chas58

Why would you ever want to go 1x??? I'm scratching my head.

I want to be able to do road rides, and easy 30mph, and peaks around 40.
For fast rides I want 1/2 of the cluster to be 1 cog different.
I need to be able to climb hills in gravel and single track

Yeah, I have a power range from 0-150rpm and probably can maintain 15mph on any road around here with 70 gear inches.

But sometimes I want easy. I want to spin up a hill rather than mash, and I want to be able to keep my rpm around 100.

Realistically I use 46-50 chain ring for faster road rides and something around 36t for gravel or cyclocross races.

my 1x MTB friends always seem to be changing their chain ring to get the right gearing. Geeze, if I want to do that I'll ride my track bike. But given all the time I've spent changing gears on a fixed gear bike, I kinda like having gears.

What good is 1x? I'm asking as this is a key decision in a new bike purchase. but what am I missing? Why limit your gearing and cadence to 1x?

ksryder

Simplicity mostly. For your intended riding it's probably not the best choice.

Facanh

I simply love using 1x. Shifting at the front is not a big task but it's so nice when you get rid of it. With SRAM I do all my shifting with one lever too. That's it for me really.

The 10-42 cassette provides a gear range that's plenty for where I ride. I don't race, i'm not in a hurry, and the bigger jumps on the cassette don't bother me at all.

When someone comes out with a complete, factory drop bar groupset that has a 46-30 crankset, 11-36 or 11-40 cassette and a clutch RD i'll go back to 2x.

1x is a bit overpriced and it's definitely not for everyone. Borrow a bike with 1x and see if you like it. Simple as that.

This has been discussed over a trillion times already tho, you can find plenty of articles and forum topics.

Banzai

Because SRAM couldn't make front shifting that worked well, so they marketed 1x as an "upgrade" or improvement.

Logical choice for them, really.

bbbean 

People who go 1X have a different set of criteria than you do. 1X isn't for me, either, but the appeal should be obvious: Simpler, more reliable, and lighter. That comes at the cost of wider gaps between gears and/or a narrower range. But that makes perfect sense for a lot of folks.

Good thing they make bikes in lots of variations.

Banzai

In the road componentry world, SRAM front shifting pales considerably next to Shimano. And Campy. It's clunky, balky, rougher, and more prone to chain drops.

Shimano front shifting is, by comparison, revelatory. Shifting with my 105 crank and FD is a seamless click into place compared to my SRAM Red. I was, however, able to slightly improve the shifting on my Red crank by replacing the chainrings with Shimano chainrings.

prathmann

Got used to riding 2x5 and 2x6 bikes for many years and never really felt that I was deprived by not having enough gears. Usually stayed in the large front ring, so the small ring just provided a couple low bail-out gears for climbs. With the increased number of rear cogs and a wide-range rear derailleur one can get the same range of gears with only a single shifter and eliminate issues such as rubbing or adjusting the front cage. So I can understand the appeal although none of my bikes are set up as 1xN.

Banzai

I think you'll find that the prevailing opinion is that SRAM front shifting is sub-par.

BluesDawg

1X is simpler, lighter, visually cleaner and slightly less expensive than 2X. If the gearing range and the jumps between gears matches your terrain, intended use, physical capabilities and your preferences, it is great.

I can't imagine ever going back to 2X on my mountain bike. With a 28T chainring and a 11-46 11 speed cassette, I have all range I need for the often hilly singletrack trails I ride.

But it won't work for me on my road bike or my gravel bike. I cannot devise a 1X setup that gives me low enough gears for the steep hills I often encounter while also providing tall enough gears for the flat and downhill sections, especially on paved roads. The gaps between gears, while no problem for me with trail riding, are much more of an issue at the higher speeds of road riding, paved or not.

But I can totally see how 1X could work just fine for someone else with stronger legs and/or less varied terrain than what I typically encounter. It's an individual thing. What works or doesn't work for someone else really doesn't matter.

BTW, I have or have had bikes with SRAM Red, Rival, Force, Apex and X7 front derailleurs, Shimano Ultegra, 105, Tiagra, RSX and Deore front derailleurs, Campagnolo Racing Triple and Record front derailleurs and various Suntour front derailleurs. They have all worked well and have been much more impacted by how well I set them up than by internet forum consensus about what works best.

DrIsotope

It sounds like 1X is perfect for you, because you clearly have no need of the small ring. A 50T in the front with an 11-32 cassette should have you sorted. If you can manage any hill with 70gi, you don't even need the small ring.

I've put in about 10,000 miles with road 1X, including a handful of imperial centuries, a few double metrics, etc. 44T chainring, 11-42 cassette, because I have no illusions of maintaining 30mph, or hammering up hills with 70gi @ 100rpm. Sadly, I am a mortal.

I love my SRAM Rival 1. Shifting is excellent, chainline is exceptionally quiet, and chains last a looooong time. I suppose if I based by equipment purchases on pounding the paceline with the rest of... them... I might go for something different. But I just ride solo, 300+ days a year, wherever and whenever I feel like it. Works for me.

tFUnK

1x seems great for crits, commuting, or mountain biking (with each needing its own optimal gearing, of course). If you can only have one bike to do everything then 1x may not be for you. But if you want a dedicated crit machine, flatland commuter, or mountain bike then 1x offers a clean, simple solution. Two experiences that made me wish I had a 1x are 1) having a commuter with a triple crank and never shifting out of the middle ring and 2) not being able to keep up on dirt trails with my friend who has a 1x as I'm constantly jumping between my small and big rings up front due to the varying rolling steep pitches.

Facanh

Sadly that is not always true. I just bought a Rival 1 mechanical groupset 2 months ago from bike24.

SRAM Rival 22 with brakes: 470 EUR

SRAM Rival 1 with no brakes: 470 EUR

105 5800 with brakes AND a bottom bracket: 460 EUR

And there is of course the price of the cassettes which with the XD driver start from 100 EUR...


Don't sweat it, you will find the "because SRAM can't make a front derailleur" joke in pretty much every 1x vs 2x discussion.

Metieval

I like my 2x11, I like my 1x10, and I like my SS.


Personal reasons for doing 1x, I LOVE Ovals! I hate the way oval doubles shift. Sorted!

cobra_kai

A Sram XD cassette with 10-42 gives approximately the same range as a double with 16 tooth gap and 11-32 cassette. You can tune where you want the range to cover with the chain ring. You do lose about 3 unique gear ratios over a compact double so the gaps are definitely bigger but I've found it to be less of an issue on mixed surface/off road rides than I think it would be for pure road rides when riding in a pace line for example. You also can't match the range of a triple so if you need super low gears for loaded touring you are going to lose out on some top end. The lowest I've used on the front is a 40 which only gives up about 1-1.5 gears on the top end so I don't feel I've missed much on that end yet. If I ever have to step down to a 36 or lower I might change my opinion on that front.


There is no question that Sram stuff is more expensive than you can buy Shimano from some of the European sites but you can also do Shimano 1x in a variety of ways. Wolftooth offers the road link and tanpan which give you a couple options or you can use a mountain di2 derailleur with road shifters.

Facanh

Rival 1 and Rival 22 costs exactly the same and you don't get brakes with the Rival 1 mechanical version. I guess the diffrence comes from the XD cassette but still...

I think if you start to piece together a full groupset with adapters and all different parts it's going to come out more expensive in the end. If you buy the parts separately they're always more expensive compared to if you buy them in a full groupset.

And if you go with Shimano you're going to have a dead lever of course, and since there is no front derailleur there is no load on the front shifter so the brake lever will twist more easily.

Di2 would be nice but and i've heard with a 1x setup you can program it like etap but $$$.

1x10 flat bar stuff is very cheap tho. That's where i've tried 1x first, and the main reason I went with 1x is because it was cheap.

Metieval

My two 1x are XT 1x10's 11-36

MTB has Absolute black 32t oval, and my hybrid is 11-36 with a 42t which should have been a 44 but the Wolftooth 42 was at a bargain price. LOL

As for SRAM XDR driver, there are options for road Cassettes

(9-10-11-12-13-15-17-19-22-26-32) Bailout
and
(9-11-12-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32) Overdrive

For roadies that love the 16t cog, 44x13 = 53x16 (44x9 will be the 53x11)


Some of the older guys, will be stuck on gear inches though. gear inches means nothing!!
Proof, they sit on the same saddles we all sit on with no issues. Thus the Large gear inches is only in their heads. For most of them , there are probably fixie rides with a 46t chainring that would smoke them.

cobra_kai

Unfortunately there is no sign of availability for those 3T cassettes yet. Plus, I expect them to be $$$. As far as gear inches... not sure what you are talking about and what it would have to do with a saddle. Gear inches are everything. They take into account tire/wheel diameter in addition to the gear ratio. Of course given a constant wheel/tire diameter then matching gear ratio will yield identical results.

Facanh

I'm young and I like easy gears. 1:1 is great on the road but I might go down to a 38T or 40T when the front chainring wears out because why not. When i'm in the 42x10 i'm on a downhill 99% of the time, i'll let gravity do the work.

Metieval

well the way some people brag about gear inches, I am surprised they could sit on any saddle. but they do sit on a saddle, thus their gear inch testosterone is all mental.

a 1x might just bring some reality to most riders.
Unless they are constantly turning in 22 + MPH averages, a 1x would be sufficient.

Metieval

Maybe 1x isn't good for a road race, but this is the Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational)

here is a 1x with a 10-42 I doubt any of us posting here can even come close to that, even with a double.



https://www.strava.com/activities/ho...iamtedking.com

Darth Lefty 

1x is not about gear range, it's about shifting. Front shifting doesn't work as well as rear shifting. Not anyone's brand, not any group. That's why the front shift is the big one and you keep away from it until you have to. Rear shifting just works. 2x is about shifting ratios. Doubles will survive as long as roadies want a corncob in the rear. I pretty much expect triples to disappear, though. The only reason they're surviving on cheaper MTB's is that the Walmart-to-$500 range is a very standard bike with very standard parts and the triple is one of them.

motrheadsroadie

just went from a 38/46 front and an 11/32 in the back to a 42 in the front and a 11/42 in the back. 1x rules.

Seattle Forrest

SRAM can't make a good front derailleur.

Facanh

You're late.

https://www.bikeforums.net/20088562-post4.html

Seattle Forrest