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I'm currently running my Superlight 29 with 1x9, with a 30t hope narrow/wide, and an 11-34 xt cassette.
It's fine for an hours ride on my local trails, but over an hour the grinding uphill really takes it's toll. I live in a hilly area on the outskirts of the Peak District, so i need some lower gears or bigger legs!
Question is, should I put a front mech on my bike, and run a granny ring (I have an X0 shifter and my old triple chainrings, all i need is a mech and a bashring/single ring fixings - don't want a big ring)? Or stick with the 1x9 and hope i get strong enough to push the gear all day?
I could upgrade to 1x10, but to get XT level its going to cost close to £200... Also, I'm running Sram X0 shifters and rear mech at the min, which I think are rather nice. 🙂
Anyone else think its a shame no one makes a 9 speed 40t cassette adapter?
Find some bargains to upgrade to 10sp and sell your 9sp off. I was surprised how much I made off the cost of my upgrade when I did it.
1x10 all the way
SLX RD is just as good IMO and nearly as light...but get a saint shifter from evans for £35
1X10 all the way, just converted from 2X9 and I shall not be going back any time soon. Might keep the front mech for when they become collectable, show the kids how they used to make bikes 😛
I'd also recommend budgeting for a One-Up rad cage, resolved the issues I had with dodgy shifting on my xt mech, 40t expander setup.
Have to admit, 1x does look better, and reduce clutter on the bike.
I'll budget for some new shiny bits when i get paid at the end of the month. TBH, a shadow+ mech would be a good upgrade too as the sram xo has no clutch of any kind.
I'll check out slx too, it may save a bit of cash.
I picked up an almost new XT Shadow+ mech someone swapped out from a brand new bike for £25, you'll easily do it for under £200 and recoup some back if you sell your 9 speed gear
I was thinking about this when building up my new 29er. I stuck with 2x9 because 1x10 doesn't offer anywhere near the climbing ability, even with the T-rex, etc.
Admittedly I live in Scotland but I'd hate to have to push 1x10 up some of the 2h+ loose and steep hill climbs around here! So I guess it depends where you live (or maybe I'm not herculean enough).
I went 1x9 with a chain device to 1x10 with a N/W setup. Cost ~£100 for Zee shifter, SLX mech, cassette & chain and a Race Face N/W ring. £40 of that was the ring IIRC!
Great upgrade - wider range of gears and less weight. Whats not to like? The only time I've ever really wished I had a lower gear was after a brutal 6 hour ride in torrential rain in Wales and the final short climb to the pub had me pushing...
Really pleased with my 1x10 (because I'm as enduro as ****) but I reckon dual ring is still the default and for good reason... Only you can really know what gears work for you, and only by experimentation. So if I was you, I'd put it back to 2x9 and see what happens.
Or just get a 12-36 9 speed cassette and see how it goes for a lot less cash.You can swap the 12 t for the 11 t you've already got if a higher gear matters to you.
12-26 is a smaller range than 11-34. You can mod them with an 11t but (depending on how lucky you are with parts) it can be hard to get it to work.
12-26 is a smaller range than 11-34.
No argument on that one 🙂
Did you sneaky edit or am I losing it? About 50/50 which way this goes 🙂
I have a mate who seems to be getting away with a 40t on 1x9.
I haven't seen it in the flesh, but that's what he says.
Northwind
I edited and added the bit about the 11t simultaneously as you posted,honest.
IMHO range is not the issue for most riders who go 1 x it's about having an easier gear to get up the hills.
I've got 1x10 (12-36 cassette, 32t ring) on my hardtail and it's OK but I spin out on the fast pedally stuff and I end up walking steep climbs when I'm tired. An expander thing might help but it's all a bit of a bodge and not cheap.
Full suss is still 2x9 (12-34 cassette, 22/34 rings) with a stinger. This gives me all the gears I need and I never lose the chain.
Until 1x11 becomes affordable I'll my preferred set up will be 2x9
1x10 all the way.I'm running 11-42 with 32 up front and it's ace.
No 2 hour climbs here, but plenty of steep,technical stuff and 30min climbs.
I think £20 for a new front mech may be worth a try first... I am worried that 1x10 with an easy gear is going to be expensive, and still wont be low enough for steep, technical climbs...
I went from 2x10 down to 1x10 with the Trex and 34t ring. Works well for me, the 34 helps with the spinning out issues but not as much as having a 10t at the back. The 40t is a nice low gear but not a granny spin.
Also going from X0 9sp to SLX 10sp will be very noticeable, and potentially not nice, tried some demo's with it on and not that impressed.
It's well worth upspeccing the shifter, the 10-speed Saint isn't much more than an SLX but it's in a different world. And if you're a 9-speed SRAM guy, luckily Shimano have now stolen all of SRAM's good ideas and superior feel 🙂
luckily Shimano have now stolen all of SRAM's good ideas and superior feel
Non existent on the SLX level stuff and hard to tell on the XT I tried 😉
I just got zee mech and shifter plus a roadie 10spd cassess and chain for £77 on crc so it can be done very cheaply indeed.
Anyone else think its a shame no one makes a 9 speed 40t cassette adapter?
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/4042-t-conversion-adaptor
mikewsmith - MemberNon existent on the SLX level stuff and hard to tell on the XT I tried
The current XTR seems to have the classic Shimano broken-cable feel too. But saint, mmmmmmm. So much like my old X9, proper bolt action.