Scrodzilla

Precisely. I also find modding bikes to be quite fun. My crankset is a heavy steel-ringed clunker, I have a spare single-speed crankset, my left shifter is crapping out and I have gear ratios I never use. Why not convert to 1x7?

bonechilling - I don't recall asking who would be bothered by my converting to a single chainring or who wants to start some silly fixed-gear vs multi-speed 'battle'. I came in peace asking for some friendly suggestions.

Thanks to those who have been/continue to be helpful.

isotopesope

you should probably first try to adjust your front derailleur properly...

speaking of single ring setups, this seems like the ideal single ring chain babysitter:
https://www.paulcomp.com/chainkeeper.html

then you don't need all the bashrings and a third eye/dog fang, and don't have to still worry about the chain hopping up and over the bashring... which i saw happen to a single ring racer last weekend, despite his outside bashring and third eye.

Scrodzilla

Well I'll be damned...look at that! That thing is simple and perfect (pricey though at 52 bucks ). Thanks for the info.
I knew I could count on you cx guys!

Noobert

If your running a triple up front, with out the front derailer, and on the middle ring, its probally not going up, and if it pops off downward, it lands on the smallest chainring

ottothecow

Yeah, the paul thing is nice...if I was building a new bike I would spring for it.

If I already had a junk front derailleur...I would use that to save money. I wonder how much weight you could shave off too...you could definately cut out springs and cable attachments...everything except the cage and the set screws (unless you figure out how to weld it in place)

Cynikal 

Honestly, for road use, I doubt you would need anything to hold the chain on.

Scrodzilla

Thanks. I'm going to try without it at first and just take it easy for my first few rides. The Paul thing is super cool but probably a bit too expensive for what it is.

Another (probably dumb) question:

I'll obviously need to shorten my chain some. How do I determine an optimal length?

Scrodzilla

Just for the hell of it, I disconnected and removed my front derailleur this afternoon and went for a test ride using only my small (39t) chainring...just to see if I would have any issues with the chain coming off. I was cranking pretty hard during a few gear changes too and I had no troubles.

I think I'll go ahead and put my SS crankset on there and experiment with my 42 and 44t chainrings. I'm thinking I'll like the 44 a bit better. Will I even need to shorten my chain for this setup???

jfmckenna

That is super cool. Leave to Paul to solve these problems! If I ever go back to single ring I will be getting one of those.

Scrodzilla

Update/new question:

I've been riding around pretty often using my bike 1x7 and have had no issues with the chain falling off even without a ring guard/dog fang. Currently using a 46t chainring and all's good.

I'm really looking to replace my shifter with a bar-mount one in order to lower my stem a touch. Does anyone happen to know of a Shimano indexed 7-speed shifter with a 26mm clamp? All the ones I've found have clamps that are too small to mount on the bulge next to my stem. The Paul 'Thumbie" is cool, but so much damn money!

bluenote157

I know you asked for 7 indexed, but i think that this is a friction one that might work.
https://www.velo-orange.com/fafrthsh.html

jtgotsjets

Why don't you ride your bike and stop worrying about this ****?

If you're not racing your road bike (most people don't), you don't need to squeeze every last bit of speed out of your bike—I almost never use my road bike's big ring except for a single half mile, slightly downhill stretch of one of the local bike paths. Why should I keep it? (Answer: laziness)

And if you are racing? ****it- shave that weight.

Scrodzilla

Thanks, jt. Like I said earlier...modding and wrenching on bikes is fun. Some people are just *******s. "bonechilling" is one of them.