[Closed] 1*10 or 1*9 for commuting/road riding

how flat, how hilly? I know someone who has been known to do 60+ mile training rides on fixed.

Downsides you may find there are times when you want a bigger/smaller gear, or the gaps are annoying if you arrange it to have the extremes.

No reason why you can't though.

Any reason you don't want to use a road chainset? bigger spider should be stronger, as for rings Specialite TA almost certainly have what you want.

Basically I am building a frame-set fro commuting and I like the idea of running a 1*9 or 1*10 the simplicity of it and the fact that I have one less shifter/mech.
Such gearing (38/34) will be just fine for my commute, I them will adapt the road riding to the gearing.
It's to save some cents too

I run 1x9 on my 700c commuter. 44 front ring (in middle position) on a mtb crankset with 11-32 cassette. For me it gives a wide enough range and the gaps aren't a problem.

Another 1x9 commuter here. Mostly flat 4 mile journey so 11-28T with a 41T ring works fine on my hybrid. Only use 4 of the gears anyway so did it to avoid the faff of a front mech. Would go singlespeed but the bike sees the occasional use for family days so needs to have a crawler gear for towing my nephew in a trailer.

another 1*9 commuter here - 38t chainring with an 11-32 cassette and nobly tyres, I find it a little slow and run out of gears occasionally but great fun to ride and makes the commute a little more enjoyable

1x8, 44T ring to a 11-28T cassette. Edinburgh so there are hills but not massive hills. Never felt that I didn't have enough low gears

1 x 9, 36/11-34 on a reasonably hilly (~100ft per mile) 9.5 mile commute. Works for me, good for the ups and I can get a decent clip on downhill without really spinning out too badly.

I have just ordered a 38 t front ring at the LBS

Would quite happily do my commute without the inner & outer ring, 26" wheels, 36t chainring, 11-28t cassette, 1000ft climb over 14 miles

i'm commuting on a flat-bar road bike with 1x10 (44t x 12:36). Fine on all but the steepest hills, none of which occur on my way to and from work 😀

1x7 here!

44t front and 12-28 rear in hilly Sheffield on my slick tyred commuter.

Works great and I find using a 36 up front a bit low.

Just finishing off my commuter.
10spd, 11-36 with 36/48 up front.

Mine is 11-32 rear with I think a 50T up front, works very well imo and I'm hardly mighty, you'd not want to grind up an alp on it mind. I wouldn't be happy with anything much smaller, 38T will mean some rapid spinning... Like riding everywhere in the little ring

1x9 here with a 39t ring and 11-28 out back. Does pretty much everything terrain-wise. I put a 11-32 on for off-road/bridleway/CX type stuff. Chainset is 130bcd and I run a Surly SS ring, a thin BBG bash and a jumpstop.

ok cool thanks everyone, now onto tires 😀

well after almost one year on commuting doing the odd rod ride (abliet less than 80 kms each time) here is my take on my set up :
Sram X7 39 T front ring with sram X0 shifters and X9 rear mech, sram 12-34 0 speed K7.
Well it's kinda spot on, obviously I do miss the 50 during the 3minutes descent from work but only when i want to crank it down. As for the gearing i don't find it too spread out sure something a bit close will be nice but I can easily cope with what i have at the moment.
The only down side is the fact that the front ring drops on a not so occasional basis. Waiting for a narrow wide 39 front ring in 125 BCA to fix that.

You may be waiting a while for a narrow wide 39 tooth ring....

Just get a 38t NW and an 11-32 or 34 cassette surely?

Or a seat tube mounted top guide for the front ring as came on my pinnacle arkose. Haven't dropped a chain yet and I've clattered it down the trails a fair few times.

I'm on 1x8 (53 x 11-32t, on 26"x28mm tyres) and my chain drops off the chainring all the bleeding time. I've found the solution is to keep pedalling harder.

But really, can anyone explain why the chain drops all the time, regardless of: the gear I'm in; how clean/dirty/new my drivetrain parts are; whether I'm mid-shift; road surface? Seriously, sometimes it drops on perfectly smooth roads, in a gear where the chainline is near perfect and all parts are clean and freshly lubed, just because I stopped pedalling for a couple of seconds.

After a year, it's become slightly annoying.

1x9, 40t fsa downhill chainring and 12-27 road cassette. For some reason the chain hardly ever falls off and it's not a clutch mech. I think it's so old and stiff that it acts like one. When I did have a clutch mech it fell off fairly often, especially when moving down the cassette quickly.

My scandal commuter on slicks is running 11 to 23 10 speed, just because I had it in the cupboard. Running a 40t FSA downhill ring from CR for £18 . With a short arm Zee rear mech and Zee shifter. Bit OTT for a commuter, but I keep it in the workshops, so not left outside to rot. Running a pair of deore hubs, which although heavy , set up with phils grease and roll really well. At the moment for the last 7 years, its only 4 miles a day, but hoping a new job pushes it to 10 miles and is good for that ride, as no particular hills.

Juan, I like 'K7' 😀

Also, Paul's do a nice minimalist chain guide that sits over the top of a single chainring. Or the n-guard one, but that's only good for dropping it on the inside of the ring.

1x9 here. 51t ring with 11-27 cassette. Get over plenty hills with that though I am a bit of a grinder and the low end of the cassette doesn't see too much action if I'm honest.

A 50t narrow/wide ring would be nice if I could find one.

Just got a 38t Superstar NW in the sale to go on the GF's hybrid

1x9 on mine with a 52T front, 11-34 rear (I don't like close ratio cassettes so it's a win/win that). It's a grind on a properly nasty hill but tbh it's surprising how rarely I want a lower gear. I'd not be happy with a smaller ring tbh, it's a 30mph top gear dash down to work (and a fair bit slower on the way home!)

There are no alps on my commute but neither are there any flat bits that last more than 10 metres

1x10 on my Whyte Shoreditch.

I use a 36t chainring and find that is fine with a 11-36 for all round

Plenty of n/w cross ring options around 38-46t.

My drivetrain is knackered on my Croix de Fer. Am thinking of going 1x10.

I'm thinking SRAM 10 speed road shifters, 42t Narrow Wide, XT 11-32 and Sram x-9 type 2. I ride over some pretty rough stuff so want a clutch mech.

Has anyone else done something similar?

I use 1x9 on my commute with a 39T Alfine chainset because of the built in trouser guard! Only a short commute so never wear proper cycling gear.

I'd go 1x9. Cheap parts, and a bit more robust than 10 speed I think (especially if road salt is involved!).

I use a 36t chainring and find that is fine with a 11-36 for all round

That sounds silly low for commuting on road.

How much are people spending on these 1x setups? Sounds like you do do a cheap 2x9 for less, and IME front mechs aren't exactly a hassle to maintain.

I'd go 1x9.

I would too but no clutch mech

a cheap 2x9 for less

I want to get rid of the front mech (my current one is seized.. I don't like em). I'm not concerned if I spend a little more money I use this every day to get to work - I want reliability and low maintenance.

8.5 mile commute. On one scandal: 1 x 1: 32 x 15. You might see me pedalling my nuts off on the Old Kent Road (London). Does wonders for my cadence. Only issue is when it snows: single speed on slicks is not much fun.

I'm sure there's an XT shadow + 9spd mech?

42x11-36 on my cx and I like it. 42x11 is fairly high unless you're a roadie sprinter, 42x36 gets me up big/steep xc hills fine, it's certainly a lower than most road setups. If I was [i]only[/i] riding road I'd probably get a closer ratio cassette 11-32 maybe even 11-28.

oh and surly stainless rings seem pretty bombproof so far.

no clutch mech needed, home made guide, never lost a chain yet.

iirc my old mtb commuter was an 8spd 46x11-28 with an old mech as a guide 1x? is nothing new 😉

mickolas - Member
But really, can anyone explain why the chain drops all the time....just because I stopped pedalling for a couple of seconds.

I'm sure there's an XT shadow + 9spd mech?

Ok now I'm sure there isn't (after a bit of googling). Not sure a clutch mech would be that high of a priority on a commuting bike though...

mickolas - Member
But really, can anyone explain why the chain drops all the time....just because I stopped pedalling for a couple of seconds.

Sticky free hub. Replace or service it.

yeah i know about a NW 39 chain ring 🙁
It always seems to fall of on the higest gear and always on the outer side of the ring

I'll keep an eye open for e 40th with a 125 bca.

I had 48:12 on my very old SS road bike! For a pretty flat 12km commute.

I ride 100+ miles a week on 42x15 fixed (19.4 mph at 90 rpm). A flat 100 miles. The standard gearing for road is 42x16 (16 mph at 90 rpm). If you want a 38T chainring, then this will require 14-15T rear sprocket to match. For hilly bits you will need lower and higher (if you want gears 😉 ). For 10 speed, I'd look at an 11-23T close ratio rear block. That will see you up most hills, give you smooth close ratios and allow you to go reasonably fast downhill.

Problem is Tired there is no hills where i live, only mountains 😉

Hmmm. Sticky freehub, eh?

thanks donk and grenosteve. I will investigate, though it has done it from new.