I have a Pinnacle Arkose bike. It originally came with drop bars, TRP Spyre calipers, 105 STI shifters, 34/50 FSA chainset, Shimano M781 RD. I have since upgraded the fork for a larger tire clearance, swapped to a flatbar, fitted some old Avid hydraulic brakes, a M786 RD, and SLX shifters. The problem was the STI shifters. I don't know why – but my hands used to hurt. There was something about the shape and the plastic underneath the rubber. Gloves didn't help.
I'd like to go back to drop bars and I want a clutch derailleur. The best option would be a GRX groupset, but new is expensive, and there's nothing on ebay used at the moment. I have a pair of TRP RRL levers laying around and they feel great in my hands. I've been thinking about putting back the drop bars, buying a Microshift bar end shifter that's compatible with Shimano 11sp MTB and a 46t narrow-wide chaineing. I've never had a 1x setup and that's something I've been wanting to try. I'd need a Deore M5100 RD, a 11 speed 11-51 cassete, and a long chain.
Does anyone have a 1x 46t chainring setup with a 11-51 cassette? I imagine the 46×51 would stretch the derailleur to the max – and that's my concern.
by Spiritual-Rip1253
6 Comments
In a 1x your derailleur doesn’t really care about chain ring size. I’d suggest you look into sensah srx or maybe get a used rd812 and an xt cage with the appropriate levers.
Another option would be cues and settle for 11-50.
Bar ends are good for some people but personally I don’t like them. If you do, that setup is a good option.
The only concern with the 46t chain ring is wether you have enough clearence on the chain stay while getting a decent chain line. That’s not something I can assess from the picture though.
Mannnnn 1x conversions on gravel bikes is one of the worst trends. In 5 years were all gona be looking for used gravel bikes that DIDN’T get converted.
Keep the 2x man, unless you’re really jumping it or doing wild stuff, you’re not getting anything from the 1x, it’s just nerfing your bike. The “I like the simplicity” crowd is just a skill issue.
They wear your components faster, make you less efficient, less capable, it’s just a downgrade on gravel.
Now, if you wanna play around with parts just for fun, that’s a different story, I support that. But it’s not an upgrade for a bike like this.
Forgot to mention: I tried fitting an SLX front derailleur and it was touching the tire. Therefore I don’t think I’d be able to use a GRX FD. Currently using a Tiagra 4600 one.
A drop bar option could be an electronic group set from LTWOO or Wheeltop. The Wheeltop 1x GeX with a 93mm pulley cage will go to 51T rear and supports any speed cassette up to 14s. There are 12 and 13 speed cassettes from companies like ZTTO that fit Shimano HG road hubs. You could also use the Wheeltop 2x TX with something like a GRX 46/32 crankset but you wouldn’t be able (or need to) use a 51T cassette though.
If your original 105 shifters are the R7000 model, they are compatible with GRX RD-RX810/RX812 rear derailleurs for 1X. But I’m guessing that would mean going back to mechanical braking. I run a mixture or Grx and 105, as this was my cheapest option for 1X.
Stretching the derailleur to the max aka chainwrap capacity, is based on the difference between your largest and smallest chainring. If it’s 1x, that doesn’t even factor in. Whether you have a 48t front or 32t front, it’s all the same the rear derailleur.