jpescatore

I decided to do a "N-2+1" I bought a new carbon road bike in 2017, still had my 28 year old Schwinn hybrid for rail trail/towpath riding or rides with my wife, and my 22 year old Trek 520 for loaded touring. But, the Schwinn is nearing some investment and I don't really do any loaded touring anymore - all credit card style touring now.

So, I decided to add a new bike and get rid of the Schwinn and the 520. Basically, what I wanted is now called a "gravel bike" and looking at them I could see that with a 1x11 SRAM drivetrain I could get as low a gear as on the 3x7 520, sacrificing the highest few gears which I almost never use.

I bought a Jamis Renegade. Weird not having a shifter on my left hand, even weirder only having one shift lever on my right hand! The more abrupt jumps in a few of the gear changes really isn't that noticeable. At the high end, I do have to increase cadence in the rare times I'm going above 20 mph or so but I've always been a slow descender - too many varmints running out on the roads around here.

jgwilliams

I can see the appeal of 1 x 11 and it is becoming hugely popular on that type of bike. I seem to remember someone from PlanetX saying that 1 x 11 disc brake bikes are their fastest growing sector.

What's the cassette, out of interest? My bike came with 11-28 but I've found SRAM's spacing on the gaps rather bizarre - all very close together at one end and big gaps at the other. For the time being I've put a Shimano 105 12-25 cassette on - one I just happened to have - but as soon as I can I'm planning on getting an Ultegra 11-28, which has much more even spacing.

thumpism 

520 gone yet? What size?

Moe Zhoost

I'm sold on 1x as well, and have set up 2 of my bikes as 1x11 and 1x10. Other than the difficulty in customising the cassettes, I recommend it wholeheartedly.

mstateglfr 

1x is nice for my mountain bike.

I still havent managed to come upon a situation on paved roads or gravel where I was wishing for less gear options or where I had an issue with multiple chainrings that caused me to wish for 1x.
Ill ride 1x on paved and gravel roads once my left shifter or cable finally for the first time breaks during a ride. I will shift to the smallest ring and ride the bike 1x. Cant imagine opting for that more limiting drivetrain and paying more for it though.

Again- 1x for MTB is an improvement though. more chainring clearance for rolling over junk and quicker shifts for the short climbs and twists.

MikeyMK

The front derailleur keeps the chain on.

A second front chainring weighs nothing and will always be able to double your gearing.

I rarely use mine, but it's there if I need it.

I like having shifters both sides. Like brake levers.

indyfabz

My 2x on the super fly road machine works fine.

I have no interest in 1x for my touring bike. To me, there are few things worse than being caught between gears when climbing, especially when climbing an unpaved mountain pass.

Flip Flop Rider

do you use all 11?

Paul Barnard

1X on my MTB has served me well. I don't love the alignment when I am in my granny gear, but it works nonetheless. It seems like it would work for the majority of the road riders I encounter as well. If I had a subcompact 42/28 11-36 drivetrain on a road bike it would do everything I wanted it to do. The gaps in a 1X would leave me wanting at times.

Leebo

For my bike packing, 2x11 rules. Closer spaced cassette with smaller jumps, Wider range for gearing. Yrmv.

Metieval

a 1x is nice!!!

it is like a +10 more gears added to my singlespeed!

Yes the majority of my miles is on a Singlespeed.

I also made the modern Investment on a 1991 Schwinn Crosscut.

1x10 XT 11-36 with a 42t ring. I don't ride it much, but it is super fun in town. It is also squirrely on gravel with its short wheelbase.
super fun bike to ride and own though!
Because of this I want 1x on a gravel bike.

baldilocks

I've just warmed up to my 3x. Last year my winter bike wasn't shifting well on the back derailleur. I stuck it in 4th gear and only used the front chain rings. I liked it so much, I found myself doing it on my good bike. Now I look at new bikes and they are all 1x. Maybe my next bike should be a three speed.

GlennR

My CX bike has Sram 1x with a 40T a d a 11-32. My road bike has Sram eTap with a 11-28

BobbyG

It doesn't matter how close the gears are, I would still probably hunt. Even on a CVT, I probably wouldn't stop adjusting.

But if the range is wide enough for hilly Colorado Springs commuting, and the ratios are right, I don't care how many rings up-front.

Although, a 1x would possibly allow for a chain-guard.

biketampa

Main reason for 1x gearing.

ThermionicScott 

I used to grumble that if trends continued, companies would only make one cassette, an 11-32 or thereabouts, and we'd have no choice but to use that.

But as they keep adding filling in the gaps, that kind of thing starts to become more appealing. Who knows, if I were to build up a clean-sheet randonneuring bike today, I might just go for a 1x11 or 1x12.

Toadmeister

I also have the Jamis Renegade 1x11 (40t chainring, 11-42t cassette) and love it. I use the whole gear range and sometimes I wish I had one lower gear for steeper hills but that’s rare. I’d probably switch to a 38t or 36t if I could find one for lots of hill climbing.

My fat bike is also a 1x11 With a 36t chainring, 11-42t cassette. Perfect on that bike.

Ghazmh

I too have Sram 1x with a 40T with a 11-32 cassette on my cross bike. I’ve put 5000+ road miles on it and seldom find myself wanting for more or less teeth.

DrIsotope

SRAM 1X, 42T up front, 10-42 cassette, approaching 18k miles. I ride it anywhere and everywhere. Have never once missed having another chainring up front.

jpescatore

It is 11 x 42 on the rear, 38 on the front. The spacing doesn't really bother me but it is different.

jpescatore

Definitely less chain slap with the clutched derailleur. The ability to lock it in place when taking the rear wheel off makes it a bit less messy to get the rear wheel back on, too.

jpescatore

For now, the 520 is on the indoor trainer for the winter. I think it is a 19" frame but it has been so long since I bought it (and all bikes since have frame sizes in cm!) that I'll have to check.

thumpism 

Ahhh, I need a 24" or so but there's no harm in asking. Thanks for the response.

MikeyMK

My recumbent only has a single chainring, but it has a cassette on an IGH so it doesn't really count as 1x...

Steve B.

I've been stating for a while that 1X systems puzzled me as it's not like front shifting suddenly started to suck, unless it's SRAM, who invented the 1X concept, hmmm......

But really, Di2 proves you can have front shifting that's almost every bit as good as rear, so why not ?.

I did start to understand the popularity when I got a new mt. bike last winter with 1X 11 spd. I understood the usefulness of not having to think ahead of which chainring to get into for a sudden climb and that having the same range with just a R shift. And as I was going up/down constantly, I wasn't really missing the middle gears that you lose with the big jumps on 1X.

On a road bike, those huge gaps would drive me nuts, especially as I live where it's mostly flat and the one tooth jumps on a road cassette would mean I have a choice of too hard or too easy when the wind picks up. GlennR rides that same area I do and occasionally uses his 1X bike, says it's fine, but I don't think I'd want that setup for the road.