Just found your site and it’s great! I’m also an engineer so I really appreciate the details. I did similar analysis on 1x a couple of years ago. I changed my 3 mountain bikes to 1x. Best move ever. My girlfriend is a novice rider and struggled with 2x. She was always cross chaining and confused, especially in the woods. Now that she’s on 1x, she’s significantly improved because she doesn’t think about shifting. I strongly recommend 1x for anyone new to mt biking because of the simplicity. Keep the good videos coming!
I recently decided to refurbish my old bike and think about modernizing the drivetrain. I had my last bike 25 years ago so it's been a while and so much has changed since. Nice to see this video. Saved me some time and an Excel spreadsheet;)
As Mr Quindazzi says the most important 1x problem is that you have to commit to a single chainring. If you go too extreme you will end up lacking. 34T will allow you to be almost in an MBT but you will not be able to race to much, and 46T might give you enough speed but you will have to be very strong to be able to climb a lot, even on a 10-36T cassette. The bottom line is that on gravel you might go 2x to have some "good for everything" bike or go 1x a commit a little more on what are you going to mostly do with your bike, road or climbs....
I use a 11-50 Sram casette with a 42T narrow-wide chainring. But there are 10-52 casettes for even more range. I don't think, range would really be a limiting factor on a 1x system.
@@peterkiss1204 Yeah, 10-52 (which I think is the max range right now) Gives you range but you still have to commit on the chainring. You either go for a roadish 46 or higher, or go MBTish for a 40 or lower. It looks that those 10-52 will give you everyhitng but there will be climbs too steep for a 52 (C) to 46(CR) or descending roads where your 10 - 36 will not be enough. It´s important to make sure of what are you going to do the most and prepare for that, while making sure that you know what you are missing.
@@azathell As I see you really don't need anything too much below 1/1 gear ratio. It already is almost as easy as walking. I rode a 48T chainring with a 9 speed 11-36 Shimano casette before changed to 12 speed. The 11/48 gear ratio was plenty enough for me, and would be probably for most cyclists. The only reason I changed to 42T is because the 12 speed system required a narrow-wide chainring, and I couldn't find a bigger one that fits my frame and crank set.
2x all the way, i have 1x mtb, 1x fatbike, 2x road bike, and recently purchased 2x gravel bike, and I'm convinced in a good choice. 1x drivetrain isn't good enough on the tarmac, if the relief is flat and hills, you have to play or shift several cogs to be ok, but on the 2x you just switch from big chairing to the small, and thats all. Another big issu with 1x is the high speed on the tarmac, 40x11 isn't enough for moderate cadence And of course, any cycliste must have some knowledge how 2x chainring works and how to adjust front derailleur, i mean trim position or fully engaged to avoid the chain and derailleur contact
Just went back to a 2x system on my second mtb...first to address the chainline issues of the 1x system. Then the gear ratios. Good that I stayed with my 2x on my first mtb.
Great video! I had this very debate when I was deciding which gravel bike to buy. I have increasingly favored 1x drivetrains on my bikes over the last few years. I find 1x stems better suited for off-road riding or casual street riding. The larger jumps are more noticeable and less desirable when you are going faster and trying to find that optimal cadence as you mentioned in your video. It looks like Shimano tried to eliminate that as much as possible and, like you, I am second guessing my decision to go 2x on my gravel bike. I definitely should have studied gear ratios a bit more to better understand how my ride would have been impacted by the ratio gaps. My logic was oversimplified in that I decided that 1x11 would not yield appropriate ratio gaps and that I would need at least a 1x12 to achieve a more appropriate progression of ratios. Perhaps that is somewhat accurate, but after looking at how Shimano does it, I think I would have been just fine because regardless of whether you go 11-40, 11-42, or 11-46, all three have the same progression of 11-13-15-17-19-21-24. Then, along comes Campy with their new Ekar 1x13 gravel groupset. Have you seen it? They offer 3 different cassette options: 9-10-11-12-13-14-16-18-20-23-27-31-36 9-10-11-12-13-14-16-18-21-25-30-36-42 10-11-12-13-14-15-17-19-22-26-32-39-44 Looks like they are taking what Shimano does to the next level with packing the top end of the cassette with very tightly spaced gears. Had I gone with a 1x gravel bike, it more than likely would have been equipped with SRAM Apex 1: 11-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32-36-42 They start ramping up the progression one cog earlier than Shimano with a larger jump from 19-22. My Specialized Diverge has a Shimano 11-34 configured as such: 11-13-15-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34 The 48T big ring on my bikes does have me favoring the 17-19-21-23-27 cogs most which are all 2 tooth ratio gaps. Had I gone 1x SRAM with a 42T ring, I would be favoring the 15-17-19-22-25 cogs. My ratios would be very close to the same with the 1x setup except for when I was on the 22 and 25 where the gaps spread just a tad. Not likely a big deal. Sorry this is so long of a comment, but one last thing. After getting my Diverge, I ended up building a super budget gravel bike that I intend to actually ride on the local mountain bike trails. I have it setup with 650B x 47 tubeless tires and a 1x8, 38T ring with an 11-40 cassette. Those are some big jumps (11-13-16-20-24-28-34-40)! The little bit I have ridden it on trails does seem to validate my initial impression that 1x is better suited for slower riding. It is insanely fun and I can't wait to try it out with the recently installed dropper post! Thanks for hopefully reading this and I look forward to more content like this if you decide to make it.
Hey man, excellent reply and observations! Thx for checking it out. Lot to unpack here, but basically, yes I’ve found that there’s more to it than just disregarding 1x bc the jumps will be presumed to large. On a side note, saw your 650B setup on the diverge. Something I want to explore soon! Looking forward unto your ride review on 650B.
Best gear ratio video ever. Change chain ring will jump a few gears, this can be annoying at times. Yes, experience with your bike will minimise the pause effect but still not as intuitive compared to 1 by - "not quite the gear I wanted, try the next one". For people new to cycling, this ease of use characteristic of 1 by is a bonus.
MTB person here and this video was hugely helpful for me as well. I was quite literally thinking about doing some Matlab coding myself to quantity the difference between 1x, 2x & 3x MTBs too so I'm glad I stumbled upon your video doing the exact same. Definitely worth geeking out to some gear ratios
Thanks for the video and sharing your thought’s I went with 2x GRX 810 31/48 up front and XT 11/42 in the rear, for just about anywhere you want to go.
Started out on a 1x mountain bike and always felt like I didn't have enough top end speed. Went 2x (50/34) on my gravel bike with an 11-40 cassette and I finally found an almost perfect system for climbing up and sprinting on flats and descents.
What speed is your drive train? I am so torn on trying a 1x or wether or not to replace my worn 2x9 with what I have. The cost will be pretty much the same but losing top and bottom gears scares me.
Depends on your needs. I have a Tern Verge X11. It has a 52 chainring on the front and a 10--42 on the back with 451mm wheels. And there's no hill I haven't been able to get up. And it is plenty fast on the 10 to 52. What people forget. Is having a bigger gear ratio at the top means little if you cannot get a good cadence. And I have experimented with a 56 tooth front chainring and actually went slower than the 52.
Wow, this is just what I've been looking for (you obviously have some kind of analytical background--good work). I have a 1 x 8 hybrid with a typical 11-34 cassette and a 38T chain ring on 27.5" wheels. I rarely use my 8th gear, but I do wish I had a little bit more gear climbing ability. So I bought a 36T chain ring hoping that will help (haven't tried it yet--waiting for the snow to melt :-). If a 36T ring is still inadequate, then I'll try a 34T one. However, I will never go back to a 2x or 3x configuration. Thanks again for your video.
many thanks for this! for me 1x set up if you are doing bikepacking, recreational rides which is enough...2x if you gravel race and definitely road cycling..
Thanks for geeking out and making this video. I found it very informative. I like the 1x systems for their simplicity. Also I go back to the many times that the chain was rubbing on the front derailleur and driving me nuts. Yeah, it was out of adjustment, but now no worries about that.
At least on a 2X you can tune your derailleur to get rid of the rub. What i do not like about my 1X is when my chain is on the top gear, a part of it rubs on the second highest gear because of the angle. Also the sound that the chain makes on the chainring when i am at the lowest gear which is again caused by the angle. Both indicate additional friction that could be avoided on a 2X setup if you choose your gears adequately.
Finally a mathmatical geometric on the gearing of 1 by vs 2 by. I just ordered my Sram 1 by and have been searching the internet for fear that I may be missing the smaller gaps in the larger gears, and thankfuly you address the answer. I'll be fine! Great job!
No-one want to talk about increased chain wear on the 1x system as you will ride with a much more angled chain pull when in the lighter(est) gears. And this adds noise too. Not a biggy, but worth a thought. Apart from that, for beginners and non-wrenchers, 1x will serve you well everywhere
Yup, I been a roadie for over 10 years. Just recently jumped to a gravel bike & hard tail MTB. Gear gaps are just insane, for a roadie...its taking time to get use to it
I run a 3x9 and all the gear gaps are super close. I also have a roadie with a 2x10. I wouldn’t mind a wide range 1x9 or 1x10 since I am constantly double or triple tapping my rear derailleur on road drivetrains. In a 1x operation is really simple and every gear is uniquely useful.
Thats right 9 SPEEDS RULE for me. Too much whining over gear jumps. SERIOUSLY your legs don't care. They only know is it too hard or not hard enough. 9,10,11,13,15,17,20,23,26 45 on the front. Absolute perfection. No hill I cannot climb. And I can break 25mph on the flat. And for a 20 inch wheel folder and a 59 year old rider. That's all I need.
If you plan to just ride gravel, 1x sounds adequate. If you plan to mix road and gravel riding, 2x is more versatile. Thanks for the number crunching, cemented my decision.
After I had my old mountainbike serviced, I noticed that while speeding up with the front on the smaller wheel, it didn't grab the chain and I almost died on a road, because I couldn't get my bike going. Ever since I used the big blade on the front and learnt to change only the back gear. Now I'm looking for a new bike and I want to buy a gravelbike as under the circumstances where I drive here in Thailand (rough and smooth roads, sand, and gravel on the road) I found a lot information about anything related to gravelbikes (and mountainbikes). And given the experience I had and your video, the choice is easy: I go for the 1x drivetrain. Last sunday I was in a shop which only had mountainbikes or racebikes, the seller was showing the 1x drivetrain bikes as the latest innovation. I thought it was ridiculous, but now I learnt that this is really what I want. Thanks for helping me decide!
Ok, you may have done the impossible: you made a video about gear ratios REALLY REALLY interesting! Besides all the diligence in getting your data together, you presented it all in a way that "us common weekend warriors" can understand and appreciate. I went 1X for my gravel, and while I went kinda cheap on the frame, the components are (for me) pretty snazzy with the SRAM Rival etap system. And while I thought wireless was probably wasted on a rider like me, I LOVE IT. Keep up the good work!
Fantastic video! Thank you so very much for all of that information. I have been wanting to make the shift into 1x for a while, this answered all my questions.
As someone who has/had 1x,2x and 3x both in MTB and road bikes, allow me to share my personal opinion on the matter: 1x is way cooler looking and offers a clean cockpit. But the range will be more "specialized" for lack of a better term; meaning you either choose high range for speed or low range for climbing, but not both in the same ride (depending on the size of the installed single chainring in the front) 2x and 3x might look a bit uglier yes, but in terms of functionality, range, as well as jumps between gears, there is no beating them! That's why my adventure machine (a Hardtail) is still a 3x10 to this day. I mostly only use 2 of the rings upfront , but just having the option to switch to the tiny third ring in the front has saved my ass many times where a hill is too steep. Meanwhile the largest chainring (40 tooth) allow me to go downhill to almost 55 Kmh before I start spinning out (I don't like spinning fast, more of a grinder, so my cadence is probably lower than average). In short. I don't like 1x as much as a 2x or a 3x, regardless of the kind of bike, even Mountainbikes, which is why I got rid of my 1x SRAM eagle XC bike and got a 2x instead.
I tried 1x, 3x and currently 2x. I really miss my 3x system. Worst was 1x system. The chains tend to drop more and had to tune more and shifting felt draggy.
To answer your questions at the end: Yes, yes and yes. Thank you! It was to the point and well put; seems like after all I really needed to see some plots to understand the whole gravel business.
One thing to add or ask (from comments I read from other folks elsewhere which made some sense) regarding the advantages of 2x system, on sudden steep sections 2x gives you that option of switching to larger ring instantly, whereas in 1x you have adjust gear by gear to reach the optimum cadence. Is this true? Does it actually come handy i.e. change down the chainring quickly with 2x?
In my experience, I never need to suddenly drop an entire chainring due to a sudden incline. I understand the argument, but a little bit of experience and you’ll know when to shift based on the upcoming ascent or descent. I definitely don’t think it’s the main reason for wanting to go 2x.
thanks for this, have a grx 1x11 set up and was contemplating to go 2x for the jumps, your mathematical prowess made me appreciate what i have, cheers and ride safe
Thank you! This makes me feel better about my 1x choice. Deore 1x 10 speed 11-46 cassette with 40t crank. I live in the Ozark Highlands about an hour NE of Bentonville, AR in Missouri. It’s quite hilly here!
This video helped me immensely but possibly in a way you didn't expect. I'm shopping for a new bike and trying to find the best fit for my riding profile which is about 85% or more on paved roads, often of poor quality, and the remainder on light dirt/gravel (aka "fire roads") in the woods. I'm also trying to find a one-bike solution which is leading me toward the more road oriented gravel bikes. In my research I've found that gearing selection is going to be a key decision point as I want better climbing range than a typical road group set may offer and I've accepted, at age 55, that it's getting more difficult to push the bike hard enough to maximize the potential of the higher gears. My current bike is an older Ultegra 10 speed with a 34/50 crank and the top few gears get used infrequently. I also tend to struggle on steeper climbs, hence my desire for better climbing gears. Now I'm faced with the decision of a 1x vs 2x as there seem to be more offerings in 1x for gravel bikes, not to mention that 2x comes with a price increase that can be significant. Your video essentially demonstrated that I really wouldn't be sacrificing much on the high end (gears I likely wouldn't use too often) and gaining exactly what I need in the climbing range. I now feel confident that a 1x is a viable solution and the difference in price for a 2x may allow me to jump to an electronic 1x group set and stay within my budget. Thanks for nerding out and helping me and I'm sure many others like me trying to find the ultimate one bike solution!
Great video! There are a few other points I'd throw into the mix. Firstly, 1x makes it easy to change your overall gearing, simply by swapping the chainring. Secondly, in the graphs of 2x great options, I'd ignore the 4 gears with the worst cross-chaining, making the number of unique gears even less. Thirdly, it's probably worth acknowledging that the extreme gears on a 1x have worse chainline than any sane 2x ratios, which might be a consideration. Fourthly, another pro for 1x is that the chain is much less likely to be unshipped. And finally (!) It would be interesting to see some of your graphs comparing more modern groupsets, like SRAM AXS Wide Vs Campag Ekar. You know you want to!!!
@@TheBikeSauce late to the party. great video. Agree with Richard. Be interesting to add the 1x ratios to you chart @ 8:45, and highlight the cross chain ratios on the 2x Richard describes. Great stuff!
I use my gravel bike as a gravel, touring, all-around bike. I have had the luxury of running Shimano Grx in 1X and 2X in a touring and every day situations from roads to gravel and fully loaded touring. I have also had the luxury of pushing the limits with goat links and the like. I'm two going on three years into trying this on bikes. I started with 1X and switched to 2X mostly thinking I was missing out on something. This I know. I like close gear ratios but I hate the maintenance and potential problems of 2X. I LOVE the simplicity of the 1X and really might prefer it due to the simplicity and the realization that you have what you have. The best of both worlds may be having a crank that can accept 1X AND 2X.
I prefer my setup with 2x GRX DI2 with a 48/31 crankset paired with a SRAM 11-36 cassette. I can climb any hill on a gravel ride or swap wheels or tires and go fast on a road group ride. Another neat trick with 2x DI2 GRX is the Synchro shift feature which will automatically shift the front derailleur when you shift the rear so it essentially acts like a 1x.
New sub here and going through your videos. The quality is incredible. I have to say, this is the most informative 1X vs. 2X video I've ever watched!. Everybody else seems to mention the jump in 1X gears, but not explain WHERE those jumps are. I had a 1X Salsa Cutthroat a couple years ago and was never bothered by the gearing. I also came of a mountain bike so that may be why as you mentioned. When I bought my Diverge, it was 2X and I did notice I was only using about half the gears so I decided to order my new bike with GRX 1X and this video confirms I probably won't notice the difference except by not having to deal with adjusting my front mech every now and again. Thank you!
Wow, thanks again for the great feedback! I’m starting to think I could probably get away with 1x for 90% of all scenarios. We shall see what I end up with next.. haha
Nice! There is something people forget to think about. Tarmac roads are designed for vehicle that will keep around 88mph so they spend a lot of money modifying the terrain to not have abrupt changes on the slope cause it could make the cars at 88mph to jump over the hills. Gravel roads are design to velocities close to 20mph, so you can save some money and allow fast changing in the slope. For road bikers, riding in automotive tarmac road, it means very small changing on the slope during a long ride, so small gaps are more important. For MTB rides, the changes in slope of the terrain are usually huge, so you frequently change 2 or 3 gear at the some time, so bigger step will not make much difference. For Gravel, if you stick only to gravel roads and singles tracks, the 1x MTB transmission steps is just fine. The 2x on a Gravel bike will make more sense when you are using the bike to travel, cause sometimes you will need small gaps to ride long tarmac roads and sometimes you will need the small chain ring to climb a single track.
This was one of the best videos Ive listened to discussing this topic. Got my GEEK fix and confirmed some of the stuff I was thinking as I decide which drivetrain to use on my first gravel bike. Thanks!!
Great analysis! So, it has more to do with gear total range rather than the gaps between the cogs. 2x grx has a wider range than 1x. So, if you need to climb hills and go fast at the same time, go 2x, if don’t, go 1x that is much simpler.
@@TheBikeSauce being a programmer myself, I felt shamed to not have done any computation on gear ratio during my research. I’m planning to build a gravel bike and will probably also use it for bikepacking. GRX 1 by only goes to 43kph at 90rpm so it’s gonna run out of gear for on road descent. Campy ekar looks to be the most versatile 1 by groupset among the big 3 brands. Honestly it all comes down to availability. We are not in a position of picking in the current situation with the shortage going on
It's worth remembering for people that live in lumpy countries like Scotland you are nearly always going up or down hills so it's nice having down hill gears and uphill gears and the fine gears are nice to have the most nice gear for a particular slope
u mentioned skewed chain line in reference to using for example the largest front and rear cog on a 2by. wouldnt you in general have more chain line skew on a 1by thereby potentially straining and reducing the lifespan of the chain on a 1by?
Great overview and breakdown. Answered my questions very well... many provide what they prefer and "feel" but never the actual facts to this detail. Keep it up - Subscribed!
this is a fantastic and well-presented video. great job! i ride road and gravel, probably more road and i absolutely do not like 2x. all of the your 'pros' for 1x were bang-on, but one thing you didn't mention was noise. i have spent way too much time fine-tuning FDs to eliminate chain noise and i just can't seem to ever get away from it. a properly-setup and lubricated 1x drivetrain is a silent and smooth system that from a purely tactile perspective, is enough for me to only use 1x. also, kudos for mentioning the overlapping gear ratios in 2x - to me, this is wasteful. ;) LOL. i love the GRX 810 components but i am now running a SRAM Rival AXS eTap 1x12 setup with a 42T chainring and a 10-44 XPLR cassette on my Aspero, and it has so much range. the only change i may make, as i get faster, is move up to a 44T chainring. i really notice the smaller spacing in the 12-speed cassette vs the 11-speed 10-42 i used to use with my GRX 810 stuff. it's perfect, for me.
Outstanding effort, research, and thoughtful/well-spoken delivery. I just ordered everything to convert the ole gravel machine to 1x11. Also, thanks for getting to the point and NOT making us fast-forward through 5 minutes of "what's up guys, bla-bla-bla, thoughtless nonsense.... pretty-please like and subscribe"
Ha! Good to know. I'm not good at the 'bla bla, smash that subscribe button lingo' anyways
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I recently switched from a Trekking/Touring bike with a 3x system, a 2x allowed me to do an easy tradition. Regarding the use of more of the gears in the 2x system: depending on the terrain that you drive on you can make more of the gears that you go on I think. I noticed when cycling in snow and mud that more finer gear ratios help me to cycle faster while still having easy control over my bike when a to high gear would be simple to much maintain speed in.
When figuring potential weight savings for a 1-by system you do need to consider the weight of the different cassettes. It seems possible some or all of the weight saved up front could be matched by more in those huge cassette cogs. But as you say, simplicity matters a lot. For an old (74) roadie like me (riding good road bikes for 45 years), small steps between gears and the ability to match my (high) cadence are important. But as I contemplate my next bike, an e-gravel bike, 1 -by will have to be the future. Your program made simple the sort of manual calculations we made years ago when designing our ratios. There were many fewer options then (this was even before mountain bikes). We are spoiled for choice now days! Love it, and love your channel. Cheers, Tom
Thanks, Tom! Coincidentally, I recently swapped my GRX 2x setup for a 1x setup. Weight savings was a total wash! You’re right, the heavier cassette completely cancelled the savings gained by removing components. An e-gravel bike ought to be loads of fun, and yes we certainly are spoiled by choice in 2021. Important to remember that the equipment is just a tool to facilitate the adventure! Thanks for watching!
This is next level stuff. But the next next level would be downloading your Strava gpx data and parsing your distribution of speeds and plotting that over your gear ratio plots. You'd want the area with the smallest ratio jumps to coincide with your most common speeds. Next next next level is parsing your power data and generating a bivariate distribution of speeds and power versus time to correlate to hear ratios. You'd have to preprocess to drop the zeroes, like when you're not pedaling and have zero power.
That was actually a sweet break down, thank you! I actually almost didn’t watch the video but you answered my question perfectly. I wanted perspective on 1x gap jumps. Some cassettes are more easily spaced from say 11-46 and some only have the big jumps at the end. New to biking since my teens and figuring out the best setup for my current options. I was thinking I’d prefer them evenly spaced and now i know I’d actually prefer all the big jumps with the bigger cogs due to how i remember riding long ago. Appreciate my man! Great vid!
LOL! "Did I totally geek out and write some Matlab code to sort out gear ratios for gravel bikes? Yes. Yes, I did." Bruce Wayne to Lucius Fox, when Fox opens the garage door to reveal 'The Bat:' "Oh, now you're just showing off!" *
Thank you, that was such a good explanation of both system's ratios. I am definitely in the roadie -> gravel camp and ultimately went with 2x simply because my do-it-all gravel machine does spend a good amount of time on asphalt. However, I'm less hesitant now to consider a 1x conversion for more dedicated gravel time or events. I'd be interested in that shifting discussion next. To run 2x, being comfortable with double-shifts is definitely a thing, though certainly made easier if one is fortunate enough to afford Di2 and run it in its automated mode.
Strong analysis. Thank you for helping me to sort this out. Up to this moment, I was a 2x person all the way (roadie background). Now I am totally open to 1x. Probably for me, the answer will be to go either the SRAM 1x12 AXS. And big budget people can get the Campagnolo Ekar 1x13), to help the spacing problem.
when I bought my first dropbar bike last year, i went for a 1by gravel bike. GRX with 40t in front and 11-42 in the back. this spring I got a new wheel set for road and now im mainly driving on tarmac. I watched your videos about converting the grx to fit a 11-46 cassette. the plan is to go with a 46t chainring a with the 11-46 cassette. then I have the same jumps as in my 11-42 cassette. only the last jump is bigger. but here in northern Germany its really flat so its only an emergency gear and should be fine. the 2t jumps are still to big sometimes but should be fine for now.
Nice analysis and presentation. Back in 2018, I considered a 1x bike but ended up getting the Diverge Sport with its 2x system. I had recently moved from a flat part of the country to terrain that had a lot of hills. Not being an experienced climber, I wasn’t comfortable giving up the wider range of gears or smaller incremental jumps the 2x offered. If most 1x designs are similar to the one you analyzed, I would have seen those larger increments on the hill climbing gears so I’m glad I didn’t go that route. Although now that I have a few years of experience climbing hill under my belt, I would still consider a 1x system in the future. Thanks for helping me understand more about them. Good video! Also, I just bought headset spacers for my Diverge from your shop. Thanks for the quick delivery, cool sticker and friendly note you included. The sticker will be perfect to cover up a ding on my paddle board.
I did it enjoy it! Appreciate the work you put in to plot the ratios. I would never have gotten that deep into it. Plus I can't code, so there's that too. But it was informative, so well done. Subscribed.
i tried already both and the main reasons to go for 2x are for me, that you kind of have a hybrid way of driving (you can go fast and do roadbike trips - mostly using the big ring; or go on MTB trails and mostly use the small ring. The second main reason for me ist, that i just dont like the chaincrossing noise and feel on a 1x. It doesnt feel good and it also seems (in my mind) to constantly wearing out my chain and the casette. And if im going uphill a really steep climb, having that feeling and noise in mind ist just not that comfortable for my driving "feel" - if you can say it like that (sorry for my english, i'm german ;D)
@@TheBikeSauce how efficient is the chainline of a 2X compared to a somewhat equivalent 1X? I saw one test from Velonews by CeramicSpeed which shows that a 2X system only has an average of 3 watt advantage over a 1X for a 250 watt input; the 1X had 12.24 watts of frictional loss while the 2X had 9.45 watts of frictional loss. Looking at percentages, the 1X has on average 29.5% more frictional losses than a 2X, but the absolute difference is just 3 watts for a 250 watt input. What i did not like about the test is that they tested drivetrains from 2 different brands instead of testing a 1X vs 2X from the same groupset of the same manufacturer. Plus the chain in their test is quite clean, i wish they also done a test using a "dirty" chain that has been used for a few km on gravel before being used in the test rig. It would be epic if you could perform some sort of test using an indoor trainer and a crank power meter as channel content.
@@Massproduce201 as per CeramicSpeed testing, 1X system has on average 29.5% more frictional losses than a 2X , but if you look at the absolute numbers it is a difference of 3 watts of frictional loss for an input of 250 watts.
Thanks for the video. I like your approach a lot. As you said, what really matters in gaps lies in high speed gears. Big jumps in low gears usually don’t matter. Still, I think that 1x system needs one more cog than 2x drivetrain for ‘bailout.’ Adding 50t to 11-42t and using 50t chainring would feel much like 50/34t + 11-34t. I really hope that Shimano comes with 12s for 1x. Furthermore, one more benefit of 1x you didn’t mention is, I think, the versatility in choosing chainrings. Of course, you can change chainrings in 2x but it is a lot of hassle to adjust a front derailleur every time, and choices are limited. If I am willing to change chains, I can go with 50t for a fast road riding and 34t for a stiff mountain climbing. Or you can delve into some good combinations of cassette and chainring that suits your riding capacity.
Thank you for geeking out on this one - very informative stuff and food for thought. I am a newbie and recently got a Diverge E5 Comp and I am really enjoying the GRX 1x, although I sometimes find myself shifting for that last elusive gear at higher speed, but its really not a problem 95 pct of the time. I love how calm, steady and solid it just feels.
@@TheBikeSauce Do you think upping the chainring to say a 46t would make sense? I live in a pretty flat area around Copenhagen, Denmark. Any caveats here that I should take into account? Guess I would need a longer chain too..
@@TheBikeSauce Thanks, yeah - i might give it some time and see how the 40 t works out first. I dont really wanna go lower on the low end, when I think about it:)
One last Q: In your experience, which tyre width is the best compromise for allround off-road and road riding? (say 40/60) Thanks again and sorry for any possible misspelling, Im Danish.
A year later, and the Campagnolo Ekar group set offers 13 cogs for a 1x system, which pretty much means you can have your cake and eat it too. Depending on which cassette you choose, you can effectively match both the range and the spacing between gears to that of a typical road bike with compact 2x cranks. Of course, you can instead choose to trade a wider spacing for increased range.
Thank you for the video. it was insightful and fun to watch with the editing. I just started to look at gravel bike (I don't really bike much so want to pick a more versatile bike option) and friend told me to go with 2x. I got an email yesterday from Costco that Intense is doing a Spring sale (ends 3/3/24 by the way) and the deal is really good. the 2x gravel bike sold out for size small so I got the 1x instead. I was worried if I make the right decision or not. After watching your video I have a feeling I will be just fine with 1x. Looking forward to put that bike together and find my way into the cycling world.
Thank you for your thoughts. I wonder if you can help clarify something for me. I plan to put together a gravel bike, and plan to ride it up and down very steep short hills on pavement (60% of my riding) and on dirt (fire roads and single tracks) (40% of my riding). I come from riding an old hybrid Schwinn Criss-Cross road bike with a 3x gearing system that was unnecessary. However, I did appreciate the small gaps at the lower end when riding up steep pavement hills. With respect to drivetrain, my considerations are as follows: 1. On the uphills on pavement it would be nice to be spinning the pedals quickly rather than struggling to pedal while going nowhere fast. 2. I'm pushing 50 years old and am not as limber and flexible as I once was, so comfort is key for me. 3. I'll be doing a lot of riding up pavement hills (and coasting down them) both alone and sometimes with my daughter. For the times with my daughter, she will be in a child seat on a rear rack. Me and my daughter will have a total weight of 235 lbs + weight of the titanium bike I plan to get (19-21 lbs). 4. I'm not as much interested in racing, so it won't be important for the gearing to accommodate pedaling that will both allow me to power the bike faster at already high speeds or let me modulate speed/cadence at the higher end. Also, the declines won't last long enough and be too curvy for me to have time to do anything other than coast. It sounds like from your video that 1x gearing does not allow for as many smaller incremental changes in the lower end of the speed range relative to the higher end of the speed range, which I will need most when carrying so many pounds uphill. I'm thinking that when going uphill, a 2x may be better since it will give me 1) more increments in gearing and therefore smaller steps between speeds at the lower end, as well as 2) having either a front chain ring and/or rear cassette that can accommodate the slower speeds i.e.,
Awesome video. I love the qualitative and quantitative comparisons. Is this a bike video with Matlab, or a Matlab video about bikes? I'm not sure but it's the video I never knew I always wanted! This is super helpful as I compare gravel bikes. Thanks man - keep it up!
I just got a bike with a 1x (Surly Ghost Grappler) and that was my main concern. It's my first 1x bike and I thought that would be some sacrifice. But what I found is the top gear goes faster than I can ever actually maintain unless I'm going downhill anyway. To me the only time that speed would matter is in a race, which I'm not doing. On the low end it can't go much lower anyway because that front chainring is pretty small. Maybe I could go a bit smaller, I'm not sure. I was also skeptical about shifting, as it seemed like it would have those problems you mentioned with e.g. using the large chainring on the large cogs. And I've had bikes that just plain (with age) don't shift reliably in the largest or smallest cogs. I don't know what magic allows that to work well but it does, at least so far. If it continues to work well I don't see any reason, for me, to ever use a 2x again. I love having fewer parts! But again I'm no racer.
May be a bad exapmle, but I had only department store bikes in my childhood and last one had that heavy and stupid 3x system, which never felt right - as I was smaller, I just couldn`t make it work, so ended up using middle ring. As I grew taller and heavier I clearly felt, that even the biggest ring on front is not enough for me. While my student years I didn`t really had a chance to ride or even to have a bike, but now I have my gravel 1x bike and I absolutely love it! I`m not riding in big groups to keep up with certain speed or top or bottom gears, so they are not effective - it`s just that good for me - no stupid front deraulier, no need to think about chain angle and in previous season not even once I had my chain dropped or rubbing. Oh, and mtb casette looks awesome as well)
Good Vid. I am building a Surly Midnight special with GRX Di2. I started as a 2x build. Bought GRX 600 2x crankset 46-30 as I wanted 165mm and 800 series shortest was 170mm. But before buying the front derailleur I decided I might try 1x . 42t Chainring was about $80 AUD and sunrace 11 40 cassette because black! Good news is 1x GRX chainring bolts directly to 2x Crankset using standard bolts. Beware bolts are super tight. I will try 1x and see how i go , my main concern is finding the right cadence at higher power on flat roads. This vid now informs me I may not need to worry. Will go back to 2x if I dont like the 1x. weight does not seem to be too dfferent as a 1x cassette is around 120g heavier than 11-32 and front deralieur is about 120g. Chainring weight is about 70g saved so 1x is maybe 70-100g lighter. Thanks for the good info
Nice! Great bike. I’ve been riding both GRX 1x and 2x recently and I can say I notice the 1x limitation mostly on steep climbs and cruising along up mild grades where sometimes it’s hard to find the right gear. I usually stop pedaling above 25mph so the upper limit isn’t too big an issue for me. Have fun with your build!
@@TheBikeSauce interesting to read this after watching your video. Doesn’t this go against everything you’ve highlighted in the video? I’m only curious as I’m currently trying to decide whether to go 1x or 2x. After watching the video I was going 1x but after reading your comment, I’m now so sure?
As a complete newbie to cycling this REALLY helped me understand the difference between the drive trains. I'm wanting to start off with an indoor smart trainer, and have been debating if I should get a road bike or gravel bike. The goal ideally would be to get a mtb down the line for the odd occasion I can actually get away for a weekend and explore some trails, BUT THEN I heard about grave bikes and seems like it be a good option. Thx for the great content
Campy Ekar 1x13 sp does a really good job of tight spacing where it matters most. I'm still stuck in on 11sp with an e*13 9-46 because there is no 12 sp cassette available that would tighten up the spacing where I like. My 11sp is almost perfect for gravel, but could use 1 or 2 more single tooth jumps for the fast gears. A 9-46 13sp cassette with single tooth jumps for the top 4-5 gears would be perfect for me. Ekar is getting close with the 10-44, but we're not quite there yet imo. Great video on a timeless topic!
You missed a few points. The longer derailleur cage especially on the largest range cassettes, will project down further, and therefore more in harms way for debris. Also the longer cage means adjustment for proper operation is more sensitive, and easier for the 1X system to fall out of adjustment or failure to be properly adjusted. Next there is greater wear on the single front cog, where wear can be spread on the 2X system, or potentially reduced due to potentially having better chainlines. Lastly if you damage the front chainring while riding on the 1X, you are going reliant on that chainring that may or may not have some functionality. While with the 2X setup, you are likely have a backup chainring built in. What you present if fine, but it neglects failure analysis, and on long and/or multiday rides, or remote areas, these considerations are extremely important.
You really went the extra mile here and it's appreciated. This has helped me loads to decide which way to go. Thanks
Glad it was helpful and thx for watching!
What did you go for?
this was by far the most clear explanation i've seen on the advantages/disadvantages between 1x and 2x. suuuuuuper helpful, thanks!
Just found your site and it’s great! I’m also an engineer so I really appreciate the details.
I did similar analysis on 1x a couple of years ago. I changed my 3 mountain bikes to 1x. Best move ever. My girlfriend is a novice rider and struggled with 2x. She was always cross chaining and confused, especially in the woods. Now that she’s on 1x, she’s significantly improved because she doesn’t think about shifting. I strongly recommend 1x for anyone new to mt biking because of the simplicity.
Keep the good videos coming!
Nice! Yea it’s way easier for newer riders not worrying about a front mech. Thanks for watching!
I recently decided to refurbish my old bike and think about modernizing the drivetrain.
I had my last bike 25 years ago so it's been a while and so much has changed since.
Nice to see this video. Saved me some time and an Excel spreadsheet;)
As Mr Quindazzi says the most important 1x problem is that you have to commit to a single chainring. If you go too extreme you will end up lacking. 34T will allow you to be almost in an MBT but you will not be able to race to much, and 46T might give you enough speed but you will have to be very strong to be able to climb a lot, even on a 10-36T cassette. The bottom line is that on gravel you might go 2x to have some "good for everything" bike or go 1x a commit a little more on what are you going to mostly do with your bike, road or climbs....
2x 46/30 with 11-36 is the most versatile budget friendly setup for gravel bike i can think of. gives less than 1:1 ratio and huge top end.
I use a 11-50 Sram casette with a 42T narrow-wide chainring. But there are 10-52 casettes for even more range. I don't think, range would really be a limiting factor on a 1x system.
@@peterkiss1204 Yeah, 10-52 (which I think is the max range right now) Gives you range but you still have to commit on the chainring. You either go for a roadish 46 or higher, or go MBTish for a 40 or lower. It looks that those 10-52 will give you everyhitng but there will be climbs too steep for a 52 (C) to 46(CR) or descending roads where your 10 - 36 will not be enough.
It´s important to make sure of what are you going to do the most and prepare for that, while making sure that you know what you are missing.
@@azathell As I see you really don't need anything too much below 1/1 gear ratio. It already is almost as easy as walking.
I rode a 48T chainring with a 9 speed 11-36 Shimano casette before changed to 12 speed. The 11/48 gear ratio was plenty enough for me, and would be probably for most cyclists. The only reason I changed to 42T is because the 12 speed system required a narrow-wide chainring, and I couldn't find a bigger one that fits my frame and crank set.
@@High_Octane what casette do you use?
2x all the way, i have 1x mtb, 1x fatbike, 2x road bike, and recently purchased 2x gravel bike, and I'm convinced in a good choice. 1x drivetrain isn't good enough on the tarmac, if the relief is flat and hills, you have to play or shift several cogs to be ok, but on the 2x you just switch from big chairing to the small, and thats all. Another big issu with 1x is the high speed on the tarmac, 40x11 isn't enough for moderate cadence
And of course, any cycliste must have some knowledge how 2x chainring works and how to adjust front derailleur, i mean trim position or fully engaged to avoid the chain and derailleur contact
Nowadays, you can only find one or two 2x bikes in model ranges; the majority are 1x
Just went back to a 2x system on my second mtb...first to address the chainline issues of the 1x system. Then the gear ratios. Good that I stayed with my 2x on my first mtb.
BEST description on the topic....and CLEARLY showed the side-by-side comparison and where the literal differences are. BRAVO!!!!!
Great video! I had this very debate when I was deciding which gravel bike to buy. I have increasingly favored 1x drivetrains on my bikes over the last few years. I find 1x stems better suited for off-road riding or casual street riding. The larger jumps are more noticeable and less desirable when you are going faster and trying to find that optimal cadence as you mentioned in your video. It looks like Shimano tried to eliminate that as much as possible and, like you, I am second guessing my decision to go 2x on my gravel bike.
I definitely should have studied gear ratios a bit more to better understand how my ride would have been impacted by the ratio gaps. My logic was oversimplified in that I decided that 1x11 would not yield appropriate ratio gaps and that I would need at least a 1x12 to achieve a more appropriate progression of ratios. Perhaps that is somewhat accurate, but after looking at how Shimano does it, I think I would have been just fine because regardless of whether you go 11-40, 11-42, or 11-46, all three have the same progression of 11-13-15-17-19-21-24.
Then, along comes Campy with their new Ekar 1x13 gravel groupset. Have you seen it? They offer 3 different cassette options:
9-10-11-12-13-14-16-18-20-23-27-31-36
9-10-11-12-13-14-16-18-21-25-30-36-42
10-11-12-13-14-15-17-19-22-26-32-39-44
Looks like they are taking what Shimano does to the next level with packing the top end of the cassette with very tightly spaced gears.
Had I gone with a 1x gravel bike, it more than likely would have been equipped with SRAM Apex 1:
11-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32-36-42
They start ramping up the progression one cog earlier than Shimano with a larger jump from 19-22.
My Specialized Diverge has a Shimano 11-34 configured as such:
11-13-15-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34
The 48T big ring on my bikes does have me favoring the 17-19-21-23-27 cogs most which are all 2 tooth ratio gaps. Had I gone 1x SRAM with a 42T ring, I would be favoring the 15-17-19-22-25 cogs. My ratios would be very close to the same with the 1x setup except for when I was on the 22 and 25 where the gaps spread just a tad. Not likely a big deal.
Sorry this is so long of a comment, but one last thing. After getting my Diverge, I ended up building a super budget gravel bike that I intend to actually ride on the local mountain bike trails. I have it setup with 650B x 47 tubeless tires and a 1x8, 38T ring with an 11-40 cassette. Those are some big jumps (11-13-16-20-24-28-34-40)! The little bit I have ridden it on trails does seem to validate my initial impression that 1x is better suited for slower riding. It is insanely fun and I can't wait to try it out with the recently installed dropper post!
Thanks for hopefully reading this and I look forward to more content like this if you decide to make it.
Hey man, excellent reply and observations! Thx for checking it out. Lot to unpack here, but basically, yes I’ve found that there’s more to it than just disregarding 1x bc the jumps will be presumed to large. On a side note, saw your 650B setup on the diverge. Something I want to explore soon! Looking forward unto your ride review on 650B.
just get a mtb please lol
@@High_Octane I have one of those, too.
Best gear ratio video ever. Change chain ring will jump a few gears, this can be annoying at times. Yes, experience with your bike will minimise the pause effect but still not as intuitive compared to 1 by - "not quite the gear I wanted, try the next one". For people new to cycling, this ease of use characteristic of 1 by is a bonus.
You did an amazing job of analyzing and providing an understandable description of the advantages between 1X vs 2X.
Thx for watching!
MTB person here and this video was hugely helpful for me as well. I was quite literally thinking about doing some Matlab coding myself to quantity the difference between 1x, 2x & 3x MTBs too so I'm glad I stumbled upon your video doing the exact same. Definitely worth geeking out to some gear ratios
Thanks
Thanks for the video and sharing your thought’s I went with 2x GRX 810 31/48 up front and XT 11/42 in the rear, for just about anywhere you want to go.
Started out on a 1x mountain bike and always felt like I didn't have enough top end speed. Went 2x (50/34) on my gravel bike with an 11-40 cassette and I finally found an almost perfect system for climbing up and sprinting on flats and descents.
50/34 is a tad to much for me. I am running a 48/32 with an 11-32.
What speed is your drive train?
I am so torn on trying a 1x or wether or not to replace my worn 2x9 with what I have. The cost will be pretty much the same but losing top and bottom gears scares me.
Depends on your needs. I have a Tern Verge X11. It has a 52 chainring on the front and a 10--42 on the back with 451mm wheels. And there's no hill I haven't been able to get up. And it is plenty fast on the 10 to 52. What people forget. Is having a bigger gear ratio at the top means little if you cannot get a good cadence. And I have experimented with a 56 tooth front chainring and actually went slower than the 52.
Best most useful discussion I've seen on this topic. You did the heavy lifting and then simplified the results for the rest of us. Thanks.
Nice, thx for the feedback!
Wow, this is just what I've been looking for (you obviously have some kind of analytical background--good work). I have a 1 x 8 hybrid with a typical 11-34 cassette and a 38T chain ring on 27.5" wheels. I rarely use my 8th gear, but I do wish I had a little bit more gear climbing ability. So I bought a 36T chain ring hoping that will help (haven't tried it yet--waiting for the snow to melt :-). If a 36T ring is still inadequate, then I'll try a 34T one. However, I will never go back to a 2x or 3x configuration. Thanks again for your video.
many thanks for this! for me 1x set up if you are doing bikepacking, recreational rides which is enough...2x if you gravel race and definitely road cycling..
Thanks for geeking out and making this video. I found it very informative. I like the 1x systems for their simplicity. Also I go back to the many times that the chain was rubbing on the front derailleur and driving me nuts. Yeah, it was out of adjustment, but now no worries about that.
At least on a 2X you can tune your derailleur to get rid of the rub.
What i do not like about my 1X is when my chain is on the top gear, a part of it rubs on the second highest gear because of the angle. Also the sound that the chain makes on the chainring when i am at the lowest gear which is again caused by the angle. Both indicate additional friction that could be avoided on a 2X setup if you choose your gears adequately.
Finally a mathmatical geometric on the gearing of 1 by vs 2 by. I just ordered my Sram 1 by and have been searching the internet for fear that I may be missing the smaller gaps in the larger gears, and thankfuly you address the answer. I'll be fine! Great job!
The punchline is at 11:30. SRAM 12 speed had bigger jumps at faster speeds. Campy ekar only has 1 tooth jumps at faster speeds
No-one want to talk about increased chain wear on the 1x system as you will ride with a much more angled chain pull when in the lighter(est) gears. And this adds noise too. Not a biggy, but worth a thought. Apart from that, for beginners and non-wrenchers, 1x will serve you well everywhere
Yup, I been a roadie for over 10 years. Just recently jumped to a gravel bike & hard tail MTB. Gear gaps are just insane, for a roadie...its taking time to get use to it
The gaps and extra cost of parts put me off.
I run a 3x9 and all the gear gaps are super close. I also have a roadie with a 2x10. I wouldn’t mind a wide range 1x9 or 1x10 since I am constantly double or triple tapping my rear derailleur on road drivetrains. In a 1x operation is really simple and every gear is uniquely useful.
Thats right 9 SPEEDS RULE for me. Too much whining over gear jumps. SERIOUSLY your legs don't care. They only know is it too hard or not hard enough.
9,10,11,13,15,17,20,23,26
45 on the front. Absolute perfection. No hill I cannot climb. And I can break 25mph on the flat. And for a 20 inch wheel folder and a 59 year old rider. That's all I need.
If you plan to just ride gravel, 1x sounds adequate. If you plan to mix road and gravel riding, 2x is more versatile. Thanks for the number crunching, cemented my decision.
@08:03 I learned much! No more anxiety. Thanks for sharing your brilliant insight with us.
After I had my old mountainbike serviced, I noticed that while speeding up with the front on the smaller wheel, it didn't grab the chain and I almost died on a road, because I couldn't get my bike going. Ever since I used the big blade on the front and learnt to change only the back gear. Now I'm looking for a new bike and I want to buy a gravelbike as under the circumstances where I drive here in Thailand (rough and smooth roads, sand, and gravel on the road) I found a lot information about anything related to gravelbikes (and mountainbikes). And given the experience I had and your video, the choice is easy: I go for the 1x drivetrain. Last sunday I was in a shop which only had mountainbikes or racebikes, the seller was showing the 1x drivetrain bikes as the latest innovation. I thought it was ridiculous, but now I learnt that this is really what I want. Thanks for helping me decide!
Wow, this is by far the best explanation I've found. Your video makes me a lot more confident about a 1x system.
Right on!
yo, this video deserves millions of views. great job and easy to follow. thank you!
Fantastic video! With this data I am now confident to go for 1x on my first gravel bike. Thank you very much!
Ok, you may have done the impossible: you made a video about gear ratios REALLY REALLY interesting! Besides all the diligence in getting your data together, you presented it all in a way that "us common weekend warriors" can understand and appreciate. I went 1X for my gravel, and while I went kinda cheap on the frame, the components are (for me) pretty snazzy with the SRAM Rival etap system. And while I thought wireless was probably wasted on a rider like me, I LOVE IT. Keep up the good work!
Fantastic video! Thank you so very much for all of that information. I have been wanting to make the shift into 1x for a while, this answered all my questions.
Dude you geeked out big time and in doing so just helped me reach an answer thank you
As someone who has/had 1x,2x and 3x both in MTB and road bikes, allow me to share my personal opinion on the matter:
1x is way cooler looking and offers a clean cockpit. But the range will be more "specialized" for lack of a better term; meaning you either choose high range for speed or low range for climbing, but not both in the same ride (depending on the size of the installed single chainring in the front)
2x and 3x might look a bit uglier yes, but in terms of functionality, range, as well as jumps between gears, there is no beating them!
That's why my adventure machine (a Hardtail) is still a 3x10 to this day. I mostly only use 2 of the rings upfront , but just having the option to switch to the tiny third ring in the front has saved my ass many times where a hill is too steep. Meanwhile the largest chainring (40 tooth) allow me to go downhill to almost 55 Kmh before I start spinning out (I don't like spinning fast, more of a grinder, so my cadence is probably lower than average).
In short. I don't like 1x as much as a 2x or a 3x, regardless of the kind of bike, even Mountainbikes, which is why I got rid of my 1x SRAM eagle XC bike and got a 2x instead.
Thanks for the thoughtful, well-articulated input!
I don’t know yet if I’ll go 1x on a new gravel bike, but I sure enjoyed your videos on the subject:)
I tried 1x, 3x and currently 2x. I really miss my 3x system. Worst was 1x system. The chains tend to drop more and had to tune more and shifting felt draggy.
Your explanation is so enlightening, once you see the picture and you'll get it!
This was super helpful. I almost skipped a smoking deal on a used gravel bike because it's 1x but this video explained to me that I'll be fine.
To answer your questions at the end: Yes, yes and yes. Thank you! It was to the point and well put; seems like after all I really needed to see some plots to understand the whole gravel business.
One thing to add or ask (from comments I read from other folks elsewhere which made some sense) regarding the advantages of 2x system, on sudden steep sections 2x gives you that option of switching to larger ring instantly, whereas in 1x you have adjust gear by gear to reach the optimum cadence. Is this true? Does it actually come handy i.e. change down the chainring quickly with 2x?
In my experience, I never need to suddenly drop an entire chainring due to a sudden incline. I understand the argument, but a little bit of experience and you’ll know when to shift based on the upcoming ascent or descent. I definitely don’t think it’s the main reason for wanting to go 2x.
@@TheBikeSauce thank you very much understood
thanks for this, have a grx 1x11 set up and was contemplating to go 2x for the jumps, your mathematical prowess made me appreciate what i have, cheers and ride safe
"mathematical prowess" 😆 Glad to have saved you some money!
The bigger jumps are only in the large cogs. The numbers are there for us to see, but it's great for someone to explain it.
Most underrated bike channel on youtube
Much too kind. Thanks!
Without a doubt! The production quality and content is great. I can't wait to watch his future videos.
@@nomap2161 Super kind. Thanks for the motivation!
Can’t agree with the comments above more. Watch all your videos multiple times - they’re ridiculously informative/helpful.
Thanks! And double thanks for placing the very first order in my shop. Let me know if it doesn’t go smoothly.
the best video i’ve ever found. finally someone explained quantitively! thanks from nerdy searcher of a bike!))
Thank you! This makes me feel better about my 1x choice. Deore 1x 10 speed 11-46 cassette with 40t crank. I live in the Ozark Highlands about an hour NE of Bentonville, AR in Missouri. It’s quite hilly here!
Superb visual discussion of 2x overlap. You didn't miss anything.
This video helped me immensely but possibly in a way you didn't expect. I'm shopping for a new bike and trying to find the best fit for my riding profile which is about 85% or more on paved roads, often of poor quality, and the remainder on light dirt/gravel (aka "fire roads") in the woods. I'm also trying to find a one-bike solution which is leading me toward the more road oriented gravel bikes. In my research I've found that gearing selection is going to be a key decision point as I want better climbing range than a typical road group set may offer and I've accepted, at age 55, that it's getting more difficult to push the bike hard enough to maximize the potential of the higher gears. My current bike is an older Ultegra 10 speed with a 34/50 crank and the top few gears get used infrequently. I also tend to struggle on steeper climbs, hence my desire for better climbing gears. Now I'm faced with the decision of a 1x vs 2x as there seem to be more offerings in 1x for gravel bikes, not to mention that 2x comes with a price increase that can be significant. Your video essentially demonstrated that I really wouldn't be sacrificing much on the high end (gears I likely wouldn't use too often) and gaining exactly what I need in the climbing range. I now feel confident that a 1x is a viable solution and the difference in price for a 2x may allow me to jump to an electronic 1x group set and stay within my budget. Thanks for nerding out and helping me and I'm sure many others like me trying to find the ultimate one bike solution!
The most informative video I found in YT about gear ratios and 1x & 2x comparison. I have decided to go with 1x12 system for my MTB. Thank you!
Nice! Glad it was helpful
This is probably my favorite video of yours. I love it!!!!!!
Great video! There are a few other points I'd throw into the mix. Firstly, 1x makes it easy to change your overall gearing, simply by swapping the chainring. Secondly, in the graphs of 2x great options, I'd ignore the 4 gears with the worst cross-chaining, making the number of unique gears even less. Thirdly, it's probably worth acknowledging that the extreme gears on a 1x have worse chainline than any sane 2x ratios, which might be a consideration. Fourthly, another pro for 1x is that the chain is much less likely to be unshipped. And finally (!) It would be interesting to see some of your graphs comparing more modern groupsets, like SRAM AXS Wide Vs Campag Ekar. You know you want to!!!
Great insights! I agree with everything you mentioned, including another video (or series) on other drivetrains. Will put it on the to-do!
@@TheBikeSauce late to the party. great video. Agree with Richard. Be interesting to add the 1x ratios to you chart @ 8:45, and highlight the cross chain ratios on the 2x Richard describes. Great stuff!
You continue to amaze me with your great content. I really enjoy your content and style.
I use my gravel bike as a gravel, touring, all-around bike. I have had the luxury of running Shimano Grx in 1X and 2X in a touring and every day situations from roads to gravel and fully loaded touring. I have also had the luxury of pushing the limits with goat links and the like. I'm two going on three years into trying this on bikes. I started with 1X and switched to 2X mostly thinking I was missing out on something. This I know. I like close gear ratios but I hate the maintenance and potential problems of 2X. I LOVE the simplicity of the 1X and really might prefer it due to the simplicity and the realization that you have what you have. The best of both worlds may be having a crank that can accept 1X AND 2X.
And here I am using a 3x9 drivetrain for more gear ratios on my 26' Converted Gravel bike
Geek away brother. Very helpful, even in 2022.
I prefer my setup with 2x GRX DI2 with a 48/31 crankset paired with a SRAM 11-36 cassette. I can climb any hill on a gravel ride or swap wheels or tires and go fast on a road group ride. Another neat trick with 2x DI2 GRX is the Synchro shift feature which will automatically shift the front derailleur when you shift the rear so it essentially acts like a 1x.
Baller. I haven’t made the jump to electronic shifting. Not sure I ever will, but who knows.
New sub here and going through your videos. The quality is incredible. I have to say, this is the most informative 1X vs. 2X video I've ever watched!. Everybody else seems to mention the jump in 1X gears, but not explain WHERE those jumps are. I had a 1X Salsa Cutthroat a couple years ago and was never bothered by the gearing. I also came of a mountain bike so that may be why as you mentioned. When I bought my Diverge, it was 2X and I did notice I was only using about half the gears so I decided to order my new bike with GRX 1X and this video confirms I probably won't notice the difference except by not having to deal with adjusting my front mech every now and again. Thank you!
Wow, thanks again for the great feedback! I’m starting to think I could probably get away with 1x for 90% of all scenarios. We shall see what I end up with next.. haha
Nice! There is something people forget to think about.
Tarmac roads are designed for vehicle that will keep around 88mph so they spend a lot of money modifying the terrain to not have abrupt changes on the slope cause it could make the cars at 88mph to jump over the hills.
Gravel roads are design to velocities close to 20mph, so you can save some money and allow fast changing in the slope.
For road bikers, riding in automotive tarmac road, it means very small changing on the slope during a long ride, so small gaps are more important.
For MTB rides, the changes in slope of the terrain are usually huge, so you frequently change 2 or 3 gear at the some time, so bigger step will not make much difference.
For Gravel, if you stick only to gravel roads and singles tracks, the 1x MTB transmission steps is just fine.
The 2x on a Gravel bike will make more sense when you are using the bike to travel, cause sometimes you will need small gaps to ride long tarmac roads and sometimes you will need the small chain ring to climb a single track.
This was one of the best videos Ive listened to discussing this topic. Got my GEEK fix and confirmed some of the stuff I was thinking as I decide which drivetrain to use on my first gravel bike. Thanks!!
Thanks for watching; I know it was a long one!
9:45 unless you are using electronic shifting… then you can use both chainrings as you shift up and down
Great video, thanks! Thinking about next gravel bike and will now seriously consider 1x.
Great analysis! So, it has more to do with gear total range rather than the gaps between the cogs. 2x grx has a wider range than 1x. So, if you need to climb hills and go fast at the same time, go 2x, if don’t, go 1x that is much simpler.
This video is fantastic. Very informative and helpful for decision making on which system to go with. Kudos to you
Thanks!
@@TheBikeSauce being a programmer myself, I felt shamed to not have done any computation on gear ratio during my research. I’m planning to build a gravel bike and will probably also use it for bikepacking. GRX 1 by only goes to 43kph at 90rpm so it’s gonna run out of gear for on road descent. Campy ekar looks to be the most versatile 1 by groupset among the big 3 brands. Honestly it all comes down to availability. We are not in a position of picking in the current situation with the shortage going on
It's worth remembering for people that live in lumpy countries like Scotland you are nearly always going up or down hills so it's nice having down hill gears and uphill gears and the fine gears are nice to have the most nice gear for a particular slope
u mentioned skewed chain line in reference to using for example the largest front and rear cog on a 2by. wouldnt you in general have more chain line skew on a 1by thereby potentially straining and reducing the lifespan of the chain on a 1by?
Chain is more skewed on 2x big-big, but still gets pretty bad on a 1x
Great overview and breakdown. Answered my questions very well... many provide what they prefer and "feel" but never the actual facts to this detail. Keep it up - Subscribed!
Thanks David!
That was a very clear and informative explanation. Many thanks!
AWESOME Gear Ratios lecture =P
this is a fantastic and well-presented video. great job!
i ride road and gravel, probably more road and i absolutely do not like 2x. all of the your 'pros' for 1x were bang-on, but one thing you didn't mention was noise. i have spent way too much time fine-tuning FDs to eliminate chain noise and i just can't seem to ever get away from it. a properly-setup and lubricated 1x drivetrain is a silent and smooth system that from a purely tactile perspective, is enough for me to only use 1x.
also, kudos for mentioning the overlapping gear ratios in 2x - to me, this is wasteful. ;) LOL.
i love the GRX 810 components but i am now running a SRAM Rival AXS eTap 1x12 setup with a 42T chainring and a 10-44 XPLR cassette on my Aspero, and it has so much range. the only change i may make, as i get faster, is move up to a 44T chainring. i really notice the smaller spacing in the 12-speed cassette vs the 11-speed 10-42 i used to use with my GRX 810 stuff. it's perfect, for me.
The first time I've seen matlab be used outside of college. This is awesome
Outstanding effort, research, and thoughtful/well-spoken delivery. I just ordered everything to convert the ole gravel machine to 1x11.
Also, thanks for getting to the point and NOT making us fast-forward through 5 minutes of "what's up guys, bla-bla-bla, thoughtless nonsense.... pretty-please like and subscribe"
Ha! Good to know. I'm not good at the 'bla bla, smash that subscribe button lingo' anyways
I recently switched from a Trekking/Touring bike with a 3x system, a 2x allowed me to do an easy tradition. Regarding the use of more of the gears in the 2x system: depending on the terrain that you drive on you can make more of the gears that you go on I think. I noticed when cycling in snow and mud that more finer gear ratios help me to cycle faster while still having easy control over my bike when a to high gear would be simple to much maintain speed in.
Yup, total geek out but thankyou! LOTS of effort. Much appreciated.
Ha, thanks! Gotta incorporate the bike nerdery
When figuring potential weight savings for a 1-by system you do need to consider the weight of the different cassettes. It seems possible some or all of the weight saved up front could be matched by more in those huge cassette cogs. But as you say, simplicity matters a lot. For an old (74) roadie like me (riding good road bikes for 45 years), small steps between gears and the ability to match my (high) cadence are important. But as I contemplate my next bike, an e-gravel bike, 1 -by will have to be the future.
Your program made simple the sort of manual calculations we made years ago when designing our ratios. There were many fewer options then (this was even before mountain bikes). We are spoiled for choice now days! Love it, and love your channel.
Cheers,
Tom
Thanks, Tom! Coincidentally, I recently swapped my GRX 2x setup for a 1x setup. Weight savings was a total wash! You’re right, the heavier cassette completely cancelled the savings gained by removing components.
An e-gravel bike ought to be loads of fun, and yes we certainly are spoiled by choice in 2021. Important to remember that the equipment is just a tool to facilitate the adventure!
Thanks for watching!
Yes, I was with you to the end. Does that make me a geek too?
I enjoyed the mathematical explanation.
Yes, I believe that makes you a bike geek 😆
This is next level stuff. But the next next level would be downloading your Strava gpx data and parsing your distribution of speeds and plotting that over your gear ratio plots. You'd want the area with the smallest ratio jumps to coincide with your most common speeds.
Next next next level is parsing your power data and generating a bivariate distribution of speeds and power versus time to correlate to hear ratios. You'd have to preprocess to drop the zeroes, like when you're not pedaling and have zero power.
That was actually a sweet break down, thank you! I actually almost didn’t watch the video but you answered my question perfectly. I wanted perspective on 1x gap jumps. Some cassettes are more easily spaced from say 11-46 and some only have the big jumps at the end. New to biking since my teens and figuring out the best setup for my current options. I was thinking I’d prefer them evenly spaced and now i know I’d actually prefer all the big jumps with the bigger cogs due to how i remember riding long ago. Appreciate my man! Great vid!
LOL! "Did I totally geek out and write some Matlab code to sort out gear ratios for gravel bikes? Yes. Yes, I did."
Bruce Wayne to Lucius Fox, when Fox opens the garage door to reveal 'The Bat:' "Oh, now you're just showing off!"
*
Thank you, that was such a good explanation of both system's ratios. I am definitely in the roadie -> gravel camp and ultimately went with 2x simply because my do-it-all gravel machine does spend a good amount of time on asphalt. However, I'm less hesitant now to consider a 1x conversion for more dedicated gravel time or events. I'd be interested in that shifting discussion next. To run 2x, being comfortable with double-shifts is definitely a thing, though certainly made easier if one is fortunate enough to afford Di2 and run it in its automated mode.
Ah yes, Di2.. the dream 😆
Strong analysis. Thank you for helping me to sort this out. Up to this moment, I was a 2x person all the way (roadie background). Now I am totally open to 1x. Probably for me, the answer will be to go either the SRAM 1x12 AXS. And big budget people can get the Campagnolo Ekar 1x13), to help the spacing problem.
Nice! All comes down to being informed and choosing what makes sense for the individual
when I bought my first dropbar bike last year, i went for a 1by gravel bike. GRX with 40t in front and 11-42 in the back. this spring I got a new wheel set for road and now im mainly driving on tarmac. I watched your videos about converting the grx to fit a 11-46 cassette. the plan is to go with a 46t chainring a with the 11-46 cassette. then I have the same jumps as in my 11-42 cassette. only the last jump is bigger. but here in northern Germany its really flat so its only an emergency gear and should be fine. the 2t jumps are still to big sometimes but should be fine for now.
Nice analysis and presentation.
Back in 2018, I considered a 1x bike but ended up getting the Diverge Sport with its 2x system. I had recently moved from a flat part of the country to terrain that had a lot of hills. Not being an experienced climber, I wasn’t comfortable giving up the wider range of gears or smaller incremental jumps the 2x offered. If most 1x designs are similar to the one you analyzed, I would have seen those larger increments on the hill climbing gears so I’m glad I didn’t go that route. Although now that I have a few years of experience climbing hill under my belt, I would still consider a 1x system in the future. Thanks for helping me understand more about them. Good video!
Also, I just bought headset spacers for my Diverge from your shop. Thanks for the quick delivery, cool sticker and friendly note you included. The sticker will be perfect to cover up a ding on my paddle board.
Yes! Thanks for the feedback and your support!
I did it enjoy it! Appreciate the work you put in to plot the ratios. I would never have gotten that deep into it. Plus I can't code, so there's that too. But it was informative, so well done. Subscribed.
Thx for checking it out. This is a fairly old video at this point. Still love to nerd out once in a while
Good work, exactly what I was looking for. I'm going 2x!
I like the explanation, clear and covers the details in the right sequence. Appreciate the effort put into this script
Thanks for nerding out with us!
Best presentation I've seen on this topic. The graphs were really helpful. Thanks very much and subscribed!
Thanks!
i tried already both and the main reasons to go for 2x are for me, that you kind of have a hybrid way of driving (you can go fast and do roadbike trips - mostly using the big ring; or go on MTB trails and mostly use the small ring. The second main reason for me ist, that i just dont like the chaincrossing noise and feel on a 1x. It doesnt feel good and it also seems (in my mind) to constantly wearing out my chain and the casette. And if im going uphill a really steep climb, having that feeling and noise in mind ist just not that comfortable for my driving "feel" - if you can say it like that (sorry for my english, i'm german ;D)
Totally understand that sense of always mildly cross chaining on 1x; I feel that on my mtb. I like the driving analogy! And your English is great!
Chainline is king!
This is the correct answer 2x is king
@@TheBikeSauce how efficient is the chainline of a 2X compared to a somewhat equivalent 1X? I saw one test from Velonews by CeramicSpeed which shows that a 2X system only has an average of 3 watt advantage over a 1X for a 250 watt input; the 1X had 12.24 watts of frictional loss while the 2X had 9.45 watts of frictional loss.
Looking at percentages, the 1X has on average 29.5% more frictional losses than a 2X, but the absolute difference is just 3 watts for a 250 watt input.
What i did not like about the test is that they tested drivetrains from 2 different brands instead of testing a 1X vs 2X from the same groupset of the same manufacturer. Plus the chain in their test is quite clean, i wish they also done a test using a "dirty" chain that has been used for a few km on gravel before being used in the test rig.
It would be epic if you could perform some sort of test using an indoor trainer and a crank power meter as channel content.
@@Massproduce201 as per CeramicSpeed testing, 1X system has on average 29.5% more frictional losses than a 2X , but if you look at the absolute numbers it is a difference of 3 watts of frictional loss for an input of 250 watts.
Thanks for the video. I like your approach a lot. As you said, what really matters in gaps lies in high speed gears. Big jumps in low gears usually don’t matter. Still, I think that 1x system needs one more cog than 2x drivetrain for ‘bailout.’ Adding 50t to 11-42t and using 50t chainring would feel much like 50/34t + 11-34t. I really hope that Shimano comes with 12s for 1x.
Furthermore, one more benefit of 1x you didn’t mention is, I think, the versatility in choosing chainrings. Of course, you can change chainrings in 2x but it is a lot of hassle to adjust a front derailleur every time, and choices are limited. If I am willing to change chains, I can go with 50t for a fast road riding and 34t for a stiff mountain climbing. Or you can delve into some good combinations of cassette and chainring that suits your riding capacity.
Agreed! Simplicity in swapping chainrings is a big plus.
Thank you for geeking out on this one - very informative stuff and food for thought. I am a newbie and recently got a Diverge E5 Comp and I am really enjoying the GRX 1x, although I sometimes find myself shifting for that last elusive gear at higher speed, but its really not a problem 95 pct of the time. I love how calm, steady and solid it just feels.
Ha, thanks for geeking out with us!
@@TheBikeSauce Do you think upping the chainring to say a 46t would make sense? I live in a pretty flat area around Copenhagen, Denmark. Any caveats here that I should take into account? Guess I would need a longer chain too..
If you have the leg power and wouldn’t miss the low end, then sure. Maybe a longer chain, but not definitely.
@@TheBikeSauce Thanks, yeah - i might give it some time and see how the 40 t works out first. I dont really wanna go lower on the low end, when I think about it:)
One last Q: In your experience, which tyre width is the best compromise for allround off-road and road riding? (say 40/60) Thanks again and sorry for any possible misspelling, Im Danish.
I won't give up my dropper post. Integrating into the left lever is clean. I'm not trying to win races, so it was an easy choice for me.
this is the best informative video on this topic i have ever come across.
Excellent work.
Thanks!
A year later, and the Campagnolo Ekar group set offers 13 cogs for a 1x system, which pretty much means you can have your cake and eat it too. Depending on which cassette you choose, you can effectively match both the range and the spacing between gears to that of a typical road bike with compact 2x cranks. Of course, you can instead choose to trade a wider spacing for increased range.
Thank you for the video. it was insightful and fun to watch with the editing. I just started to look at gravel bike (I don't really bike much so want to pick a more versatile bike option) and friend told me to go with 2x.
I got an email yesterday from Costco that Intense is doing a Spring sale (ends 3/3/24 by the way) and the deal is really good. the 2x gravel bike sold out for size small so I got the 1x instead. I was worried if I make the right decision or not. After watching your video I have a feeling I will be just fine with 1x.
Looking forward to put that bike together and find my way into the cycling world.
Thanks man. This helped tremendously.
Thank you for your thoughts. I wonder if you can help clarify something for me.
I plan to put together a gravel bike, and plan to ride it up and down very steep short hills on pavement (60% of my riding) and on dirt (fire roads and single tracks) (40% of my riding). I come from riding an old hybrid Schwinn Criss-Cross road bike with a 3x gearing system that was unnecessary. However, I did appreciate the small gaps at the lower end when riding up steep pavement hills.
With respect to drivetrain, my considerations are as follows:
1. On the uphills on pavement it would be nice to be spinning the pedals quickly rather than struggling to pedal while going nowhere fast.
2. I'm pushing 50 years old and am not as limber and flexible as I once was, so comfort is key for me.
3. I'll be doing a lot of riding up pavement hills (and coasting down them) both alone and sometimes with my daughter. For the times with my daughter, she will be in a child seat on a rear rack. Me and my daughter will have a total weight of 235 lbs + weight of the titanium bike I plan to get (19-21 lbs).
4. I'm not as much interested in racing, so it won't be important for the gearing to accommodate pedaling that will both allow me to power the bike faster at already high speeds or let me modulate speed/cadence at the higher end. Also, the declines won't last long enough and be too curvy for me to have time to do anything other than coast.
It sounds like from your video that 1x gearing does not allow for as many smaller incremental changes in the lower end of the speed range relative to the higher end of the speed range, which I will need most when carrying so many pounds uphill.
I'm thinking that when going uphill, a 2x may be better since it will give me 1) more increments in gearing and therefore smaller steps between speeds at the lower end, as well as 2) having either a front chain ring and/or rear cassette that can accommodate the slower speeds i.e.,
Awesome video. I love the qualitative and quantitative comparisons. Is this a bike video with Matlab, or a Matlab video about bikes? I'm not sure but it's the video I never knew I always wanted!
This is super helpful as I compare gravel bikes. Thanks man - keep it up!
Ha! Thanks. Good to hear you’re gravel bike shopping.
I just got a bike with a 1x (Surly Ghost Grappler) and that was my main concern. It's my first 1x bike and I thought that would be some sacrifice. But what I found is the top gear goes faster than I can ever actually maintain unless I'm going downhill anyway. To me the only time that speed would matter is in a race, which I'm not doing. On the low end it can't go much lower anyway because that front chainring is pretty small. Maybe I could go a bit smaller, I'm not sure.
I was also skeptical about shifting, as it seemed like it would have those problems you mentioned with e.g. using the large chainring on the large cogs. And I've had bikes that just plain (with age) don't shift reliably in the largest or smallest cogs. I don't know what magic allows that to work well but it does, at least so far. If it continues to work well I don't see any reason, for me, to ever use a 2x again. I love having fewer parts! But again I'm no racer.
May be a bad exapmle, but I had only department store bikes in my childhood and last one had that heavy and stupid 3x system, which never felt right - as I was smaller, I just couldn`t make it work, so ended up using middle ring. As I grew taller and heavier I clearly felt, that even the biggest ring on front is not enough for me. While my student years I didn`t really had a chance to ride or even to have a bike, but now I have my gravel 1x bike and I absolutely love it! I`m not riding in big groups to keep up with certain speed or top or bottom gears, so they are not effective - it`s just that good for me - no stupid front deraulier, no need to think about chain angle and in previous season not even once I had my chain dropped or rubbing. Oh, and mtb casette looks awesome as well)
Oh my! This is really goooood stuff! Thank you for bringing quantitative insight of the ratios and you deliver it in such a simple way. Awesome!
Thx for watching!
Beautiful analysis 👏
Good Vid. I am building a Surly Midnight special with GRX Di2. I started as a 2x build. Bought GRX 600 2x crankset 46-30 as I wanted 165mm and 800 series shortest was 170mm.
But before buying the front derailleur I decided I might try 1x . 42t Chainring was about $80 AUD and sunrace 11 40 cassette because black! Good news is 1x GRX chainring bolts directly to 2x Crankset using standard bolts. Beware bolts are super tight. I will try 1x and see how i go , my main concern is finding the right cadence at higher power on flat roads. This vid now informs me I may not need to worry. Will go back to 2x if I dont like the 1x. weight does not seem to be too dfferent as a 1x cassette is around 120g heavier than 11-32 and front deralieur is about 120g. Chainring weight is about 70g saved so 1x is maybe 70-100g lighter. Thanks for the good info
Nice! Great bike. I’ve been riding both GRX 1x and 2x recently and I can say I notice the 1x limitation mostly on steep climbs and cruising along up mild grades where sometimes it’s hard to find the right gear. I usually stop pedaling above 25mph so the upper limit isn’t too big an issue for me. Have fun with your build!
@@TheBikeSauce interesting to read this after watching your video. Doesn’t this go against everything you’ve highlighted in the video? I’m only curious as I’m currently trying to decide whether to go 1x or 2x. After watching the video I was going 1x but after reading your comment, I’m now so sure?
As a complete newbie to cycling this REALLY helped me understand the difference between the drive trains. I'm wanting to start off with an indoor smart trainer, and have been debating if I should get a road bike or gravel bike. The goal ideally would be to get a mtb down the line for the odd occasion I can actually get away for a weekend and explore some trails, BUT THEN I heard about grave bikes and seems like it be a good option. Thx for the great content
What do you prefer?
Campy Ekar 1x13 sp does a really good job of tight spacing where it matters most.
I'm still stuck in on 11sp with an e*13 9-46 because there is no 12 sp cassette available that would tighten up the spacing where I like. My 11sp is almost perfect for gravel, but could use 1 or 2 more single tooth jumps for the fast gears. A 9-46 13sp cassette with single tooth jumps for the top 4-5 gears would be perfect for me. Ekar is getting close with the 10-44, but we're not quite there yet imo.
Great video on a timeless topic!
Great work man. Thanks, that really helped me with my decision.
You missed a few points. The longer derailleur cage especially on the largest range cassettes, will project down further, and therefore more in harms way for debris. Also the longer cage means adjustment for proper operation is more sensitive, and easier for the 1X system to fall out of adjustment or failure to be properly adjusted. Next there is greater wear on the single front cog, where wear can be spread on the 2X system, or potentially reduced due to potentially having better chainlines. Lastly if you damage the front chainring while riding on the 1X, you are going reliant on that chainring that may or may not have some functionality. While with the 2X setup, you are likely have a backup chainring built in. What you present if fine, but it neglects failure analysis, and on long and/or multiday rides, or remote areas, these considerations are extremely important.
for some
@@TheBikeSauce which is exactly my point, but was not addressed.