Originally Posted by
Amt0571
I'm complaining about the 10t-12t jump, mainly, and the lack of range.
If you want the 22-32 equivalent on 26" wheels on a 29" 1x12 bike, you need a 30 chainring coupled with a 51 sprocket. That means that when it's flattish, I'm constantly debating between a too fast cadence on the 12t, or too slow on the 10.
Moreover, pedalling at 40+ km/h with a 30t chainring is uncomfortable. Over that speed is pointless. My max speed on my 26" on most rides was always near or slightly above 60kph. I simply can't reach that speeds with my 1x12 bike unless it can be done without pedalling.
My old 3x9 bike didn't have any of these issues. And don't get me started on the big sprocket jump on SRAM cassettes.
I am guessing you spent more time on the road with your bike than what most MTBs are designed for. More than I do at least.
The issues you describe are why I would not go 1x on my gravel or road bike. At least not until they get to around 14 gears in the back.
But for trail riding I have little need for the tighter gear spacing, in fact I prefer the wider spacing. Tighter spacing just means I am often shifting a more gears at a time when i do shift.
As far as the high end.... I started dropping the big ring off my 3x cranks on my MTBs 20 years ago. The only time I spin out 32/11 is on pavement or a dirt road. And in those cases I really don’t care. Between the fat meaty tires at low pressures and the aerodynamics of a barn door, I just assume coast at that point rather than killing myself for an extra 2 mph for a 30 second stretch.
On single track, the times I COULD spin out 32/11 are when the trail is steep enough that I don’t need to pedal anyway. It is my brakes that decide how fast I am going.
If I were to set up an MTB that also needs to spend a long time on pavement/gravel, I’d be looking at 2x.