Originally Posted by
Rajflyboy
I like the 1 x but I also like the triple (I normally ride in the middle) but its nice to have the gearing options if you need them.
Use what works for you. I live in a hilly area. That means climbs in which I use 22-32, and when I come back down, I use a 44/11. I use the whole range and, sometimes, I miss a bit more on the top end (mainly on some asphalt stretches TBH).
Where's the advantage of 1x? I lose a lot of range which I currently use, and gaps between gears are so huge they're a PITA on flat areas.
But what kills me is that I paid 850 for a bike with full X9, Manitou R7 fork and Elixir Brakes. As parts wore down I replaced the wheels with Fulcrum Red Power XL, the brakes with SLX and fork with a Suntour Axon RL-RC, and hacked the rear shifter to go from 9 to 11sp. All for less than 450. The bike was lightened by almost 1kg in the process. When looking at new bikes, I see 1600 / 2000 bikes with basic Deore brakes, Recon forks, other low end components, and that weigh almost 1.5kg more than my bike. I can't get around that.
It's just cheaper to keep my better built bike running for 10 more years. I see no reason to leave my 26" bike since, as of today, I have not had any problem sourcing parts.