2 x10 or 1x11 or? Advice for a 26" 135mm MTB

[canadasteep]

Hi,

I have a very nice 135mm Cannondale frame - rim brake - and high end DT Swiss 26" wheels I'd like to get back on the road.

Just wondering about clearance, BB/crank options and what group to look at from and from whom?
ex 2 x10, 1x12 or???

Bike would be used for grocery getting and tackling some hills too.

Thank you!

[jimcav]

I had a 2x9 that I made 1x11. I just put a narrow wide ring on the existing crank (XT or XTR--I no longer have the bike to double check), with new 11 speed XT shifter, RD with clutch, chain, and cassette. No issues at all.

Mine was a 29er, but I can't see how the wheel size could make any difference

[KonaSS]

This sounds like a Microshift Advent X special. Do some googling. Gets really solid reviews.

[tellyho]

I have 1x11 on my yo Eddy in a similar state. 34x11-42. Works a treat.

The trickier part IMO is what tires: big and light. I have Racing Ralphs, did not like the durability of thunder burts. Rat trap pass is the obvious choice but didn't want to spend that $$

[carlucci1106]

Originally Posted by jimcav

I had a 2x9 that I made 1x11. I just put a narrow wide ring on the existing crank (XT or XTR--I no longer have the bike to double check), with new 11 speed XT shifter, RD with clutch, chain, and cassette. No issues at all.

Mine was a 29er, but I can't see how the wheel size could make any difference

I would want a bit more information in the "tackle some hills" realm of the descriptor in the OP.

The wheel size matters because wheel size greatly affects development (ratio of crank revolutions to wheel revolutions), and in turn how hard/easy the gear feels...

e.g. if you have your tall gear on a 29er is 34/11t (a 34t Chainring and and an 11-42 Cassette), you will not easily spin this out.

However, on a 26" wheeled bike, you will run out of tall gears rather quickly. As we moved to bigger and bigger wheels, top end gear became less relevant, and low gears, conversely, more relevant.

ATMO, the best modern drivetrain for a 26er that needs to be versatile is 2x10. The best one I ever rode was SRAM X0 on a 650b full suspension bike. But you can also get any number of lower-tier groups that share those chainrings/cassettes for cheap.

Think X5, X7, or X9 in 38/24 with an 11-36 Cassette would be the best thing going.

[bmeryman]

I highly, highly recommend Microshift for projects like this. I've got 1x9 Advent on several bikes, but the 1x10 Advent X is great too. It's inexpensive, durable, shifts well, and has enough range for anything I've wanted to tackle. For a grocery getter where you might not care as much about optimizing your cadence the jumps between gears are totally acceptable.

Advent 1x9 is available in 11-42 and Advent X is 11-48. Both are clutch derailleurs. And one of the biggest bonuses in my mind is that the drop bar shifters and trigger shifters have the same cable pull, so it's easy to swap shifters if you decide to go a different route for a build without swapping other components.

[mstateglfr]

Yeah, 1 more to suggest Microshift Advent.

It doesnt come in either form you mention(2x10 or 1x11), but I think 1x10 would be quite close enough to your desired 1x11 to not actually matter on a grocery getter.

I have installed Advent 1x9 on two different bikes for the family and the components work great. Relatively inexpensive plus easy to install and set up. The 1x9 RD comes in clutch and non-clutch, so check that if you do go the Advent X 1x10 route.

I bought a USAMade brand Sharktooth chainring for the crank arms as I think I have that on 4 family bikes now. Simple, not expensive, and holds onto the chain.

[old fat man]

I was running 1*9 on full suspension Cannondales and Intenses in late 90s and early 2000s without issues. 32 up front and 11-34 or 36 in back. I had a bash guard on outside and a front derailleur mounted only as a chain guide with the high low screws adjusted to keep the chain from bouncing off. And no such thing as clutch derailleurs back then.

Investing in 2x or 3x on any mtb these days is a fool's errand. Go 1x with either microshift for cheap or some left over SRAM or Shimano.

[redir]

One by is the way to go for sure. Check out the stuff that Box 9 is putting out. They have come up with a solution to retrofit older 9-speed bikes or older frames in general to 1x. https://boxcomponents.com/collections/prime-9/prime9

[vespasianus]

Originally Posted by canadasteep

Hi,

I have a very nice 135mm Cannondale frame - rim brake - and high end DT Swiss 26" wheels I'd like to get back on the road.

Just wondering about clearance, BB/crank options and what group to look at from and from whom?
ex 2 x10, 1x12 or???

Bike would be used for grocery getting and tackling some hills too.

Thank you!

So if you are just casually riding, a 1X9 is perfectly fine. But if you are going to make the bike into a gravel bike, I say stick with a 3X8 or 3X9 system and set it up with old school bar ends and run some 26 x 1.95 or 26 X 2.1" tires.

[carlucci1106]

Originally Posted by old fat man

I was running 1*9 on full suspension Cannondales and Intenses in late 90s and early 2000s without issues.

Investing in 2x or 3x on any mtb these days is a fool's errand. Go 1x with either microshift for cheap or some left over SRAM or Shimano.

It appears you and the OP are talking about two separate use cases. One-by drivetrains for actual trail riding is suitable on any wheel size. As trail centres increasingly have dips, turns, and flow engineered into the design, we aren't riding long straightaways much anymore, like on logging trails in the Northeast, or snowmobile trails here in the Northland. There is no reason you need (like my 135mm 26" XC bike has) a 46/36/24 to 11-32 Cassette for riding trails. However, on the road the bike spends the majority of the time in the Big/Middle chainring. This a lightweight hardtail with Crossmax wheels and 2.1" Racing Ralphs, for reference.

However, from the way the OP describes things, I doubt they are getting groceries and then getting on singletrack to get home. If they are, wicked cool, but I envision this bike is on the road.

With a BIG chainring and a wide-range cassette like 11-50, no probs, and I know there are budget options like Advent and others. But the rhythm of that gearing is designed for trail riding. It will be annoying AF on the road, if this bike spends the majority of the time there. ATMO, all in.

Edit: I'll add this is coming from someone who has done 100s of "grocery runs" up here in cold country. Sometimes you need to put the power down before your digits freeze.

[carlucci1106]

You'll thank me later, OP. This. Or X9/X0 2x10. Note: Ad says it's a 13-36t Cassette which is wrong. It's 11-36t BB not pictured, but incl. All you need is housing and brakes/levers

[carlucci1106]

Here is where I see 1-by drivetrains lacking for 26" wheeled applications.

[jadmt]

I have a 1x11 42 chainring and 11-34 and 11-42 cassettes and have put over 4000 miles on the road since July. Swapping back and forth between rene hersey rtp and naches pass tires. For road riding the smaller cassette is great.

[xcandrew]

It's personal preference really. I've had a '93 Stumpjumper since new that has only a handful of original parts on it now - drivetrain on it now listed below. I also had a modern 1x11 (Shimano M8000 XT) on a much newer Stumpjumper, but after than experience decided that my favorite is 2x. Things I didn't like about the 1x11: chainline, wear on the aluminum large sprocket really increased cost of wear at ~$100 a pop, chain comes off pedaling backwards on large sprocket, too much multi-shifting required, would have been better 1x8? with a bit more overall percentage range. Yes, I don't think like other bikers, but I'm also not a single-speed nut.

I always disliked the 3x, and with a 11 small sprocket instead of the original 13 small (limited by old freehub body), it was easy to justify ditching the big ring. I compared gear inches of a lot of different 1x and 2x configurations and my preferred lows and highs on a spreadsheet as well as on bikes. I actually don't like close spacing on a mountain bike. I can't think of a single time I wished the gears were closer, but at least a dozen(s) times a ride I have to do 3 or 4 jumps in the back at a time, and I do 2 or more jumps more often than single jumps. I also like the front derailleur to make some of those big jumps.

Drivetrain:
- 8/9/10/11 freehub body and axle/right side cone/locknut/spacers on original 7-speed 135mm LX hubs
- 11-34 9-speed CS-M770 XT cassette
- 'upgraded' crankset older than the old bike (switching to my preferred 170mm, polished to shiny silver) Deore MT60 3x square taper crank
- shorter steel chainring bolts to allow 2 rings without spacers
- a steel 24T 74bcd for durability
- ramped/pinned 38T Origin 8 outer ring 110bcd (chainline 2x is better than it was 3x)
- Shimano BB-UN300 122.5mm bottom bracket, right length for the crank
- 2x FD-M985 XTR front derailleur (much of other stuff cheap parts bin parts, but this was incredibly cheap brand new at Universal because front derailleurs are so unpopular among mountain bikers)
- Shimano RD-M750 rear derailleur (only think I wish for is a clutch, but options are limited for 2x9...)
- Shimano SL-M952 XTR shifters
- 9-speed KMC chain
- new Shimano cable/housing set