travbikeman

Appears that some manufacturers are modernizing the upper tier DS hybrids to a 1x drivtrain:

Cannondale Quick CX 1 - with a tapered steerer :O

Canyon Pathlite 7

Trek Dual Sport 4

Scott Sub Cross - was told by my LBS to expect a 1x soon.

Specialized Crosstrail - Appears to be a no show......Come On Specialized! Used to make awesome upper level Crosstrails with the E5 and Carbon frames! Where are you now?

Was curious if any of you with the Dual Sport Hybrids have switched over to a 1x drivetrain yet? I'm still throwing it out as a possible upgrade to my Sub Cross this coming winter for next year.

Do you find it easier to use rather than a 3x setup? What are the positive and negative issues you have found?

Noticed each listing above, have the bikes weight between 25 to 27lbs.

HerrKaLeun

Glad to see they finally moved into the 21st century. Also glad to see they don't throw garbage SRAM SX or NX on the bikes.

You will get many responses touting how great their 3x8 is.....

Upgrading my toughroad to 1x11 was one of the really great things I did to that bike. Nowadays 1x12 is really affordable and I would do that.

I would choose bike without the cheap suspension fork, but with larger tires. Those bikes are useless as MTB, but the suspension fork adds weight and cost and doesn't add any more comfort than larger tires.

DorkDisk

For offroad, 1x starts getting usable range and decent gaps at 10sp, 11 and 12 make it better. There is nothing wrong with triples or even doubles, but manufacturers and dealers have much to gain from removing parts, lowering labor costs, and simplifying frame construction. Front shifting has always mystified beginners, and lower end gear is the worst segment to place your most mechanically complex item.

For offroad, the real advantage is clutch. This was a game changer in MTBs for chain retention, gear usability, and silence. BITD of triples, I would shift for chain retention as well as gearing whereas with a clutch I can focus in shifting only for gearing. I can use even a 24x12 gear on a double with clutch. With no chain slap, the silence of riding in nature is fantastic.

Downsides for me include ridiculously large cogs that are the size of chainrings, heavy cassettes , and ugly super long cage derailleurs. So mostly cosmetic for me. Chains are expensive, and the connecting pins for the DA/XTR chain costs 6.00 each. Balancing range vs gap has always been the general issue, so YMMV

hokiefyd 

I think it's mostly user preference. I still have and enjoy 3x drivetrains. I don't have anything against 1x drivetrains, but I don't plan to spend money to convert my bikes. The range on my 3x drivetrains is very wide without having super large cassettes with big rear derailleurs. It'd be a lot of expense to convert to 11 speed or 12 speed (I think at least 12 speed would require a different freehub, possibly 11 speed also).

I use and prefer a gear inches range of about 20 to 100. I'd need an 11-51 cassette paired with a 40T chain ring for that. That's available, but I'd need a lot of sprockets to make the jumps manageable (11+ speed probably). It's doable, but it doesn't offer me any particular advantages, and would cost a lot of money, so I don't plan to convert any of my bikes. I wouldn't be against buying a new bike with that setup, if I were already spending money on a new bike.

I do have a poor man's 1x drivetrain on my '70 Peugeot mixte -- it was a 2x with higher gearing than I'd ever use, so I swapped the crankset for an '80s Sugino with a 40T chain ring. The cassette is a 14-32 Shimano Hyperglide 7-speed and I have a indexed thumb shifter on it. This works well as a neighborhood cruiser bike, but the range is far too small for me to use in many places I ride, so it limits the usefulness of the bike. It is very simple and easy to ride, though!

travbikeman

I have to keep reminding myself to stop falling for the latest and greatest thing. I'm most likely going to just keep what I have. BUT, it is cool to see new bikes changing over to a 1x system.