Gravel drivetrain and tire recommendation

[fishwhisperer]

I’ll echo what others have said: for off-road riding in the mountains, you’re going to want 1-1 gearing — why kill yourself? I’ve found lowering my gearing on dirt has really opened up the amount of time I can spend in the saddle (surprise).

I live in Northern CA and my primary dirt bike sounds identical to the build you’re describing. I roll WTB Resolutes (which I highly recommend for loose over hard and sandy stuff, even though they’re supposedly wet weather tires) and SRAM 1x with a 38 up front and 42 in the rear.

[Clancy]

My Salsa Vaya Ti is set-up with a White Industries crankset with 30/46 chainrings and a 11-32T cassette. I’m using SRAM Force 22 derailleurs, Rival Shifters with hydraulic brakes.

I went through a number of different configurations before settling on this and I believe this is the final version. The sub compact crank is the best decision I made, allowing me to use a cassette w/o bigger jumps between cogs. I tried a 1X set-up with a monster cassette but I didn’t feel comfortable with the big jumps between gears.

I used Sheldon Brown’s gear calculator and this combination of 11-32 cassette w/ a 30/46 crankset provides the least amount of overlaps of the other combinations I plugged in. Plus when I know I’m going to be riding on routes w/o any big climbs I switch the cassette to a 11-28 and that makes for even nicer shifting.

[jgarrett]

I’ve tried 1x 40t with 11/36 and 2x 50/34 and 11/32. Overall I prefer the 2x setup on the gravel roads of SE MN. The 1x was nice for chain slap, but the gaps between gears were an annoyance. I rarely felt I needed more top end than 40x11, which I could easily spin to 30 mph



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[sparky33]

Originally Posted by p nut

I've got plenty of climbs, living in the rockies. I did have a Warbird, which came with 46x36 and 11-30. It was adequate for what I did. I am not a big spinner. More of a masher. So it did well, although I think 34x32 low gearing would be better. Which is why I thought 46 and 11-42 was a good compromise. But I will look into a smaller front ring.



I will just have to research what I need to do with the left shifter.

As you like it.
46t is a large 1x ring but 46x42 is still a bit lower than 36x30 so the ratios aren’t crazy by the numbers, especially if you aren’t a spinner. The good thing is that switching 1x chainring is pretty easy if you change your mind.

[p nut]

Thanks for the inputs. I am heavily leaning 1x and will start conservative at 42T (x 11-42) first and adjust from there, if needed.

Follow up question on that. I noticed SRAM offers some nice 1x packages. I’ve never used Sram before. Looks like I don’t need the Tanpan if I go that route. Any thoughts on that vs Shimano set up?

[Andy sti]

Sram 1x is great. It just plain works and it works all the time. No fuss, no messing with it, no troubles. Some may not like the ergos but I have no problem with it. I have force 1 hydro on 2 bikes and never have an issue.

If you're planning to do Crusher and RPI I would consider a 2x but plenty are doing it on 1x. Just remember that hour long climbs at 10,000 ft get hard.

As for tires check out the new Vittoria line. I've been using the dry tire and really like it. Set up tubeless super easy and rolls pretty well.

[Zee]

Late the party, but I can verify going from 25's to 35's, my gearing/rollout increased dramatically.

[DRZRM]

I had a great coupled ti cx frame that I used as a gravel bike before such things had become so vogue, and currently I'm running two vaguely gravel-ish bikes with a new incoming frame that I hope will be perfect, so I've given this a lot of thought and have some experience. Hope I can help.

For years I used a ti IF Planet X that was just awesome. It was a touch small, it needed a 130 stem and at times I considered switching to a 140 but that and rim brakes made it easier to fit in a travel box. I went west for work to Utah every year and used it for that trip and for others. Loved it.



I ran Campy 10 speed Record with 34/50. a medium length cage, and eventually their 12-30 cassette. It was fun, but definitely under-geared and took too small a tire (max 35ish) especially for trails in the Rockies. I rode a set of loops that had limited technical parts and limited climbing, but it was awesome for the riding it could do.

When I stopped doing that trip, and moved to central PA I sold the travel bike in order to pick up a different ti gravel bike for dirt roads, not trails (or only the easiest double track fire roads). I got a DeSalvo with midreach brakes that would take 32s.



Great bike, similar drivetrain (in fact maybe the exact same one) Record 10, 12-30 by 34/50. But I had a bit of a habit of taking it onto slightly more dirt that it was designed for. Short wheelbase made dirt road descents feel sketchy, and I would have preferred disc brakes. But for its intended purpose, to be on the road and on packed dirt, it was a great bike, it now has fenders and tubeless 28s and is my commuter.

Recently I've been I'm running my Zanc 29er as a gravel bike (or monster cross). I never really take the 29er on the road except the few miles to the dirt roads, so this is more a drop bar MTB than a real gravel bike, but it gave me a sense of what I'll want in terms of gearing on local climbs and on the trails that don't require a full squish MTB.



Shimano RS-505 hydraulic levers with new RS 785 disc brakes, 1x11 XT (so with clutch) with a Wolf Tooth tanpan to shift. Salsa Woodchipper 2 bars, rigid fork (Origin 8) and now a Velo Orange LD stem. I'm running a 30 Wolftooth up front with a 11-42 in back. I've also run these huge 2+" Schwlabe G-One tires, though I have recently switched to Terrene Elwood 40, as the bigger wheels often feel a bit like overkill and I wanted to see how these Elwoods ride. The bike is obviously significantly heavier, but it is hugely fun. The gears obviously spin out on descents, and I'm not doing group rides on this, it would not feel lively on the road, but it serves its place in the quiver, solo days in the woods.

I'm now awaiting the frame to help me put all I've learned together. A Zanc disc road32 that will take 40s on a 700 rim and a 47 on a 650. I'll use an Ultegra 36/46 cranks with the small gear swapped out to a 34 along with an Ultegra midlength R6800 RD with a road link (Wolftooth says the R8000 will not work with roadlink11, so grab up all the R6800 you'll ever need) and an XT 11-40 cassette. I thought about going 1x11-46 with a tenpin and MTB RD, but those jumps are just too big for me if I'm on the road, which I may be at times. I figure I'll put big rubber on 650 wheels, and maybe something fairly slick on some 700s. Who knows, maybe this will allow n-1.

I'd prefer Campy, but I'm not going to be an early investor in their hydraulics, nor do I imagine being able to run enough size in back on a Campy setup at any point in the future. I like the Terrene Elwood rubber in 40 for a 700 rim, and they are currently on a good discount at a UK seller ($35 each shipped)

I'd be concerned that 46x11-46 (or 11-42) will limit how useful this bike is for you. If 1 to 1 is sufficient climbing gear for you, you might go 36/46 (or 34/46 or 34/50) with the new Ultegra 11-36 cassette, and you'll get more reasonable steps between shifts and you'll still have the ability to push downhill, there is nothing inherently wrong with 2x. If you later need better climbing gears, you only need to invest in a new cassette.

Long winded, hope it helps. Enjoy your new bike.

[John H.]

Since you are going 1x- Why not use an mtb derailleur and totally forget about the Tanpan and/roadlink.
They work but they are kind of hokey.
You mentioned 11-42? Did you mean SRAM 10-42?
The 10 cog will give you more top end.
You could also go with something like an E13 cassette- 9-46. Gives you even more high and low.

Originally Posted by p nut

Thanks for the inputs. I am heavily leaning 1x and will start conservative at 42T (x 11-42) first and adjust from there, if needed.

Follow up question on that. I noticed SRAM offers some nice 1x packages. I’ve never used Sram before. Looks like I don’t need the Tanpan if I go that route. Any thoughts on that vs Shimano set up?

[p nut]

Originally Posted by John H.

Since you are going 1x- Why not use an mtb derailleur and totally forget about the Tanpan and/roadlink.
They work but they are kind of hokey.
You mentioned 11-42? Did you mean SRAM 10-42?
The 10 cog will give you more top end.
You could also go with something like an E13 cassette- 9-46. Gives you even more high and low.

If I were to go Shimano, I will get an XT derailer, for the clutch option. Accordingly, I will get XT cassette, which is 11-42. I didn't think there would be a 10T option there, but that would be nice.

If I do go MTB derailer, I have to use a Tanpan. MTB and road gear pulls are different on Shimano.

If I were to go SRAM, I wouldn't have to deal with that. I'm just having a hard time finding CX1 groupsets that don't come with disc brakes. Seems like that's non-existent now.

[icepick_trotsky]

You would probably have to piece together a non-disc SRAM 1x system yourself. Just get the road shifters and 1x RD.

[PeregrineA1]

My mongrel gravel bike is a Lemond Poprad Disc.

Running a 105 50/34 and an unknown vintage Ultegra FD to an 11-36 cassette with an XTR RD. Ten speed shifted with bar ends, though I understand there may be a brifter set-up that will work, those are the parts I had. Tires are Challenge Gravel Grinder 38's.

So slightly better than 1:1 on the low end and decent top.

I'm happy with the combo. Works well on our So Cal dirt fire roads and allows me to hook up some nice loops that otherwise would be a bear on an MTB and no fun at all on a road bike.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by icepick_trotsky

You would probably have to piece together a non-disc SRAM 1x system yourself. Just get the road shifters and 1x RD.

Yeah, I was in the process of doing that. Total I got was over $700 for levers, cranks, cassette, chain, rear derailer, BB. Ultegra groupset from Merlin is $620, which includes brakes (not that I'll use them, but still). I'll have to do some more thinking about that.

[jbreebs]

On my gravel/monstercross bike (china-carbon mtb frame that I adapted with a short stem and cowchippers), I'm running sram apex 1x11, with hydro brakes. Chainring is 38t narrow/wide on an XT crank (can't run a road crankset on that frame). I've found myself wanting a smaller chainring as there are some surprisingly big climbs on eastern Nebraska gravel roads, but that also means sacrificing the top end on the flat/downhill stretches. I don't love the big jumps of the wide-range cassette and would probably prefer a 2x setup, but the effort and cost to make that change doesn't seem worth it at the moment. I'm running a WTB Nano in the rear and a Conti Gravel King up front.

[icepick_trotsky]

Originally Posted by p nut

Yeah, I was in the process of doing that. Total I got was over $700 for levers, cranks, cassette, chain, rear derailer, BB. Ultegra groupset from Merlin is $620, which includes brakes (not that I'll use them, but still). I'll have to do some more thinking about that.

For what it's worth, if you're looking to buy used or save somewhere, you can also get a SRAM mountain bike derailleur. Just make sure it's the same pull ratio. SRAM fiddled with this a lot.

I recently got a pair of 10 speed rival shifters and an x9 for peanuts.