It would be cool to get thread going for people who run a 1x9 rig.

I am curious about 1x9 on a road/cross bike...

Do you ever throw or drop the chain?

What size chainring are you running?

Etc...

I ride mine like it's a 1x9.
I have a double but never use the small ring.

I have a triple, and never move off of the middle ring. I am in the process of building up a new commuter rig which will be 1x9, and am considering using this I'd love to hear the experiences of others using this, or other 1x9 or 1x8 rigs. I don't use indexed shifters for the rder so I am flexible on 1x8 or 1x9.

I have a 2x9 that's NEVER seen the small ring.

I'm building up a Casseroll that will be 1x10, but it's not on the road yet.

There are guards you can use to prevent chain jumping, or you can use an old FD to keep it in place.

I'm also a virtual 1x9 cyclist, got a triple up front but never move off the middle ring. I'm pretty sure my FD is completely out of adjustment, and is there just to prevent chain jumping.

Sorry, I run 1x8 on a MTB, but it is a 9sp mech, so when the cassette wears out I will go to 9. It is 36x11-28, but I will probably go to 38x11-34.

I have only thrown the chain once. I have a bashguard, but that one time, it fell inward. So there's a Third Eye chain watcher on the inside now.

I run a 39t chainring and an 11-34t cassette on my Surly Pacer. I have an old triple front crank with the small ring removed and the big ring replaced with a salsa crossing guard. I don't think you would actually need the crossing guard (to keep the chain from jumping), but it was an easy way for me to re-use my old chain ring bolts.

I love 1x9 soo much. I wish I had gone to it a long time ago.

I run a 1x8. the bike is an 82 nishiki I turned into an english 3 speed look type of design

I am running a SRAM wide range cassete on the back (13-34??? forget exactly) and 39 on the front.

I moved the inner 39 ring to the outer ring....I got a better chain line that way.

I use a simple thumb shifter.

I have had no problems with dropping the chain....but it is used prettly calmly.

The only problem I had was that the 39 ring doesnt have the little peg to keep the chain from getting jammed between the outer ring and the crank....as i discovered once changing a rear tire.

FD cable got all frayed on the deraileur and was scratching my leg so I pulled the cable at work and haven't bothered to replace since I never really used it been meaning to take off the fd will do now and see what happens on my ride today. I have a std cross setup 39-46 and 12/26 I will try both small and big ring.

Interesting. I know the 1x9 MTB crowd is big on bashguard to hold the chain on....but I don't see why a road rider would need one.

How does your Pacer climb?

I'm running 1x8 with a 48t Sugino track crankset. Deore LX RD, and I do throw the chain ev'ry now and again on shifts in the tallest two gears; the chain will jump a little and add that to the poor chainline as it gets that far out and I get a jump to the outside. Happens infrequently enough that I haven't done anything about it, but when it does man I'm peeved....

I have a 36T x 12-26T (1x9) setup on my 'cross bike. I've been meaning to add a 40/42T chainring, but haven't got around to it. I have one of these in a 110 BCD. Again, I still have to get another one for the inside and spacers. Also I'll have to get a wider BB for a straight(er) chainline and maybe remove a few links.

This setup is just not for commuting. I plan on racing this coming Fall. I'll also have another wheelset with a 11-32T cassette for bikepacking/light touring.

Any pics of these creatures? I came close to a Specialized Milano but she sold it before I got to look at it.

I am running 1X9 on my Peugeot P8. Love it. I can easily get over 30 mph on the 42/12. I see no reason for a bigger gear than that here in Boise for a commuter. I have never dropped a chain but I do have a problem getting the friction shifting to stay dead on. I get some ghost shifting (especially when I sprint). But I think that is more a function of the shifter.

I think Ontheroadid runs a 1X9 here in Boise as well. Most East-West Boise area commuters only have a 100 foot bench to climb (if they have to deal with that).

FYI: My friction shifters are a completely new animal after replacing the cables and housings. Is yours clean? lubed?

My cross bike is a "virtual" 1x9, as I basically tool around almost exclusively on the middle ring of my Ultegra 52-42-30.... I have a 12-27 on the rear. The only time I get any rubbing/chainline issues is when I'm on the largest cog. Around here (SW Idaho) that's not often.

I'd recommend a 42 or 44-tooth chainring and a 12-27 based on my experience. You can get up all but the steepest climbs (without being Lance) and can still top 30 mph without spinning out.

You've got the seed of a great idea. Go for it!

here is my 1/8.....the whole bike not drive train detail

I ride a 1x9 (Novara Buzz). If your chain is "jumping" off the front chainring it could be the chainring needs replacement. The only drawback, so far as I can see, with a 1x9 set-up is that moving the chain from 1 to 9 means a pretty severe chain angle, which, over time, wears down chainrings at a faster rate than you would with a double, triple or FG/SS.

The late Fred DeLong took a series of high-speed photographs back in the 1960s that showed how on a 1xN drivetrain a rear shift can, under the right (wrong?) circumstances, snap a wave in the chain that will hop it right off the front ring.

Nothing-New-Here Department: In The Dancing Chain there's an illustration of a 1X4 fitted with a little keeper over the chainwheel. The illustration is dated 1931.

Alex Moulton is a fan of one-by drivetrains, and over the last 45 years has turned out models with factory 1x6, 1x7, 1x8, 1x9 and 1x10 set-ups.

tcs

Yes, brand new housing and cable. I am wondering if the cable is somehow losening on the fly.

Awesome. 39x34 is plenty low, even for towing my son in his trailer up a hill. 39x11 is hight enough that I never feel I am missing anything. The lack of having to deal with/trim/think about/maintain a front derailer is absolutely awesome.

Very attractive, great color.

Yea, but it also means you get to tune your setup by changing the chainring until you are usually in the middle (or close to it). I spend most of my time in gears 5 and 6.

absolutely. I love my 1x9 and do spend most of the time in the middle gears but just a warning about the effect of the extreme gears on the drivetrain. There is also the theory of "why have the gears if you don't use them" IOW, you could tune your set up so that you have a pretty tight cluster and use all the gears rather than just 5 and 6.

For me the lower gears are "winter" gears. Since I use the bike all season long and find myself in some pretty gnarly ice and slush I like having a pretty low gear available for those times. Once the snow melts I don't use those lower cogs except when I'm going walking speed.

I could easily get by on my commute with an 11-19 cassette or 12-21 and make full use of all the gears but I wouldn't have a granny that one time I needed it.

here it is in use:

Wow! Very elegant.