. I plan to also use one of the new rear derailleur with a clutch. The question is do I need to use a narrow wide chain ring up front, say from SRAM, Wolf Tooth, Praxis etc or can I just use a more standard config. I obviously dont want to run into issues with the chain coming off.

Many Thanks

Arb

The chainring must match the rear sprockets you use so if you use 10 then a 10 speed chain and the same is true if you use 11. You need a narrow chain ring. Roger

Most current road or MTB chainrings intended for double or triple cranks have ramps and shaped teeth to improve shifting, which is exactly what you don't want. An old-fashion "flat" chainring such as the ones Surly offers would be better but may not match the newer narrow 10 and 11-speed chains. A narrow-wide suitable for 10 and 11-speed chains would be the most reliable. As long as you are making the change, go with the most suitable chainring.

I think the narrow/wide ring is more important for chain retention than the clutch rear D. On the road, anyway. I run a Wolf Tooth with standard rear D and haven't had a chain drop issue yet.

The clutch adds a little drag, N/W CR does not.

If it's spending the money that's your primary concern, USA Made chainrings are excellent, and $28 shipped.

I have a narrow-wide wolftooth 1x as well and despite having an XT rear derailleur with clutch, the clutch is always off. Never dropped a chain.

I second the "narrow wide is more important than a clutch" opinion.

No ..

I say go with a narrow-wide chainring. They're available in a wide variety of tooth counts and BCD's, and aren't all that expensive in the big picture when you are building up a drivetrain as it sounds like you're doing. Especially with the clutch-type RD you mention, you will eliminate chain drop as a concern. Not all that many years ago, chain retention devices were common and necessary on many 1x setups. With narrow-wide chainrings, those days are gone for the most part.

I have several 1 by IGH bikes they're fine with simple flat old style chainrings ..


you may feel you need it, then I'm not going to talk you out of it ..

That's good info if the OP were talking about converting to singlespeed or an IGH, i.e. chainline is presumably very good and doesn't change. But the OP is not talking about that, his chainline will change radically as he shifts from one end of the cassette to the other.

You can use like a BMX chainring. Works pretty well. But yeah don't use an indexed chainring. BMX/singlespeed chainrings are super cheap.

Of course there are a few single speed and track chainrings that are thick and exclusively made for 1/8th" chains but those are rare, it's much more common with freewheels and cogs.

Are you buying new? It's one thing if you're reusing old parts. If buying new though, then buy the right stuff. Consider a clutch derailleur too, imho, if you are buying a derailleur for the build.

I put over a thousand miles on a non-ramped inner chainring on a road bike I set up as a 1x1l without a drop, even without a clutch derailleur. I did change to a Wolf Tooth narrow-wide primarily because I wanted to switch to a 42t from a 39t and I thought that a bit of extra protection was worth it. For smooth surface riding, as long as your return chain tension is good you should be ok, but as [MENTION=84924]JonathanGennick[/MENTION] points out, why not go N-W if buying new.

Cyclocross racing single ring, uses regular chain rings too , simply has other chain retention devices
such as added outer ring guards .. polished, anodized or carbon fiber..


narrow-wide is just today's trend.. as is gravel racing in the farmlands..





>>>

Apparently you have never ridden in my area. For all practical purposes there are no smooth surfaces. :p

Actually I have, and agree with you about the condition of some (most?) of the roads around PGH. Are any improvements progressing?

:thumb: Chainring guards, chain guides, clutch derailleurs, narrow wide rings ... they are all solutions to the problem. I'm not sure that trendiness is a negative thing in this context, though, because trends seem to follow effective design for drivetrains. Not so much for other things like bike lights, though.

I had a usa made ring, chain dropped every day almost, I wouldn't worry about a narrow wide as much as getting a clutch rear mech , you can use a normal ring just use the front mech and limit screw it in place . I have a 1x I use a sram red inner ring mounted on the out side if a rival crank , haven't dropped a chain once , sram gx shifter mech with the 15 dollar sram chain 😶

Friend of mine does exactly that. It works well for him. He's got a narrow/wide ring, but lacks a clutch derailleur and needs the front mech to prevent the chain from dropping. It's a good solution.

Hi All

Thanks for this. Helpful. The original question was less cost driven than understanding what is / is not possible.

I like the look of the Hope 1x narrow / wide rings. I presume they licensed this from SRAM so it works well?

Arb

IDK who got the Patent licence first , but You know, its possible to find that thru the Patent offices..

I doubt it, regarding it being licensed from SRAM. SRAM's trademarked name for chain-retaining chainrings is "X-Sync," I don't think the Hope rings use that terminology. It doesn't matter, a good quality narrow-wide ring from a reputable manufacturer such as Hope should work great.

I recently converted an older Specialized Sirrus to 1x7 using an old Sugino chainring (flat). Only one chain drop in ~500 miles, courtesy of my own foot getting in the way.

when i converted to 1x10, i went with a clutched deore xp rd because i'm using a campy chorus crankset and finding a narrow/wide sprocket with the right bdc was proving to be pretty hard. i did eventually find someone making them, but i've been using the stock inner 39t campy ring this whole time and haven't had a dropped chain yet, so i haven't been able to justify spending more money on a ring yet.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...925ab9787c.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...481ca3f18e.jpg

zombie thread i know just my .02 cents for posterity sake: when i was testing out my 1x10 i ran a standard dura ace 7402 40T chainring and never had any issue with chain slip. regular old 7700 rear derailleur as well (road bike of course).