1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

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MichaelB
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby MichaelB » Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:57 am

Since we have seemed to diverge off topic here, who has actually TRIED a 1x ROAD bike for at least a week ?

I haven't, and I've been trying to, but no luck.

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Derny Driver
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby Derny Driver » Fri Feb 16, 2018 9:08 am

MichaelB wrote:Since we have seemed to diverge off topic here, who has actually TRIED a 1x ROAD bike for at least a week ?

I haven't, and I've been trying to, but no luck.
You have to buy one.
That's the point.

march83
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby march83 » Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:39 am

I built one and I have 5000km on it. Ask me anything.

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bychosis
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby bychosis » Fri Feb 16, 2018 11:42 am

march83 wrote:I built one and I have 5000km on it. Ask me anything.
How do you find the SRAM front derailleur now you've gone 1x? :twisted:
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby eeksll » Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:01 pm

march83 wrote:I built one and I have 5000km on it. Ask me anything.
Are you "relieved" you no longer have a front derailleur? Would you return to setting up a bike with FD?

Do you notice the big gear jumps, are they actually bigger jumps?
comparing my 12-29 34/50 setup with a hypothetical 12 speed it kinda looks ok, but not sure I'd be jumping in while its the latest (expensive) "tech"

what setup do you have?

is there anything you have unexpectedly found to be better going 1x?

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby ValleyForge » Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:49 pm

bychosis wrote:
march83 wrote:I built one and I have 5000km on it. Ask me anything.
How do you find the SRAM front derailleur now you've gone 1x? :twisted:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

What's the quickest way to a 1x? Wait 'til the SRAM FD stops working. :twisted:
Last edited by ValleyForge on Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby march83 » Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:51 pm

eeksll wrote: Are you "relieved" you no longer have a front derailleur? Would you return to setting up a bike with FD?
I commute in all weather, day and night. Not having an extra cable means I have more space for alternative light mounting. I'm currently using a massive lezyne underneath my garmin out in front with a go pro mount which was just a little more awkward with an extra cable in front. I ride in the rain and I do a lot of kays so I wear stuff out. My cables need to get swapped out regularly, this means 1 less cable to swap out and 1 less derr to set up - it's only a few minutes but they're often important minutes on a sunday night when I'd rather be helping put the kids to bed or whatever. My bike needs to get cleaned and serviced weekly because it cops ~300km per week so this is one less thing to service. My bike gets carried around a lot, through stations, onto trains and stuff - it's nice to not have an extra cable to get snagged on stuff, dirty or pull on my clothes when the bike is on my shoulder, etc.

These are all tiny little things, but they all add up to a more convenient set up.

I still have a crit pig, a nice weekend roadie, a TT bike and a cross bike with FDs. I would consider removing the FD from the TT bike and I don't need it on the crit pig, but they are essential on the nice roadie and pretty important on the crosser.

both my mtbs are 1x
Do you notice the big gear jumps, are they actually bigger jumps?
comparing my 12-29 34/50 setup with a hypothetical 12 speed it kinda looks ok, but not sure I'd be jumping in while its the latest (expensive) "tech"
Mine is 11-42. The missing 12t is noticeable. It would be nice to have one, but it's not exactly a drama doing without. I don't have issue with the spread otherwise.
what setup do you have?
5800 105 shifters and RD
SLX 11-42t cassette
wolftooth roadtooth

shifting is silky smooth all the way up the cassette.

I get the odd chain-drop when I'm in the 50x11 combo and spinning at 55km/h+ and I suddenly stop pedalling. The mass in the cassette means there's lots of stored energy so it keeps spinning and the upper portion of the chain drops tension and can throw the chain. I've subconsciously learnt a little trick to stop this from happening, but it's not ideal so I just lashed out on a tanpan and an XT shadow+ to deal with the problem mechanically.
is there anything you have unexpectedly found to be better going 1x?
How nice it is to have simple, linear shifting. Never thinking about cross-chaining, just flicking up and down with my right shifter to find the gear I want is just so much nicer than I thought it would be. I already had this on my MTBs, but on the road it's even more apparent. I think this is the thing that people will latch onto as the consumer advantage when it gets popular.

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby Calvin27 » Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:33 pm

MichaelB wrote:Since we have seemed to diverge off topic here, who has actually TRIED a 1x ROAD bike for at least a week ?

I haven't, and I've been trying to, but no luck.
You can do what I did and just buy a Narrow-wid chainring and try it for like $50. I played with a 44t NW for fun on the roadie. Had it on there for about 6 rides. For commuting and mild road riding worked a treat. For actual proper climbs it fails, well at least on my legs/lungs. My experience with 1x road gearing (10 sp 11-30t):
- Commuting - awesome.
- Gravel grind - awesome
- Getting optimum cadence. Not an issue on group rides because the load is lower, but when trying to smash individual segments, the gaps are noticeable, as are the time differences. However, I am still on 10 speed for that experiment so not sure if 11 makes it better.
- Hill climbs (category 1 or HC would be abut the limit for most I would think. For me I can'tmanage category 2 because I've lost a fair bit of fitness and gotten fat hehe)
- Mucking around and dash sprinting with mates - works great.
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby eeksll » Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:44 pm

thanks March83.

I was probably more interested in weekend road bike experience.

Both my commute bikes are running 1x. But I don't consider my experience with them particularly relevant as I don't push very hard, commutes are pretty much on a shared path and I basically potter along. AND I also use normal cassetes e.g 12-28 and 12-27

The only real 2 differences I notice is, I don't have that thing in my head saying "you should change the FD now" and wiping clean the single front chain ring is easier.

Obviously I also pedal out of gears more often. But for the sake of this thread, I don't really have a true 1x setup on those.

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby Thoglette » Fri Feb 16, 2018 3:30 pm

Calvin27 wrote:You can do what I did and just
..stop using the front derailleur. :D

I'm running 2x7 on the commuter and can't recall the last time I shifted onto the 53. Inner ring is 40 and I've got 11 to 30 on the back. Yes, there's some gaps! But the middle three are close together (15/17/20 IIRC) and that's where I stay for most of my ride.

Fine for commuting but no good for hills or "training rides" with the mates.
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MichaelB
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby MichaelB » Fri Feb 16, 2018 3:47 pm

My query is (and discussed this with a guy at work), for the riding I do which is everything from flat commutes to work, 7% hills (3-8km long), some extended pitches of 11-14% (for 0.5-2km) and steep pitches of up to 20% (albeit short), would living with a 1x (compared to a 34/50 & 11/32) be doable, or would it mean having a couple of different front rings to cope ?

I rarely use the 32T rear now, but there are times where it comes in handy.

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby RonK » Fri Feb 16, 2018 4:00 pm

MichaelB wrote:My query is (and discussed this with a guy at work), for the riding I do which is everything from flat commutes to work, 7% hills (3-8km long), some extended pitches of 11-14% (for 0.5-2km) and steep pitches of up to 20% (albeit short), would living with a 1x (compared to a 34/50 & 11/32) be doable, or would it mean having a couple of different front rings to cope ?

I rarely use the 32T rear now, but there are times where it comes in handy.
On current cassettes there will be gaps in the progression.

But once 3T's special 9-10-11-12-13-15-17-19-22-26-32 cassette becomes available and with an appropriate chain ring the progression should be quite natural.
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby P!N20 » Fri Feb 16, 2018 4:10 pm

Thoglette wrote:..stop using the front derailleur. :D.
I was so with you on this, then realised you meant the other way.

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby MichaelB » Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:02 pm

But doesn’t the 3T 9-32 cassette need a XD driver ?

The cost of that is beyond my wallet, but then again, it’s not even available

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby baabaa » Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:21 pm

eeksll wrote:thanks March83.
Agree helpful comments but I dont do the fast stuff so good to see it works for some. When I was commuting 320 ks a week for a few years also in all weather I just gave up on doing drive train stuff and went ss and kept the gears for the weekend.
I found when you do that distance each day, at the end of the week the time on bike was much the same with and without gears. My daily commute was about 40 % very hilly 60% rolling Sydney hills and flats
And yes the woolftooth road link is a very good bit of kit and a cheap way to test out x1 on a road bike, just fit, drop on be big cluster and a chain length that suits the gearing.

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby kb » Sat Feb 17, 2018 2:03 pm

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby kb » Sat Feb 17, 2018 2:33 pm

MichaelB wrote:My query is (and discussed this with a guy at work), for the riding I do which is everything from flat commutes to work, 7% hills (3-8km long), some extended pitches of 11-14% (for 0.5-2km) and steep pitches of up to 20% (albeit short), would living with a 1x (compared to a 34/50 & 11/32) be doable, or would it mean having a couple of different front rings to cope ?

I rarely use the 32T rear now, but there are times where it comes in handy.
Sounds close to my pattern. I have a 34/50 and a 36/52 which I like better below the odd 30% :-). Not too bothered with wider gaps but actually like having a ~2.5 gear shift.
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby MichaelB » Mon Feb 19, 2018 2:35 pm

Just want to check whether my googling has provided the right answer.

For those wedded to Shimano (for a variety of reasons), my searching leads me to the fact that Shimano DOES NOT make a 'brake only' (Disc or rim) lever for the LH side (as SRAM does, but you can't buy it online from OS places).

Is this correct ?

If not, can you point me in the direction of said component ?


EDIT : The reason I'm asking is that I have a frame sitting in the shed, and when I get to the point of building it up, the 1x option MAY be an appealing trial.
If I want to replicate the current (top & bottom ratios) 34/50 & 11-28 gearing, then I would look at something like a 50 & 11-42, or 48 & 11-40. If I go 44 & 11-36 (to be able to use a Roadlink without issue), I effectively lose the 50/11 ratio for downhills, which to be honest, I don't use that much anyway.

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby NASHIE » Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:34 pm

As I noted earlier, I went 1x couple of years ago to keep it fair with son riding junior gearing. It was tough at first but running a 1x 42 front does wonders for your cadence. I feel a 42 or 44 front is best as with a 48 or 50 you will really feel the gaps that the rear requires. Note plenty of juniors winning B grade sprints with a 6.5m rollout.

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby MichaelB » Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:50 pm

(AT) march83 - so if you retained your 5800 left shifter, is the shifting bit same as normal, but no cable ?

Is there a 'fix' to lock up the shifting capability ?

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby eeksll » Mon Feb 19, 2018 4:43 pm

MichaelB wrote:(AT) march83 - so if you retained your 5800 left shifter, is the shifting bit same as normal, but no cable ?

Is there a 'fix' to lock up the shifting capability ?
not too sure on your query, but I run my 5600 left shifter with no gear cable coming out (shifting mechanism broken)

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MichaelB
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby MichaelB » Mon Feb 19, 2018 8:42 pm

But presume it still swivels but nothing happens ?

Is there a way to fix the lever solid, so it only brakes ?

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby mikgit » Mon Feb 19, 2018 9:07 pm

MichaelB wrote:Just want to check whether my googling has provided the right answer.

For those wedded to Shimano (for a variety of reasons), my searching leads me to the fact that Shimano DOES NOT make a 'brake only' (Disc or rim) lever for the LH side (as SRAM does, but you can't buy it online from OS places).

Is this correct ?

If not, can you point me in the direction of said component ?


EDIT : The reason I'm asking is that I have a frame sitting in the shed, and when I get to the point of building it up, the 1x option MAY be an appealing trial.
If I want to replicate the current (top & bottom ratios) 34/50 & 11-28 gearing, then I would look at something like a 50 & 11-42, or 48 & 11-40. If I go 44 & 11-36 (to be able to use a Roadlink without issue), I effectively lose the 50/11 ratio for downhills, which to be honest, I don't use that much anyway.
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eeksll
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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby eeksll » Mon Feb 19, 2018 9:39 pm

MichaelB wrote:But presume it still swivels but nothing happens ?
yes, thats correct
MichaelB wrote: Is there a way to fix the lever solid, so it only brakes ?
not that I know of

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Re: 1x for Road Bikes - is it real?

Postby 2wheels_mond » Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:29 pm

MichaelB wrote:Just want to check whether my googling has provided the right answer.

For those wedded to Shimano (for a variety of reasons), my searching leads me to the fact that Shimano DOES NOT make a 'brake only' (Disc or rim) lever for the LH side (as SRAM does, but you can't buy it online from OS places).

Is this correct ?

If not, can you point me in the direction of said component ?


EDIT : The reason I'm asking is that I have a frame sitting in the shed, and when I get to the point of building it up, the 1x option MAY be an appealing trial.
If I want to replicate the current (top & bottom ratios) 34/50 & 11-28 gearing, then I would look at something like a 50 & 11-42, or 48 & 11-40. If I go 44 & 11-36 (to be able to use a Roadlink without issue), I effectively lose the 50/11 ratio for downhills, which to be honest, I don't use that much anyway.
Hard to find, but it does exist - part number ST-S705L.

It's the left shifter of the 1x11 Shimano Alfine hub gearing kit (for rim brakes). Same design as 1st gen 11 speed Shimano levers. None for disc, so far as I can tell.

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