Background: I have a road bike (105, 34 casette), and want to also get a gravel bike now as many roads are crap here and we have lots of hills. I want to end up spending 50% of the time on gravel and 50 on road on the same ride on some 40-42s with a flat middle and knobby ends. This is the idea at least. I love the road but traffic and heat can be unbearable.
I am currently riding most of the time with a girl on a 2by gravel bike and she has no issue going as fast as me on my road bike except downhill. Yes. She is fitter than me😄.
I was planning to get a 2by GRX 800 setup, however I found this beaut for 2.5k. And its a 1by. I’m human so I rather have a beautiful bike I will want to ride all the time and this is basically my dream bike (except the 1by part but i have never ridden one!).
So basically my questions:
1. Will i have issues with a 1by going fast when I do a group ride at 25-35kmh?
2. Is it really easier to climb with it?
3. What would be the best cassette/chainring setup to accomodate an easy climb but also be able to do up to 30-35 kmh on flat pavement?
Thank you!
by Beginning_Put_2861
20 Comments
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Well. It will be easier to clean your chainring.
Edit: Sorry, it was a silly note. It’s fine for me around 25-35km with 1x, maybe a little more spinning on the faster end. Sometimes when I ride uphill in lower gradients and I am going a little bit faster I feel like it would be nice to have that gear in between. Other that that it’s pretty ok. If you like the bike you can go with it and then change the drive train if it’s really unbearable.
Edit 2: I am beginner rider coming from mtb.
1 by is great. I like the simplicity and the clean look. the only downside is that now I need a gigantic plate on my cassette.
Edit: To answer your questions you can always calculate your gear ratios. 38 chainring with 11t will.make around 35kmh at 80rpm cadence. You can put bigger chainring if you want to ride faster.
I dunno what tooth count ya have up front in that bike but if you find it to slow and your not really using the big gear in the back bump it up. In reality theres a lot of overlap on 2x drivetrains and from what i can tell with the popular offerings on 1x you can gear up or gear down to your terrain/riding style. Also a lot of 1x drive trains i have noticed have quite a big tooth count on 1st knowing that you dont have a second chain ring.
Presumably your current high gear is 50/11=455% and low is 34/34=100%. Do you use those limits?
Find out what cassette and chainring the 1x has and compare. Maybe the high gear is close to your current 12t or 13t cog? Maybe swapping to a larger chainring would help? Are you comfortable with a high cadence?
“Gravel” means very little for what gears you need; how steep the hills are has more impact.
My old mtb has a 1by with 32t chainring and 30kmh was absolute max and even then u spinning like crazy. Current Cx has 2by 105 (50/34 and 34 at the back) and is was worried to going up hill but I did all my climbs with some training. In the end it’s about the power in your legs rather then the biggest gear at the back. I would say a 1by can be more relaxed. A 38 or 40t is probably what u want for the mixed used on climbs/straight line speed.
1×12 are the best
I run a 1×12 and switch around chainrings and cassettes base on terrain. Mostly, I run mullet style with a 42 asymmetric front and 10-50 in the rear, but I have a round 38 and round 44 front and a 10-34 rear to switch between.
“Will i have issues with a 1by going fast when I do a group ride at 25-35kmh?”
Not if you’re a fit. People bring 1x gravels to our group ride and average 35kph+ no problem. Cadence will just be a bit faster. That said, with an 11-42 cassette, you’re only getting 1:1 lowest gear for hills. Can you get more teeth in back with the right rear mech?
Risk it? Risk what?
Basically 1x is fine if you’re doing 50% or more offroad riding, but make sure you think about your gear ratios for both climbing at top end. 11-42 is not a huge range and is the largest officially supported 1×11 GRX cassette I believe. My guess is you could put an 11-46 in the back and a 38-40 in the front and be pretty happy.
If the bike is in good condition and fits you for that price, go for it, worst case you buy a new chainring or cassette or both.
Riding 1×11 on my gravel, running also some mtb trails and uphill. I have 42 chairing with 11-42 casette and ideal for my riding. But i’m hittimg the gym for them squats.
I think it shouldn’t be a problem if you get a good range where you have a 44t and a cassette that pairs up well with it (maybe 10-44?) I got a 2x (46-30) to make sure I have that flexibility on road and off road.
I think you would be fast enough on the road with a 44 tooth one.
Why a picture of this bike tho? I believe it’s a Grevil replica
I have a 1x gravel bike and it’s not good. Gravel in my area is broken up with frequent paved sections but you also get 15%+ climbs on the gravel sections. My 1x just doesn’t have the range I want for both, either I’m spinning on the paved sections or dying on the gravel climbs. Currently working on upgrading it to 2x
Seeing it “1by” vs “1x” is really slowing me down when reading these lol
That bike is so sexy!
The great thing about bike components is that you can change them later.
Can’t answer your question but the bike is a beauty. I would not buy it, I would marry that bike.
Add a brown saddle!!