For the past several years, my main road bike has had a 1x9 setup, and I love it. It was chain noise with STI shifters that first led me to crunch the numbers and then try it. I hate chain noise. After fooling around for a while on Sheldon's gear calculator, I decided a 45t chain ring with an XT 11-34 (both of which I happened to have sitting around) would yield a set of ratios nearly identical to a "classic" 2x6 drivetrain from back in the day. I use a bar end shifter on the right, and the shifting is dead simple. It also frees up the left end of the handlebar for a mirror. I got nicely spaced gears from 36 to 110 gear inches with no chain noise or missed shifts from the front, ever. I've never had any trouble with dropping the chain, even on rough roads. I have had that problem with a similar setups on a mountain bike, and had to use a derailer for a chain guide.
Probably more than 90% of my mountain biking is in the middle ring now, which is the only benefit of 9 speed for me on a mountain bike. The rear wheel is the same as an 8 speed wheel, so it's no weaker. Other than those two things, I'd just as soon stay with 7 speed, which is far less fussy. I'm still using a 3x7 on my tandem, and "upgrading" would be a waste of time and money. On Dec 5, 11:57 am, JoelMatthews <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Can't answer for the others. For me, cleaner look, simplicity chain > guard on one of my bikes, and the crank I wanted to use on the bikes > happened to be a single. I bought a little gizmo that will keep the > chain on the crank if it derailed, but I have not had an issue with > that. All my bikes were built from the ground up, so I made sure to > get the right spindle from the start to get the best chain line. > > > And even employing super wide range cassettes, > > there's no way to match the range or spacing of a double. > > There is the rub for me. I personally do not use all that many gears > when I ride. I will ride all day on my camper with a full load in the > same gear unless I come up on some real steep incline. In those > situations, one or two low gears suffice for me. > > Perhaps competition demands a wider range of gears. I do not compete, > have no plans to. Why set up the bike in a way that has no value to > me? > > On Dec 5, 11:49 am, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > > Quoting EricP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > > > Three of my four bikes have single chainrings up front. (Two of them > > > are internal gears.) In fact, the only one that doesn't is the > > > Atlantis. No problems with mine. Works out well for all the riding > > > I'm doing at present. One has a 38t up front and 11-32 in back. The > > > gearing works for everything I've asked the bike to do so far. Not > > > sure I'd be able to handle a fully loaded tour with that setup. But > > > that is an issue of the engine, not the bike. > > > > Did have to work a bit to get the chainline where I wanted. But > > > otherwise no trouble with shifting or anything else. > > > One or two things puzzle me about this. Why do you all want to do > > this? Is it a matter of having a single chain ring crank in stock and > > wanting to find a use for it? A perception that a double crank is > > somehow fussier or more difficult or more complicated? > > > I can certainly understand in the case of a single-speed, fixed gear > > or internal gear. I can even understand buying such a crank specially > > for one of those applications. > > > But why a 1x8 or 1x9? > > > I don't think you save anything on the cost of the crank, and if what > > I read is correct, in many cases - obviously not all - you end up > > needing to put a front derailleur on it just to stop chain throw. > > > You certainly don't win anything in terms of chain line, if such > > things matter to you. And even employing super wide range cassettes, > > there's no way to match the range or spacing of a double. > > > You do get to use some very pretty chain guards that you couldn't use > > if a derailleur were in the way. Is that it?- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
