996

Hi Guys,

As the title states... I am looking to put together a Surly Cross-Check for riding the fire-roads around Los Angeles. They can get pretty hilly and steep, so I had a couple of questions:

First off - I am looking to implement a 1x drivetrain. Perhaps a 30T in the front and 10-46 or something of that sort in the rear. Probably looking at MTB cranks and a SRAM Apex or Rival derailleur. Most probably SRAM Rival Shifters as well. Has anyone had experience in this sort of conversion perhaps? Any thoughts or concerns? Apex vs Rival?

My main concern is the braking. Most of these fire roads are pretty steep around Los Angeles. How would V-brakes handle these types of descents? I am not going to be bombing down these hills, but just cruising down. Will we have issues with overheating? The brakes will probably be mini-V's as I will be running road shifters. Has anyone had experience with V-brakes or Cantilevers going down big hills? Are they safe?

Thanks a bunch in advance.

mstateglfr 

No idea about 1x as i dont have that on any of my bikes besides my mtb. Haven't found the desire to run a dedicated 30t ring for gravel as a lot of what i ride is gentle incline, flat, and gentle descent. I dont want to spin at 90rpm just tonget to 20mph.

As for v brakes and cantis, they have stopped bikes for decades. MTB only used both types for about 20 years. They work fine, even on steep(about 14% grade for example) hills.

jideta

Personally I think 30 in the front is kinda small; good when you only had 7-8 in the back but now with them mega cassettes... I run 34 in the front. It's mostly flat here so am thinking about a 36.

I tried XT cranks up front but didn't like the Q. Just felt really weird.
XTR was smaller but big bucks so in the end (around the same price as XTR) I went Praxis. Looked at Force 1 etc. but Praxis looked like the way to go in case I wanted to go back to a 2x.
Never got into SRAM road so no info there.

Canti are no problem. Campag ergo easily locks the wheels. I run Yokozuna compressionless housings which help with modulation.

Was going to build up a Crosscheck. Went with a Bianchi instead.
Good luck and have fun!

996

Thank you both for your replies. Very helpful - will keep this thread updated with the build!

pbass

I have a CC that I set up for riding here in SoCal. I ride all around La Canada, Altadena, etc.
I have a 30T in the front, 11-40 in the back. Right now it has flat bars but previously I had drops on it with a Gevenalle Shifter: https://www.gevenalle.com/product/gx/

I have since switched to another bike as my main gravel rig for around here, but that was more about fit and wanting different geometry than performance. The CC always rides great here. Never felt the V-brakes to be lacking. The stock Knards are great here as well IMO.

996

Awesome - I'm assuming you rode the trails / fire roads / gravel roads in the area?

Appreciate the response. Those are some neat shifters.

Elvo

V-brakes are strong enough to slow you down on the 10-20% grades you'll find but you might like that the better modulation you get from disks

pbass

Yep, that's 70-80% of my riding.

996

Thank you all for the input. Will keep you guys posted with the build.

996

Also messaged you on this. What kind of crank-set were you running and also which bottom bracket? Also curious to know what derailleur was...I am thinking of going with a SRAM NX 30T in the front with a SRAM GXP bottom bracket. Was wondering if I'd get any fitment issues.

Thanks!

pbass

Hey--replied to your PM with my specs.