Question for all you 1x people...

[ravdg316]

If you're on a budget and don't have the luxury of keeping many bikes, why not use a standard 53-39 or 53-40 with an 11-32 rear cassette so that you can have a big gear for other scenarios, and keep your chain on the 39/40 in the front when you're actually out racing on dirt? All this effort to go 1x seems limiting. Is it about mechanical simplicity? Aesthetics?

[batman1425]

Primary reason in cross (IMO) is weight reduction and reliability. Less to go wrong when the course gets nasty and the mud starts caking on.

[drewellison]

What's old is new again ... Marketing perhaps?

[nooneline]

Cause it looks good.

[suissecheese]

Personally the benefit I see for going 1x is the clutch rear derailleurs and narrow wide chainrings keeping the chain better and tighter.

A front derailleur means you need a longer chain, and therefore more slop.

Also 1x gravel bikes aren't meant to be economical do everything bikes. It's a niche bike...

[guido]

I've been looking at Mountain bikes and a 1x really is a nice way to go.

[AJosiahK]

It makes alot of sense for CX and some MTB applications.

key words here are clutch and narrow wide... sometimes weight depending on parts choice

One would benefit most from the swap would be when using said clutch mechs, like the CX1, XX1, or for shim any clutch enabled mech... etc

The mechs themselves have much stronger springs and are designed a little differently to retain a greater chain tension.

That paired with what the industry is calling narrow wide rings, a 1x set up simplifies the system and virtually eliminates chain drop.

Your not really saving a whole lot on the weight side.

A cable, housing for it, that 2nd chainring, and the mech itself adds up but not noticeable.

I run a 1x on my CX, and an all mt trail bike. Having said that, I would NEVER run a 1x on my road bike, WHYYYY. and I have a 2x on my current 29er hardtail and Gravel bike. I would never give up those particular gears

It does simplify things a bit. I do love the fact that there is nearly zero chain slap/noise...

All that being said one can take a 2x system and trim it down on the cheap too, but alot of that stuff depends on the bike, its application and the parts it currently has.

There are many pro CX racers on 1x, but you still see many on a 2x. Currrent World champ Wout Van Aert is currently running a 2x hydro eTap set up, however US champ Jeremy powers is running a 1x hydro cx1 kit.

[Dead Man]

I tried to do exactly what you suggest, OP - and I dropped my chain 4 times in the first race. Went 1x narrow-wide and haven't dropped the chain since.

The bike isn't as versatile, now... but oh well, at least I'm not losing position to mechanical problems. Racing > leisure riding

[eBAUMANN]

i havent had a FD on a cx/gravel bike in almost 5 years, and i do a lot more with my cx bikes than just race em...

for general purpose use (everything from racing to "gravel rides") ive found a 40t front paired with 11-32 or 11-28 in the back works great.
for very hilly/long days, i chuck a XD 10-42t cassette/freehub on, cause i can

40x11 spins up comfortably to around 28mph...any faster and im more than happy to just coast and enjoy the scenery ;)

[993rs]

Simple and quiet. I spent some time using a gear inch calculator for my road/gravel/cx bike and I wasn't giving much up on either end. For the mtb it's a no-brainer.

[adamhell]

you can achieve a pretty wide gear range and drop a good amount of weight. this and front shifting sucks. it simplifies the whole bike and experience riding it. i'm never sprinting in 52-11 and in my opinion, if i need a 24 chainring coupled with a 40t cog to climb something, i'll probably be falling off the back of the bike at that point and need to walk anyways.

[Cameron]

you can achieve a pretty wide gear range and drop a good amount of weight. this and front shifting sucks. it simplifies the whole bike and experience riding it. i'm never sprinting in 52-11 and in my opinion, if i need a 24 chainring coupled with a 40t cog to climb something, i'll probably be falling off the back of the bike at that point and need to walk anyways.

Excellent summation.

Currently I have my "road" bike set up 1x10. It's an All-City Mr. Pink and I'm running 44t narrow wide up front with 11-28 cassette. Previous to this bike I had a different Mr. Pink set up with the exact same drivetrain. That spread covers most everything I ride on this/that bike. Given, I'm not climbing huge alpine passes or racing, but in the few thousand miles I've put on the drivetrain set up like this I've not found it limiting at all.

Sure I spin out on steeper descents but that's still over 30mph and there's some bigger/longer hills I wish I had a little more gearing but that's such a small percentage of time. I've been thinking of going 11 speed and shooting for something like 48t up front and 11-32 in the rear for a little more spread.

I suppose it all depends on how and where you plan to use the bike. In general though, for all bikes I set up for myself I always try to strip away any and all unnecessary anything and then finely hone what's left.

[jonc]

I think 1x is limiting for anything other than racing CX or mountain bikes. If I had a specific gravel bike, it would definitely have a double up front. I've done some gravel rides and races on my TCX with a 1x setup and I wanted more gears on both ends of the spectrum. I run a 40 and 11-28. Ideally I would have 42 and 11-32, but my derailleur won't take anything larger. I'm a big fan of the narrow wide ring and how much it simplifies racing, but any time I'm outside of the tape it's nice to have the extra range without the big gaps.

[ravdg316]

And simplicity is great! However, on the road I definitely feel limited by 46/36 gearing -- it just seems like I can keep faster gears at lower cadences on my standard cranks. Even on my 30 lb touring bike w/panniers compared to my sub 20-lb cross bike w/road slicks. Gearing has got to be the reason...right?

[Neil]

Ihttps://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8407/29481367703_efbc61d23c_b.jpgt's fun

[fogrider]

my cx bike is setup with compact crank and 11x30 cassette. when I'm on dirt and trails, the small chainring is fine and when I'm flying along, I'm certainly not going to shift the front, but most of the time, I ride on the road to get to some dirt. and I really need the big ring. of course, if I was running a 44 and 11x40 cassette, maybe I won't need the double...

[oldpotatoe]

[QUOTE=suissecheese;2055310

Also 1x gravel bikes aren't meant to be economical do everything bikes. It's a niche bike...[/QUOTE]

Correct and I agree. Either be geared to go up the hill or down the hill but not really both. Middle ground with front CR sizes but a compromise. Add pretty big gaps between cogs on the mongo cogsets(11-40). If not worried about weight and lots of junk that 'may' foul a front der, I agree, a 2 by makes more sense, particularly with the ease/reliability of front der shifting these days and closer gaps cogset.

Lots of marketing gong on too(sram primarily). Saw a pitch from them about a 1 by crit bike..as if shifting to the big ring before the event wasn't somehow possible.

IMHO, of course.

[Mikej]

My experience is MTB related - if I see somebody walking uphill, its because they have a 1x, if I see somebody on the side of the trail, its because they have a 1x with a dropped chain. Majority of the time. Yes I know, 2x is super unsexy these days, but I'll take my thumb operated chain keeper and mega gear range...to the OP, ALL higher end MTB R.D.'S are now cluctched. I know, anything can happen.

[jtbadge]

I'd be curious to know what sort of gearing range y'all are using for cross vs. gravel.

A lot of new, off the shelf 1x bikes are equipped with a 40t ring and 11-32 cassette. Seems limiting at the top and bottom end for a long day of gravel vs. even a 42t and 11-36.

[malcolm]

My experience is MTB related - if I see somebody walking uphill, its because they have a 1x, if I see somebody on the side of the trail, its because they have a 1x with a dropped chain. Majority of the time. Yes I know, 2x is super unsexy these days, but I'll take my thumb operated chain keeper and mega gear range...to the OP, ALL higher end MTB R.D.'S are now cluctched. I know, anything can happen.

I don't know about all 1X but on my mtn bike my low with 1X is only a couple gear inches away from what I was riding 2X, so if I'm walking it's not because of 1X. Now on a long groomed downhill I may spin out my top end but where I ride I don't have those. In two years I've never dropped a chain, ever. Properly set up I think chain drop is more likely with 2-3X. My experience only.

[Dead Man]

I'd be curious to know what sort of gearing range y'all are using for cross vs. gravel.

A lot of new, off the shelf 1x bikes are equipped with a 40t ring and 11-32 cassette. Seems super limiting at the top and bottom end vs. even a 42t and 11-36.

I'm wearing 42:12-27 for CX, and for CX it's been perfect. I did keep my front der and can just swap out cranks in 3 minutes labor to make her road worthy if I want to take 'er out off the CX course

[chiasticon]

There are many pro CX racers on 1x, but you still see many on a 2x. Currrent World champ Wout Van Aert is currently running a 2x hydro eTap set up, however US champ Jeremy powers is running a 1x hydro cx1 kit.actually Powers is on a 2X eTap hydro group this season. Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld are all on CX1/hydro. the majority of the euro dudes are on 2X groups. most of them Shimano di2. there's two big teams on Sram but I don't think many of them are running CX1, if any.

personally, I like having a 2X group for cross. for one, it makes your bike more versatile for various riding when you're not racing. two, I like being able to dump a ton of gears at once. and three, I still find a use for the really low gears during races and I don't really want a ginormous cassette. between a yaw FD, Wickwerks rings and sealed cabling, so far my shifting has been solid. but I'd also say that for 95% of racing I'm in the big ring. I get the simplicity aspect of 1X and less potential for chain drops is great; but honestly once I stopped using a 46 big ring, I race in the big ring more and drop the chain a lot less (because of more tension on chain). the majority of previous drops came from minor crashes/bobbles, being in the little ring, and the chain falling to the inside.

[dhalbrook]

Like others, I use 40/11-28 for CX racing, but all my other bikes are 2x, including my XC mtb. A lot likely depends on what your riding needs and terrain are... here in the PNW it's hilly enough that I prefer not to give up the gear range. That said, I have my eye on the newer MTB 1x systems, and if an XTR 1x option existed I'd be tempted.

[hmai18]

40T front ring. 11-32 cassette on my spare wheels and 11-36 on my race wheels.

Honestly, the 36 was only needed for one race on the circuit and they changed it this year to get rid of the steep section that necessitated it. I can't be bothered to spend money to replace the 40 with a 38 and get a new 11-28 cluster, so I just live with it. The gear jumps and cadence changes don't bother me much after two seasons of racing, winter training, and gravel riding with 40 x 11-36.

[ravdg316]

Chainstay clearance! Some bikes with room for wider tires wouldn't clear a 53 chainring.

[kevinvc]

I've got a 1x setup on my cross bike and really don't like it. It's a used bike and this is how it came, but I'm planning on adding a fd to it. It's a SRAM X9 setup and I have not found a way to keep it from dropping the chain or even shift smoothly. I've got a chainkeeper on the inside and a bash guard on the outside, which has finally reduced dropping, but not entirely eliminated it.

With the extra equipment on it there are no weight savings and the performance isn't great anyways. I'm hesitant to invest very much in it since it's an old beater that I very rarely ride for anything other than cross.

[Dead Man]

I've got a 1x setup on my cross bike and really don't like it. It's a used bike and this is how it came, but I'm planning on adding a fd to it. It's a SRAM X9 setup and I have not found a way to keep it from dropping the chain or even shift smoothly. I've got a chainkeeper on the inside and a bash guard on the outside, which has finally reduced dropping, but not entirely eliminated it.

With the extra equipment on it there are no weight savings and the performance isn't great anyways. I'm hesitant to invest very much in it since it's an old beater that I very rarely ride for anything other than cross.

Have you a, or have you tried, a narrow-wide ring? I haven't had a single dropped chain since I went narrow-wide, on two bikes and two race series

[sparky33]

The 1x clutch rear derailleur and a narrow wide chainring make for noticeably smoother running. The 1x system tolerates more filth than a 2x drive IME.

Zero chain slap on rough roads is nice too.

[kevinvc]

Have you a, or have you tried, a narrow-wide ring? I haven't had a single dropped chain since I went narrow-wide, on two bikes and two race series

I haven't used a narrow-wide and I'm kicking myself since I just bought a new ring. It might be worth dropping $40 to try one out and see if it fixes the problems. If it doesn't work I should be able to pick up a cheap used fd at the Community Cycling Center.

[Dead Man]

Definitely try that... It made a huge difference for me. I dropped my chain multiple times a race at Blind Date till I grabbed an All City 42t n/w and bash guard.

Having a front der on there is pretty awesome too though- you can actually use it to re-rail your chain if you ever did manage to drop chain on the N/w

[bigbill]

I did a gravel grinder this past weekend. It was 51 miles with 3000 feet of climbing with a few short leg breakers but mostly rolling. I used my Gunnar Crosshairs with a 44/38 (130 standard) and a 12-26 cassette with an early 90's 8 speed Dura Ace drivetrain. It worked well, if the there was more climbing I might have wanted some lower gears, but I didn't want big jumps between shifts. A 10 or 11 speed with a wide range would have been good too. I could get a 12-28 cassette but I wasn't comfortable shifting it with a 23 year old short cage rear derailleur.

Ideally, I'd want a 42 and 11-32 eleven speed.

[Dead Man]

If I end up riding my CX bike for more than just racing (gonna give it a go this weekend.. 55/6000'.. on 42:12-27) I'll probably have to get a 11-32.

Initially, I thought there's no way I'd want to try that for racing. But actually, I'm suddenly thinking I might like it for racing, and not for the range, but for the bigger jumps between gears. CX is so fast/slow/fast that I find myself thrashing through gears and having to tap furiously to get into a high enough gear to sprint and power past guys coming out of turns/remounting/etc. Having steeper jumps on the second half of the cassette could be a great bonus.

In other words... I think I'm realizing I might want less gears for CX, not more.

Maybe this is why SSCX is getting so damn popular? You're already IN your sprint gear, all the time.