osco53

There Is this one single climb out of a pit, called 'Gator pit' I ride.
You all know the climb,, as you go down the trail gets sandy and loose as It turns slightly and starts an ever Increasing grade up
Untill It's a real challenge with the last 10 feet getting steeper by the foot. If you stop six feet from the top you can almost see over the top if your six feet tall,,almost..

It has always been very hard for me but as I got better at downshifting onto the front 'Granny ring' on my 3X9 I made it mine !
I spun my bad self up and out of the Gator pit every time by a really quick well timed downshift Into 2nd or (1st gear when I was off my game a little), from the middle chain ring..

Then I stripped off my front gears,, NO granny ring anymore....

I tackled the five or six short punchy feels like verticle climbs on my regular trails and grunted myself silly, almost puking a few times, made a few, foot down on a few,, ok more than a few.

A few rides back I dropped into Gator pit, the fun half, not thinking about the hard climb out. Wait a second what happened !!!
I was out and not gulping air,, got up and out with no drama......

I looped back by climbing a similar one as I entered Golf cart and bailed. Back around Into the pit I went..
Climbed out again,, as I neared the top I noticed how slow I was actually going. Very very slow crawling pedal revolutions but I was floating up It seemed.

Ok what give's?

The biggest factor seems to be my balance has gotten better because I practiced standing clipped in and still on the bike at the start of every ride.
Second factor, my pedaling technique has gotten better and I am getting stronger ok ok all that makes sense to me, but there was something else, something I now know to be true, for me, with my bike.

Spinning the granny ring was harder than I thought, sure it gave me more torque and all but at the cost of balance and a smooth rhythm I think..
I seem to use less energy without the granny ring, I rise up the super steep climbs with better control of the bike with a lower less wobbly cadence...

There are still a few climbs that make me drop a foot and stop, but that's fine as my cassette's biggest cog is a 34 tooth..
Waiting on the Shimano XT M8000 still but hey people..

What can I say, IMO more riders should start really thinking about a 1 X system...

Ok I'm done..

MisterK

I too am running a 1x9 setup. Currently on a 26t granny but upping to a proper 30t narrow wide eventually. I don't have a problem with 34t being the widest available but that might change when I up to 30t.
a medium cage XT may also help if you don't have one already.

Canker

I went 1x9 on my rigid 30t front by 36t rear and like it but there are some things I just can't do on it still, mainly the really long climbs. I just tire out and need a granny to fall back on for a break. I'm more of a spinner than a masher. My full squish runs a 2x9 24 front granny by 34r so the difference isn't HUGE but it is enough. I'm also holding out for a 1x11 setup but I haven't made up my mind yet if I'm going to go Sram, shimano, or a bit of both.

osco53

Canker,,,Shimano XT M8000 the cost will be so low,, and you get It all !
11 speeds, 42 tooth cassette ring,,,
User adjustable clutch in the derailleur..

First Ride: Shimano Deore XT M8000 - Pinkbike

11 speed cassette $140
Derailleur............$120
Shifter,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,$75
Chain,,,what ? $40

Sram 11 speed is what ? Insane ?
Cassette,,,,$300~$350
Derailleur,,,$350...$450.00 or are these parts alot more ?

I wear out a cassette, chain and a chain ring every year,, Guess who's set up I've been waiting for ?
Untill they come out In a month or two I'm good on my stretched chain and worn cassette...
If I start having problems,, a $69 cassette and a $30 chain will see me through..

I have an SLX NO CLUTCH derailleur and am now on a RaceFace 32T Narrow wide chain ring..
Not one single chain drop In a dozen rides and I have really tried to drop the chain I swear!

tk1971

Osco53, it's possible that by simplifying your drivetrain, you stopped thinking about shifting and concentrated on the climb.

I've converting almost all my mtbs to either a 1x10, 1x9 or 1x7. My latest build for my brother in law will have a 30t narrow-wide and a 12-36t cassette.

FrozenK

Uh... you are comparing XT prices with XX1 and X01 which are a step or two above XT. SRAM also has the GX group which has a $140 cassette and derailleur that is more comparable with XT, price wise.

The big difference is that SRAM has a 10 tooth cog that allows a taller gear. But you need a different freehub body (XD driver, not available for all hubs).

Canker

My both setup would be Sram gx drivetrain + shimano cassette if I end up going that route. What I can find so far the GX bits other than the cassette are cheaper than the XT bits.

gtrdave

I've been riding my Cannondale F29 1x9 for years and w/ a 30t narrow/wide I can climb everything local in the DE/MD/PA area.
That said, I can see going 1x10 or 1x11 on my next bike. I don't think I'll ever go back to a triple or even double front ring.

ColinL

yep.

the other factor which I think was already mentioned is torque. it's very possible to spin the rear wheel in a low gear especially if you don't manage your pedal stroke or weighting of the bike just right. this is much less likely to happen when you're using a taller gear ratio.

osco53

Interesting,, Thanks for the Input peoples....

Yeah I didn't know Sram had affordable 1 x 11,
All I hear down here is how expensive It is to get the 42 tooth climbing cog with out adding the cog and gaping the middle of the cassette by loosing the 17T tooth I wouldn't want that, I like smooth gear steps. A hole between 15t and 19t would be a deal breaker for me.
Plus I figured, hey I got a 9 speed,, why go to a 10 spd, only logical upgrade worth spending $350 would be the 11 speed..

I am That close to keeping my SLX 9 speed and just replacing my very worn 34T-11T cassette with a 9 spd 36-12t cassette, plus a new chain,, and I am done.
$170 total cost counting the RaceFace up front...

osco53

The Art of 'Not Doing'

NOT thinking of when to down shift left me clear headed to,,not think about pedaling..
As much as we pedal It needs to be a natural thing without thought.

Once again I do better when I get my brain out of the way and just,,flow.

FrozenK

10spd parts would probably be cheaper than 11spd. Praxis Works makes an 11-40 10spd cassette now that has a good gear spread. Or if you go the extender cog route, OneUp comes with a replacement 16t cog that helps with the gear gaps. But if you don't need the low gear then an 11-36 cassette may be the ticket.

Now, if you are wearing out cassettes that quick you may want to re-think the system. I think most if not all 40 and 42 cog cassettes use aluminum for their big cogs and they will wear faster than the steel cassettes you are using now. And I haven't used a narrow-wide ring, but I have heard of people complaining about premature wear as well. A clutch derailleur and a standard singlespeed ring (maybe even a chain catcher) may be a better option for you.

I <3 Robots

You're in Florida. How much climbing is there in central Florida? I went to Disney World a while back...and it looked pretty darn flat.

RIC0

I ride in KY and IN, plenty of hills around here and I run a 1x9. 32 front and 12-36 out back. Not too bad but just requires some strong legs.

In the spring I'm going 1x10 but same gearing I want the clutch activated rear derailleur to cut down on the chain slappy. I'm gonna miss my rapid rise XTR shifting though..

Canker

I have the 12-36 9 speed cassette on mine and since it is only offered as a lower end part it weighs a ton.

With 11 speed stuff starting to get so affordable I don't see much point in going from 9 to 10 speed.

ColinL

I agree with that, GX is quite affordable except for the cassette, which is still over double the price for a basic 10 speed cassette.

Canker

I'd go with the shimano cassette just to save on the XD driver needed for the Sram cassette. Merlin cycles has the XT 11 speed cassette for $82 for the 11-40 which isn't too bad, the 42t one is $97 also not horrible but it is out of stock.

ColinL

What's mystifying to me is that Sram has 11-speed cassettes that don't require the XD driver, but they are only 11-36. Meanwhile Shimano has 11-40 and 11-42, and there are several 3rd party 11-40 ten speed cassettes.

One of the rare times Sram has dropped the ball with drivetrain the last ~5 years.

I <3 Robots

Which ones are that? The road cassettes? If so...the road cassettes still requires you to get a new 11sp specific hub body as it will not work with existing 10sp ones. The 11sp road cassettes need a slightly longer hub body.

ColinL

Shimano 11-speed MTB cassettes fit on normal 8/9/10 speed hubs, apparently: Shimano XTR M9000 11-speed Component Compatibility FAQs - Useful for Cyclocross? Gravel? - Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos

I haven't tried it. The gist of that article is that the reason 11 speed road hubs are longer is because of spoke clearance.

Canker

I understand the need for the XD driver and the 10 tooth cog but I sure l don't need it. I rarely use the 12t cog on my 1x9 now . Where I ride and at my fitness level I'm spending 90% of my time in the bigger half of my cassettes.

FrozenK

SRAM didn't drop the ball. The XD driver is so you can have a 10 tooth cog on the 11spd cassettes and keep the gear range of single ring drivetrains closer to a double.

A 30t chainring paired with a 10-42 cassette gives you almost the same range as a 39/26 double with an 11-36 cassette. You only lose the tallest (39x11) gear. With an 11-42 your tallest gear is still lower than 39x13.

The road 11spd cassettes are not aimed at single ring drive trains, so the 10t cog was not a priority. Most 11spd cassettes keep the same range as 10spd, they just have closer spacing between the cogs.

I <3 Robots

From what I read on how Shimano got the 11sp to work on a 10sp body is that the 40 and 42T's are large enough so that they can go over the hub body enough to create the room need to the 11th cog. That's why they can't do it on the road cassettes is because the large cog is not big enough to get it to "curve" over the hub body.

The main reason for SRAM to do the XD is so that they can get the 10T on. Which is a big reason why guys run the Shimano XTR 11sp shifter/derailleur...but run the SRAM 10-42 cassette. Unfortunately not all rear hubs are XD compatible.

You said "SRAM" btw.

osco53

Disney is not Florida, LoL,,,, Yankee's,,Jeez

Born American by Luck,
Born Southern by the grace of God !

We ride In the reclaimed phosphate mines.

SWAMP Mountain Bike Club Trails in Florida

Balm Boyette Scrub Preserve Is my personal favorite
SWAMP Balm Boyette Scrub Preserve Mountain Bike Trail

Then There is Alafia,
Alafia River State Park Mountain Bike Trail

Canker

That is my other problem. My rigid which is the bike I'd probably go 1x11 on has a shimano rear hub and for some reason Shimano doesn't make an XD driver for their hubs .