Gravel - what’s your gearing look like?

[dem]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Wow. That's a wide range. Impressive. That will get you up the Coastal Trail for sure. This is a ten speed set-up? What's the derailleur and who makes the crank?

It's definitely a Frankenstein drive train:

Shimano ST-RS685 11 speed shifters (mechanical shifting/hydraulic brakes)

Front:
MTB XTR M985 crankset, BSA, two spacers on the NDS side so I can use a road FD (I fix the Q-factor by moving my cleats inward on the NDS, and out on the DS)
Ultegra 11 speed front derailler

Rear:
XTR RD-M9000 11 speed mountain bike derailler with:
Tanpan travel agent to change mountain to road pull
Wolftooth hanger extender to clear the 44T cog

SRAM XX1 cassette, with Wolftooth 44T replacement cog (stock is 10-42) - requires an XD driver hub (I have DT240S hubs that can fit anything.)

Small-small has barely any chain tension, but obviously I don't use that.
Large-large is very snug, but doesn't explode - I set it up to start being noisy one cog below large-large as a warning, and it is REAL loud in big-big.. so I stay outta there.

[John H.]

34-50 and 11-40 cassette.

Several of my favorite climbs average 11-12%. Not crazy long- Maybe 2 miles at most. But they feel much longer at that grade.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by dem

It's definitely a Frankenstein drive train:

Shimano ST-RS685 11 speed shifters (mechanical shifting/hydraulic brakes)

Front:
MTB XTR M985 crankset, BSA, two spacers on the NDS side so I can use a road FD (I fix the Q-factor by moving my cleats inward on the NDS, and out on the DS)
Ultegra 11 speed front derailler

Rear:
XTR RD-M9000 11 speed mountain bike derailler with:
Tanpan travel agent to change mountain to road pull
Wolftooth hanger extender to clear the 44T cog

SRAM XX1 cassette, with Wolftooth 44T replacement cog (stock is 10-42) - requires an XD driver hub (I have DT240S hubs that can fit anything.)

Small-small has barely any chain tension, but obviously I don't use that.
Large-large is very snug, but doesn't explode - I set it up to start being noisy one cog below large-large as a warning, and it is REAL loud in big-big.. so I stay outta there.

Did you set that up yourself? If so, kudos. It's complicated enough just reading it ...

[Hilltopperny]

I have two gravel bikes with one double and the other 1x.

The double is 52/36 with an 10/40 in the rear. It is a bit of overkill, but it helps with the dirt climbs with my heavy arse.

My 1x setup is 34t oval up front with an 11-34 in the rear. It is sufficient for most of the gravel riding I do. The 1 to 1 ratio is also necessary for the tougher dirt climbs.

My wifes is set up with a 46-30 and a 11-32, but she usually just rides it with me on the canalway trail while I tow our son along in the burley solo. I have taken around town a few times, but no off road experience on it.

Sent from my LGL423DL using Tapatalk

[aaronf]

38T chainring
11-28 or 11-36 11sp cassette depending on course/route.
Based in Altanta for reference. South of here mostly 11-28. North GA mountains (like Southern Cross course) area brings the 11-36.

[dem]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Did you set that up yourself? If so, kudos. It's complicated enough just reading it ...

Ha, yeah.. I'd say I'm mechanically inclined. Built many bikes/cars/motorcycles..

The good news is I think the new Shimano gravel stuff should come very close to this combination with just a Wolflink to get some more cog clearance.

The big question is chain capacity, which is a function of how long the RD cage is. So hopefully someone comes out with a longer cage if necessary - since it's based on the mountain bike stuff, this shouldn't be a problem.

[jtbadge]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

48/32 up front and 11/36 out back. Not sure my (RD R8000)could handle any more chain wrap without a road link. 32x11 is already looser than I like, but it’s an easy gear to stay out of. 32x36 is just barely enough for the longest loosest climbs I’ve ridden on this bike, but it would be easy to find harder out here.

If this weren’t my only road bike, I’d just go 1x.

I'm liking this combination, also.
-6800GS rear derailleur, no WolfTooth
-R8000 front derailleur (for tire clearance on short chainstays)
-11-36 PG1170 cassette
-48/32 Praxis crank

In the midwest I was running 50/34 with 11-32, but the fire road climbs out here are brutal.

[Duende]

50/34 up front, 11-34 in the back. Sure which my dear derailleur could do a 36. Gonna try it one of these days.

Hills are steep here in NoCal, but I also don’t have a car... so its miles on roads before I see dirt. Other than wishing I had a 36, I’m feeling pretty good about my current gearing.

[purpurite]

My setup is a 42t Wolftooth chainring with a 11-32 (11x1) SRAM cassette and I love it. I wouldn't change anything on my gearing, but in the Midwest, I'm not spending a lot of time climbing long or steep.

I spend about 90% of my ride in the 4 middle gears on the cassette, unless I'm ripping through a flat limestone trail looking for a fast Strava segment.

[Spdntrxi]

40T front
9-46 in the rear
The above I just got... was on a 10-44 before.

I have some ugly 15% ramps to get to the good stuff ... There is areas of 20+% that I just avoid.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by stev0

42/28 up front, 11-32 in the rear.

Same.

Been using this gearing since early 2016. I spin out on some road descents, but by and large this combo has been really good to me with 700x35 and high volume 650b. My chain line seems to be better in the gears I'm most often using compared to other gearing combos I've used. And a single FD shift, or double shift, is often just right for the kind of hills and rollers I ride.

On gravel I've not found myself in need of a bigger gear than 42/11.

[weiwentg]

A funny story. I did my first gravel ride, the Tour de Save 55 mile gravel event in Northfield, last week. I had a 36/46 front and a 11-28 rear cassette - I'd converted an old pair of wheels with a Campy hub to tubeless, but the drivetrain is 11s Shimano. I'd got an 11s Campy cassette as an interim step on my main pair of road wheels. The rear hub is starting to go, so I'd got a different pair of wheels, and I just wanted to try out gravel on that older pair of wheels.

In the back of my mind I was wondering why everyone needed such low gears for gravel. I figured that it was only a 55 mile ride, and I could grind it out if I had to. Well, I did have to.

If I stick with my cyclocross bike (Gunnar Crosshairs) on gravel, I'll be getting a 12-32 Campy cassette for my next gravel ride.

[stev0]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

Same.

Been using this gearing since early 2016. I spin out on some road descents, but by and large this combo has been really good to me with 700x35 and high volume 650b. My chain line seems to be better in the gears I'm most often using compared to other gearing combos I've used. And a single FD shift, or double shift, is often just right for the kind of hills and rollers I ride.

On gravel I've not found myself in need of a bigger gear than 42/11.

Definitely - I'm never really attacking descents and I'm too out of shape for fast road rides (and wouldn't take this bike on those anyway) so this gearing works great for my all-rounder/cross/gravel bike. The gearing is also small enough to take me up some big climbs when I'm well out of shape.

[scoobydrew]

Bike 1: Front 46/34 & Rear 11-34
Bike 2: Front 42 & Rear 11-42

[Luwabra]

46/32 WI vbc and 11/32

Orrrr

42/19 and if I walk well I walk.