SquishyBiker

I've just changed my chain ring on my new bike to get a lower gear, and I was wondering what others are running on their 29ers for the harder climbs?
My new setup is 30T front (was 32T), 10-51T rear, but I'm considering even going down to 28T chain ring LOL

Steve B.

What came on the bike, 30 front, 11-46 11 spd. rear. We don't have serious hills so I've never used the 46.

travbikeman

I had upgraded the drivetrain to my Aspect to a 1x AdventX. Initially I had a 28tooth chainring on the IXF crank I had put on (no one had better cranks in stock, so IXF was being tested). After summer was over, that crank was making some strange cracking noises and was replaced with a Deore with 30tooth.

While I like the Deore crankset much better, feels stiffer and no noises, but I can feel the difference between the 30tooth 11-48 as per the 28tooth when going up some local hills. Still doable, just requiring more effort.

bmwpowere36m3

My Yeti has 30T >10-51... no complaints. Coming from gravel bikes with 31T>24 or 40T>50. I've struggled on some 30%+ climbs, but that's also just punishing in terms of wattage needed.

prj71

The hills become easier the more you ride them. I have 32t chainring and 10-50 in the back.

c_m_shooter

32:20

carlosponti

32t front and 11 to 50 12 speed in the rear

cyclezen

really sortta comes down to what you're trying to achieve. I'm new to '29' and 1x, but considering the possible 'gear ratios', reaching and using the lowest of the low is really greatly dependent on the conditions and surface of where and what you ride on; and if it's meant to be for 'climbing' vs some sort of 'trials' type riding. (I'm not good enough to do anything resembling 'trials', like Danny Mac... LOL!)
now having a 1x 11-51, I can;t imagine using the 51, likely the 42 below it is not gonna be much help either.
Conditions may nix the use of my lowest gears. so whether 42, 30 or 28, that becomes irrelevant for me.
Conditions here, are often dry, not much organic litter (which is a challenge by itself), lotsa sand and mixed with gravel and larger stone. Whatever uncovered rock there is is usually a version of sandstone/sedimentary - so not the grip of metamorphic/granite-like.
I don;t think I could retain ANY traction on anything I could visualize using a 32x51.
Whether a 30 or 28 might make a difference in using the gears just below (above) that - 36 & 42 - I wouldn;t know... haven't hit that kind of stuff yet on the 29r.
...not sure what kind of surface at what 'tilt' would allow use of a 32x51...?
Ride On
Yuri
OOPS, typo: "42, 30 or 28", should have read "32, 30 or 28"... LOL! my bad. so much for proof reading...
and this...
"I don;t think I could retain ANY traction on anything I could visualize using a 32x51."
should also read "AND I don;t think I have the watts to even haul up something that steep.... LOL! "

bikeme

34 x 10-52. I know, sounds brutal but I never have to dismiss for not having enough gears. Disclaimer: I'm a Cat 1 XC racer.

Moisture

My 29er uses 26/36 x 11-42t 11 speed and I find that it works well.

In cases where 26 feels too small, that would be the point where I can make effective use out of the 36t ring anyways. So it works well. Ive used all the gears I got available for climbs before, but 36x11 on the other hand has me going too fast for comfort unless I'm on pavement. I'd settle for a 12-42t and call it a day.

Cassettes with a 12t final cog are rare but great for experimentation. By changing each cog in the cassette by 1t, you can achieve a welcome change.

28/38 on a 26er will get you similar gearing
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shelbyfv

But only if she gets unruly....

jswbiki

I upgraded from a 40T to 46T on mine. It increased the climbing ability tremendously. I had install a derailleur hanger and lengthen my chain afterwards.

Kapusta

I just built up my Tilt with 32 x 11-51. I’ll let you know how that works out in a few months when the trails dry out enough to ride it.

The gearing on my old 1x9 29er HT was 32 X 11-34, but with that bike I would get out of the saddle for steep climbs. That does not work as well with an FS bike.

prj71

Congrats!!!

If you don't have a lot of hills that should be OK. My local trail has a lot of climbing and I get by OK with 32 x 10-50 on my FS and 30 x 11-46 on my hardtail.

Kapusta

I do a lot of climbing. Locally they are short but steep climbs (mostly less than 300’ at a time, but I can get several thousand in a ride if I want to) but I travel places with big climbs.

I’ve been fine with a 32/46 low gear on my 26er, and I believe the 32/51 on a 29er is just a smidge higher. However, I am also trying slightly shorter cranks, so in the end something may have to give (longer cranks or smaller ring). The Tilt suspension is optimized around a 32t ring, so I am trying to stick to that, though Canfield says they think 30-34 is still OK.

I’m sure if I wait another year, someone to come out with a cassette with a 55 cog.

prj71

Your riding area sounds similar to mine. Doing a ~25 mile loop on my local trail will be close to 4000 feet of climbing.