Looking for thoughts on the best way to graphically compare drivetrains.
What I did here was plot each gear ratio on a range from 0-1, with 0 being the "lowest" gear. For the 3×8, I plotted all the possible ratios on one line from 0-1. Then, for each chainring, I plotted from 0-1/3, 1/3-2/3, and 2/3-1, respectively. I think this works ok, but it seems like it's lacking a bit. It's not as immediately "intuitive" as I'd like.
by Groundblast
15 Comments
This is neat to see, but it’s lacking data because you didn’t include chainring sizes and cassette details. Not all 1×12 cassettes are the same, etc.
In general 1x drivetrains nicely overlap 2x and 3x in overall range, but have larger stepping. But this often is not an issue in practice, and with all the benefits of 1x, it’s often the way to go.
But yeah, you’re lacking data here.
(Don’t tell me you asked some AI tool to generate this…)
What are you trying to determine?
This is for cars, but bet with some fiddling, you can apply it to bikes. Engine RPMs on the vertical axis and speed on the horizontal. I’m thinking one color for each chainring. I could probably pop one out for you on Desmos if you gave me the teeth number for all the parts
https://preview.redd.it/ctyplgqstcof1.png?width=355&format=png&auto=webp&s=13a504642c35306adce5760446acef1cc5b6198d
I love this.
1. Add the front chain ring size to the 1×12 line. Maybe even plot 2 or 3 sizes.
2. Add 2×10 setup as well since that’s the other common one people like to use.
3. If you can do it, plot it in Matplotlib instead of Excel so it looks pretty.
Interesting visual. Really demonstrates why 3x has fallen out of fashion. Yes, you might have 24 “different” ratios, but there is so much overlap, and it would require so much shifting in the front ring, that you’re wasting most of them and you can get nearly as much range from a 1x.
What is “3×8 combined”? It doesn’t make sense to me.
I’m sure people are still running 3×8, but running a triple doesn’t force you to only run an 8 speed cassette. There’s nothing stopping you from running a triple with other cassettes. I run 3×10 on my cargo bike for example.
I usually use this https://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=DERS&KB=50&RZ=11,13,15,17,19,21,24,28,32,36,42&UF=1976&TF=75&SL=2.6&UN=MPH&DV=gearInches&GR2=DERS&KB2=34,50&RZ2=11,12,14,16,18,20,22,25,28,32&UF2=1976
But I like your graph too, it illustrates the overlap on the 3x nicely. One advantage with the online one is that you can compare the actual ranges in gear inches or development, even across different wheel sizes. I used it to figure out what I wanted for converting my 2×10 to 1×11.
2x is king in my opinion. Microshift sword 46/29 front and 11-38 rear has been my favorite drivetrain so far
Love the visual. For me it really highlights how the budget conscious aren’t really missing out by keeping their 3x drive-trains around rather than swap to a simpler 1x setup.
I think maybe you could remove the low, med, and high lines and instead color code the combined line, maybe one color for each chainring, and bi/tri colored circles for the gears that are attainable for multiple chainrings. (probably a bit trickier to set up in excel)
One interesting take you could get from this is that the middle chainring is totally useless in the 3x, but I think that something that might be useful to add to this is to take cross-chaining into effect. A separate chart where undesirable cross-chains are removed could make for a fairer comparison (maybe low just uses the first 4 gears, med uses middle 4 and high uses the last 4). Yes there are a ton of redundancies here, but it would be interesting to see how many “good chain line” redundancies there are.
I like this helps to visualize choices, you could add more detail on the line labels and add more lines for different combos if 1x and 2x that are available on the market and commonly used.
so, if you pick a different chainring for 1×12 you can have a graph that interpolates quite well the 3×8 combined line.
Look at a MS / XD 1 x 12 for comparison as well! A 10 x 51 Shimano and a 10 x 52 SRAM! You can go up in size on a chainring and not lose much cranking power with quite a gain in top speed!
I’m still rocking a 3×9 drivetrain on an aging Tricross sport.
I rarely use the 3 smallest cogs when in the big ring. When I do, it’s because of an epic tailwind. That’s a function of living in Nebraska.
I’ve contemplated upgrading to a 1x or 2x, but once I factor in time, tools, and component costs, a complete bike at the shop isn’t that much more. 🤷‍♀️
My 1×10 is geared weird. 1.05 low gear, 3.45 high gear. I like it though.
The ratio scale should be logarithmic.