I was thinking of doing a build with 1x drivetrain but if I'm looking at the possibility of going with 36T crankset with 11-36T. But does this present a problem? I mean there are manufacturers going for 38T and 11-34T. So would choosing a cassette that goes up to 36T cause any clearance issues?

So would you go...
36T and 11-36T
36T and 11-34T
40T and 11-36T
40T and 11-34T

For me, it would depend completely on the type of bike, and the terrain I expected to ride. For me, and my terrain, I would not select any of those options for any of my bikes.

If those gearing combinations work for you, I don't see why any of them would be an issue, but what bike you're putting it on, and what kind of capacity your rear derailleur has might make a difference.

For what bike or use case? For road, I like 42, 44, or 46t up front for 1x. For gravel, I think I'd want a 36t or 38t front with a 40t cassette in the rear. For MTB, 34t front, 40-46t cassette in the back.

I use a 36 on the front on my 11-36 1x9.

I have two drop bar bikes with Ekar 9X42 cassettes on them. One is a road bike rolling on 700X28 tires and it has a 38 tooth in front. The other is more of a gravel bike, rolls on 700X38 tires and it has an other than Campagnolo 36 tooth in front.

Top pedaling speed for the road bike is around 35/40 MPH. I can't push hard enough to make the other one go past 30.

Ekar is a bit on the fiddly side, but seems to be nice once it is setup correctly. I do not have any plans to change either of them to something else. If I build another drop bar bike it will have an Ekar group set.

My touring bike and road bike have a 34t chainring on them, and it is perfect for my needs as I am not a go fast rider. Spin around 80-90rpm in all combinations. Cassette on road bike is 11-32, and on the touring bike it is a 14-28 FW. The touring bike sees all terrains and I find the 34t gives me an appropriate low for most conditions. There is a 24t chainring available for extreme conditions.

I have a 46//30T in the front and an 11-36T in the back. It works fine. By extrapolation, a single chainring ≥ 30T in the front would work fine.

I really appreciate having the 30T in the front and the 36T in the back when I am climbing a 21% grade, or am really tired, or loaded down. I would not be able to ride a 1X like you are considering where I live, even on road.

I currently run a 46t front / 11-36t rear on my 1x11 Giant, and it's more than enough range for the flat terrain here in Shanghai. However, I'll be taking my bike to Calgary for the summer and will be switching to a 42 / 11-46 since there's going to be a LOT more climbing there!

You should go for the gearing that works best for you and your bike. Since you provided us with really no useful info we can only guess.

This has zero bearing on whatever your bike might be but my 1x hybrid is a 38t 11-32 9 speed and my mountain bike is 30t 11-46 but that is my personal gearing and may not work for you and your mystery bike. Plus in the end 1x9 is not my favorite but I didn't have any 11 speed parts when I built it and still don't have anything in my parts bin and if I did it would likely be a slight downgrade, from a bombproof XT rear derailleur and XTR 9 speed shifter, in a sense but the new 11 and 12 speed stuff is great.

Well, I was thinking of getting the Bombtrack Munroe AL frameset and maybe the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 27.5x2.00 tires. I saw the stock bike has 34T and 11-34T. But I wondering if 36T and 11-36T would cause any clearance issues.

I had thought about using the new Shimano CUES drivetrain but noticed there's no 36T single crankset. They have CUES in 32T and 40T etc. I guess I'll have to build my own crankset but have to decide between 104 bcd and 110 bcd.

Ahhh there we go...the info missing in the first post. Awesome that will help.
According to their website: Maximum chainring clearance 1x 38 T with 45 mm chainline

Wheels don't really care about cassette size unless going for something larger than the wheel or that won't fit on the freehub body you should be fine. It will be your derailleur that will have the issues with certain cassettes but that is all in those specs and if you get a long cage you should be fine.

What are you trying to get that you won't get with the stock setup?

Right. Usually one wants to extend the range in one direction (eg, lower gear for climbing), but I guess OP wants to extend it slightly in both directions?

Actually, it would just be in 1 direction. 36 x 36 = 34 x 34. He would get a little more on the top end 36 x 11 vs. 34 x 11, and the steps between gears would be a little wider. That was why I asked. It's not a very significant change.

Right, I was just about to edit my post after you replied. Extend top range while preserving bottom range. But I agree with you it's so slight.

OK, I see how it looks. I meant I thought about getting the frameset and building it because I wanted to choose a lot of my own kind of gear like silver bars, stem, seatpost then WTB Speed saddle, Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires, the new sealed Shimano hubs, Shimano pedals etc. So it would be a custom build of my personal preferences on the bike.
But I do appreciate the replies. I think if I do it, I'm leaning on the idea of going 36T and 11-36T.

Understood. In that case, if 36T x 11-36 gives you the gearing you need for your riding, go for it.

That is exactly the setup i am looking for on my Jamis Renegade S4. Can you please tell me the details of the chainring, i am wondering if it is an easy replacement for currentb Vero 50/34

I just bought a GRX 46/30T crankset, with the chainrings attached.

eg: https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...speed-crankset

From those choices, 36T and 11-36.

My reasoning is that without a high enough gear, our top speed may be limited in certain downhill situations. You may only be able to pedal up to 40 mph.

...but without a low enough LOW gear, you're walking.

Whether gravel or road, I prefer something lower than 1:1 for a low gear, as I'm not super light nor super strong.

A year later and I can only assume that OP went with 36 x 11-36, which incidentally, I've also done (actually 36 x 11-40) - and I think the 36t is just a tad short for the road, probably should have gone with a 38t.

As for the 46/30 rings, I've seen some center/direct mount versions that look interesting if your crank can accommodate. I've got a 48/32 combo off of AliExpress that mounts directly to the DS crank and have been happy with it, but I do contemplate whether I should have gone with a 46/30 instead.

are you worrying about Derailleur clearance of a larger cassette? the Single front ring size doesn't change that. Chain length, The design specs. of the der., and the B Screw adjustment changes that.
two teeth past mfg. spec for cassette size is a common fudge point.

i think what the Manufacturer's Concern was is the Clearance between the chain stay and the teeth of the ring... less than 2mm clearance is bad juju.
all the speculation in the world won't answer whether going up a couple teeth in front, beyond "max count", will alter that distance to a dangerous amount.. you just have to test fit.. no way around it.
and you'll need to see if you actually WANT the larger o smaller ring, too.... which also means testing it out.

place masking tape on the chain stay at the closest ring/stay point before test riding up some really steep climbs. nicked tape means future wear on the most likely to break frame member.

as to overall gear range.. your riding choices are the deciding factor there.

jus spotted the ZOMBIE status of this thread... sigh...

for future reference' sake... here's the bombtrack bike and specs...
https://www.bombtrack.com/complete-bikes/munroe-al

Me, myself I'm partial to 47T...



...with an 11-46T in the back. But that's just me.

60T x 11/28


It really depends on the bike and how you're intending to ride. I mostly commute at pace in hilly Colorado Springs, so a wide range of gears is important to me.

I just said good-bye to my 1997 Blazer 26" snow-bike/utility/tow MTB commuter that I put a 53T cog on in 1997...the largest that would fit that bike. I haven't sorted out the replacement yet...a 1997 Specialized Rock hopper that came with the largest cog being 44 with a 13/28 setup. Not quite enough top end for my kind of quick commuting. So I have a 48T cog on the way...the largest I could find for the 94bcd crankset. I don't know if that's original to the bike, or part of the co-op's beautiful refurbishment of it. That should be high enough, but if not, I will get another 11/28 like I have on my 16" Dahon folder in the above photo.

Here are my bikes and their gear inches...including the Blazer:

2007 Dahon Boardwalk 20x1.5 tires
Cogs11/38 Ring 52
Low 33.02
High 95.81
290%

1997 Nishiki Blazer 26x2.125 tires
Rings 14/ 28 cogs 53/42/29
Low 27.57
High 100.46
364%

1984 Nishiki International 700x28 tires
Cogs 14/28 Rings 52/39
Low 37.10
High 99.03
267%

2006 Felt F-65 700x23
Cogs 12/26 rings 52/36
Low 36.29
High 113.88
313%

1989 Dahon Getaway V 16x1.75 (305)
Ring 60. Cogs 11/28
Low 37.07
High 94 (6th gear=13=90G.xI.)
293%

2015 Charge Plug 700x35
Rings 50/34
Cogs 11/32
Low 28.88
High 123.96
429%