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Home > Forum > Triathlon Forum > New bike time, should I go 1x?

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New bike time, should I go 1x?
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KG6
May 15, 18 18:47
Post #1 of 14 (2280 views)
Sold my road bike. As soon as I sell the tri bike, Im upgrading. I have a few things to think about, but a Felt IA16 is in the lead (pretty good deal on a 2017). Plan is to upgrade to DI2 (more cost efficient than getting the IA10). Probably going to do a cockpit change as well but thats a different topic. From a cost, weight, and simplicity aspect, I'm thinking of going 1x. This literally came to me today and I know nothing. I live in a pretty flat area and most races are flat. I have rarely ever been in my lowest gear combo. Feel like I can get away without 2 rings.

First off, is it as simple as getting a narrow wide chain ring and dropping the FD? Are chain guides and/or RD clutches needed?

If I've been riding 52/36 11-25 (again rarely using 36-25), what is the typical gearing? Again, completely new to this. Do I stick with 52 and just open up the cassette to an 11-28?

I realize these are probably answered in threads already. Im just starting my research. Figured some answers might come faster here. What else should I take into consideration?
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [KG6] [ In reply to ]
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JasoninHalifax
May 15, 18 18:53
Post #2 of 14 (2272 views)
Figure out what gears you actually use. Then head over to Sheldon Browns gear calculator to figure out the 1x range you'll need.
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [KG6] [ In reply to ]
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M----n
May 15, 18 19:37
Post #3 of 14 (2234 views)
With Di2, I am hard pressed to think of a simplicity argument against dual chainrings. You get up to 22 gearing options, synchro shift, with smaller hops between gears, at the cost of a few inches of wire and a front derailleur. Mind you, I live somewhere with hills that make me regret switching from a 50-36 to 52-39.
***
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [M----n] [ In reply to ]
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KG6
May 15, 18 19:43
Post #4 of 14 (2221 views)
When I speak of simplicity, im referring to less things to break or keep up with. Its not much, but its something. Costs wise, i figure its 175 bucks or so. Again, not much in the grand scheme, but its something and pretty easy to jump back to 2x. Plan to upgrade cranks no matter what, so going 1x wont necessariltly be a new cost.

Guess thats a new question, do 1x rings affect spider based crank options. Actually going to start researching those as well. Now that im going from 2 bukes to 1, I dont need the P1 pedals (just rather different cleats)
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [KG6] [ In reply to ]
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jmjtri
May 15, 18 20:00
Post #5 of 14 (2200 views)
There is no RD clutch option for Shimano di2. The only clutch RD I’m aware of is the Sram rival mechanical setup. A RD clutch isn’t nessesary though.

If you’re looking to go electronic I’d vote for getting SRAM etap. That way you can just ditch the FD whenever you want since there’s no wiring. This is what my buddy did and it turned out real well for him.
Last edited by: jmjtri: May 15, 18 20:01
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [KG6] [ In reply to ]
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Shambolic
May 15, 18 21:25
Post #6 of 14 (2141 views)
I know many will argue otherwise but can't work out why anyone would. Probably more stress on your chain reaching using the extremes of your cassette so probably cost more in the long run. I'd be buying a non compact crankset and getting more chainrings you use more 53 & 39.
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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PBT_2009
May 16, 18 2:53
Post #7 of 14 (2048 views)
jmjtri wrote:
There is no RD clutch option for Shimano di2. The only clutch RD I’m aware of is the Sram rival mechanical setup. A RD clutch isn’t nessesary though.

If you’re looking to go electronic I’d vote for getting SRAM etap. That way you can just ditch the FD whenever you want since there’s no wiring. This is what my buddy did and it turned out real well for him.

https://www.bikeradar.com/...nical-and-di2-52018/
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [Shambolic] [ In reply to ]
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KG6
May 16, 18 6:18
Post #8 of 14 (1955 views)
Quote:
Probably more stress on your chain reaching using the extremes of your cassette

Although this is true, wouldn't a more centralized chain ring provide less stress in the gearing you use more often (middle of cassette)? And when it comes to gearing extremes, I'm fairly aware of cross chaining on my current setup. But it still happens on occasion. I'll probably set up full synchro shift if I do run a FD.
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [KG6] [ In reply to ]
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GreenPlease
May 16, 18 7:08
Post #9 of 14 (1924 views)
KG6 wrote:
Sold my road bike. As soon as I sell the tri bike, Im upgrading. I have a few things to think about, but a Felt IA16 is in the lead (pretty good deal on a 2017). Plan is to upgrade to DI2 (more cost efficient than getting the IA10). Probably going to do a cockpit change as well but thats a different topic. From a cost, weight, and simplicity aspect, I'm thinking of going 1x. This literally came to me today and I know nothing. I live in a pretty flat area and most races are flat. I have rarely ever been in my lowest gear combo. Feel like I can get away without 2 rings.

First off, is it as simple as getting a narrow wide chain ring and dropping the FD? Are chain guides and/or RD clutches needed?

If I've been riding 52/36 11-25 (again rarely using 36-25), what is the typical gearing? Again, completely new to this. Do I stick with 52 and just open up the cassette to an 11-28?

I realize these are probably answered in threads already. Im just starting my research. Figured some answers might come faster here. What else should I take into consideration?

I'd go mechanical 1x for now and get used to swapping chainrings and cassettes. About a year from now I'd imagine eTap 1x12 road will be available.
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [GreenPlease] [ In reply to ]
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KG6
May 16, 18 7:36
Post #10 of 14 (1893 views)
Quote:
About a year from now I'd imagine eTap 1x12 road will be available.

Waiting doesn't seem like fun. Was leaning Di2 over eTap though no matter what.
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [KG6] [ In reply to ]
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CaliB
May 16, 18 7:56
Post #11 of 14 (1879 views)
I switch to 1x on my cyclocross bike, rationale was: lighter, simpler, less chain drops (less of a risk with tris). Most of my cx rides are flat with the occasional “power bump”... I didn’t feel I needed to shift that much. Seemed to make a lot of sense and I really liked it at the beginning.... but over time you keep finding yourself in situations where you really miss the increased flexibility of 2 rings (increased number of gears and ability to fine tune your shifting/gearing, ability to keep your chain straight(Er)). After a year, my take is that the benefits of 1x are not worth the loss of flexibility and I’m going back to 2x.
I find it interesting to see that in the pro field (cx) many switched to 1x and are all starting to go back to 2x.
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [KG6] [ In reply to ]
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jsmith82
May 16, 18 12:34
Post #12 of 14 (1832 views)
I run a mechanical 1x on my Felt IA10. 50 up front and I have 2 cassettes that I swap out depending what I'm getting into, 11-28 and 11-36. While I enjoyed the smaller jumps and range of 22 gears previously, I'm overall happy with my decision to switch. I haven't dropped a chain once. The 11-28 is a great gear range for a flat or small roller course, my cadence was not affected (I ran 11-28/50 on my previous bike). The 11-36 covers the ability to tackle hills but I will say unless you are able to alter your cadence and comfort zone, it can be challenging to find a sweet spot with the larger jumps. Me personally, doesn't affect me that much and isn't a big concern, but would be my largest concern for most people.
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [CaliB] [ In reply to ]
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Rage KG
May 16, 18 13:55
Post #13 of 14 (1785 views)
CaliB wrote:
I .... but over time you keep finding yourself in situations where you really miss the increased flexibility of 2 rings (increased number of gears and ability to fine tune your shifting/gearing, ability to keep your chain straight(Er)). After a year, my take is that the benefits of 1x are not worth the loss of flexibility and I’m going back to 2x.

I second that. I switched back to 2x. If you want one, all around, tri bike then just go with 2x.
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Re: New bike time, should I go 1x? [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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gary p
May 16, 18 16:42
Post #14 of 14 (1748 views)
jmjtri wrote:
There is no RD clutch option for Shimano di2. The only clutch RD I’m aware of is the Sram rival mechanical setup. A RD clutch isn’t nessesary though.

.


Shimano has clutched mountain RD's. And, unlike mechanical, Di2 mountain and road RD's are interchangeable. Furthermore, a clutched Ultegra Di2 derailleur should be on the market any week now.
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Last edited by: gary p: May 16, 18 16:59
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