[Closed] 1x10 and fitness

Keep on standing up more. And bear in mind that you both stand and sit with your hips in different positions fore-aft so you engage different muscle groups. If you're going up something properly steep don't get stuck behind someone using the granny gears or you'll run out of low rev oomph.

think you have to do whatever works.

Personally, I've never got on with granny rings. I find sitting and twiddling a low gear really difficult. The occasions I did need a granny ring walking was quicker so I tended to go with that.

All my mtb's are single ring now - 34/32 on 26 and 29er is what I run or 32:17 on my SS.

tbh, I think you just have to do the 'shut up legs' thing sometimes and keep pedalling. Most of my climbing is stood up on the SS on the others I'll stand for technical bits as I find it easier to balance power and traction that way.

[edit] I'd second not gettign stuck behind riders who sit and spin - you need to attack hills.

I think you just kind of get used to it too. I find that momentum is your friend and getting stuck behind someone spinning will stop you in your tracks.

Swapping between standing and sitting helps. I've surprised myself at some of the stuff I've ridden up and I'm no athlete!

Yeah I'm kind of thinking that I'm going to have a couple of weeks/months where I have to do the hard work and hopefully it will become second nature. I've also found momentum to be key on more technical climbs. I do think who have to use different climbing techniques, where as before I would sit down and just grind out a climb in the granny ring, I'm now finding that the amount of low rpm power I have to put down I soon burn out. Hence standing more.

I've found that I have had to get out of the seat a bit more on longer climbs

Try fitting a 30 instead of the 32? How often do you use the 32x11?

(FWIW, I have a 34 with 11-36 on 29er but despite being a spinner and pretty unfit these days, I can push gears if I need to)

Ive had to go 30t and I do spin out a bit, but its very rare Im on fast enough descents (off road)

30t is enough for me to climb anything it seems, done Afan, BPW, Llandegla and Ive got up the lot, even if its been tough in places!

also a recent convert. had a cou[ple of local spins then went to Gisburn on Sunday and absolutely loved it. felt i had the power to pedal full pelt all the way round. However the thought of a proper climb, round Hebden say, is still pretty terrifying!

I found it made me faster/fitter as you can't just slowly grind out a climb. Also +1 to getting out the saddle more, I never really rode out the saddle when climbing when I had a granny ring.

Try fitting a 30 instead of the 32? How often do you use the 32x11?

I had thought of this but I do like the gravity side of riding and often wish ai had another gear to drop dwn into. I run a 38 on the dh bike.

Stick with the 32 and just ride as much as you can. If you can manage a 32 (or bigger) then it seems daft to drop a size when you can just push yourself a bit more.

also a recent convert. had a cou[ple of local spins then went to Gisburn on Sunday and absolutely loved it. felt i had the power to pedal full pelt all the way round. However the thought of a proper climb, round Hebden say, is still pretty terrifying!

Pretty much exactly this, I'm confident I could do any trail centre climbs etc, its the big days out where I'm in two minds and don't want it to ruin a ride for me and the people I'm with.

Run a single speed for a few months and returning to ten gears will feel like cheating 🙂

Think Nortwind made a good call of fitting a 22t and putting the chain on by hand at the bottom of a really steep climb. Noisy but potentially effective.

Oldskooler - I thought the same but managed fine in the Dales on some bog climbs over two days (although the second was harder than the first due to wind and tired legs).

You do get used to it pretty quickly and learn to approach climbs in a way to suit.

I only changed to 1x10 when I was confident that it wouldn't impact my riding style. Wouldn't bother otherwise.

I've been riding 2x9 for a while now with a 36t middle ring since I took the top off to replace with a bash guard for the Alps. Found I haven't used the granny ring since, so just bought a narrow/wide single ring and going to convert to 1x10 this week.

As a lot of others have said, standing up and moving my weight slightly to maintain traction works for me, plus a little sit down for a rest when the incline allows 🙂

How about the issue of grip with standing up on big hills ?

My mind seems to be more at rest now, think the only thing to do is get out and ride more. There's a couple of local climbs tha I want to try ad these will be the testers! If I can get up them I can get up anything type climbs.

I've had no issue with grip standing up on the hills, you just have to be smooth with the power delivery, keeping the torque as consistent as possible.

I'm just trying to think back to how often I used to be in my easiest gear and It wasn't that often, If I was in my granny ring I was usually half way through the cassette at the back.

I've run 1x10 plenty, I always think "why would I ever need more gears"

Then you do something like the Maxx Exposure SDW ride.... realising that half way up Ditchling beacon you REALLY need another gear... or you legs may fall off.

Last week on an event I really regretted not having an extra gear on the Spearfish... maybe some lighter wheels/rubber would have been enough... not sure.

I'm keeping the new AM29 as 2x10.... just in case.

How about the issue of grip with standing up on big hills ?

That happens when you stand forwards leaning way over the bars instead of standing up. I think you can manage rear tyre grip vs front wheel lifting much better standing than sitting, with practice.

As Weeksy says, I reckon it's more about the length/amount of climbing than the absolute steepness. I'm still undecided whether to use 1x10 for my new "riding in Greece bike" or keep the granny and front mech.
The short really steep climbs won't be the problem, it'll be towards the end of the long 1500 metre climbs where I'll suffer with 1x10.

I still reckon that I'll go the 1x10 route though, even if it is 30T chainring and One-Up 42T sprocket.....

"How about the issue of grip with standing up on big hills ?"

like how it really isnt an issue ?

for those who've gone to 2x or 1x don't you miss the big ring?

I suppose some of you have several bikes for different uses but I only have 3, a road, a rigid hybrid for taking the little girl on the back of and my do it all everything mtb. The mtb rides I do (unless doing a trail centre like Cannock) almost always involve some road descents and one of the things putting me off taking off the big ring is that I like to cycle as fast as possible and just running a 32 or 34 tooth ring I'll run out of gears thinking 'I could be going a hell of a lot faster with my 44t on'

you have to ask why you're taking the big ring off really.

Ground clearance?
Weight?
Fashion?

tbh, if you're happy with how your bike rides now and don't have nay issues with catching logs etc with the outer chainring then why change if you'll just be missing it?

Fast road descents = you've planned your route wrong, though in my opinion 😉

jekkyl - Member
for those who've gone to 2x or 1x don't you miss the big ring?

Simple answer, no. I went to a double, found that I didn't really need the granny ring so went to a single. It removes a shifter and other bits I don't really need from the bike and for me and what I ride, doesn't reduce the function of the bike.

@ Andy R - if you already have a double fitted, why bother taking it off to go 1x10?

Fashion?

I'd run it like that until it all wears out! 'swhat I'm doing with my triples 🙂

100% with you on planning the wrong route if it has fast road descents!

Weight and ease of maintence/less things to go wrong, are the main reasons. Ground clearance hasn't been an issue, juts use the bash guard for that!

i used to use the big ring to tension the chain on bouncy decents.....

so when i removed it i whipped out all the extra chain - now its tight on the middle ring.

22:34 on my trail bike. never missed the big ring.

for those who've gone to 2x or 1x don't you miss the big ring?

Occasionally, but not enough to bother me. Like others I always try and avoid fast road descents, who wouldn't!?

XX1 on the new bike anyway, so hopefully that'll negate some of those downsides.

Just wondering... HT or FS?

Find the single ring works better for me on the HT where I'm out the saddle a lot on climbs anyway, so pushing a big gear isn't so much of a problem. On the FS I don't like getting in and out the saddle as much as it tends to climb better seated, so spinning a smaller gear works better.

All good advice though, if I'm 1x10 on a HT and following someone on a FS with a double, sometimes you'll need to carry more speed and getting stalled without a bail out gear is a right pain.

for those who've gone to 2x or 1x don't you miss the big ring?

It's horses for courses. If I only had one do it all bike that really needed a massive spread of gears all the time then I may well stick 3x on there. However I've got a few bikes and have different gearing on each but don't need the massive spread, so mostly for trail and xc race 1x10 is fine for me (do sometimes change chainrings for different sizes depending on where I'm riding though.)

FS, I'll have to see how it goes climbing in a tight pack over more technical stuff. Should be fine though, most of our steeper/longer climbs tend to be on road/fire road so loss of traction isn't a problem out of the saddle.

First thing I've noticed not running a guide as I'm using narrow/wide is how much smoother the bike feels, it walready feels like I've got more gears!

I changed to 1x10 about 8 months ago with a 32 11:36 combo. To be honest it was a day before I was embarking on the c2c. I wish I had done it sooner, much more consistent with my climbing in keeping speed and cadence.

I found it hard using 1x10 at first but a winter of single speed riding last year meant that when I got back on the geared bike it felt like I could pedal up anything!

come to think of it - isn't this just fashion coming round again 😀 - my ironhorse flagstaff in 1999 had a 44 x 11:32 on with a dmr speed guide - used to do my paper round on that gear - maybe that's why I don't mind SS 😀

Mary Hinge - Member 
@ Andy R - if you already have a double fitted, why bother taking it off to go 1x10?

Fashion?

I don't have anything fitted at the minute, I'm building it from scratch. I do, however, have a bike out there that is set-up 1x9 with an 11-34 cassette and 22/32 chainrings and it's not often I use the granny on that but it does come in handy once in a while.
On the other hand, I'm no stranger to riding singlespeeds either so I'm not averse to a fair bit of out of the saddle climbing.
I'm not fussed about fashion - if I was I wouldn't be building another 26" wheel bike..

Mine wasn't led by fashion.

I've run single ring set ups for a while. Also when I was building my SX up after having not had a bike for a while I was using as many parts as I had lying around which included a Blackspire chain device and an old X9 mech. When I decided to go 10 speed it was cheaper to only buy one shifter. I also only had to buy one chainring too! It did nearly kill me the first time I used it but the bike was also a 'healthy' 37lbs.

[i]30t is enough for me to climb anything it seems, done Afan, BPW, Llandegla and Ive got up the lot, even if its been tough in places! [/i]

AFAIK there is no where at Afan where you need a granny anyway?

Only one of the guys I ride with is running a single-ring upfront, and he's the youngest and fittest - no way would I want to be without the ability to have that get-outta-jail gear for a long day out, at least not round here.

tbh they are the only 3 places Ive ridden since i got it, well that and swinley and that certainly doesnt require a granny ring!

actually im sure that at least some of the climbs on W2 wouldve had me dropping down, but im quite unfit

I live in a pretty mountainous area (west of Madrid), and there are very few climbs where I actually need to use the granny ring - and even there you'd be just as fast walking (although that always seems like cheating!)

Losing the big ring would be more of a pain, it's handy on the downhills and flats.

Just built my first 1x10 (a lurcher). Took it for a 45km blast last night around my local routes. To be honest I missed the big and granny rings. I just about had a hernia getting up one hill but that's just a case of manning up as I used to SS it but the worst thing is spinning out. It's going to be my SS soon though so I guess I'll have to get used to both. As for the fitness thing, just keep doing it!

Any advice from people who have gone from 2x10 to 1x10, whether it be training related or technique etc. I've found that I have had to get out of the seat a bit more on longer climbs to work different muscles.

Best advice I've heard was from Ned Overend, when someone asked him how to climb quicker he replied "push harder on the pedals"

Works for me

Interesting topic...I converted recently to a 1x10 with 32 ring and 11-36 cassette.

Fitness will improve in time you just have to be patient with it though it can be frustrating when your mates are leaving you behind spinning along easily while you're forced to push a much harder gear. I've had my doubts about the setup but the lack of maintenance and chain slap and the simplicity of the single ring have won me over for the time being.

+1 for standing on steep stuff, put the power down!

When i first got rid of my front mech I started with 1x9 11-34 32t I found this hard work on some of the longer climbs in the peaks. Now I run 1x10 11-36 30t and everything is fine. I think the biggest thing is to keep going what doesn't kill you will make you stronger.

Fashion? Can't be really I was 1x9 back in 08 with 36x12-32 I think ran that all over the place and pushed quite a bit in the lakes (it was a very heavy AM bike though)
I went to 2x to make things nicer with 22/36 and yes I was using 36-11 a fair bit to pedal, my legs don't spin fast comfortably and I like having the ability to push on hard when needed with 36.

I'm now at 24/39 and I reckon the 39 is too much for all bar road and fire road blasting. Personally I will skip 1x10 in the short term and move to 1x11 next. Been doing the calcs for the missus and it seems to fit well for what I reckon.

After that for the OP invest in good chains, pedal harder and cary magic links and a chain breaker.

With no real advice to offer all I can say is that whatever you go with it's not final.
Like mike up there I've tinkered with all sorts over the years, adapting gearing to suit whatever I was doing mostly at the time.
2x8, 2x9, singlespeed, 3x9 with 11-25 road cassette...all sorts.
Ended up right back with a tripple, which I use...fully.

I'm not mega fit and my 1x10 set up is 34t and 11:36 at the back. I live in Calderdale and find that most of the hills around here are OK but rarely do I sit in one position - I tend to move around the bike, stand and sit to give each muscle group their 'turn'. Other people have said it but hills tend to be a state of mind - It's a challenge to grunt it out on occasion. I find that a 34t ring also gives me the best options on the downs and off-road too.

I went for 1x10 in part because I found I was not often using the full range of my 2x10, particularly bottom end, so knew I could generally cope. I worked out from the gear ratios 1x10 would lose me 2 gears top and bottom compared to what I had, and that was going to be fine for me. Major benefit of course, losing the front mech. Only real issue is with stuff like a technical climb with a short steep pile of roots or rocks to get over sometimes just needs more momentum. Well that and climbing in the Lakes was a bit of a struggle 😉

Generally fine though. Keeping up with some of the racy night riders I ride with sometimes is more tricky, though I'm fine on the technical climbs, but anything flat or straight and they're off. But then half of them are on 29ers and there's a lot of rigid single speed fetish going on there too! 😉 . They're also generally a hell of a lot fitter than I am.

People overthink this issue.

A 32-36 is a tiny gear and sitting down pushing through stuff in that gear won't be quicker than walking. 22-32 is just silly and if you really feel you need that gear then watch your mates walking away ahead of you and think again.

I've not felt the need for any more gears since using 1x10, and simply think it's crazy to go looking for 42T cogs and the like. 11 speed, pah!

Deadkenny - would you have kept up with those boys if you were on 2x9 gearing?

A 32-36 is a tiny gear and sitting down pushing through stuff in that gear won't be quicker than walking.

Disagree, it's quicker... but not by a massive amount I admit. I noticed when walking 2 hills recently in an event the 2 blokes in front were riding up in a silly gear, they pulled about 50m out of my by the end of the hill. Which was about 30-40sec.

I don't like walking with my bike. I'd prefer to still be sitting and spinning even if it was slower (which IME it isn't unless you're incapable of spinning).

Yeah whether or not it's faster, I CBA to walk! Unless it's a race, when fastest wins!

for those who've gone to 2x or 1x don't you miss the big ring?

22-32 is just silly and if you really feel you need that gear then watch your mates walking away ahead of you and think again.

*plus on a lot of climbs where i "need" 22x32 those who stay on the bike are dropping the walking contingent of the group, ramblers/runners may be quicker but not those pushing bikes

Thing is this "it's quicker to walk" thing is irrelevant.

I'm on a cycle ride, not a walk!

If i wanted to walk my favourite loop, then i'd leave the bike behind and save 12kg!.

The challenge is to ride EVERYTHING! that's kinda the point of mountain biking isn't it??

Agreed.

I'm with you there maxtorque.

I'm with maxtorque, abhor walking. Only had to walk a few times since going 1x10 and it's always been from losing traction on steep wet sloppy stuff with summer tyres on. Reckon a bit of practice getting smoother at low cadence and high power would help. However it's rare that I encounter this sort of terrain, and if I did then I'd happily pop a granny on there so that I could spin up smoothly.

I kind of think that 32:36 is a doable enough ratio that anyone who's reasonably fit should be able to turn it over uphill and anyone who isn't shouldn't find it so far beyond the realms of feasibility that it's not attainable with a bit of practice. How has this thread run to 57 posts?

Realistically if you're too weak to manage that ratio then saving the odd few hundred grammes on a lost chainring, mech, shifter and cable should probably be quite low on your list of riding priorities.

I kind of think that 32:36 is a doable enough ratio that anyone who's reasonably fit should be able to turn it over uphill and anyone who isn't shouldn't find it so far beyond the realms of feasibility that it's not attainable with a bit of practice. How has this thread run to 57 posts?

getting that uphill in the first 5 miles... easy.... getting it uphill on the 5th massive climb of a 70km ride.... not so easy...

Getting it up Butsers Hill at the end of a night time SDW end to end.... REALLY hard.... really really.

Maybe it is a fitness issue then! I also don't mind walking as I don't like to put pressure on a day's biking by saying I MUST be on the bike for everything. Scotland has a lot of big long climbs and I manage them all pretty well.

There's a very good reason for single ring gearing and I find the benefits enjoyable and don't find any downsides at all. Next step to fully purify the experience is to get a nw ring and lose the chainguide, but I'll wait until the current front ring wears out for that.

Maybe a question should be who has given 1x10 a good try and gone back to 2x because they couldn't cope?

A 32-36 is a tiny gear and sitting down pushing through stuff in that gear won't be quicker than walking. 22-32 is just silly and if you really feel you need that gear then watch your mates walking away ahead of you and think again.

Where do you ride to come to that conclusion? Assuming you are not just winding us up! Are you doing 6 hour Scottish mountain epics with thousands and thousands of feet of technical ascent?

In my experience when you keep grinding up a massive climb, the people that are off and pushing are not pushing faster than the riders. On top of that, as stated here the whole point is to ride everything and for a lot of people having a granny ring or 42 tooth cassette enables them to achieve that.

I've not felt the need for any more gears since using 1x10, and simply think it's crazy to go looking for 42T cogs and the like

So why do the 2 best and fittest all round MTBers of our time Jared Graves and Jerome Clementz run 42 tooth rear cogs then? Have you seen these guys climb? They are on a different planet, are you telling us you are fitter than them?

You say above you are doing proper Scottish mountain rides? Well if you can clean the climbs up here on 1X10 without a 42t cog you are insanely fit, especially when that last 3000' climb comes 6 hours into the day. Even if you can, why come on here and try to make people that can't feel inferior to you?

I can think of plenty of climbs where I've been glad of gear below 32:36. I don't think it is purely about fittness its also about where you ride and how you like to pedal.

I know that my power drops off once I can't spin at about 70 rpm. With a 32:36 I would be doing about 50 rpm on a sustained 25% slope so I would definitely be quicker with a lower gear.

Well this weekend I managed a couple of laps of at Cannock Chase without any issue. Next test is Llandegla.

Well this weekend I managed a couple of laps of at Cannock Chase without any issue.

erm........a couple..

yeah but there not that big 😉 I remember doing a mates 1 bike rules them all type race there and 1 lad got round on a Santa Cruz v10 (he wasn't last either)

glasgowdan - Member
Deadkenny - would you have kept up with those boys if you were on 2x9 gearing?

No chance! Even sticking a motor on the thing would be tricky keeping up with them 😀

I've been running 1x10 since the 11-36 cassette came out. I like the relative simplicity - and even more so now a clutch mech and narrow wide chainring remove the need for chain devices/bash rings. Part of the attraction is that there is less stuff to clag up.

I tend to ride a 30t ring in the winter slop and move to 34t when thing dry out a bit. You can climb fairly fast with a 30t ring - just work on leg speed which will actually give you a better aerobic workout.

I also run 1x10 on my winter road bike with 44x13-29. Gives you a spinning and strength workout depending on terrain, which is lumpy here in N Wales.

glasgowdan - Member

People overthink this issue.

A 32-36 is a tiny gear and sitting down pushing through stuff in that gear won't be quicker than walking. 22-32 is just silly and if you really feel you need that gear then watch your mates walking away ahead of you and think again.

I've not felt the need for any more gears since using 1x10, and simply think it's crazy to go looking for 42T cogs and the like. 11 speed, pah!

I shall tell Tracy Moseley she's crazy, next time she overtakes me.

I started on an AM 26er 2x10. I switchrd to a 1x10 33T 11-36 29er Stumpjumper. I learned how to stand more on the climbs. I quickly went from being last to being mid to front-pack.

I built another Stumpjumper (Carbon) to race with and had a choice between 32T and 34T (wide-narrow minus guide). Being that I am able to climb everything on 33T, I went with a 32T instead because I figured it's less irritating to run out of gears at the top and have to cruise than it is to run out of gears at the bottom. It'll also give me a slightly faster advantage on a climb since I'm already versed on a 33T.

Pros:
-Less to worry about a front derailleur - no dropped chains
-Attack your climbs
-Less Weight
-No chain slap

Cons:
-Don't get stuck behind someone in Granny
-Lose some top and low end
-Make sure you have a clutch or type 2 derailleur

For me (1*9, 32-11/32) it was a response to winter filth, the fact I rarely get time for an epic ride these days and I live in one of the more rolling hilled bits of the south. If I lived and did big rides in the lakes, Scotland etc then I would probably still have some kind of double (guessing something like 36/24).

For what I ride it is the best compromise for most of the time. _

Isn't there too many factors; weight, fitness, terrain and steepness to come to a definite conclusion here? It's not one size fits all.

My set ups: turner czar 36x42/10 xx1, ragley td1 36 (raceface) x 36/11 and recently as a silly purchase spearfish set up xx1 32 and SRAM 36/11.

Bit over the top, but I think the spearfish 32x36/11 is the best compromise for budget and flexibility. The 36 on the czar was my first foray and a 34 may be better but I've done spending.

One things for sure I can't see me ever going triple or perhaps even double again. I just hate the extra cabling and less than perfect jump in gear ratios between big and small.

But you could say I've traded the flexibility of a triple and a do it all bike for three expensive bikes instead. Hey ho.

Always had issues with my front mech on Zesty, think it was set up wrong from the start but when I changed to 1x10 I felt a massive improvement as dropped the shifter and chain guide/ tensioner. I went 32 tooth 11-36 however have just upgraded to 34 tooth as felt I was spinning out on the downs. Never had trouble climbing on the 32 tooth and did some very steep long technical climbs. I am sure its gonna be a struggle from the start with 34 tooth but I am hoping it will make me stronger and as a consequence faster if anything on the downs.