1 x 10 conversion from 3 x 10

[tjdixon911]

Hi,

I'm looking to convert my 29er from a 3x10 to a 1x10, currently I mainly use the outer 44t ring but rarely reach top gear, I raced at the weekend and left it in the middle ring (32t) using a wider range of gears on the rear cassette.

I'm thinking of going somewhere in the middle - 36/38t up front, I don't have many hills to tackle round my way so the 38t is looking favorite at the moment..

I've converted bikes previously to a 1x9 but the chain would keep coming off until I fitted a chain device, I think this was before the intro of the Narrow/Wide chain rings - are the Narrow/wide chain rings good enough not to need a chain device? Is that all I need? My Canyon with 1x11 set up has a N/W chainring but still has a guide...

Who makes the Best N/W rings?

[BadgerBenji]

Found the hope rings to be good, and a few folks I know rate the race face items.

You might also want to factor in a clutched rear mech, as that adds the extra tension to help the chain stay more stable.

[neenaw]

I've found the Absolute Black chainrings to be very good. I'm running them in my CX bike and one of the MTB's. They're both running with clutch rear mechs and I've not had any chain drops yet on either bike.

[Herman Toothrot]

I run a 26" with 1x10, 34T Blackspires narrow wide, XT clutch rear mech & 11-36T cassette. That range works perfectly well for me. I have not yet dropped the chain and I hit the rough stuff fast so I'd say narrow wide works. Do beware how noisy they are when new, they do take awhile to grind in, when I 1st fitted it I thought something was broken, really noisy. Now it's been on for a few big middy rides its a lot quieter but still some chain noise when in 1st or 10th I.e. When the chain lines not straight. I can see it doing some people's head in if you like a quiet bike. A friend had the same issue with a race face ring so don't know if any manufacturers items are better than others in that respect.

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Thursday 29th January 22:22

[tjdixon911]

Thanks for the responses.

I don't have a clutch mech on the bike currently, but I am considering splitting another bike which does so can transfer the XT stuff from that to the 29er - it'll be a bit of an upgrade too.

Fear not, my other bike is being sold to fund a road bike so the space in the garage will soon be filled.

Anyone tried the Superstar Components narrow wide chainrings, they look good for the money...

[stuarthat]

Superstar very good

[tjdixon911]

stuarthat said:

Superstar very good

Thanks, I might give one of theirs a try.

Next question and slightly off topic - are all Cranksets interchangeable? My Giant XTC runs a push fit BB and my Pace runs a Threaded BB, are the cranks interchangeable between the two or are they specific to the BB type?

[Craikeybaby]

This is all interesting as I am looking at swapping from 3x9 to 1x10, as the front shfiter never seems to work anyway, so I usually stay in the 32T middle ring.

I realise that I will need a new chain if I change to Xx10, but will I need new cranks too if I am going to a single ring on the front?

[Herman Toothrot]

No need for new cranks

[BadgerBenji]

As long as the cranks have the same diameter spindle i.e. 24mm or 30mm then yes they will be interchangeable.

[TheBALDpuma]

I've just converted from am old nakered 2 x 9 XT to a 1 x 10 XT (36 hope ring at the front, 11-36 back) and it's awesome. I never used the front mech, and I really don't get why people do! With the 1 x 10 set up the lightest gear really is light enough for the steepest of hills at a steady pace. Down a long, straight, flat hill I will run out of legs but I'm really not concerned about that. 20+ gears is just too many, there's so much over lap. Front mechs need tons of maintenance to keep smooth too.

[Herman Toothrot]

1:1 is what mountain bikes came with back in "the day" (1990ish), 28,38,48 chain set being the norm and a 28-13 cassette. I admit that I use to have no issue as a child riding up steep Black Mountain hills with 28/28 but these days I do like a little lower ratio if big hills are involved i.e. scale of south wales or larger, 34/36 seems to do me fine. Off road the highest gear 34/11 doesn't seem an issue, I guess if you ride your mountain bike on the road then it may, but if you do that you may as well ride a road bike.

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Thursday 29th January 22:23

[MC Bodge]

I've been running 1x9 on my Hardtail for a few years now. 34 & 34-11. It's fine for most things, just a bit hard on very long climbs -but we don't have many of those near here.

[TheBALDpuma]

MC Bodge said:

I've been running 1x9 on my Hardtail for a few years now. 34 & 34-11. It's fine for most things, just a bit hard on very long climbs -but we don't have many of those near here.

I push up them anyway

[deadtom]

I use 1 x 10 with N/W on all 3 of my mountain bikes:

hardtail has a 36t hope chainring and 11-36 cassette, with a long cage non-clutch SRAM X7 mech.

trail bike has a 34t raceface chainring 11-36 cassette, shimano zee FR clutch mech.

DH bike has a 32t hope chainring and a 12-28 (i think) cassette, shimano zee DH clutch mech.

I don't use a chain device on any of them (not even my DH bike) and have never dropped a chain*. Occasionally it would be nice to have an extra ratio at the fast end on the hardtail as i use it for my short road commute, but it's not enough of an issue for me to actually do anything about it.

If you do want a wider range than 11-36, don't forget you can get a 40t range expander from hope, to give an 11-40 range

• i lost the chain on my hardtail a couple of times when crap got under the chain and I back-pedalled, unhitching the chain from the bottom of the chainring, but I am not counting this

i have not noticed any performance difference at all between hope and raceface

ps all my bikes are 26" wheel, so I would advise anyone with a wagon wheeler to go for a smaller chainring to compensate for the bigger circumference