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1x drivetrain crew--what size is your chainring?

11K views 89 replies 53 participants last post by  fishwrinkle 
#1 ·
Just curious what other people out there are riding on their trail/AM bikes.

I had a 30T and just swapped to a 28T but haven't ridden it yet. I find myself at least once per ride wishing I had one more easier gear but unless I'm on pavement going towards the trail, I've never wished I had higher gearing.
 
#41 ·
32t up front with 11-36 on a Yeti 29r in Northern Utah.

I do 2,000 - 3,000+ feet of climbing per ride on average. Some climbs have felt fairly stiff with the somewhat-limited gearing, but no major issues so far.

Our stiffer, high-elevation riding is about 95% open now so I'm now dropping down to a 30t up front. I will eventually add the 42t in back if I feel it is necessary after installing the 30t up front.
 
#43 ·
2x10 is the new 1x11! Great range with 24/38 to 11/40 WT. Shimano drive train w/ clutch RD is super smooth and quiet. Perfect geezer gearing on my Carbine 29 for the long summer alpine climbs to 12k and I love cranking the big gears on the way down.
Don't think I could live with the 1by. Sorry if this post would be better on another thread.
 
#45 ·
I think you'd be surprised how well you can do with less. I thought I was struggle with a 32t / 11-36 living where I do (Utah), but so far, I'm just proving to myself that I can push harder than I thought I could. I DO want a bit more range with the 42t in back, but so far, I'm pumped with the 1x.
 
#48 ·
Running a 32 on my Superfly and Fuel EX, going to a 34 on on my Yeti SB-66 when I build it up. The 32 does a good job on the Superfly, not so much the up gearing from the larger wheels, more just that the Fuel EX attacks things a bit more aggressively so I can find myself spinning out when I've got a bit of a gravity advantage.
 
#51 ·
36t up front and 11/36 cassette on my 29er but I just ordered a 32t ring because I am still trying to get into the shape I was in last year and the 36t can be a bit brutal.

I do wonder if there is a great deal of variation on the amount and steepness of climbing that people do. Here in Northern California the climbing portion of my rides all seem to average out around 4% -- which seems embarrassingly tame as a climb. But of course, for an average 20 mile ride this adds up to ~2000' of climbing (assuming 10 miles of the ride are up and 10 miles are down). To me (old and slow) that's a respectable ride with portions that are 10-20% or short sections that are steeper. So, do you know the average % of the climbing portion of your rides and what is it?
 
#52 ·
borabora said:
I do wonder if there is a great deal of variation on the amount and steepness of climbing that people do. Here in Northern California the climbing portion of my rides all seem to average out around 4% -- which seems embarrassingly tame as a climb. But of course, for an average 20 mile ride this adds up to ~2000' of climbing (assuming 10 miles of the ride are up and 10 miles are down). To me (old and slow) that's a respectable ride with portions that are 10-20% or short sections that are steeper. So, do you know the average % of the climbing portion of your rides and what is it?
4% may sound tame but as an average I would say thats pretty good. Odds are, if you're riding trails, you've got a couple of places in there FAR higher than that 4%, which are the places that seem tough.

On a side note, one of the reasons roadies can get by with so much taller gearing is because the gradient on paved roads is limited intentionally, both for structural reasons and for transportation reasons. MTB trails are limited only by geology, and sometimes with creative trail builders, they're limited only by physics. In other words, a road ride averaging 4% is, IMO, generally going to be much easier than a MTB ride averaging 4%.

36t up front and 11/36 cassette on my 29er but I just ordered a 32t ring because I am still trying to get into the shape I was in last year and the 36t can be a bit brutal.
As you know 36T chainring on a 1x10 29er is nuts. I don't even think thats a matter of being in shape its just a tall gear, I suspect you'll be much happier with the 32T and there's no shame in that.
 
#57 ·
30/10-42 works awesome for 27.5", all trails including steeps. Have to chuckle at those who insisted 34/11-36 was good for them and anything less was not "manly". They were pushing while I continue to ride up the steepest trails. Now guess who wants me to order a 42t cog for them?! LOL To each their own...

Have FUN!

G MAN
 
#58 ·
This thread is useless without location. The flats in the midwest is a completely different environment than high alpine in the mountain states. I'm in Colorado and spend most of my time around 10,000' (I don't do much front range riding).

30x11-36 on my light bike

32x11-36 on my heavy bike with a 24T granny gear that I manually switch to for the longer climbs

30x11 isn't a high enough gear for when I want to throw in a few pedals on the downhill. I get annoyed by this a few times per ride. 32x11 actually works though, surprisingly. 30x36 is just barely passable in most situations. I only end up walking up the longer steep climbs (usually long steep dirt roads). With the heavy bike in 32x36, I definitely notice myself walking more, in general. It's not quite enough. On long sustained climbs, I manually switch to the 24T granny gear. I've liked this decision quite a bit lately. You get the benefit of 1x with a true bailout for when you REALLY need it.
 
#59 ·
I agree that without more information about the type of riding people do this thread is of limited use. But location or elevation don't really help. There surely are flat sections of Colorado and while riding at 10,000' sounds great (really!) it doesn't tell me what % climb and total elevation you experience while gasping for oxygen.
 
#63 ·
He's only counting the climbing portions. Pretty sure 1k per 6-7 miles is the whole ride. I'd say average out here is about 1k per 2-3 miles on a climb, but it can certainly get more strenuous.

For example, my last ride on my 30x36 light bike was 8.4 miles total, with 2363' point-to-point of climbing. That's about 2300' in 4 miles:
Ptarmigan Peak Mountain Bike Trail, Dillon, CO

Also, there's a big difference between doing a bunch of small ups and downs (when you can use your momentum), and long climbs followed by long descents. I still think the general location and fitness level makes more sense when trying to figure out what gearing might work for you, otherwise the number of factors you have to consider become too overwhelming to lead to meaningful consideration.
 
#65 ·
Sorry -- I got the two of you mixed up. You are representing CO and Alias530 is in CA. That makes much more sense to me. And if you are saying that climbs are 10%ish in CO that's kind of what I'd expect.

I am not going to argue that there aren't many more important factors to take into consideration when selecting gear ratios than average climb %. The problem is that these factors can't be easily quantified.
 
#68 ·
Acclimated or not you are climbing slower at elevation, and may need a gearing change to accommodate things. There is stuff you can get away with down low that you'll get punished for up high, acclimated or not. I ride at elevation, and feel like superman below 3k', and could easily put a 2T bigger ring in the front down there and hardly notice.
 
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