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Doing a friends bike up cheaply. Was singlespeed, now managed to get parts to make it 1x8 (only had 8sp shifter and cassette). Got a NW 32t chainring to go with the XT rapid rise rear mech and 11-30 rear cassette. As he’s used to singlespeed I don’t think the lack of low gears will be an issue.
But will the chain keep coming off?
8 speed chain is slightly wider, isn't it? So maybe a bit more I suppose.
Worst come to worst you could chuck a cheap top guide on there- friend of mine was running 1x8 for years and I assume plenty of the more downhilly people were too
Worst come to worst you could chuck a cheap top guide on there
Cheap top guides don't seem that much cheaper than a budget 10 speed shifter or mech though.... ?
I got a used Zee shifter and mech for £33 ... and although I had a fairly new chain and cassette hanging about I reckon its worth doing ??? (Or I did)
I just fitted a chain guard/guide.... not quite what I wanted but only £12 for the E13 .TRS+.. its for a 2x but can be set up so the roller works 1x... this was cheaper than trying to find a top guide.... ????
My do everything commuter / tourer / rough stuff bike has 42T narrow/wide ring, 20 year old XT mech, Dura Ace 9 speed bar end shifter, 9 speed chain and 8 sprockets of a 9 speed block (old freehub) been ragging it around off road plenty and the only time I've lost a chain is a very occasional mistimed back pedal.
Had a similar set upon another bike with a 48T single ring (not narrow wide, but tall teeth, no ramps). Lost the chain quite regularly, even on the (admittedly shit) roads I commuted on.
Narrow wide does 95% of the retention.
If you look on ebay you can pick up chain guides for £5ish that'll do the job. I suspect it'll be fine without, though.
I was on 1x8 back in the day and just used a front mech as a chain guide which worked fine, even if it was a little council. The taller teeth on the NW ring should help keep the chain on now though, what with modern technology and all that.
Can you use a 10sp chain on an 8sp block? The narrower chain might stay on the NW ring better if you can.
My (NW)1x8 does drop occaisionally.
As above an old mech could be bodged as a guide I'd think.
Can you use a 10sp chain on an 8sp block? The narrower chain might stay on the NW ring better if you can.
Good point... you can definitely use a 9sp.... anyway...
Got 1x8 on my commuter and it works absolutely fine. Got a 38t N/W up front and a Claris rear mech, yet to drop a chain in 3 months so far. From memory of stuff way back when, I'm pretty sure a 9 speed chain fits but a 10 speed is too narrow internally for an 8 speed cassette. I'll be converting to 1x10 and flat bars when this drive train wears out.
If you look on ebay you can pick up chain guides for £5ish that’ll do the job. I suspect it’ll be fine without, though.
Any links to a decent one?
Cheap top guides don’t seem that much cheaper than a budget 10 speed shifter or mech though…. ?
Yes thats what I've found so far.
I got a used Zee shifter and mech for £33 … and although I had a fairly new chain and cassette hanging about I reckon its worth doing ??? (Or I did).
Thats the issue, budget is mega low but I had a newish 8sp cassette, shifter and rear mech, all in lovely condition - shifters seem to be the expensive thing to get.
Just built my daughter's bike up 1x8 using cheap SRAM X3 Mech/Gripshift (£20 for the pair, gripshift is her preference but similarly cheap triggers are available), a 32t Superstar N/W ring an old 11-30 Cassette and a new 8 speed chain, it seems to be hanging on to the ring just fine...
For budget shifting parts I'm actually very impressed with the bottom end 7/8 speed SRAM stuff, it's easy to setup and clicks from gear to gear well enough. but you should be able to get an Altus shifter to work with the XT mech for around ~£15 or less I'd expect...
if you're going to spend a little money anywhere, I'd have a nice new chain and new cable (inner and outer)... but that's just me.
without a clutch mech you will need a top and bottom chain guide to keep the chain on. I still dropped the chain running a top guide only.
Since I bodged a Shimano Shadow+ 10speed clutch mech to work with my 8 speed SRAM shifters I've been able to dispense with the chain guide and havn't dropped the chain once.
An 8 speed chain still stays on a NW ring better than a non NW but if you run a 9 speed chain. it'll work absolutely fine with the 8 speed cassette and it'll stay on the NW chainring slightly better than an 8.
Not using a superwide ration dinnerplate cassette helps too (less chain flap in the small sprockets)
9 speed chains are cheap as are 8 speed cassettes (you should get both for under £20)
Ali Express MOTSUV NW chainrings are £5 and just as good as anything else out thereAli express also do a Oneupcomponents style chainguide copys for less than a tenner. They're decent too.
I bought one of these chain guides-
I would think it'd work pretty well when new at least.
Give it a shot and see how it goes.
I'm not sure a 9 or 10 speed chain will be any help, I think the internal width is identical, but I could be wrong
Sorry. Yeah now you mention it. internal width between the plates is the same across 7 to 11 speed isn't it? it's only outer width that changed.
Ignore what I said about using a 9 speed chain for better retention the 8 speed chain should work fine with a Narrow wide ring. (I actually have an 8 speed bike using one just fine).
Too many bikes.
I went 1x9 on 2007 kit with a 2007 chainring. The chain did come off but only when I ripped across the block in one go. A NW ring sorted it though as did a chain guide, but I don't need both.
I run 1x9 with a nw and a cheapo superstar chain guide on the commuter and very rarely drop the chain.
12-28 1x7 1993 XT with a 40T Superstar N/W ring here, admittedly only on town bike, but working fine, no dropped chains.
Yeah now you mention it. internal width between the plates is the same across 7 to 11 speed isn’t it? it’s only outer width that changed.
Ignore what I said about using a 9 speed chain for better retention the 8 speed chain should work fine with a Narrow wide ring. (I actually have an 8 speed bike using one just fine).
Sprocket thickness changed very little from 7-9 speed (shimano/SRAM), obviously the cassette pitches reduced and yes the chains got narrower with this but they were still described as 3/32" which should maintain sufficient internal clearance to mesh with a sprocket/ring around ~2.38mm thick (probably more like 2.5mm), so internal clearance did change but there was always a lower limit.
I've even (briefly) used a 10 speed (supposedly 5/64" or 1.98mm clearance) chain with an 8 speed cassette and a N/W ring before, and it worked...
Of course N/W rings rely more on the chain's internal width matching the tooth profile closely, so yes, in theory there should be better retention with a narrower chain, there should be no harm in using a 9 speed chain for a 1x8 setup, possibly some benefit, go to 10 or 11 speed and you run a slight risk of it climbing over rather than dropping into sprockets as they're 0.2mm thicker and you always need a degree of "free play" in the system... Then again an 8speed chain is pretty cheap these days and cheaper is always a good thing too.
[/nerd]...
Well nerded.
I've run so many supposedly incomaptible mixes of chain/ring/cassette/shifter over the years on so many different bikes I've actually forgotten what worked well, what worked ok and what really didn't. One thing I never ever did was to actually measure the internal spacing on any chain.
Cheers.
I simply replaced the 38T chainring on my Wazoo for a 34T On One Ringmaster and fitted an 11-30 cassette to my 29er wheelset for it ~2 years ago. Didn't shorten chain, kept front mech in place, same goes for 24T chainring.
The chain would come off the n/w chainring sometimes when I pushed my bike backwards.
I would spin-out on descents greater than ~5% and at the time, I could just about get up short ~20% climbs (Dell Rd in Midanbury SO18) in my easiest gear, but my middle-aged knees would ache afterwards. So shortly after discovering Dell Rd and just before taking the Wazoo to The Mendips cat3 climbs last November, I went back to 2x.
I've since gone to training by power and have found I produce more power in harder gears and at a lower cadence than I used to ride, so that 1x combo might not upset my knees as much as it used to, but I haven't got around to swapping back to find out.