I have 1X on a drop bar bike. It is my Gravel/Commuter/Touring bike
It is slower than my road bikes; not a surprise. The 1X13 gearing with Ekar is sort of wide ratio for slow going, then close ratio at the high end. I haven't had it out of ND/MN so I haven't done any climbing, but the gears work well going into our constant wind. If I build another road bike I will consider using Ekar.