[TB3inCville]

I have a stock NX 1x11 on my tallboy and after a couple of years could use the granny gear and presumably tighter shifting. Has anyone done this upgrade and liked, disliked the choice? I'm going to do the entire groupset and cranks, saving about 300g or so. I'm running DT Swiss 350 hubs on MK3. Thanks!

 

[d365]

If you're doing all that, I'd also consider the new SLX 12 speed coming out. I wonder how close in price and weight it is? You're going to need a new hub driver anyway, right?

 

[Renzo7]

At some point I faced a similar situation, but I went with the $315 e*thirteen TRS Race 9-46, 11 speed cassette. You'll still need to purchase the XD Driver. The TRS plus 11 speed cassette now has the same range and costs about $230, and also requires the XD Driver.

I'm very happy with the cassette. I've used it for 2 years and close to 4,300 km so far, changing the aluminum cluster ($115) once. The cassette is getting worn enough that new chains occasionally skip in a few gears by now, though, so I'll probably buy a new one in the near future, though I'll likely buy the Plus this time because it's $100 less for 30 grams more weight.

I change chains at 0.5% wear. Maybe if I start reusing the worn chains I can get a lot more life out of it. I'll definitely give that a try before buying a new cassette.

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[Shredmonkey]

If you want an all new drivetrain and aren’t strapped for cash it’s worth it. If you’re on a tight budget I think you can just upgrade the cassette to a sunrace MX-80 11-50T, kits on eBay for $200 ( no cranks).
Also recommend picking up an oval chainring if you’re looking for lower gearing. Just switched and it absolutely makes tough grinding climbs a bit easier.

 

[Renzo7]

Also recommend picking up an oval chainring if you're looking for lower gearing. Just switched and it absolutely makes tough grinding climbs a bit easier.

+1 on the oval recommendation. I like them so much that I've got them on all 3 bikes. I'm using Absolute Black ovals.

They greatly improved my issues with knee pain. Every time I do tough climbs on round rings I get knee pain, but it doesn't happen with ovals for me.

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[TB3inCville]

Thanks for the recommendation! Would it be better just to do the oval on the 11spd or would a 12 speed with granny be better? Or would it be overkill to do the oval and 12spd?

 

[caRpetbomBer]

I have been using a oval chain ring for awhile on a shimano XT 11speed. I switched back to a round ring to see if there was a difference. I found with the round ring i was maxing out booth high and low ends of the cassette alot more then with a oval. I'm back on the oval after that one ride.

So no a oval is not overkill for 12speed. I have another bike that has a round chain ring with sram nx eagle 12speed. Just need to find a 102BCD oval.

 

[*OneSpeed*]

It's just personal preference. You could upgrade to 11 Spd GX and just use a slightly smaller chainring. (saves a bunch of money)

You could go 11 Spd Shimano SLX/XT on your current freehub and have 11-46 (XT cassette), with or without an oval. (saves a bunch of money)

No the oval on Eagle isn't overkill in the sense that you're asking about, ovals are cool but not going to change your life.

 

[MSU Alum]

I may have missed this somewhere. You only need a lower gearing? Why not just get a smaller chainring? And +1 more on the oval. If you also want to drop weight, just get a lighter cassette?
Are you on a 29er? If so, I would absolutely go to a 1x12. If you're not, a 1x11 probably is fine.

Oh, I see you're on a Tallboy. Yeah, 1x12 is probably worth it.

 

[TB3inCville]

I'm on an alloy tallboy 29er. I demo'd a few SC bikes with 1x12 on my local trails and loved the range and shifting. I did go to a lighter cassette which helped greatly. I think a partial groupset replacement to 1x12 would work and keep my existing race face cranks and BB which work fine.

 

[Shredmonkey]

I got no shame to my game and rock eagle w/ a 30T oval on a 32lb 29er w/ 2.6 rubber.
The idea being that I do quite a bit of steepish singlet track climbs and my big gear is usually the first to wear out. So the less time I spend in granny gear the longer the life of my cassette.