Lenton58 

• I'm going through a controversy in my own head. I have a knee that is acting up ... so I'm reconfiguring my single speed bike that was running 1x 16T. For a good chain line, I was running the 42T at on the INSIDE of my Sugino 75 crank spider. (I. sacrificed an old crank spider and fretted out gussets so as to bolt through the front.)

• My original plan was to run 2x on my vintage 7 speed Hyperglide freehub. I'm on a budget, so this is all commensurate with what is in my parts bins

* My cassette is 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21T ( 13 & 14 are free/loose. 15-21T are blocked together — old school.)

• 42 Chainwheel : (gear inches) 87.2, 81.0, 75.6, 70.9, 66.7, 59.7, 54.0
• 38 Chainwheel :( gear inches) 78.9, 73.3, 68.4, 64., 60.4, 54.9, 48.9.

• NEW plan? Run the 38T chainwheel as 1X at the back of the Sugino spider. I think I will be using the 14T (73.3 gear inches) a lot. And I'm sorta kinda guessing that is a pretty decent chainline

QUESTION: What do you ladies and gentlemen think? OPINIONS >>> ADVICE. What are you 1x people doing? What combinations of chainwheels and cogs are you using.

Best regards all of you ))

Reynolds 

Depends on terrain and other factors, but I'd use the 42 if on flat roads.

79pmooney

Easy (but not always possible with any given setup and rings/cogs). 1) Figure out what gear you need. (I'm guessing your knee will be the deciding factor here.) 2) Find a combination of chainring and cog that a) gives you the gear you need and b) runs in a straight chainline. (Well up to one cog over in back is OK but not ideal. I like to keep it withing a half cog.)

If this cannot be done, options are to use a different bottom bracket spindle length to place the chainrings further in or out to access different cogs, find different chainrings, find different cogs. Perhaps you can stack the cogs in a different sequence, say the small ones inside to bring the bigger cogs to the middle. Or even flip the cluster around if it will slide on backwards. (Most cassettes don't allow this but if yours does, more options. You are not shifting gears so the chain doesn't care.) The chainrings can go on either side of the spider. Only tradition says that the larger has to be outside as soon as you toss out that front derailleur. (And yes, looks funky but if that's what it takes to have a gear your knee can live with, trust me, happy knees completely offset odd looks from others.)

AdventureManCO 

I'm running 2 bikes as 1x setups right now, my old PX-10 from the late 60s, and my '87 Ironman. The Ironman is a 1x7, and the PX-10 is a 1x5. I don't feel outgunned with either one. We've got a lot of hills here in CO, so I was just fine sacrificing the big ring for something like a 38t up front (that is, in fact, what I've got on the Ironman). I'm running something like a Shimano CS-HG200 7 speed cassette on the back. I think it's even a 12-32. I don't know how I lucked out, but the chainline is dead perfect, and the gearing feels wonderful.

On the PX-10, it's the old school 5 speed freewheel in the back, I think it might be like 12-24 or 12-28, definitely a little tighter than whats on the Ironman, but due to the wider spacing, it is really fun shifting on the fly because its hard to miss. A real solid feel to that one.

I think I've pretty much found perfection w/ the 38t + 7 speed 12-32t cassette. Just totally my jam. Love that 7 speed is still supported today w/ new parts, and 7 gears gives me the perfect compromise between feeling like I have enough options for the varying terrain, yet also provides way more of a buffer for variation unlike something so stacked up together like an 11 or 12 speed cassette that would be a nightmare trying to friction shift.

Good luck on find your right gearing!

I'll see if I can get a picture of the Ironman drivetrain and post up.

AdventureManCO 

Here’s the Ironman -

Russ Roth

Not being budget limited, I'd go 11 or 12sp, my experience is that the thinner chains complain less about the imperfect chainlines at the highest and lowest gears and having smaller gaps and a wider range is always easier on the knees. Budget limited, I'd test things by switching the chainring from side to side on the crank and seeing which side measures the best chainline to the middle cog. Remember, with 1x there's no chainrub on der plates of the large ring when in the small ring. Assuming your current BB is the correct width for the crankset so the arms sit equidistant to the centerline of the frame, I wouldn't change it to optimize the chainline for the middle cog, close enough will work fine. However, if you do find you have any problem with chain drop, I find narrow/wide rings solve the problem and they can b available cheaply.

TenGrainBread 

I'm building a 1x road bike right now. 42t, 11-28t 10 speed cassette. I've had a similar setup in a previous wide tire road bike that worked well, albeit bigger cassette in back.

Lenton58 

Thank for your advice. I have contemplated some of your suggestions. As regarding the quotation: I've been using a chainwheel on the inside for years. (No body notices, cares or even looks in these parts. So problem there.) And 75 year old knees need to be taken care of. Only the right one is bugging me. I had this problem once before, but it healed in time and went away. And then I did the stupid thing again — using my arms and upper body to put more power to the pedals on an incline. DUH!!!!

Lenton58 

Thanks! Most of my riding is on the local river floodplains. I live in the eastern part fo Sendai City (Northern Honshu) not far from the coast where the tsunami came in — March 2011. There are two local rivers that conjoin. Both have good paths on the floodplains. Most of my riding is here. If I get to the coast, I can go either north or south for miles in either direction. So most of my riding in on the flats.

As I single I did climb some hills going got work sometimes, but I was standing up.

With my current hardware from the parts bins, I can use either a 38 or 42T on a 1x setup. I've not set up a chain yet, but if I use a chainwheel on the inside of the spider. it "looks" like I'll be within half a cog from 14-15 on a 13-21 cluster. If I use the 38, I might be in a good alignment for the 14T. That would yield 73.3 gear inches — pretty close too the 42x - 16T I was using as single speed (70.7 gear inches). If I am in a headwind, I can drop down to 15 which would yield 68.4. Next is the 16T which would yield 64.1.

Sendai is a pretty windy city some months out of the year — the gales coming either from the south out of the Pacific or the north by Northwest out of freezing winter Asia. (Brrr)

By the way, I've not mentioned the bike. It's a vintage Simplon 'Four Star' in Reynolds 531 with Campagnolo dropouts. It is so rare that there is really no information about it anywear. It came with 120mm ?? in the stays, so I had a frame-maker cold-set them to 126mm — along with other servicing. It is asymmetrical at 56x54. I guess I would date it as least as far back as the early 70's.

Lenton58 

Thanks Russ ... good points there. I can't go 11 or 12 without spreading the stays. And they have already been spread from 120 to 124 (old frame). Old Shimano Hyperglide freewheels allowed for clusters with 7 cogs and a lock ring or a cog that locked. (The 600 hub is laced to Mavic Montherly tub rims)

Lenton58 

Thanks Mr Adventure! I appreciated the photos!! — and the advice. it looks like the good chainline you illustrated is on the 16T cog. Yes? If so, that would yield you 64.1 gain inches, which is a pretty easy cruise, but spinning for sure. And the 15T would still be a good run. The 14T would get you into usual single speed territory at 73.3 gain inches. And your 12T would be good for tailwinds. AM I RGHT?

And your 'line' is right in the middle of the cluster — serendipity as you indicated.

Schlafen

I'm running 1x11s on an 26" wheel xbike built for commuting and general moping around, a bit ratty as a theft deterrent, 11-32 cassette, 36t chainring, Microshift 11s MTB thumbie, Deore 5100 derailleur.

Less than 36t and I'm just spinning away not getting anywhere, any larger and I would arrive places faster, but, a sweaty mess.

Find a cheap used crank that is 4x104 bcd, chainrings are very cheap and common, you can experiment a bit without breaking the bank. Your knee will appreciate it the most.

Lenton58 

Russ: I reread your post. It got me to thinking and reconsidering. If I put the 42 ring on the inside of the spider — again as it was for single speed — I might be lined up for the 15T or the 16T. If the latter, I'd be in the middle of the cluster. But more likely I'll be lined up better for the 15 ... maybe even the 14. I guess I'll just have to assemble the setup and find out. (Gotta pull stuff apart again.) Nevertheless, I'm getting the 1x itch more and more.

As for the BB and crankset: over the years so many parts have gone into the bins. Stuff has come out and gone on different bikes. And quite frankly, never being so flush so as to collect group sets, my roadable bikes are a bit of this and that — all retro but 'fankenized' nonetheless. So, the BB that I installed in 2011 is Sugino 75. So is the crankset. I just hope they are mates.

RCMoeur 

This sounds similar to how I had my commuting bike set up for a number of years as a 1x6 or 1x7. For a bike like this, I usually select my highest gear as something I can spin at 23 mph at 105 rpm or so, for those situations where I need to be in a real hurry such as in busy traffic or similar. Either the 38 or 42 would do. After that, I'd set the low to whatever can get me up the hills to home, but if you live in flat territory, this may not be much of an issue. So it may just be a personal preference issue for you as to which chainring gives you optimum gearing in your preferred speed and power output.

Lenton58 

I think yer right. I don't worry about speed so much. When the bike was single speed, I found that sometimes I wanted to use more power than what was provided by 42-16T (70.7 gear inches) I dunno what that translates to in mph/ kph ... just I wanted to go faster. (And BTW, a combo that gets 70.7 is pretty common for single speed and fixie.) I could still do some hilly bits if I was standing — bit of a grunt but doable.

My real concern here is headwinds on the flats. That is what had me thinking of 2x. A combo of 42+38 rings produces no repeated ratios on my cog cluster. But cuz I'm using old school DT shifters, 1x is appealing.

nlerner

Another approach is to go 3x1:




Good for a wide range of terrain.

Lenton58 

@nlerner: nice machine! I have thought about a similar approach for another frame.

QUESTION: but what about the rear hub? Please tell me the story on that component. I can't see what it is. A track hub? And if so, did you cold-set the stays for 120mm?

delbiker1 

3X in front with 1 cog in the back was a thing I had thought about, got no farther than that. I do have a 1X set up with a V-O Porteur bar using 6400 bar end levers set in friction mode. Front is 44t, rear is 12 speed 11-34. Short cage rear dr and brake calipers are 6700, brake levers Cane Creek Cross levers. The shifting and braking are both very good. The bar end lever travel is quite short with the 12 speeds, but works great once one gets used to it. I call it my poor man's 12 speed set up. It is all on an Airborne Zeppelin Ti, very light and wonderful ride

.

nlerner

It's a V-O hub with 126mm spacing threaded for a freewheel, so to get a decent chainline I put one or two mm of spacers behind the single-speed freewheel. Lines up nicely with the middle ring of that Sugino AT crankset.

Lenton58 

@nlerner: thanks for the info. I didn't know such a hub in 126mm existed.

nlerner

I don't know if this is helpful if you're ordering from Japan, but looks like various hubs of this sort are available, e.g., https://www.modernbike.com/product-2126298784.

Lenton58 

OK, thanks! I know these hubs. I built a bike for a friend a few years ago. iI was a frame-up build, and I needed a wheel set. Mr friend was never into overhauling hubs, so I was looking for sealed hubs. These Origin hubs seemed a good thing, so I ordered a Veto Orange wheel set with the 126mm Origin sealed hubs and put a SunRace freewheel on it.

These days, the increases in shipping costs and the differential between the US $ and the Japanese ¥ is so cruel as to make ordering from America a pretty rare thing. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

QUESTION: so is the freewheel you have put on the Origin hub a dedicated single cog thing? And if so, from where did it come? Very curious.

Lenton58 

[QUOTE=delbiker1;23051943]3X in front with 1 cog in the back was a thing I had thought about, got no farther than that. I do have a 1X set up with a V-O Porteur bar using 6400 bar end levers set in friction mode. Front is 44t, rear is 12 speed 11-34. Short cage rear dr and brake calipers are 6700, brake levers Cane Creek Cross levers. The shifting and braking are both very good. The bar end lever travel is quite short with the 12 speeds, but works great once one gets used to it. I call it my poor man's 12 speed set up. It is all on an Airborne Zeppelin Ti, very light and wonderful ride.

Interesting machine! I'm surprised you can work through 12 cogs (11-34) with a short cage.

nlerner

Just a standard single-speed freewheel. I prefer the Shimano-branded ones as they seem to last longer than the budget offerings: https://www.amazon.com/SHIMANO-Singl.../dp/B07CRWKYSG

USAZorro

Why not just run a 7 or 8 speed IGH? Yes, it's a bit heavier, but chainline is always perfect and you get a decent range of options that can be attenuated by selecting cog and ring size.