Was wondering how many people on here ride a hybrid with a 1x drive train and how would you compare it to a 2x or 3x system?

I have a Diamondback Insight 1 that originally was a 3x7 but updated it to a 3x8. Recently have thought about converting to a 10 speed system, either a 1x or a 2x drivetrain. Have never ridden a 1x system so have no idea what they are like.

Ask yourself what you would gain by the conversion vs its cost. If you are riding on the large chainring while cruising, note that on 1x you might have a smaller ring and would need to use a smaller cog to attain the same ratio. Smaller cogs wear faster and chains and cogsets will be more expensive to replace.

Admittedly I'm old school and am perfectly content using 3x7/8 on my bikes. I've never experienced chain drop in about three decades of riding triples and I'd guess that problem is limited to off-road riding on rough terrain.

If you are pleased with the way the bike rides now you may decide that keeping it as is, or doing minor component upgrades, is the more sensible course. That is an entry-level bike and don't get me wrong, it's fine for general purpose recreational riding, errands, commuting, etc., but if you want to take a step up you may want to save your bucks for a nicer bike.

If you're thinking that you stay on one ring most of the time (probably either the middle or the large ring), so you might as well convert to 1x, you might find that the larger jumps between adjacent sprockets in the rear in a 1x setup aren't as fun (or as efficient) as what you have now. I dislike those larger jumps, so I stick with 2x on my road bikes and 3x on my MTB and hybrid.

I like my 1x11's a lot. However in a money sense you will almost always find an inexpensive hybrid needs more parts than you expected. At bike shop prices it'll exceed the value. Maybe with some China-direct parts.

About the only time I go to the small ring is climbing hills. It originally came with a 11-28 which I converted to a 11-32 when I converted it to a 8 speed. That is maxed out for my rear derrailer. As I have gotten older at times I wish I had a better climbing gear on it. Thought about perhaps putting a MTN bike derrailer with a longer cage so I can get a bigger gear on it,

With a 1 x 8 setup, and looking for a lower climbing gear, you'd end up with one or more of the following: a low-enough climbing gear, a fairly (maybe annoyingly) low high gear, and/or very wide steps for the gears in between.

Cheapest way to get a lower climbing gear without sacrificing your current gearing increments between sprockets: install a smaller inner chainring (look up the specs on your crankset to see how small a ring it will accept).

In any event, if you're hoping to end up with lowest climbing gear possible and don't want to go any lower for your high gear, probably best to stick with your triple.

Since your bike probably has riveted chainrings, you would need to replace the cransket to get a smaller inner ring. If you are going to replace it, it would make sense to buy one with replaceable rings. It will be lighter and will make potential future gearing changes easy.

Seen you are looking for even lower gear options, switching away from a 3x8 system is probably a step in the wrong direction. You already have as many gear ratios as anybody carries on a bike.

Have you considered 1x9 at all? I did that to a Nishiki hybrid, and like it a lot. It is 11-34 Alivio, but it is also available in 11-36.

That's a lot of money just to avoid shifting a front derailleur.