[drag13honda]

If you had a bike with a 3x8 drivetrain and were going to 1x11 drivetrain, what would you go with to give you a similar range of gears? Maybe short of the lowest and highest gear combinations, outside of what would be useable on the trail. It's for someone who is relatively new to mountain biking and just tends to stick to what has been working on her bike and has reservations about changing to something new. I know, due to recent conversations, that she likes the idea of switching to a 1x setup but is a little hesitant to make the plunge. I'm finishing up my new bike with a 1x11 on it and plan to let her ride it around a little bit to get a feel for it to make sure she likes it. In the meantime, I wanted to consult the brain trust and see what would give a comparable range, since gear combos aren't my strong suit. I'm relatively new to the 1x world myself, but I also use a narrower range of gears than she does.

Her current bike is a 3x8 with 22, 32, and either 42 or 44 in the front with an 11-34 in the back. I'll have to look again on the front to verify if it is a 42 or 44. Per my last conversation with her about gearing, it sounds like she typically uses the 32 tooth gear on the front for most of our trails, but on some of our trails that have more intense climbing she will drop down into the 22 tooth gear on the front. I'm not entirely sure what range she typically uses on the rear. I guess lets assume the whole range on the rear, unless that makes a difference, in which case I will ask her next time.

Thank you.

 

[walkerwalker]

Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Gear Calculator

A JavaScript calculator for analyzing bicycle gearing

www.sheldonbrown.com

This should help with the math if you're looking to be exact. But just anecdotally, I think any 1x cassette like 11-46 or 11-50 is going to have most if not more than the range of a 3x8. It'll be simpler to operate, probably shift much faster, and once used to it she'll be more likely to use the full range. Then, it's just a matter of dialing in the correct size chainring up front for her needs.

I took a 3x8 (22,32,42 x 11-32T) from 2005 and converted to Box 11 speed 1x, 11-50T, with a 36T oval. I'm using it as a gravel bike now, so the purpose of the 36T is top speed on flats. If it were a trail bike, I might have a smaller chainring for getting up the steep stuff. There are so many combinations that aren't usable on a 3x8, and I never really got all the way to the lowest chainring/cog combo on mine. Plus fiddling around with two shifters is a pain, trying to find the perfect combo for that next hill, then it shifts too slow and it's too late. A 1x shift lever/derailleur that'll downshift 4 gears at a time seems about the same as dropping down a chainring on the 3x.

 

[2021Mach6]

If you had a bike with a 3x8 drivetrain and were going to 1x11 drivetrain, what would you go with to give you a similar range of gears? Maybe short of the lowest and highest gear combinations, outside of what would be useable on the trail. It's for someone who is relatively new to mountain biking and just tends to stick to what has been working on her bike and has reservations about changing to something new. I know, due to recent conversations, that she likes the idea of switching to a 1x setup but is a little hesitant to make the plunge. I'm finishing up my new bike with a 1x11 on it and plan to let her ride it around a little bit to get a feel for it to make sure she likes it. In the meantime, I wanted to consult the brain trust and see what would give a comparable range, since gear combos aren't my strong suit. I'm relatively new to the 1x world myself, but I also use a narrower range of gears than she does.

Her current bike is a 3x8 with 22, 32, and either 42 or 44 in the front with an 11-34 in the back. I'll have to look again on the front to verify if it is a 42 or 44. Per my last conversation with her about gearing, it sounds like she typically uses the 32 tooth gear on the front for most of our trails, but on some of our trails that have more intense climbing she will drop down into the 22 tooth gear on the front. I'm not entirely sure what range she typically uses on the rear. I guess lets assume the whole range on the rear, unless that makes a difference, in which case I will ask her next time.

Thank you.

11-50 ... But if she likes what she has, why change it?

 

[eb1888]

Changing to 1x in this case will give her improvements if you pick a decently performing level of components.

 

[Grinchy8]

You’re looking for Microshift Acolyte. Get the cog with the larger size (12 to 46). You’ll need a new 8 or 9 speed chain. You can likely reuse the 8 speed shifter if it is Shimano. You’ll also need that Acolyte clutch derailleur.
You can continue to use the existing 32t chainring, just take the 22 off (or leave it) and you can leave the 42 on as a bash ring (or remove it, or remove it and get a real bash ring). Depending on the bolt circle of the cranks, you could also get a 30t chainring. If you do, get a narrow wide chainring.

 

[walkerwalker]

Found this other one:

https://gear-calculator.com/

 

[Amt0571]

You can't have the same range on a 1x system. You'll lose either at the top or at the low end.

That being said, if you're going to switch to 1x, buy a system that has a 10t to compensate for the loss of range, and 12 speed if possible to minimise gaps between gears.

To be honest, I switched from a 3x10 to a 1x12 more than a year ago and I'm not entirely sold on it. I find it lacks range and the gap between high gears is too big. IMHO, it would be great paired to a double chainring.

 

[noapathy]

For singletrack, most people overestimate the need for the highest few cogs. Uness she's spinning out in the 42t frequently (doesn't sound like it) there's no need to try to cover that end of the range. What you really need to look at is what size ring up front is appropriate for the riding she does.

I've been on 1x11 with an 11-46 SunRace cassette for 2 years now and only got into the 11t once ever and the gaps between shifts are about right so I'm not really tempted to mess with the more finicky 12spd stuff.

 

[Amt0571]

For singletrack, most people overestimate the need for the highest few cogs. Uness she's spinning out in the 42t frequently (doesn't sound like it) there's no need to try to cover that end of the range. What you really need to look at is what size ring up front is appropriate for the riding she does.

I've been on 1x11 with an 11-46 SunRace cassette for 2 years now and only got into the 11t once ever and the gaps between shifts are about right so I'm not really tempted to mess with the more finicky 12spd stuff.

Problems aren't visible on singletrack. Problems come when going fast AND pedalling, things that don't tend to happen that much on singletrack (you are either climbing slowly, or descending without any meaningful pedalling).

When you're descending a fireroad, for example, and you can't comfortably pedal at 40kph because you're pedalling at the same rpm of a F1 engine. Or when you're on the flats and want to go fast and your cadence with the 12T is too high, and too low with the 10T.

You can solve this with a bigger chainring, but in this case, you won't have low enough gearing to climb.

 

[noapathy]

Problems aren't visible on singletrack. Problems come when going fast AND pedalling, things that don't tend to happen that much on singletrack (you are either climbing slowly, or descending without any meaningful pedalling).

When you're descending a fireroad, for example, and you can't comfortably pedal at 40kph because you're pedalling at the same rpm of a F1 engine. Or when you're on the flats and want to go fast and your cadence with the 12T is too high, and too low with the 10T.

You can solve this with a bigger chainring, but in this case, you won't have low enough gearing to climb.

I get the feeling most people aren't spinning out on fireroad either (most just coast down) so you wrote that for the 0.5% going for DH fireroad Strava segments.

 

[Grinchy8]

I must be a lazy rider. Didn’t have any trouble with enough gear choices on Acolyte (8) or Advent (9) or adventx (10). I like acolyte the best because it’s far cheaper, and 8 speed chains are easier to work with. Functionally I find that the bail out gear on all three was pretty similar, and So was the go fast gear. I didn’t really care if I was in a 21t or 22t or 24t, during the ride I rarely mess with that, no cadence computer to worry about on my bikes. I think that matters more for road style riding or in a flat area where you really need to maximize the gear choices ver finely. In mtb where I live it’s up down around repeat and a close enough gear is good enough for me.

 

[jimPacNW]

What size wheels? I would stay 3x on a 26er, you'd probably need a 36 up front to get a good 'top end', and you'd have to be careful about chainring clearance, - but it might work depending on the frame and chainline.

Just removing the big ring to make it a 2x is a good option (like stated above) on a 29er: ride it like a 1x but with a 'bailout' small ring for the really tough climbs. A 32t front on a 29er is plenty fast for most cat1 racers, a 30t or 28t is big enough for most people, and the added clearance without the big ring can be nice, I hate banging a big ring on logs.

I don't really see a big benefit to more gears in the rear on a mountain bike, on any of my bikes (9, 10 & 11 rear) I often shift 2 gears at a time, and never look for an 'in between' gear (probably because of the low speeds), I think I would be very happy with XTR quality shifting and a 1x8. It's different on road and I think you need more gears there: I have 2x10 for road and often feel like I'd like just a small gear change, smaller than is available with the 10sp.

 

[Amt0571]

I get the feeling most people aren't spinning out on fireroad either (most just coast down) so you wrote that for the 0.5% going for DH fireroad Strava segments.

I spin out my 1x12 on a daily basis.

My top speeds when descending on my mountain bike went down from 55/60kph to around 45 when I switched to 1x.

That's a fact.

 

[slapheadmofo]

I spin out my 1x12 on a daily basis.

My top speeds when descending on my mountain bike went down from 55/60kph to around 45 when I switched to 1x.

That's a fact.

This matters only if someone is spending a fair amount of time on roads, dirt or otherwise, and prioritizes being able to push hard on those.
Not everyone does. Everyone I know prioritizes singletrack over road performance when it comes to mountain bike set-up.

 

[rideit]

I spin out my 1x12 on a daily basis.

My top speeds when descending on my mountain bike went down from 55/60kph to around 45 when I switched to 1x.

That's a fact.

If that were a real thing to be concerned about, racers would be running old school setups.

 

[kevine1785]

Obviously this debate can rage on.. for the most part pairing an 11-50 or an 11-46 chainring with a 30-32 chainring will cover most of anyones needs. If you friend is finding she is really missing out, she is probably tackling really steep climbs or trying to go really fast on long stretches of downhill or road. In either case sounds like they are getting into more elite territory and would be better served with a newer bike.

If you are on a budget go for Microshift or Box components... Or spend a little more and look at Shimano Deore

 

[richj8990]

If you had a bike with a 3x8 drivetrain and were going to 1x11 drivetrain, what would you go with to give you a similar range of gears? Maybe short of the lowest and highest gear combinations, outside of what would be useable on the trail. It's for someone who is relatively new to mountain biking and just tends to stick to what has been working on her bike and has reservations about changing to something new. I know, due to recent conversations, that she likes the idea of switching to a 1x setup but is a little hesitant to make the plunge. I'm finishing up my new bike with a 1x11 on it and plan to let her ride it around a little bit to get a feel for it to make sure she likes it. In the meantime, I wanted to consult the brain trust and see what would give a comparable range, since gear combos aren't my strong suit. I'm relatively new to the 1x world myself, but I also use a narrower range of gears than she does.

Her current bike is a 3x8 with 22, 32, and either 42 or 44 in the front with an 11-34 in the back. I'll have to look again on the front to verify if it is a 42 or 44. Per my last conversation with her about gearing, it sounds like she typically uses the 32 tooth gear on the front for most of our trails, but on some of our trails that have more intense climbing she will drop down into the 22 tooth gear on the front. I'm not entirely sure what range she typically uses on the rear. I guess lets assume the whole range on the rear, unless that makes a difference, in which case I will ask her next time.

Thank you.

First, what is the bike? That's really going to answer whether it's worth it or not to even try. I still have a 3x8 that I converted to a hub drive e-bike, I still like riding it, but at about $900 with the brake and fork upgrades, it's still to me not worth converting to 1x. There are so many other parts to an older/cheaper bike, especially if it's a QR frame, that usually just does not make it worth converting. 1x is not a be-all / end-all for performance. Yes it's great to have a lighter, simpler drivetrain, with a clutch derailleur, blah blah blah. But 1x doesn't turn water into wine. At all. On most sub-$1000 bikes, there are about 1/2 dozen things that would be better served to upgrade first over the drivetrain. And if you start down that path, if you get a decent air fork, and a dropper post, and nice hydraulic brakes, maybe even a better wheelset, and then you redo the drivetrain, next thing you know you've spent more on upgrades than what the whole bike originally cost. And you could have just bought a new bike with all (or not much more) of that money right off the bat.

If someone can only do strict $50-100 cash set-asides a month, yes, it's worth slowly upgrading. If you have credit or the cash on hand, don't bother. There are so many nice hardtails out there now for $1000-2000 that have pretty much everything a beginner needs, and they probably have far more potential than a lot of decent riders would ever use. The only reason I spent $2200-2700 each on a few different hardtail builds is just because I was experimenting with some free bonus rewards card money, not because I really needed anything more than $2000. A $1500 hardtail in 2021 is a gazillion times more capable than something that was $750 twenty years ago and would be $1500 now adjusted for inflation.

So really, make sure her brakes and tires are good and safe, and if the fork is a complete piece of crap or not. That's the first thing to do. Then if she really likes mountain biking, she saves up for a better bike, and not to take the slippery slope of spending $1000 on upgrades that could be used on buying part or most of a brand-new modern hardtail that will make short work of about 80% of the trails out there.

 

[Amt0571]

If that were a real thing to be concerned about, racers would be running old school setups.

In races you can change the chainring / cassette based on conditions at each race. Moreover, professional racers are not amateur cyclists, and they can ride with higher gears, and at a far higher speed, than most mortals.

Most of us are not as strong, and don't replace our chainrings on a daily basis. For the same reasons that most of us don't drive a F1 car.