Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

XX1 Hollowgram Chainline Advice Please

5K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  Bay1 
#1 ·
Hi,

I've just fitted an XX1 drivetrain to my Flash 29er. I'm using a Leonardi spider on Hollowgram SL's with a 132mm spindle. (with 10mm black driveside spacer)

The problem I have is that the chainline is too far outward. The front chainring (30T) lines up with the 3rd or 4th smallest cog at the back, so it's very cross-chained if you try to use the 36 or 42 rear cogs. My chainline measures 54mm, whereas the Sram docs I've seen list XX1 ideal chainline as 49mm. Just eyeballing it, mine looks like the chainring needs to move 5mm inwards.

Is there anyway to bring the chainline further in? My cranks only clear the stays by about 4-5mm each side, so there's not much to play with. Because the spider fixes to the inside of the crank there's no way that I can see to move the chainline in without also moving the crank closer to the stay - they are not independently adjustable (unless I'm missing something)...

Many thanks if anyone has any ideas how to solve this.
 
#3 ·
Van462: Thanks, it's a good suggestion but sadly the spider lockring thread is quite short, so no room to fit a spacer in there :(

This isn't my crank but mine is exactly like this:



I actually think I need a spider with an extra 5mm offset. It's the only way I can see that it would work correctly. The spider can't move relative to the D/S crank and the D/S crank can't move relative to the stays...I could try a 128mm spindle but this would presumably only gain me 2mm, not enough for correct chainline and the cranks would be a quite tight on the stays...

Would be interested to hear what the chainline is on any other Flash / F29 / Scalpel. Maybe the Cannondale spider has more offset? Otherwise I think I will just go back to 2x10 with the XX spider - no hassles there.
 
#6 ·
Yeah, i looked at that diagram before and was puzzled. But surely Leonardi and Rotor both know what they are doing. Perhaps since the XX1 rear cog is only a 10T the chainline has to be more inline with this than the 42T since it has less teeth to hold on to at this extreme?
 
#7 ·
I used a 122mm spindle with the Leonardi spider and a 32t XX1 ring. Chainline is perfect and clearance between the chainstay and chainring is good. Any larger rings might cause a problem but your 30t would be fine. Oh, I'm using the SiSl2 which are tapered on the ends giving a bit more clearance between the crankarms and the chainstays. The Si and SiSl are not tapered so could cause a problem. Anyway, the Cannondale 122mm spindles are hard to find but a Leo version can be found at various locations including:

LEONARDI RACING ASSE MOVIMENTO CANNONDALE BB30
 
#8 · (Edited)
Schworm: Thanks for the links. A 122mm spindle would make the chainline 49mm, which would be perfect. I don't think I can reduce my current spindle though because of crank clearance on my SL's, as you mentioned.

C3: I don't know. I was actually just looking at the chainline of my XX rings / spider (26/39) and even the big / outer ring on that is MUCH further in than my XX1 ring. I can only assume the Leonardi is made for a 122mm spindle, as Schorm's setup above.

Maybe I'm being a bit fussy about it but we are talking about Hollowgram & XX1 level stuff and so I want the setup to be as good as possible, particularly for climbing in the bigger cogs (including behind able to backpedal - if I do that in the 42 now the chain drops down 4 rings and jams up) It makes sense to tailor the chainline to the gears you use most or the ones you push hardest in. Your setup obviously works well for you. I think I would use the 10 only very rarely.

Looking at the Cannondale spider, especially from the side, maybe this one is the answer....it definitely has more offset (looks like 3-4mm more than the Leonardi - maybe even a little more!):

Cannondale:


+


Leonardi:

 
#9 ·
Also found this top down shot of the Cannondale spider. The offset does look quite significant:-



I guess the lesson is not all spiders are the same and one can tune the chainline by purchasing a different spider. Will be interesting to see what they do when the direct mount rings come out.

One good thing I found is that the chainring can be reversed (at least, it can on the Leonardi spider). Though this doesn't change the chainline, it does mean one should be able to double the life of these rings if you don't mind how they look when mounted backwards.
 
#11 ·
Yes, I'm currently using the Cannondale spider with a 30T sram ring and 11-36 and it works great. The chainline seems about right to me. I agree it's nice to have it a bit more over the low gears where you're putting down the most torque.

The main thing I've found is the Sram ring (or at least the one I've tried) wears pretty quickly but at least you can flip it around on the spider. My current drivetrain is almost toast and I think I'll try an absolute black spiderless front ring next.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top