1x10 Conversion advice

[Fisan]

I've been with the almighty 1x10 cult for 18 months now - really enjoying it! Just one niggle- does anyone else also have tight quads? This low-cadence-hilly terrain combo really beats up my quads. I scream like a Triple-Chainring weakling when I'm foam rolling. Or am I doing this wrong?

[Bomberman]

I've been with the almighty 1x10 cult for 18 months now - really enjoying it! Just one niggle- does anyone else also have tight quads? This low-cadence-hilly terrain combo really beats up my quads. I scream like a Triple-Chainring weakling when I'm foam rolling. Or am I doing this wrong?

 

Strange I have the same, I first thought it was my flat pedals. Only noticed it after my 1x10 conversion.

[JXV]

Even if you fit a 42t rear cog and sacrifice top speed by going to 32t or even 30t in front you still lose the two or three easiest gears that you had on a 2x10 or 3x10 combo. I run 1x10 but I get more milage on 2x10 - especially long rides/stages with steep climbs near the end.

 

The star athletes will say HTFU because they are built like whippets and dont need the easy gears.... but the rest of us often do.

 

I have some female rider friends who struggled with the loss of range from 3x to 2x bikes. 3x can have a 22t front ring which is almost 9% easier than the standard 24t but they are upgrading to bikes that come with 38-26 2x systems.

[lerouc]

Even if you fit a 42t rear cog and sacrifice top speed by going to 32t or even 30t in front you still lose the two or three easiest gears that you had on a 2x10 or 3x10 combo. I run 1x10 but I get more milage on 2x10 - especially long rides/stages with steep climbs near the end.

 

The star athletes will say HTFU because they are built like whippets and dont need the easy gears.... but the rest of us often do.

 

I have some female rider friends who struggled with the loss of range from 3x to 2x bikes. 3x can have a 22t front ring which is almost 9% easier than the standard 24t but they are upgrading to bikes that come with 38-26 2x systems.

So i have been toying with the idea to go 1x10, currently running 3x10, only use the big chainring on the road and most of the time i use my middle ring. BUT i still find myself going to the small one often. I am a BIIIG guy and I am not that good at climbing to start off with.

 

I have other places thats cheaper to loose weight on myself but its been bugging me since a friend of mine recently just held my bike and complaint about how heavy it was.

 

Now without forking out a lot of money, will i miss my granny alot or is the 42x30 option (or maybe 32 oval) good enough?

 

From your post it looks like i will make a mistake going 1x?

[lerouc]

So i have been toying with the idea to go 1x10, currently running 3x10, only use the big chainring on the road and most of the time i use my middle ring. BUT i still find myself going to the small one often. I am a BIIIG guy and I am not that good at climbing to start off with.

 

I have other places thats cheaper to loose weight on myself but its been bugging me since a friend of mine recently just held my bike and complaint about how heavy it was.

 

Now without forking out a lot of money, will i miss my granny alot or is the 42x30 option (or maybe 32 oval) good enough?

 

From your post it looks like i will make a mistake going 1x?

Found my answer on another thread, will stay my current setup until drive train is done.

[JXV]

So i have been toying with the idea to go 1x10, currently running 3x10, only use the big chainring on the road and most of the time i use my middle ring. BUT i still find myself going to the small one often. I am a BIIIG guy and I am not that good at climbing to start off with.

 

I have other places thats cheaper to loose weight on myself but its been bugging me since a friend of mine recently just held my bike and complaint about how heavy it was.

 

Now without forking out a lot of money, will i miss my granny alot or is the 42x30 option (or maybe 32 oval) good enough?

 

From your post it looks like i will make a mistake going 1x?

What size wheels on your bike? It makes a difference to gearing. Also, SRAM or Shimano gears? And what cassette?

 

If primarily for weight saving you can save about 400g.

 

To test if you will be happy with 1x I suggest you ride only middle ring for a few months. If you must drop to small chain ring on the hills, avoid using the 2 biggest gears at the back. This will give a good idea of the gear ratios you will get with a 11-42 cassette and 32 chainring.

 

Now...is the expense worth it?

 

1) check your cassette. in order to fit a 42t and not have gaps in the small gears you need to be able to remove both 15t and 17t to replace with a 16t. If your 15t and 17t are not removable then budget for upgrading to a XT level cassette.

 

2) check your rear derailer. If you are on a 3x then it is probably a long cage (Shimano SGS) and that is ok. Med cage (GS) also OK. Ideally you want a clutch derailler. Not essential but strongly recommended.

 

3) rear cogs. Advise to get a 42t and a 16t if upgrading existing cassette but if buying a new cassette and/or RD then consider going to a Praxis 11-42 10spd or modern 11spd wide range cassette with a new 11 spd clutch RD.

 

4) front chainring. Check BCD and order accordingly. A narrow/wide chainring and clutch RD will retain the chain better, otherwise if you keep existing chainring you may need a chain guide. For a 3x10 crank the bcd should be 96mm and this will allow from a 28t to 34t as you wish. The larger 104mm bcd likely won't accomodate rings smaller than 32t and even then, you may need spacer washers to keep the chain off the crank spider arms and the spacers then affect the chainline......

 

The chainline on your 3x crank middle blade should be spot on for 1x10. Use bb spacer or chainring spacers to correct if necessary. You will also need to make quite a big adjustment to your RD's B screw to fit the extender cog and make it shift acceptably.

 

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[BSG]

I did the Kalbo 32T oval, 16T replacement for 15+17T with the 42T, very happy after 2 weeks riding.

 

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[J∆kk∆ls]

I also wanted to "upgrade" to a 1x10 or 1x11spd. but when i see all the issues that comes with it i wonder if it is an "upgrade" especially with me not having any issues with my 2x10 xtr setup and the fact that I only have 1 mtb.

It is not an upgrade it is a conversation. Boils down to preference. I prefer 1x10. Less fuss.

[JXV]

I'm on the fence. Took strain on a few climbs in 1x10 granny today. Riding 34t NW with a 11-42 cassette on a 29er. 2x10 gave me steeper climbs and faster on-road top end. I miss both but I also like the simplicity of 1x10.

 

If I had 2 bikes the stage racer would be 2x and the trailbike 1x.

 

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[BaGearA]

the thing is with 1x10 there is much less to go wrong mechanical wise, but there is put a lot of strain on the rear der.'s spring and clutch when going into a 42 tooth (sram have designed their der's to work around this) normal der's can do it but its tough

 

So here is what I would recommend :

Keep the chain as long as possible 

Try to get 30t upfront

Try to get a 40t rather than 42 at the back

 

Now you are probably concerned with high end speed

 

even with the 30t and a 11t you wil probs spin out at 46-49kph depending on the cadence you can handle and with a 10t you can get over 50kph, thats just high speed but I think the bigger concern here is low speed i.e. climbing

 

And that is why I would get the smaller chainring upfront so you can still get a low ratio but also not push the der. to its limits , cause the spring that is getting over worked is the one that keeps tension and that is what helps keep the chain on.

 

Also high cadence helps recovery and burns out your muscles much slower.

 

Say to yourself "spinning is winning"

 

I got a 32t upfront(soon to be 30t) on a normal 11-36 cassette with a steel bike , yes I kakaf now and then but I know my der is nor experincing any exxsesive wear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But also if money is no factor it may take the der more than 12 months to even start showing wear  

 

Good luck in the hunt

[lerouc]

What size wheels on your bike? It makes a difference to gearing. Also, SRAM or Shimano gears? And what cassette?

 

If primarily for weight saving you can save about 400g.

 

To test if you will be happy with 1x I suggest you ride only middle ring for a few months. If you must drop to small chain ring on the hills, avoid using the 2 biggest gears at the back. This will give a good idea of the gear ratios you will get with a 11-42 cassette and 32 chainring.

 

Now...is the expense worth it?

 

1) check your cassette. in order to fit a 42t and not have gaps in the small gears you need to be able to remove both 15t and 17t to replace with a 16t. If your 15t and 17t are not removable then budget for upgrading to a XT level cassette.

 

2) check your rear derailer. If you are on a 3x then it is probably a long cage (Shimano SGS) and that is ok. Med cage (GS) also OK. Ideally you want a clutch derailler. Not essential but strongly recommended.

 

3) rear cogs. Advise to get a 42t and a 16t if upgrading existing cassette but if buying a new cassette and/or RD then consider going to a Praxis 11-42 10spd or modern 11spd wide range cassette with a new 11 spd clutch RD.

 

4) front chainring. Check BCD and order accordingly. A narrow/wide chainring and clutch RD will retain the chain better, otherwise if you keep existing chainring you may need a chain guide. For a 3x10 crank the bcd should be 96mm and this will allow from a 28t to 34t as you wish. The larger 104mm bcd likely won't accomodate rings smaller than 32t and even then, you may need spacer washers to keep the chain off the crank spider arms and the spacers then affect the chainline......

 

The chainline on your 3x crank middle blade should be spot on for 1x10. Use bb spacer or chainring spacers to correct if necessary. You will also need to make quite a big adjustment to your RD's B screw to fit the extender cog and make it shift acceptably.

 

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Now see if i can manage riding my middle chainring with my current 11-36 at the back and dont need to switch to granny why bother getting the 42 then? It does not make sense?

 

On my regular trails i can manage this, but when i get to other more hillier trails i drop to granny quite fast.

 

I am running tripple crank which according to google (everything XT) its bcd is 104. And from checking kalbo and rapide smallest i can go is 30T.

 

Was chatting to a guy who recently bought new camber and he is running 28 upfront and 10-42 at the back and he says he misses his old setup. Which does not make sense to me as 42x28 should be easier than 36x24 which is my current easiest gear.

 

But i am going to wait for the new SLX 11speed and then i will get 11speed at the back and a 1 oval upfront.

[BaGearA]

Now see if i can manage riding my middle chainring with my current 11-36 at the back and dont need to switch to granny why bother getting the 42 then? It does not make sense?

 

On my regular trails i can manage this, but when i get to other more hillier trails i drop to granny quite fast.

 

I am running tripple crank which according to google (everything XT) its bcd is 104. And from checking kalbo and rapide smallest i can go is 30T.

 

Was chatting to a guy who recently bought new camber and he is running 28 upfront and 10-42 at the back and he says he misses his old setup. Which does not make sense to me as 42x28 should be easier than 36x24 which is my current easiest gear.

 

But i am going to wait for the new SLX 11speed and then i will get 11speed at the back and a 1 oval upfront.

that's also a great solution , and should be priced pretty good

[arendoog]

I ride 1x1,1x10,2x10 and newest bike is a 2x11 .I know i have a problem but that is for later .Today i rode my personal best on my heaviest bike with 2 x11 on the same trails i ride 3 times a week for the last 5 years .The PB,s included downhills and steep technical climbs .The new bike has noticeable good suspension 

[JXV]

Now see if i can manage riding my middle chainring with my current 11-36 at the back and dont need to switch to granny why bother getting the 42 then? It does not make sense?

 

On my regular trails i can manage this, but when i get to other more hillier trails i drop to granny quite fast.

 

I am running tripple crank which according to google (everything XT) its bcd is 104. And from checking kalbo and rapide smallest i can go is 30T.

 

Was chatting to a guy who recently bought new camber and he is running 28 upfront and 10-42 at the back and he says he misses his old setup. Which does not make sense to me as 42x28 should be easier than 36x24 which is my current easiest gear.

 

But i am going to wait for the new SLX 11speed and then i will get 11speed at the back and a 1 oval upfront.

42-28 is exactly the same ratio as 36-24.....but your top speed is limited with a 28, even with a 10t small cog at the back. Fast enough for trails but not for dirt roads and open country.

 

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[mxjunke]

I am currently riding a 2 x10 setup with a 24/36 upfront and 11-36 at the back. I broke one the teeth on my 36t ring and am now contemplating changin over to a 1 x 10 setup. I am concerned with losing too much on the high and low end of things. I am a heavier guy and climbing the steep climbs is a worry on a 1 x 10 setup. 

 

Any advice? stay 2 x 10? or convert to 1 x 10? I was thinking a 30 or 32 by 11-42 or even a 34t oval by 11-42. 

[arendoog]

I am currently riding a 2 x10 setup with a 24/36 upfront and 11-36 at the back. I broke one the teeth on my 36t ring and am now contemplating changin over to a 1 x 10 setup. I am concerned with losing too much on the high and low end of things. I am a heavier guy and climbing the steep climbs is a worry on a 1 x 10 setup. 

 

Any advice? stay 2 x 10? or convert to 1 x 10? I was thinking a 30 or 32 by 11-42 or even a 34t oval by 11-42. 

I am also heavy at 100kg .On my HT i had endless hassles with my FR ,so i went 1 x 10 [34 x 11,36]XT on a 10kg bike .I can ride everything i used to,but i would not do a multi stage event with this setup .I rarely used my easiest gear anyway because i move so slow that i battle to keep my balance .I am not going to put a 42 teeth on now .Don,t think i will use it much , 34 x 11 is fast enough for most places you will ride on a mtb