DarKris

I've gone 1x on all my bikes but the reasoning for me made sense. Before I was running 2x9 on the road with a 46-30 front ring and a 12-36 cassette. I knew I wasn't strong enough to push a 46-11 at the time and the 30-36 was enough of a bailout gear to keep me moving along if I needed it. I realized the jumps in the 9 speed cassette were fine to the point where I didn't feel like I needed the smaller jumps between gears with a similar 11 speed cassette.

My experience with the 9 speed setup really influenced my decision to go 1x, so now I'm running a 42 front with 11-46 11 speed cassette. It does the job for my type of riding which is just mostly urban, and I get the minor benefit of slightly more tire clearance.

If there's any point I want to make here it's know what you want to ride, where you want to ride, and what you *personally* need to make that ride as smooth as possible. Also if you find out something isn't working out well for you, don't be afraid to change things up!

Rides4Beer

Agreed that it just depends on your needs. For the riding/racing I do around here, I would never go 1x, too much fast pavement tying gravel sections together. My 48/32 11-34 setup works perfectly for what I need.

rosefarts

Mine is probably considered a monster cross or whatever. More aggro than a typical race bike.

I run 40 x 11-42 on a 10 speed setup. I've got the low gear I need. In fact, 90% of the time, I run my other cassette, 11-36.

The high end is a bit lacking and the gaps between gears screws up spinning.

I think with 12 speeds and 10-36, you could race on that. I don't know if that exists.

I've got a couple actual road bikes, all with doubles and I would never consider 1x for pavement.

1x seems a lot nicer for knocking around and getting messy. I don't know about racing on it though. Some people do though.


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