I am thinking about switching out my triple chainring up front and going to a single ring. I know I need to get a narrow wide chainring, I'm not sure on brand yet. My main question though is about rear derailleur, will chain drops be an issue if I don't have one with a clutch? I run a Sram X9 10 speed, not 100% sure on cage length. I ride a 2011 specialized stump jumper 29comp. I've read without the narrow wide ring then the issue of chain drop would be big, but with the ring it seems I'd be good? Anyone have experience on this?

You don't NEED to run a clutched RD but it helps. I run a 1x9 using a narrow wide up front on a rigid obviously no clutch and have dropped my chain a few times on rough high speed stuff, not enough to bother me. I wouldn't replaced a good non-clutched RD with a clutched one just to stop a rare dropped chain but if you are a racer you might think differently.

Clutched dérailleur not needed. I run 1x9 using a single speed ring up front. Not the new wide / narrow type, but just a normal, one-speed ring. Bash guard on outside for style points. Chain keeper on inside. Those two items keep the chain in place.

Have a real Honest conversation with your self about your skill level, your physical abilities and your trail conditions before you go single ring....

I went 1X9 without a clutch and the chain falling off was almost continual...
I added a Paul chain keeper that I had to mod. the chain keeper and bash guard added back half the weight of the triple set up,,, so,, that was a wash.
Worked ok, just ok ,, But I missed that big granny gear down shift jump in sudden hard climbs and I missed hauling Tail on the fire roads on my big ring.

I'm back to 3 X 9 ,,,, I may go to 2 X 10 for fun,,,, 1 X for my strength level and the trails I ride,,, No Thank you, been there done that, got the T-shirt and don't wear it.
When I get into my open rolling hills I turn my bike into a 3 speed.... I get Mid cassette and just shift the front rings,, works great..

Remember,, you will look a lot cooler spinning the granny ring riding up and over a hard climb than you will pushing your bike up that nasty hill...

you have several options depending on what you want to spend and how much you pedal through fast rocky sections versus how much you ride gravity.

if you're keeping the triple crankset, put a bash ring on the outer, get a narrow-wide middle ring and remove the granny ring. if that isn't sufficient, the next step is either a guide or clutch RD.

if you're installing a 1x-specific crankset without a clutch RD, narrow-wide ring and use at least an upper guide & bash guard. upper and lower guide, like a MRP G3, would be a safer choice.

if you install a clutch RD, something up front probably becomes unnecessary. the lower guide would be the first to ditch - lots of frictional loss. next IMHO would be the narrow-wide ring - they wear out chains faster. but you could keep it and possibly ditch the upper guide.

You don't need a clutch rear derailleur. Make sure your chain is the proper length. Depending on the ring size you go with...you may need to shorten the chain.

on a 1x7 in '95 i put on about 30,000 miles in a couple of years, including one big tour. i had a road double with the common road chainring on the outside. no derailing problems. of course, if i was a pro racing cross-country, or a MTBer things could have been different.

BTW now twenty years later, i currently, in addition to a number of SSs, run a old shimano 600 rear hub with three hyperglide cogs, and a shimano 600 road crank with the chainring on the outside of the crank. again, no problems.

i'm beginning to think people are just buying this stuff, big/small and clutched RDs without ever determining whether or not it is needed, at least on the road.

What the clutch derailleur does is keep the chain from bouncing around. It greatly reduces chain slap. You really can't compare riding on the road vs riding on the dirt. Friend of mine tired to do a 1x without a narrow wide ring. His chain kept coming off every time the trail got rough. It was pretty annoying. I bet you that if it did have a clutch derailleur, it would not be coming off as often.

maybe some of the former, people like to buy stuff for their hobbies.

but it's radically different between road and some MTB applications. going fast over chunky stuff and pedaling will cause problems that are not seen when pedaling slowly through it, or coasting. chain slap is only part of it.

Glad you asked this question as I am thinking of putting a 1x drivetrain on my Kona Splice 29er.

I've been thinking about a Shimano Zee crankset, plus a clutch style rear derailleur (shadow+) looks like a solid cost effective option for a bomb proof 1x drvietrain.

Shimano Zee M640 Crankset 36t Ring

I run 1X10 and love it.

On FS bike, you NEED a clutch rd if you dont have some form of chain retention up front (bash and keeper, or chain guide) primarily if you have alot of chain growth.

On a hardtail, just make sure your chain is set correct length for the front ring and go. I was on a non clutch SLX rd on my 29er (ht) and other than the normal chain slap when it really got bumpy there was 0 issues with a nw ring. I found a shimano zee RD on sale, figured Id give a clutched version a shot. I backed the clutch tension way off from stock (shifting took more effort than I liked) and again, 0 issues, but FAR less noise, almost none now except where you really gets rough.

you DONT need to change your crank however. Its preferred to use a 3x crank (better chain line, better shifting into bigger cogs in the back) and middle position, use ring spacers if needed as you want the chain ring slightly inward, not centered on the cassette. 2x crankset set NEEDS spacers or youll eat chains and aluminum chain rings like crazy if you spend alot of time in the big rear cogs (poor chain line on 2X outer position)

switched to 1x10 on my FS Kona, and it's awesome. variations on all the advice above help, but a NW chainring + clutch RD is pretty much rock solid. I rode my stock 32 middle chainring and clutch RD in the forest, no problems, and yesterday I rode my new NW chainring but completely forgot to engage the clutch on my RD. So i spent a lot of time complaining about the rattles on my bike, but it was just my own absent-mindedness. both variations worked, but option one was a little risky.