Rusty Valiant

Hello- I've got a question about running a single chainring and any problems it might present. I thought the cross forum would be a good place to start, as I've seen similar setups on some cx bikes in the past.

I would like (for reasons of aesthetics and simplicity) to run a single chainring with an 8 speed cassette on my road bike. When I mentioned this intention to the guys at my LBS, the mechanic (whose judgement I tend to trust) said that such a set up would result inevitably in chain failure. Now, the guy knows bikes, but I've seen enough of this setup to assume that it can't be all bad.

Can anyone with experience or input in regards to this sort of drivetrain please let me know what they think?

Thanks in advance.

jfmckenna

I've raced hard on 8 speed single chainring set up for several years now and never have problems. So I am not sure what he is talking about. Perhaps he is concerned in crossing to the small and or big cogs since the chainline is offset? I am not sure but it's a great set up and you won't have any problems with it.

alreadyblue

It's s fairly common setup. IF you are racing, I don't think you'll see any more chain failure than with a double chainring setup. My only caveat is choosing the correct cassette and and chainring.

By the way, most guys in Cross who go with a single chain ring up front do so to avoid mechanical failure by getting rid of the front deraileur. This greatly reduces the chances of dropping your chain in a race, and slightly reduces the weight of your bike.

JimmyMack

A single chain ring setup works well with a skinny little 10 speed chain. In a tactful way, it would interesting to inquire more on "How" that chain will fail due to a single chain rings setup?

I'd go with dual gaurds over a third eye or the deda dog fang.

Ernesto Schwein

If I were you I would reevaluate my trust in this mechanics judgement.

martianone

i have lots of km on a 1x9 surly c-c;
set up with a ss crank and 34 t chainring,
11-34 cassette and tiagra derailleur. there
is a chainring guard and dog fang chain
stabelizer to keep the chain in place and
my pants out of the way. i run the bike
in a lot of mud, snow, grit, sand, slop
and just about any bad thing one can
think of- don't seem to have any
chain or shifting problems.

shapelike

What ss crank did you go with?

Rusty Valiant

I actually removed the inner ring from a sugino crank with a chainring, leaving me with the 52 tooth ring. I'll be adding a dog fang or something similar as soon as I find one in town.

jfmckenna

FWIW just leaving the FD on and lowering it a bit works like a charm keeping the chain on. Dog fangs in my experience have been problematic. Of course the inner and outer guard rings are the best. I had an old chainring that I ground off the teeth on to use as a guard once. There is another seat tube mounted chain guard called a Jump Start which is suposed to work quite well. You can see it here: https://cyclocrossworld.stores.yahoo.net/chainrings.html

TheSergeant

I've been running most of my bikes 1x9 and 1x8 for a number of years now. I haven't had any problems with the set up at all.

I highly recommend the N-Gear Jump stop over Dog Fang. I have one setup on my cross bike right now and it works great.

https://www.gvtc.com/~ngear/

vinnydelnegro

sorry to resurrect this thread, but i've been wondering about building a bike with a single chainring with stuff from the parts bin. i have an old dura ace bottom bracket for a double crank but a triple utegra crank. can i use these together if i use the middle chainring, put a chainguard on the outside and use a chain catcher? any help is appreciated.

stuckinatx

Anyone know if an ultegra derailleur can handle a 11-34 cassette? I know shimano says it can go up to like 27. But I doubt they say the tiagra can handle 34 either.

robcycle

I can't say for certain, but it would seem to me that the difference in a 52/11 and 39/25 setup shouldn't be that different than the spread across an 11/34 cassette. I would venture to say it would work. Throw it on a stand and try it out.

-Rob.

martianone

stuckinatx-
my cross check has the race face evolve X drive single speed crank/bottom bracket
175 mm crank, 34 t chain wheel. i also have a HG-50 cassette 11-34 with a tiagra
detraileur and one bar end. shimano chain. these components are far from top
shelf; but the set up shifts, works great and keeps functioning in some pretty
messy conditions.
martianone.