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I hate front derailleurs (Chilcotin advice please)

3K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  BryanS. 
#1 ·
I've never really been very happy with front derailleurs. I had an old school E-type XT on my Delirium T, and was never able to get my mechanic to adjust it correctly... When SRAM released the Hammerschmidt, I was an early adopter and I LOVED it, but wasn't a fan of the weight.

Now the question is how to configure my Chilcotin... There is a part of me that wants to go 1x10, but a recent experience on a 28t Shinobi has me rethinking that idea for our steep local climbs. I could do another HS, but they really are heavy. That kind of forces me into a standard 2x10. If I do that, the X9 24/38 seem like a good choice for what I'm planning to ride (I'm hard on cranks so I would eat carbon). As an added benefit, I could easily drop the spider and do a Wolf Tooth direct mount ring if I wanted to do a 1x10.

However, the recommended XT front mech doesn't allow a 14 tooth spread, so that leaves me pondering SRAM front mechs. Is anyone successfully using a low mount direct S3 XO on a Knolly? Also, I could get away with a 24t and a 36t Wolf Tooth 1x10, but I would still need to buy a crank so I might as well get one with a spider since they don't sell just the right/left arm. Does anyone have another out of the box idea?

I welcome all thoughts and suggestions--thanks!
 
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#2 ·
I've never really been very happy with front derailleurs. I had an old school E-type XT on my Delirium T, and was never able to get my mechanic to adjust it correctly... When SRAM released the Hammerschmidt, I was an early adopter and I LOVED it, but wasn't a fan of the weight.

Now the question is how to configure my Chilcotin... There is a part of me that wants to go 1x10, but a recent experience on a 28t Shinobi has me rethinking that idea for our steep local climbs. I could do another HS, but they really are heavy. That kind of forces me into a standard 2x10. If I do that, the X9 24/38 seem like a good choice for what I'm planning to ride (I'm hard on cranks so I would eat carbon). As an added benefit, I could easily drop the spider and do a Wolf Tooth direct mount ring if I wanted to do a 1x10.

However, the recommended XT front mech doesn't allow a 14 tooth spread, so that leaves me pondering SRAM front mechs. Is anyone successfully using a low mount direct S3 XO on a Knolly? Also, I could get away with a 24t and a 36t Wolf Tooth 1x10, but I would still need to buy a crank so I might as well get one with a spider since they don't sell just the right/left arm. Does anyone have another out of the box idea?

I welcome all thoughts and suggestions--thanks!
I am not a strong climber in any way shape or form - and I am very seriously looking at ditching the front D altogether with Srams new X01 system they have coming out.

SRAM X01 - One-by-Eleven for the People - Pinkbike

I will probably be going with the Sram XX1 crankset as you can get a 28T for it (I believe the X01 will only be available with a 30T initially) but paired with the affordable (read not $500 XX1) X01 11sp cassette and I am fairly sure I am gonna be able to say buh-bye to the FD(even if I dont have the hate on for it that you do - was never a fan of the hammershit lol)
 
#4 ·
I just went 1x10 and its been fine. Got a Shimano 28t chainring off Amazon for the small ring and then mounted a 32t Straightline bash guard to where the large ring would be (on my SRAM 2x10 Crank). I added an extra spacer on the BB drive side to move the chainline more center.
 
#5 ·
Think the new sram 11 speeds xx1 or x01 would be really good. I've got 2x10 now and i don't really like the front derailleur. It's just not as tidy, needs adjustment etc etc.

The new 11 speed is lighter, greater front clearance, no need for chainguide, shifter only on one side etc .....eventually i'd be getting that :)
 
#7 ·
It's like we are twins kristian Haha
I have despised front Ds. I have an AM HS on one bike a FR HS on my other Chilcotin.
I went with the new XX1 kit on the Enduro Chilcotin.

I don't ride as much as I'd like but I can climb the Tiger Mtn fire road I think like 2000ft in 4 miles or so on the 32 chainring. It's actually a good compromise for me. If I rode more I could def get away with a 34.

The pedaling is much more how do I say it you feel less loss more of your effort goes to the tire vs the HS
Then of course the weight. But in my opinion if your adding weight that's the place to add it. Between the wheels near BB.

I have about 100mi on the system so far & to address your concern regarding durability I'm not overly impressed. The crank arms are already pretty beat up & I haven't even begun to "ride" the bike
& I'm generally easy on equipment

I'd maybe look at the new 1x10 saint groupo....
 
#19 ·
What cassette do you have in the rear? I got 24/36 in the front and i'm thinking about going single ring up front. I got 12-36 in the rear. I don't want to lose any of the low gears with my current setup but i don't mind losing some of the top gears. Will 32 up front suit me or do i need to go down to 30 or 28?
 
#10 · (Edited)
I have both set ups. The Chilcotin is currently 1x10 with an MRP AMG guide and a 32 Wolftooth ring. The Endorphin is set up 2x10 with a 3x XT crank, Blacksphire Superpro rings (26/36),BBG bash guard and MRP LRP lower guide.

I can handle the 1x10 on most rides but find myself walking up the steep stuff more often. You do get stronger running only 1x10, but I have found you need to be feeling good that day to push long or strenuous rides. If you are tired or off your game, 1x10 looses it's shine.

I like both set ups but have been tempted to go back to 2x10 on the Chilcotin. The versatility of 2x10 is hard to beat and 1x11 sounds like it still has some issues. The full XT set up with Blacksphire rings has worked out well for me on the Endorphin.

Good luck with your decision.

Edit: I forgot to add that the front derailleur set up on the newer frames (Chilcotin and Endorphin) is much better than the final generation Delirium. Cable routing is excellent and the D mounting is much better. No chain/derailleur rubbing with the 36 tooth ring in any of the gears on the cassette.
 
#12 ·
I have looked at the SLX, but I'm not a huge fan of Shimano cranks--I don't like the non-drive pinch bolt types since they seem to loosen up on me. There seem to be more after market options for the SRAM if I want to go 1x10 in the future so I was looking mainly at choices that I could ditch/swap the spider in the future if I want to. Thanks for the tip--I'll take another look at them since I haven't looked much at the XT flavor of them.
 
#13 ·
I've got a 2 x 10 setup on my bike with a 24/36 chainring combo up front and a 11-36 cassette in back (mrp 2x guide and xt front der.). I have no issue climbing anything with the 24-36 combo....in fact, when it's steep enough to warrant that gearing, it's only slightly faster to pedal than pushing my bike! :) With the 36-11 combo, I never spin out on any of our trails - other than on logging roads and I never descend those anyway.

When a reasonably priced 1x combo comes out (with the wider cassette range), I'll probably move that way. FYI, my friends who have been running the narrow/wide Race Face chainring with a clutch derailleur have been having great success with chain management, so that's an easy option for anyone these days.

EB
 
#14 ·
Advice for Delirium

Sorry to alter the direction of this thread.

I've ridden with a 34t single chain ring for several years on a 11-32 9 speed Kona and 12-36 10 speed Delirium.

Now that I'm old and fat, I've had a harder time keeping up with the older and fatter guys with double rings on long climbs. I want to keep it as a single ring up front, just smaller. So I have 2 questions.

While it's obviously subjective, how much difference would a 32 tooth have compared to the 34? Or in other words, how much smaller would I need to go to really feel the difference? I've seen the gear ratio charts but I have a hard time translating that into what I'm going to feel. I'm ok with losing some top end, but I want to leverage that trade off.

I'd like to try it out first with a cheapo, and then replace that with a wolf tooth ring for the Delirium and then throw the cheapo on my Kona. Would I have issues running a 9 speed ring with a 10 speed set up for a few test rides? Would a 10 speed ring work for the 9 speed drivetrain when I transfer it? Or should I do neither of those options? I plan on replacing the ring on my Kona regardless because it's my loaner bike and it could use some help on the climbs.
 
#15 ·
I've been riding a 28t XX1 with an 11x36 10 speed cassette (on a 29er) for the past couple of rides, and I struggled a little last Sunday on the climbs--I didn't have to walk, but I probably would have if I were on a 30-something pound bike. For a 1x10 setup on a Delirium, I would look at a minimum of a 30t personally, but I hate to walk and we have some pretty steep climbs around here. On the positive side, I never felt like I was spun out with the 28t so I didn't feel I was giving up anything on the downhills.

That's why I keep coming back to the thought of a 26t and a 36t that I can switch between depending on what kind of ride it is going to be. With the Wolf Tooth direct mount, all I would have to do is pull the crank off, switch rings, and possibly change the chain out to go from XC to DH mode. All reviews of them that I've read have been very positive, but I get one shot at this bike (insurance claim) so I want to have my bases covered in case I get the setup I am thinking of and find that it's not low enough for our climbs.

BTW, I have not had problems going between 9spd and 10spd chainrings on different drivetrains so I don't think you would have a problem there (but you might want to ask on the drivetrain forum to be sure on the specific components you are going to use).
 
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