Originally Posted by
alcjphil
All I have to say is that if you live in a mountainous area converting from a triple crankset to a single front ring is a terrible idea, especially if you only have 7 or 8 cogs in back
I agree, but not for the reasons I think you have. The OP bike in question is an old Rock Hopper, which, I suspect OP is trying to make like a modern MTB.
A 1x makes sense if you ride trails and singletrack where you're always in the deep gears, but if you install the same fitments from a modern MTB on to a 26er, you can end up with a way over-geared bike that can climb a tree, but can't get out of it's own way on a fire road.
You got to know what gears you are using and how your new setup compares before you start throwing parts at it.