pontius

above numbers were ratios. Here are the gear inches.

current 99.7-25.2

1x7 83.1-25.7

Trakhak

So your current setup has a wider gear range, especially at the high end. Your proposed 1x7 gearing also likely has wider jumps between gears - i.e., you might sometimes find yourself wishing for a gear that's between your two nearest available gears. Maybe close enough will be good enough, maybe not.

Be sure to save the old parts, just in case.

wheelreason

Oh boy....

choddo

If you don’t need the high end gears, and you can live with the likely clonkier changes, that seems an ok trade-off for ditching complex 3x chainrings.

pontius

can you elaborate on this?

zacster

I could see going to 10 or 11 speed, or getting a wider range, but to do this work and end up with a narrower range and lose all the in-between gears doesn't make sense just to have a 1x7 setup. Not to me anyway. Is 3x7 that complicated? My bike I upgraded above is 3x10 and it isn't difficult. The smallest ring has never been necessary for my use so it doesn't get used. Simple. The middle ring only when I'm out of shape or for a really steep hill, and there aren't any in NYC, but maybe if I do the tour I keep wanting to do. I stay in the big ring 90% of the time. I forget what my rings are, but a typical 1990s triple setup with an 11-34 rear. I've got gears galore and never wish I needed more.

70sSanO

I have a feeling the OP knows his riding and what he needs as far as top end.

if he is going to end up with 83GI that is a pretty easy 20+ mph; depending on cadence. On a hybrid that’s a good pace.

If nothing else, he’ll use that 1st position cog a lot more than most people who treat it a a downhill gear.

John

wheelreason

Sure, cyclists say and do some really funny things...

pontius

Yes, you sure do!!

Bill Kapaun

When did a triple become "complex"? They were quite simple a few years ago.

squirtdad

I don't see any benefit to going 1x with the link and new cassette

1) reduced range of gearing and certainly no increase in bottom end
2) 3x works fine I don't get the "complex" argument


save the money for N+1

choddo

Well maybe if you’re an expert and keep it in tiptop shifting condition but I have never been able to, always some beef with them as soon as I neglect it for a couple of weeks and no FD or cable is a lot less hassle than some.

Bill Kapaun

I'm far from an expert, but don't have trouble with triples. Once set, there shouldn't be anything to go sour unless you can't handle cables & housing either.

Duragrouch

OK, not too bad. At least you are not sacrificing any low end. My current setup, 50/34 11-30 (7-speed) on 20"/406 tires gives me 21-85 gear inches. For me, 21 is bare minimum for steep hills here (for "spinning" up and not standing, but on a rare occasion on a real steep, needing 21 AND standing, but I often walk up those), and 85 is minimum for my high, I can pedal down gentle grades, above that, I need to coast. (Note: I went FROM 1X TO 2X, because the 1X (7-speed on a folder) had a low of 32 gear inches and I desperately needed 21, and just going to a smaller chainring would not give me the high I needed.) Changing to a 1X will be close to this. I thought your current setup might have a lower-low, but not. You would definitely be sacrificing high end, but I could see you not needing more than 83. Regarding size of gear steps, perhaps not sacrificing that either; The advantage of 1X is no duplicate gears; I have 5 duplicate gears in the middle of the range with my 2X, so only 9 actual speeds out of 14 (but again, I needed those precious 2 more gears, in total range and not step size, above 7-speed). Again, gear calc allows you to easily look at the step size, either interpreting gear inches or changing to "gain ratio" which expresses steps as percentages. My guess is your current triple setup might give you a bit finer steps, especially if the "duplicate" gears don't line up exactly, this was the thinking behind an old touring setup of "half-step plus granny", the two big rings were closer than typical 52/42, to "split" into smaller steps. However, 7 steps may be fine enough for you. So here's my conclusion: If you are really pining to go 1X, don't let us stop you. A good example: When I was able to afford my first good bike, I bought a Cannondale racer, without ever riding it, from article in Bicycling magazine, I fell in love with that 2" downtube, and it was a great value on a racer, a bike which would have won the Tour de France 5 years earlier. I wanted racy. And I loved it. But over time, I became aware of the terrible ride quality, that frame was stiff. I would have been better off to try out more different bikes. And I always had the seat up high because I sized the frame in the store based purely on standover height and picked out a 54, rather than riding, where a 56 might have fit me better. So I can understand getting fixated at wanting something, especially a new trend. If you really want 1X, it's taking up a lot of your thinking, by all means do it, it's not a huge amount of money. Just be aware of what it means before going there.

One more thing: Will you be changing the crank too, or just using one position on your triple? If staying with current triple and using the middle ring, fine. But using just the inner or outer ring, your chainline (how straight the chain is going to any of the rear cogs) will be off more often, and that will wear the chain a bit more. Probably most critical if using the outer ring, because then the chainline will be off most when on the low cog, where you are pushing the hardest going up hills, higher force puts more wear on chains, especially if the chainline is off. One of the advantages of a multi-crank with duplicate gears is that you can choose the chainring for best chainline. If you are swapping out the crank for a 1X, then you should make sure you have a good chainline, aiming for the middle of the cassette (with your 7 speed, if 130mm OLD, probably 43.5mm chainline, and if 135mm OLD, might be a bit larger), but that's also an additional cost for your conversion.

I hope the above helps!