[Coach417]

I switched my Dambala from SS to 1 X 9 (X-9) and I am consistently dropping my chain over rough sections and drops when I stop pedaling. I am not a good enough rider to just keep pedaling (i'm no fixie rider). Do I need to remove links? How do I measure how long the chain should be? It's an 11-34 cassette, with an X-9 med. der. and 32T up front, not that it matters. Any constructive help is appreciated.

 

[boomn]

I switched my Dambala from SS to 1 X 9 (X-9) and I am consistently dropping my chain over rough sections and drops when I stop pedaling. I am not a good enough rider to just keep pedaling (i'm no fixie rider). Do I need to remove links? How do I measure how long the chain should be? It's an 11-34 cassette, with an X-9 med. der. and 32T up front, not that it matters. Any constructive help is appreciated.

Yep. You can run your chain a bunch shorter with a 1x9 than a normal 3x9. Use the biggest chainring + big cog + 2 links rule (or 4 links imho).

 

[Guest]

the search feature doesn't work so well for "1x9" so i will help out again.

IMO you have to have a chain retention device.

some here claim not to, but if you don't have something to keep the chain on, it WILL fall off.

SS front rings help, but do not solve the problem

Bash guards/ring protectors help some too, but will not solve the problem.

short cage RD and shorter chain help, but still won't solve the problem.

N-gear jumpstop will help, but if you ride like i do, it still won't solve the problem.

on a hard tail the best solution for me was a Rohloff chain guide with a Spot brand ring guard on the outside run with a short cage RD and a correct length chain.

on a FS bike it is best to just get a full on roller chain guide system like from E-13 or MRP.

 

[boomn]

the search feature doesn't work so well for "1x9" so i will help out again.

IMO you have to have a chain retention device.

some here claim not to, but if you don't have something to keep the chain on, it WILL fall off.

SS front rings help, but do not solve the problem

Bash guards/ring protectors help some too, but will not solve the problem.

short cage RD and shorter chain help, but still won't solve the problem.

N-gear jumpstop will help, but if you ride like i do, it still won't solve the problem.

on a hard tail the best solution for me was a Rohloff chain guide with a Spot brand ring guard on the outside run with a short cage RD and a correct length chain.

on a FS bike it is best to just get a full on roller chain guide system like from E-13 or MRP.

I don't doubt that those measures are sometimes necessary, especially for DH, but I say he should at least attempt the cheaper options first.

I ride very bumpy, rocky trails that gave me problems at first with dropping my chain on my last bike. Even though I still had a long cage Shimano derailleur (which seem to move a lot more than SRAM derailleurs thereby introducing more temporary chain slack) I solved all of my problems with a Salsa SS ring ($20), BBG bash guard ($14) and a jump stop ($10). So far on my new bike I am still using a non-SS chainring and haven't had a problem yet.

If you are losing your chain to the outside, you might just need a slightly bigger bashguard. If you are losing your chain the inside, then your jump stop isn't adjusted properly. For me, it really has been that simple

 

[mtbnachos]

Have you used a N-gear jumpstop w/ salsa ring dinger? It looks like the lightest setup for 1x9 ideally for XC or tech XC. Nothing I believe is 100% chain drop proof.