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New tourer - 1x vs 3x

Old 01-31-21, 10:04 AM
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Badgerjockey
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New tourer - 1x vs 3x

I recently bought a Spa Cycles Touring frame as a lockdown project to while away the long lockdown evenings. It will replace a Kona Smoke cromoly hybrid I've had for about 12 years and have covered a lot of miles and a half dozen or so countries on. It's been great but on a recent traverse of Wales I finally gave in to the fact that the frame is too small for me and no amount of ridiculous seatposts and stems could fully remedy this so the time has come to avoid injuring my knees any further and build a purpose built tourer which fits! Yes, I have been that stubborn.

With the build in mind, I could do with running a couple of decisions by the forum hive mind...

Its a fairly rugged frame, not the lightest or heaviest - Reynolds 725 and VBrakes. (57cm version with headset weighs 2.39kg for the frame and 1.13kg for the fork in case anyone needs to know!).

Most of the touring it will be used for will be midweight touring using two rear panniers, a drybag on top of the rack and a bar bag. I'll usually be carrying camping and cooking gear. For colder or longer trips I'll use a couple of small front panniers too.

It will be a flat bar tourer so for simplicity's sake I've limited myself to MTB drivetrains. Ruled out Rohloff and belt drives for cost reasons. 1x setups have been a revelation on my mtbs - I love the simplicity of no front shifter/mech so I am going through the thought experiment of seeing if it could be viable for the tourer.

My Kona's touring gearing is a Deore 44/30/22 chainset with an 8speed 11-34t cassette. This gives a granny gear of about 18" which is lovely, and was essential in Morocco this time last year. I've worked out that with a 11speed 1x setup of a 30t chainring and a frankly mindboggling 11-46t Shimano m8000 XT cassette I can hit the 18" climbing gear and still have a friendly average gear-step change of 14% between all sprockets apart from the 37-46t jump. That's the same average stepping as what I have now. I will lose my hardest three gears but I hardly ever used them and would happily coast down mountain roads without them. The 11t sprocket gives an 80" top gear which I think will be plenty. I know 10sp would give me better compatibility options if I never needed to source replacement parts in foreign countries but the stepping and range provided by 11sp is superior. The 11sp rear mech will actually give a lower profile and better clearance than my current deore which is a bonus.

Interestingly, the 1x setup would be roughly the same price as a 2x and 3x setup, made even better if I used eBay seeing as 11sp is well established now. It would also be about 400g lighter than a 10sp 3x Deore setup; although this saving is quite modest it is still welcome.

So my only hesitations are due to the materials used in the groupset. The two largest cassette sprockets and the 30t chainring are all alu alloy. The Kona's chainset has a 44t alloy chainring and steel 22 and 30t rings. To be honest I can't see a whole lot of wear on any of them after a few 1000kms. I suppose I could swap out the chainring for an aftermarket steel one... I once had a tooth snap on my big chainring where a baggage handler dropped the bike onto it - not a disaster on a triple but potentially a disaster arriving in a new country with a single chainring - maybe less to worry about with a steel one? I've never had aluminium in a cassette before - how would that fare? To my mind, I feel like aluminium would be less durable but there are people out there who swear by it on chainrings and say the wear rates aren't too bad. Would the fact that the two alloy sprockets have lots of teeth to spread the forces over mitigate against the potential increased wear on alloy?

Advice on materials and anything else I might not have considered would be welcome! I'd love to have almost the same gearing as I currently have with an even simpler setup...

Thanks
H
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Old 01-31-21, 01:30 PM
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Some related reading to start: https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...-cassette.html
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Old 01-31-21, 02:01 PM
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I'd go 3x9 or 3x10. More range, and it will probably last longer (because you're spreading the wear among multiple chainrings and won't be on the small cogs as much).
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Old 01-31-21, 03:21 PM
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You already have more touring experience than most people that ask questions on this forum, so you probably already know the answer. But as noted by Happy Feet, there recently was a lengthy thread on a very similar topic.

I have three touring bikes. Two have triples and eight speed cassettes, they are great and the wide range of gearing at 558 percent gives me a wide enough range that I can pedal up the hills and also pedal down the shallow downhills instead of coasting. My third touring bike has a Rohloff which has a range of 526 percent. At times I wished I had more range on that bike for the downhills where I often spin out, but I am unwilling to give up my lower gears to obtain higher ones.

A 1X system with a 11-46 range would have a gear range of 418 percent. I think that is a pretty small range for touring with a loaded bike. My randonneuring (audax) bike range is 504 percent and my road bike is 355 percent, and I never carry more weight on those bikes than a bag of groceries.

If you really are convinced that a range of only 418 percent is adequate, go for it. I would want more.

I avoid the two most cross chained gears for each of my chainrings, thus my derailleur touring bikes with an eight speed cassette only give me 18 usable gears instead of the 24 possible. But still I find 18 is a lot better than 11. And my Rohloff with 14 gears also gives me a few more choices than you would get with a 1X with 11 speed.

Since one of my bikes has a Rohloff, I certainly understand the benefits of a single sequential shifter. But I do some of my touring on the wider range derailleur bikes with a triple instead of the Rohloff because the benefit of more gears and more total range sometimes outweighs the advantage of a single sequential shifter.

Those are the issues I would be thinking about.

***

On materials, almost all of my chainrings are aluminum and almost all of my sprockets are steel, so it is hard for me to make a good comparison. Thus, these are only my thoughts, I can't point at a great wealth of experience on materials. On my derailleur touring bikes, the smallest chainring is an aluminum 24T. And I have no perceptible wear on that chainring on either bike, but I use it rarely, only for the steeper hills. That said, I still use that chainring much more than my largest sprockets on my cassette which are only used for the really steep hills. I suspect that if you have some cassette sprockets that are 37 and 46T that are aluminum, you would probably still wear out the smaller steel sprockets on the cassette faster because those smaller sprockets would get much more use. On my eight speed bikes, the 16, 18 and 21T sprockets are shot when it is time to replace a cassette, but the other sprockets are in great shape because 80 percent of the time I am on those three mid-cassette sprockets. You mentioned a 30T aluminum chainring, how much are the replacements at Spa, I suspect that they are reasonable in price. Maybe the 30T replacement is cheap enough to carry a spare on longer tours.

On my triple systems, I have never replaced a chainring due to wear, but go through a lot of chains and some cassettes. I really like the lower price of the eight speed gear. Not sure how you consider finance on replacement of expendible items, but you might consider the prices of the 11 speed chains and cassettes compared to the parts you would have with a triple.
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Old 01-31-21, 06:15 PM
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All good points raised, thank you!

I'm beginning to re-think the need for a higher top end for flats and descents now. Perhaps 80" really isn't enough. Although, looking some Strava data of a recent tour I was rarely over 20mph...

Anyone have any knowledge of whether the top and bottom gear combinations would be noisier or particularly friction-y?
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Old 02-01-21, 08:20 AM
  #6  
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Originally Posted by Badgerjockey
All good points raised, thank you!

I'm beginning to re-think the need for a higher top end for flats and descents now. Perhaps 80" really isn't enough. Although, looking some Strava data of a recent tour I was rarely over 20mph...

Anyone have any knowledge of whether the top and bottom gear combinations would be noisier or particularly friction-y?
I mentioned above that I sometimes wished I had higher gearing on my Rohoff bike. That has a high gear of 85.1 gear inches and on shallow downhills I often spin out. While that might be a very small percentage of the total riding I do, it still is noticeable.

One of my derailleur touring bikes, the top two gears are 115.5 and 105.9 gear
inches, the other bike the top two are 106.8 and 97.9 gear inches. Rarely used, but nice to have. I think over 100 is unnecessary, but nice. I think a top gear in the 95 to 100 gear inch range would be adequate for me.

Keep in mind some people are spinners and some are more like a diesel engine, low revs and a lot of torque. So, the gear inch range that would keep one person happy might not be so good to the next person.

Noise wise, when my drive train is noisy, I use chain lube. So, I doubt that the highest or lowest would be noisy. People have researched drive train friction when cross chained, I do not have any links handy at this time but I have seen such research.
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Old 02-01-21, 08:28 AM
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It seems that if you prefer the simplicity of not dealing with front chain ring shifting or have particular difficulties with using multiple chain ring setups, then you'll simply have to decide where on the gear inch range of priorities you lie.
it's pretty much that simple.
As you say, 11 and 12 speed setups have similar percentage jumps between gears compared to 8, 9 speed but again, it's up to you if you can live with the jumps and the range.
A 10 speed deore triple setup has smaller % jumps, even with a 11-36, so you have the black and white knowledge to help make your decision.
happy riding no matter the gearing.
And happy jabbing when it comes to you
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Old 02-01-21, 08:34 AM
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Found a link on drive train friction. I remembered reading this a few months ago so it was easy to find.
https://www.velonews.com/gear/gear-i...x-drivetrains/

A quick note on my Rohloff. I tour with a 36T chainring. But I also ride that bike on gravel trails near home unladen or mostly unladed. Touring I have loaded it down with weeks of food, etc. But around home, never carry more than a pannier of groceries. So, around home I gear it up with a 44T chainring instead, as near home I do not need the lower gears that I need for touring.

If you go with a 1X system, you might find that for some tours you want different gearing than you want at other times. I assume it would be easy enough to swap out a chainring and add or remove a few links. On my Rohloff bike, when I add links for the bigger chainring, there are two quick links in the chain. I don't know if you can do that with an 11 speed chain, most of my bikes including my Rohloff use 8 speed chains, one uses a 10 speed.
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Old 02-01-21, 04:01 PM
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It's harder to pedal uphill, than it is to coast downhill, so I wouldn't worry too much about that, you know what you want.

I wasn't aware that the rear larger sprockets were aluminum on those cassettes. It may not be an issue though. A larger sprocket doesn't wear as fast as a smaller one, so that may be the rationale. In light of that, I doubt you will have an issue with the large rear sprocket wearing too quickly.
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Old 02-01-21, 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Badgerjockey
All good points raised, thank you!

I'm beginning to re-think the need for a higher top end for flats and descents now. Perhaps 80" really isn't enough. Although, looking some Strava data of a recent tour I was rarely over 20mph...

Anyone have any knowledge of whether the top and bottom gear combinations would be noisier or particularly friction-y?
Yep, you will spin out on the flats with a tail wind and 80" and going down long shallow descents. Which sucks, when I climb a big hill I at least want the joy of going fast down the other side.
And yes, the middle of the cassette is the sweet spot. you'll probably find yourself chewing out the smallest sprockets a fair bit, 11T isn't many to spread the load over.
And finally, loaded, going up long inclines, you'll find the big jumps between gears will suck. I have a Rohloff, and the gaps on that wouldn't want to be any bigger. I've put an ATS speed drive on my bike with it because if I have the low I need to do the same speed as my partner I run out of top end way too soon.
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Old 02-01-21, 07:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Badgerjockey
I've worked out that with an 11speed 1x setup of a 30t chainring and a frankly mindboggling 11-46t Shimano m8000 XT cassette...
This past summer I set up a bike with a 1X SRAM 11-50T 12-speed Eagle cassette. SRAM also offers 10-52T, 12-speed cassettes.
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Old 02-01-21, 11:10 PM
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I really like the 3 X 9 set up, that way I am not lacking in inches (hehe). Maybe when the need arises, I might try a 2 X 10 set up, or an internal gear system.
I live and tour in areas with thigh busting ascents and eye watering descents, I do not want to miss either because of a limited gear range.
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Old 02-01-21, 11:21 PM
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A couple years ago I'd have said that 1x11 is great for a trail bike but even I'd admit it did not have the range for touring. But the chain was ubiquitous, all the derailleurs worked the same, and a lot of the cassettes used a standard freehub.

Today I'd say that 1x12 has too many competing implementations (not "standards"). The world does not need three different freehubs and special brand-only chains and sprockets.
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Old 02-02-21, 06:21 AM
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Badgerjockey I can see where your coming from, you've been paying attention to how you use your triple and think why not just ditch the other two rings? I did the same for my mtb when I went 1x. Shimano makes great wide range "rhythm stepped" cassettes that all have the 11-13-15-17-19 cogs. The difference between your approach and mine is I went 34t x 11-40 eleven speed. It means once and awhile I have to jump off and run up a grade with my mountain bike, nbd. It is handy not to have a FD and cabling take up space on the lower triangle.

If you're touring you probably don't care if you go a little faster or slower depending on which gear is more comfortable to push. I'm not running 1x on my all road bike, I'll be using a 46/30 double paired with a fairly narrow 11 speed cassette. I prefer the ability to fine tune my cadence when I do a long day in the saddle.

Have you seen that Microshift makes a Shimano 11s and even 12s mountain compatible indexable bar end shifter!? You could grab a Deore 11-51 11 speed cassette with a 34t ring.
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Old 02-02-21, 06:35 AM
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establish what range You want. Then - it doesn't matter much. Choose what you like and what You can service easily
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Old 02-06-21, 03:21 PM
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1X or 3X? I understand that two rings in the front is a popular option....
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Old 02-06-21, 03:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Badgerjockey
All good points raised, thank you!

I'm beginning to re-think the need for a higher top end for flats and descents now. Perhaps 80" really isn't enough. Although, looking some Strava data of a recent tour I was rarely over 20mph...

Anyone have any knowledge of whether the top and bottom gear combinations would be noisier or particularly friction-y?
Another advantage of triples: better chainline in typical use. Less noise, less friction (marginal, but real).
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Old 02-08-21, 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by PedalingWalrus
establish what range You want. Then - it doesn't matter much.
I would disagree, in that I find it very important as to the size of steps between gears which would allow for that range. But then it may be just myself who finds it annoying to be stuck in a non desirable cadence.
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Old 02-08-21, 03:27 PM
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I would do a 2x if I am doing a more modern touring bike with say 11 speed. You will loose out on maybe a bit of top and end and possibly some bottom end but you can do quite well. My plan for my next touring/gravel bike is 44-30 and 11-42 at the back. It should get enough of my 3X9 touring bike currently which works fine for most stuff and since this bike won't be as heavily loaded it should do quite nicely.

1x is great for somethings but fully loaded touring not so much unless you love pushing or a lot of spinning out. I love it on my MTB and my hybrid and certainly my single speeds and fixed gears but for longer distance stuff I am just not a huge fan.
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Old 02-08-21, 05:32 PM
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it all comes down to what percentage jumps you like, are comfortable with, or have a awareness of how closer jumps = more efficient and faster riding + being easier on your legs
I know it bores most people to tears getting into specifics of gearing techno jargon, but I completely get that if more cogs are reliable enough and arent super expensive, its would just really really nice to have closer % jumps between shifts, loaded or unloaded.

I figure that if I'm going to pay more for new stuff and use lets say, 11 or 12 spd stuff, hell I might as well have a double at least and take advantage of closer jumps and a wider range.
If a 1x system has the same % jumps as my 9 spd stuff, then shifting chainrings aint that hard a skill to master, we aint mountain biking here, we're schlepping along slowly on touring bikes.
If shifting multiple chainrings is too challenging for you, then by all means use one by systems. Just accept the limitations, but its up to you.
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Old 12-02-23, 01:49 AM
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Hi Badgerjockey,
am planning to get a Surly Bridge Club for touring, 90% pavement and some off trail trips. I am wondering, if the 1x gear train is enough. The current model goes from 17-80 gear inches. I wonder, if 80 inches would be good enough top gear. I will be travelling with all my gear, so I don't think I will spin out on flats, but I am fine coasting down hill. I was wondering, what your experience with touring 1x chainring ?

Cheers
B
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Old 12-02-23, 04:58 AM
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First, it's been almost 3 years since this thread originated so Badger might not be around.
As to your question, according to Sheldon Brown's gear calculator, you'll be spinning out by about 19 mph, which would not be adequate for myself but then it may work for you. Your 17 low is sure low enough for almost anyone (I'm not sure I could remain upright at that speed?)
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Old 12-02-23, 05:19 AM
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Originally Posted by robow
First, it's been almost 3 years since this thread originated so Badger might not be around.
As to your question, according to Sheldon Brown's gear calculator, you'll be spinning out by about 19 mph, which would not be adequate for myself but then it may work for you. Your 17 low is sure low enough for almost anyone (I'm not sure I could remain upright at that speed?)
Thanks Robow that helps. I can live with 20 mph. I may not like it, if I was going un-loaded but I plan to use this just for touring
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Old 12-02-23, 06:34 AM
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Perhaps a stretch for some, but I see a connection to buying a boat. You can put all your power into one big outboard motor, or (for more money an maintenance), you can split your power among two or more outboards and gain some redundancy as well as a couple other tricks. Boaters endlessly debate on forums if the 1x or the 2x/3x is better. They both work just fine 99% of the time.
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Old 12-02-23, 09:54 AM
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The one nice thing about a 1x is that if you wanted a touch higher high and could tolerate a slightly higher low, is to throw a chainring on up front with 2 more teeth which is what I would likely do in your case, but that's just me.
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