I rode 1x on my MTB for years and like it. Then I got into road about 10 years ago with 2x. Now I have gravel bikes with 1x and 2x. 2x is much better. With 1x I have to choose range or cadence gaps which is annoying, especially in group rides.
I have a hybrid trek FX 2 disc. It had a 46/30. I changed it to a biopace 50/40 took the 30 tooth off. I was finding that I was constantly shifting gears to maintain a steady cadence. I hardly ever use the 30 because it is tooo low. However, with 50/40 , 53/36 53/42 ,42/32 combo on other bikes that seems to work better for me. I said all that to say 2X for me. In the case of the 46 /30 it's more of a 1 plus 😊 and you'll spin out quicker 😡
It took you a while to land on the setup I've been riding on my Crux for a few years now 😉 Ok, Rival instead of Red, but otherwise that's it. I'm running a 44t chainring and the 10-44 cassette, and I haven't ever wished for more on either end. In fact, I rarely use 44x10 and I've only used 44x44 once.. only to find out that my bikeshop forgot to configure the limit screws on the rear mech, and dropping the chain... which was also the only chain drop I've _ever_ had on XPLR. Lesson learned: set up your bikes yourself.. 😉 The gaps in between the gears I use the most (thanks SRAM for offering up long-term data) are nearly identical to the setup on my road bikes. Further up the cassette it gets a little worse, but it's nothing that will drive me nuts. The 2x11 setup I have on my endurance road bike offers tighter spacing which makes it easier to find the right gear when climbing, but the XPLR setup just gives you less to think about.. like when to pull the front shift 😉 I specifically chose to go 2x on my endurance road bike to have that option (mechanical GRX 2x11, 48/31 x 11-34), but if I could only have one drop bar bike, I'd keep my Crux with 2 wheel sets.
@@drdumbo9124 5000 miles on a Shimano 2x gravel bike, plenty of washboard and even mtb single-track miles, without a single dropped chain. Not saying this applies to everyone on every 2x setup, but at the same time, I think this proves that it's possible to not have an issue while running a 2x system.
yes sir see above...I do crazy stuff on my cross bike. I do not drop chains. For you guys dropping chains...maybe keep those drive-trains clean, learn how to set limit screws. If for some reason the limit screws are backing out, thus changing limits, just do a little dab of rector seal, or any thread compound that does not cure hard.
I personally love the new 1x set up from the gravel XPLR. For 98% of people complaining about differences they probably wouldn’t actually notice anything if on the bikes. I’m a fan of the “keep it simple stupid” approach on gravel.
Of course the weight difference between 2x & 1x also needs to factor in the 176g weight increase in the cassette (10-44 XPLR v 10-36 Force) and that weight sits in the rear wheel instead of spread across the bike (front mech & chainring). I love the 105 Di2 setup on my Diverge, but then I’m mostly road with 32c Conti 4S tyres. I guess that’s the luxury we have these days, so much (maybe too much) choice! Your input on these subjects is well balanced and honest. Great work, just keep em coming.
Yeah, I agree with this, all the 2x vs 1x reviews I've seen always seem to forget that the rear cassette is much heavier to get low gearing with 1x. Not sure the weight is much different between 1x and 2x groupsets when this is taken into account.
Just purchased a Diverge STR and my average speed is 13.5 mph. I’m not sure if it’s the 1x or I’m not a strong enough rider yet. My neighbor has a Crux and average speed is 18-24 with a 2x. My ride is more comfortable with the rear future shock, but I’m also slower on pavement .
I want smooth gear changes on a slope and 1x does not have it. They cost roughly the same when you actually buy it. If a front mech works, it works. It is really hard to drop the chain on a tuned Shimano setup unless you put stupidly amount of load when shifting. A small chainring in the front is simply a more elegant engineering practice than putting a massive cassette on the rear wheel.
62 years of age, riding/racing since late 80s...(Thanks Greg L.) Rd bike - Ultegra 2x, CX bike -105 2x with 33 mm tires, mtn bike XT 2x. I run my front derailleurs about 3mm above big ring, with chain about 0.75 mm from the derailleur with crank under torgue, when in highest gear. Same with little ring, in lowest gear. I never drop chains. Just do the math, more and better spaced gear ratios.
I went SRAM Wide (43/30 x 10-36). Has more or less the same top end as 44 x 10-42 (especially since I spin), allows for more tire clearance than 46/33 (or similar not wide 2x), and has more climbing gears than the 44 x 10-42. I don't drop chains since I set it up right (has clutch derailer) as long as I don't shift under lots of load. All the gears I need for anything since I am old and cranky and no longer care if I can pedal down a mountain > 60kph. It's literally just 1/2 a gear less bottom range then mullet builds but no giant gaps, so I can climb anything on it.
I ride a Checkpoint SL 6 and it came with a 1x Rival group including the 10-44t cassette. As you mentioned, I updated the chainring to a 44t and I love it's performance on gravel and road. It definitely takes some time to adapt to the jumps while shifting through the cassette. However, that is a minor sacrifice to be able to enjoy the wonderful simplicity of the 1x configuration.
Hidden factor no has mentioned: Bigger tires effectivily alter your gearing. 700c 30mm to 47mm adds a whole gear inch on the ground regardless of actually gearing in the transmission. The result, bigger tires, make for harder gearing up steep climbs if left equal. The solution, drop front chainring size when running bigger tires.
I am biased: as I rode MTB for decades, front derailleurs meant nothing but trouble. Dropped chains, chain suck... . So, when Sram introduced one-by that was wonderful. To me , on gravel XPLR is perfect. I don't really ride pure road, so ideal cadence in group rides are no concern.
I bought an Aspero to serve as a multi surface bike, I have the stock DT Swiss wheels, a set of Ultregra wheels with 30mm road tires and my next purchase is 650b with a wider tire. This build led me to also go with GRX 2x and I have had no issues with gearing, dropped chains etc…. So far it lives up to the multi purpose plan I had. I also have a couple of mtn bikes and a few road bikes so I pick a bike based on the ride…. But more and more, I’m leading to the gravel bike with this build. Can’t wait to try the 650b’s.
My gravel bike has 1x... and I wish I had made it a 2x for one simple reason. Like a suburban Mom in a G5, my gravel bike spends 95% of the time on the road. It's also my winter bike, my rain bike, etc., and it's just a lot of up and down the back cog, plus, it maxes out around 35 mph, and I hit 40+ fairly often.
That is the exact reason for me to stick with 2X, on all my bikes, even a mountain bike. Guess I just got used to always having the perfect gear available.
@@rennradriese5770 Ultegra 12 speed with wolftooth goatlink. I also tried the goatlink 11 and the roadlink dm, but the goatlink gave me the best results on my config (aethos). I optimized the fine tuning to focus on gears from 11 to 44. Unfortunately I cannot use consistently the smallest 10-tooth cog. But that is a tradeoff I am glad to make because the next bigger cog is a 11 on the SRAM XPLR 10-44 cassette.
@@raphaelgernez6680 Thanks for the details :) Did not know about this option! Seems that there is not yet an official product for 12 speed. But good to know you could set it up this way
This 2x system seems excessive on both ends. A 50x10?? This is the same as a 55x11 on a "normal" Shimano drivetrain. Who needs a 55x11 on a gravel bike? A 34x44?? Same again. Anyone who can push a 55x11 doesn't need a 34x44 and vice versa
Nicely said. I waffled on this, opting for a safer choice for me - Ultegra 2x 12 speed groupset with road and gravel wheel sets that allowed me to tune the rear cassette size for each. Though I ride the LS 70% road 30% gravel with 30 vs 38mm tires I think the front derailleur clearance issue is an important one for me and also is a limiting "factor". What puts me off 1x for a do-it-all bike is the very real possibility of needing to swap front chain-ring on occasion which feels a bit wrong. Regarding dropping chains, never been an issue but I do have a catcher there to protect the frame in case.
I have SRAM Wide 2x 43-30 and a 10-36 on my Crux which gets used for heavy off road and as winter road bike. It has such a wide range it can do everything; you look at the gear table and it’s lower than a 42 x 44 and only slightly less high than a 44 x10. Spacing perfect, and with new sram force d2 have never had a chain drop. Lots of tyre clearance with wide too. The bike is my do it all, so this is a perfect set up. Just added blips too and this was a brilliant addition.
Hot Take: XPLR 10-44 with the SRAM Aero chainring (48T or 50T) is ideal for a TT/Tri bike on a hilly course. You spend a majority of the time in the middle of the cassette (good chain line) but have the climbing gears and a 50/10 when needed.
@@Dontsayyouwill87 Depends what percentage of the time you would spend on the extreme ends of the cassette. For my terrain, I am in the 10 (over 30mph) or the 44 (12-15% + gradient) very rarely so it is a nonissue for me.
I would say it is a stretch. You need to find specific scenario for the system to perform similar to much older and cheaper 2x groupsets. Basically, 1x is an expensive downgrade.
For gravel, 42t oval and 10-50 cassette. For road, 48t oval and 10-50 cassette. For my MTBs, 34-36t ovals and 10-52 cassettes. Never have chain drops or running out of gears here in Michigan.
My Pinarello Grevil came with Rival 1X 42t chainring 10-44 cassette AXS. I do a lot of climbing steep dirt hills here in Southern California fyi. I decided to try a 40t chainring and that helped. But still climbing I always wanted one more gear. Flash forward I changed rear derailleur to Eagle GX, and went with a Garbaruk 10-52 cassette with a 42t chainring. Have to say it is amazing! But the XPLR drivetrain was phenomenal as well, just needed some lower gears! God bless!
I’m a gravel racer - SRAM 1 x all day every day. Red shifters, Red Aero 50T chainring/Red Quarq crank, Eagle XX1 rear derailleur, Eagle XX1 rainbow cassette and chain. Gorgeous and bomb-proof. And every year we’re running wider tires simply because they’re usually faster.
My ideal is the Full Mullet. 10-52 out back. 40 or 42 Oval up front. The 10-52 AXS Eagle and Eagle T-type Cassettes are 2 gear jumps between the first 5 gears, then 3 gear jumps for the next 2 gears. That's tight enough spacing for me to find a good enough cadence, and nearly the same jumps as an XPLR on the faster end of the cassette. I'm not fast enough and/or confident enough to need anything more than 10 out back and 42 oval upfront. If I'm exploring remote places, carrying gear, bikepacking/touring, or other ultra endurance style ride, you bet I'm going to want more than 1-to-1 on the low end for climbing. AXS makes it "easy" to mullet. If you want the added benefit of SRAM "Transmission", then it can be trickier to find a gravel frame with UDH.
I have had both 2x and 1x for gravel. By far, the 1x wins for me. Had Shimano GRX 2x on one bike and the chain drops and shifting issues on rough terrain were a real headache. Not to mention when it was nasty out on the trails, going from ring to ring was awful and it was Di2. The Sram 1x is awesome in all conditions. I have a 42, 44 and 46 chainring with the 44 cassette on back and I run the 46 ring the most, by far. The SRAM is super quiet and the shifts are great and not one chain drop. And, lastly, I am a huge Shimano fan, but I have to give props to SRAM on this one. I am actually building another gravel bike and that will be 1x as well.
@@Boss-dr2zk definitely not constantly going out of adjustment, springs and cables being subject to fatigue and corrosion, poor performance under load, being complicated and time-consuming to set up, or usually being impossible to build as “mullet” systems.
Thanks ! After using both 1x and 2x I believe the MOST important factor is gear spacing (which is why i'm unsatisfied with offering such as 11-34 shim 12speed or 10-36 rival cassette btw). Alas Sram XPLR has only one 1 tooth spacing (10 and 11) and most of the fast end of the cassette has 2 teeth gap (13-15-17 etc), exactly where you miss the right gear. The only real offering to combine 1x and correct gear spacing would be 13 speed Ekar, but it's mechanical, has another specific driver body...
100% agree but I come from a criterium background, grew up with 12-13-14-15-16-17-18 corncob gear cluster... even after all these years, that still looks best to me.
I've ridden both 1x (Campy Ekar) and 2x (GRX Di2) and, technical shifting issues aside, Ekar drove me nuts in that I never felt like I was at the right cadence. I had the 40T 10-44 setup. I actually just got an Aspero-5 that I'm configuring with my 2x GRX Di2 and that serves as double duty for 60% roads, 40% gravel. That said, I think for a future bike (potentially titanium) when I'm older and care less about being/going fast, I think a SRAM transmission with the 10-52 and maybe a 44T Force crank would be perfect. 2x GRX Di2 also works great for me now since I still do a lot of climbing (I'm in the Front Range). I'm not pro/against either - they both have their uses. It just comes down to what you want to do with your bike. But yeah, 1x in my mind def looks "cleaner." 😁
All excellent points. However I'm 50/50 pavement and dirt roads and I REALLY appreciate all the range and being able to fine tune my cadence with closer gear spacing. If I was gavel only it would be a different story. And yea, 1x does look better. Same way that fixies are so beautiful.... the noticeably cleaner, leaner look.
Switched from 2X to 1X on my gravel a year or so ago and can say that I don’t miss the 2X. In fact, I’m glad I don’t have it. Chain drop happened occasionally, but I found that that all the extra shifting on the front was a massive waste of time and lost energy on my gravel bike. I don’t recall what my bike shop put on the rear to expand the range of my gears and, principally, assist with hill climbing, but the change works, both on roads and, especially, on trail. I’m sticking with 2X for my road bike, but 1X on my gravel, same as with my mountain bike.
1by is for specialized usage. If you can pin down your terrain to either steep or not, you might be happy enough. Go outside that range and you will be annoyed and forced to change chain rings or cassettes or both. For wide range and fine gears I'd rather drop a chain once in a while than the whole chain ring. And if you really want a do-it-all solution, you will need to hack yourself a 2by mullet system, with a wide range cassette like 10-40 in the back and 43/30 up front or something like that.
I ride a Masi Giramondo with a front triple and love it. In the over 6k miles, I’ve never dropped a chain and have made 0 adjustments on it. I also run 48c tires with room to spare.
About simplicity: what drivetrain could be simpler than a friction 2x8 with a subcompact chainring and a Microshift Acolyte cassette while providing similar range and steps?
Of my 6 bikes. 3 of them gravel, i love my 42t 10-50 the most. It is a sram rival axs, love it ❤️ crankset is an Old Shimano 105 from the 10 speed era. Wolf tooth narrow wide chainring has totaly secured the chainring against chaindrop.
I have been riding the XPLR group with 48T, 10-44 for road and gravel, and absolutely been loving it. I'll change the chain ring to a 44 or 46 if need be. But it seems to be doing everything I need and want, and does it really well.
I have a Crux with Force XPLR group. For gravel, it's great. I would blow my brains out if I had to ride road with that group though. Shimano 2x groups don't drop chains except in the most extreme situations. Been riding them for years and never had a chain drop unless I basically crashed or hit a hole so big I broke a wheel.
My Checkpoint I originally setup with 46 upfront, XO1 RD, and a 10-52 on the back. Started reviewing my shifting, and it was very apparent that I rarely used anything over the 36 to my local area, and when I rode the road miles, as I was experimenting with the one bike to rule them all, I found I hated the 16-18-21 jumps. For my area, I preferred the tighter jumps of the 10-44 cassette, but when I went to an area with more climbing, the 10-52 was excellent, so I have both the XPLR setup for my home base riding and when needed, put the mullet back on, and become a billy goat. The beauty of the AXS system is it takes about 10 mins to swap it out. I have an additional wheel for my 10-52, so I don't have to spend time dealing with the cassette swaps. Just replace the RD, Chain, and put the other wheel in, and I am off.
My bike came with SRAM Force 1 groupset; 42T chainring & 11-42 cassette. Now runs SRAM Force 1 shifter & rear mech but with a 44T Hope chainring & 11-46 SLX cassette. More range both at the top & bottom. Run with 50c tyres. Gaps in the range I don't care about, I ain't racing. Bike used 50/50 on/off road with usual rides having a ratio of 1 mile : 100 ft elevation with plenty of steep stuff as live in Scotland.
1x is great for many people, but not for everybody. In my case, I'm 64 and I have a great Salsa Las Cruces gravel bike that I don't wish to replace, so I don't really want to toss out my existing Force setup and pay for a 1x setup - and I have no plans to replace this bike in the future. More importantly, I'm not nearly as strong as I used to be, so I do need lower than a 1:1 ratio to make it up the tough hills and such. Right now I have a 43/30 chainset and an 11-34 cassette to give me about a 0.88 low gear. So far, this is working for me, but TBH I would love to go even lower. I don't think I could do that very comfortably with a 1x setup. Several of the (older) folks that I ride with have tried going 1x but didn't like it. Again, if you have the strength of youth (age < 50), then 1x might be a worthwhile option.
I know you are also a dedicated roadie, where 2x makes sense. What do you think about 44t Chainring explorer with slicks on your crux for the road? No racing, at most spirited group rides. I currently have an s works Crux with a 40t chain ring, considering upsizing to 44 and just swapping wheel sets as needed. Really enjoy your content. Thanks.
If you go 1 x , the consequence of that is a weighty dinner plate cassette, and maybe chainline issues (for me). I have 1x on my MTB, but gravel and road are 3x9 and 2x11 respectively - for me. On a 1 x drivetrain riding trails, I tend to spend the most time in the middle of the cassette. I can spin up most climbs with a 34T chainring, and a max 42 or 46T cassette. 50T - I will just be over-revving and losing forward momentum, IMO. Chain drops are easily eliminated by using something like a oneup chain guide for MTB, and a chain catcher - eg: K-edge. Never dropped a chain again.
Great video. My Crux came with the 1x XPLR set up and it’s ok, in that it’s ok off road and ok on road here in the UK where I live. I’ve since converted it to run a 44t chainring upfront (instead of the 40t) and a 10-50 cassette (instead of the default 10-44t), having switched the rear mech out for a SRAM XX1. For me, this is a much better set up, giving me more top end speed and plenty of gearing for steep climbs.
My bike came with 1x red xplr w a 40t chainring. The 40 is too small and I will probably settle at a 44 which is still 1:1. The ability to swap chainrings without having to remove cranks or anything means I can do it for any given event in a couple minutes. It looks cleaner, I’ve never dropped a chain yet, and it’s lighter.
I can swap both chainrings on my 2 X 10 Ultegra 5 arm crank with standard rings in minutes without removing the crank. Only the ugly sculpted type chainrings stop this being possible. As for being lighter, your 1x dinner plate cassette probably weighs the same amount extra over a standard cassette to account for the front derailleur weight so no saving there. I use a chain catcher and hardly ever drop chain on changes (once in 12,000km ) plus get the best chainline I can by never using big - big or small - small combinations. 1x promotes cross chaining as a virtue while citing 2x disadvantages as extreme chainlines due to 2 rings, forgetting that 2 rings allow the avoidance of bad chain lines ! Plus top end gearing and bottom end gearing are independent and not inextricably linked by compromise of 1x chainring. Best case of Emperor's New Clothes that I know of. Even the looks point is moot given that dinnerplate on the back end.
Compared to 11-32 it is still a hefty chunk of metal circa 400g unless you pay £170ish for a lightweight version so weight or cost is a price to pay for 1x to omit front mech.@@mikewikstrom3416
@@neilparnell5712 even the cheap stuff 11-50 dinner plates arent that much heavier, its just about about 100 grams because the bigger rings are made of aluminum, 2x is better, but never lighter.
I have had 2x for ever on road bike Now running 1x Sram axes GRX and for me no difference in performance 1x Much easier to maintain,use, never drop the chain A bit more noisier on gear change other than that advances out weigh the disadvantages
I really love the 1x Xplr setup my Crux Expert comes with. Never felt like I've needed more gears for gravel and this is perfect for climbs. I only run out of gears on road but that's with downhill sections exceeding 45mph. Overall it's a great 1 bike setup for me since I can travel without worrying about gravel sections that pop by suprise up when I'm doing road.
Good video. Simplicity for me is most important. I've had a 1X on my road bike for the last 7 years? Whenever the SRAM Force One came out. I planning the build for my next bike (A Mason Bokeh) and I want to go full mechanical. No more hydraulics, no electronic shifting. That really only leaves me one choice, the Microshift Sword. I'll admit I'm not in love with only 10 gears and the lowest being an 11 tooth instead of a 9, but I'll just have to put a 42-44 tooth on the front and man up on the steep climbs.
I get that a lot of people drink the 1x kool aid, but for me I’m looking for low gears like my mountain bike to climb long steep fire roads with a heavy load and high gears like my road bike for fast canyon descents, without the jumps in between being too jarring. 1x just can’t deliver that.
Weal as I grow older my ego gets a little bit smaller. I remember the days trying to shave off as many grams as possible. fast as possible to train the hardest as possible now I still do a little bit of that stuff and now I sit back and enjoy the view
I would say 1x11/12 for gravel. Also with all the dirt etc, consider a waved chain. Im going that way on everything due to it being so much cleaner and I like the process.
I’ve been a 1x convert for years. I’m not that fast or strong so I lean towards the lowest gearing I can get. If I spin out on a downhill, I spin out that that’s it. Ekar 10-44 is my preferred cassette, though, with a 34t chainring.
I have 2x12 600 series GRX shifters and a 1x 10-51 cassette but I can swap out the rear derailleur cage and the chainring to a 2x12. Fairly easy swap and didn’t cost me too much extra money. With that being said I mostly use the 1x. I find the slightly larger gaps are nice on a lot of the rolling hills around me as there is less shifting overall. Plus I just hate shifting with my left hand haha
Fully agree, I bought a cervelo áspero with rival axs with 1by rival xplr just because it was on sale even though I wanted a 2by. I'm a convert, I don't miss 2by at all and I do mostly road riding with it.
I have an 2014 3x MTB, 2021 1 x Mtb and 2 x gravel bike and still ride all (most miles on the gravel bike). I'd never have a 1 x gravel, don't like the gear gaps, gear range limitations (am a spinner so use them) are a factor but I also find chain deflection at the extremes of the 1x cassette grates. I much prefer riding the correct ring of a 2 x for extreme high and low gearing. Riding the old 3 x I sometimes think have dropped a chain when it has just gone onto the smallest ring. The gear range is so wide!
I’ve run 2x most of the over 50 years I’ve been riding. I’ve been using 1x for the last 3 years. Unless you have a steady diet of racing and fast group rides, gear spacing is highly overrated. The simplicity and aesthetics of a 1x system is much better. I’ll never go back. I use my titanium gravel bike for road and gravel with a set of wheels for each. I have all the gearing I need and no front derailleur to mess with!😊
You are obviously very satisfied with what 1x has to offer and that is brilliant. I think 1x is great for people who don't gel with FD's or who don't need the flexibility. I am not anti 1x, but I don't like the way some camps are pushing 1x with the risk of limiting choice and availability - that's all. For me there is a need for 2x that I can't avoid even if I want to as I ride in ''The Peak District ''where all the climbs tend to be very changeable in gradients and mainly pretty steep and the bigger jumps are between the lowest gears which is exactly where I don't want them so it's 2x for me. Plus the aesthetics conversely don't work for me, I prefer the smaller cassette and the ''Big Dog'' up front. I think both systems can and should co-exist happily as there is clearly a need for both. We both clearly have exactly what we need and that is how it should be. Long live 1x and 2x, don't lose the choice.
The tire clearance is only a problem with SRAM AXS, on Shimano and on mechanical is less of an issue.... Also GRX offers a 48/31 that is a big deal on gravel :)
I got my Diverge 1 x a couple years ago, as I rode out to do some familiar hills I was happy at the fact that it was faster on the roads, flats and rolling gravel roads compared to my slightly dated by still fast Epic mountain bike. No real surprises there. Now my Specialized Epic mountain bike was the last model to have 2 x, back 2011 when it was thought by some that people racing would want 2x Doing some familiar hill repeats on my 1x Diverge I was surprised that I was slower, compared to my 2x Epic, what was going on? The steepish hill had many semi flats before ramping up each time and I realized that the closer gearing on my 2x Epic allowed me to change gears much more often to get better speed before the next ramp. The more limited 1x especially in the hill climbing gears was too spaced apart. Now I get the simplicity of the 1x, but sure do miss the range and closer gearing. Given the limitations of the 2x with tire clearance (thanks sram), I am going to stick with what I have. Quite a few people have talked about dropped chains on 2 x. In defense of 2x its normally it’s your own fault, you don’t change down to the smaller ring earlier enough when going up a hill. Smooth peddling while gently changing gears back up could normally get the chain back on with cable gearing. I don’t know if that trick can so easily be used with double chainrings with electronic.
Love the Asthetics and simplicity ofna 1X. Can't stand the front chain ring rub no matter how I tune the front derailleur it alway come back eventually Just discovered that a 44T was the sweet spot for me, and I paired with a Ztto 9-42. cassette works for me on gravel. On the road, the 48T in the front and 10-36 works for me on the road. I have 2 sets of wheels, and I don't mind swapping out chain rings since it's easy to do.
On any drop bar bike I am a 2x fan for life. I want all the range, optimal chain line, and small jumps between gears. My 46/30 crankset with 11-40 cassette allow me to go anywhere. Since I am meticulous about bike setup and shifting, the simplicity benefits of 1x are lost on me, and is only beneficial imo on mountain bikes and CX race bikes
I’ve just put Rival axs xplr on my Revolt. I kept my 40t front chain ring paired with the 10/44 on the back and spun out at 22mph. Terrible for road sections and down hill so I bought a 44t front ring and it went front one extreme to another. I barely used 12th gear and using 12th on the road going down hill, I would probably spin out at 40+ mph. I’ve gone for a 42t now and it’s the sweet spot for gravel and road. If I were to ride only gravel, 40t and if I were to ride only road, 44t.
Yep, I have 1x explorer on my crux. Just bought a 42T front and I have 10-44 rear so I will have the same setup as David Arthur 😊 glad I didn’t switch to 2x , especially off road 🎉
Yep. Ditch it! And yes 1x looks better by far . . . especially if installing a Garbaruk or Absolute Black chainring or Crank Arm and ring set by Ingrid. I run Red Xplr on my road bike an OPEN MIN.D. and never find myself wishing I had a 2x set-up. In fact my frame dosen't even allow for one.
nice perspective.. as ya' depends on the conditions and terrain. I'm riding smoother grav and pave and cadence is king..so i'm sticking 2x grx set. YmmV as they say ! :- )
The weight part isnt correct since the bigger chain rings you need on a 1x actuallly compensate for that. Just a small correction, else good points made. I run a 2x12 GRX and even though there is a lot of riding i stilll have to do, I often think its overkill.
Love 1x, converted my road bike to 1x. Cadence wasn't really that important to me, then again I ride my road bike on smooth gravel. Found that 2x is also harder to clean, especially mucky chainrings when I ride in the rain.
Same here, I find the 1x gearing easier for me to push. I am really not strong enough to push the 50 ring that comes on most road bikes without cross chaining.
I agree. The only guys who need a double chain ring are those that can average speeds above 35kmph over a 50km ride with at least a 1% elevation gain imo
Or anyone that doesnt want to expend loads of money on overpriced 1x cassetes that dont last, and a new hub for those inefficient smaller cogs. They are going all wrong about 1x, they should be making rear derailleurs than could easily deal with a big 46-50ish chainring and a big cassete with 13+ speeds that isnt being overpriced like its made of diamonds, the price they ask for 400 grams of aluminium carved into rings is fucking ridiculous.
Really appreciate the work you are doing with the channel! Your insight is helping me decide between the Kaius and Crux. I currently own a Van Dessel Arch 65 roadie with 105 Di2 and a Revolt Advanced Pro with a SRAM Red/Eagle mullet. I just relocated to Reno, NV and find myself barely taking the roadie out due to the mixed terrain and pitchy climbs. Really just want to run one drop bar bike and two wheelsets. I'd opt for the Crux straight away because of the raised BB for CX/crits but am attracted to the aero design of the Kaius. I've seen reports that the Kaius can barely clear 44's and frame rub is a concern. I'd say my training rides are 50/50 tarmac and gravel and mostly gravel race with the occasional Nor Cal crit or road race on the calendar. Would you run XPLR over an Eagle mullet and if so, what chainring(s) would you consider?
Glad you found it helpful! I’d run XPLR over Eagle if you’re 50-50 road-gravel. The gear spacing with Eagle is a little rough on the road. I wouldn’t go smaller than 44t up front.
For gravel racing, I think 1x is a no-brainer, considering that 46x10 (high gear) is almost the same as 53x11 and 46x44 (low gear) is lower than 39x30.
As much as I appreciate the simplicity and weight savings, unfortunately, the XPLR groupset does not have enough range for me as I use the bike on mixed roads and gravel. 40T has enough for climbs but suffers on flat and downhill and 42-44T for me is not enough for big long hills. It's like a forced compromise that can be solved with a 2X setup. I do hate that essentially 1/4 of the gears in a 2X setup are just overlap or unusable and front derailleurs are fiddly.
Hey Chris, thoughts on the new Roubaix as the do it all bike over the Crux? I'm planning to follow your build and convert my Crux to a 2x 48/35 and 10-36, but the shop mentioned the Roubaix as a similar option
Nice one! I think the future will be 13x 1 electric. This will probably be the best of both scenarios and not require constant adjustments like the campag system
I dream of this bike Sworks version to replace my Tarmac sl8 Pro and my Diverge Expert. X2 Sram Force D2 chainrings, 2 pairs of wheels. the Rapides for the road and the c38 for Gravel. 1 bike to do it all!
On 1x systems it's way too often that I feel like I'm slightly off from where I'd like to be and the 2x stuff usually has those gaps filled. I think it really depends on what you are riding.
@outdoorbros_ I went to 1X on all of my bikes years ago it was best decision I have ever made. I run a 44F and 9/50 rear to keep that top end. Then, I am just changing my front ring. And, your shifting / gearing choice will go away once you change to a 9-X cassette. I found SRAM even gear cassette choices did not fit my pedaling cadence. Once I changed to e-thirteen cassettes my gearing/cadence fell back into place.
srampagnolo (11x sram shifter with 13s ratio technologies ratchet) 34x9-42 ekar is the perfect gravel setup, mountain gearing on one side of the cassette and 1t steps from 30km/h on onwards is where its at.
ive had to get strong asf on my 1x. felt sluggishand super slow at times. I really only needed to change my tire combo. 2.6 front and 1.7 in back to, 1.95 for front and back. My speed has gone up, I dont even need an 11 to 42 since i dont even use the 42 gear. am gonna get 11x40 shimano xt
For road and gravel, definitely a 2x but for mountain and my type of riding, i prefer single speed since i only ride downhill. There's no need to 12speed, IMHO 10 speed is good enough for any type of riding and single speed for downhill
I built up my crux with apex axs xplr with a 42t up front. its great for winter road duty and gravel. ive been tempted to push a 44t for that extra speed, maybe a 46t, but i really only need it on descents, but for a greater majority of my riding (moderate short/ punchy climbs) 42t w/ 10-44 is perfect.
Had the same situation with the front mech eTap battery limiting my tire clearance. Removed it and changed my tire from a 44 to a 50c/2". Game-changer (for me). The MS pain in my hands makes rough stuff a bit more annoying, bigger tires makes for a supple setup.
On newest gravel, adventure gravel/ bigger tires rough terrain gravel focused bike. I have a 1x with a 44t chainring One my gravel, roadie gravel/pavement and Century ride gravel bike. I have a 2X with 46/30 chainrings I know it’s a crazy combo but it works.
2x cleaner, better range, for group rides 1x.......for races.....always 2x. My competition just bought an Enve Mele 1x with a 48t in the front. I can't wait for our next gravel race.
@@hail_sagan2830 bigger jumps in road makes a difference imho and hard to switch suddenly to easier gear with sudden change in gradient. I’ll stay 2x on road regardless
@@andrewlovett5001 I’ve been riding that exact setup on the road, in the Front Range, for 2 seasons and I neither miss nor need the FD. The gaps are virtually the same as the 2x setup with the only noticeable difference being at the top of the cassette. And most non-pro riders are only spinning 48/11 at 95rpm on long descents or in their dreams.
The 5 smallest cogs are only 1 tooth different for a 10-44 (10,11,13,15,17) and 10-52 (10,12,14,16,18) so for road use (when cadence is probably more important) there isn't really much between the two. If you are strong, because of the 52 you could run a 50 chainring and still have less than 1:1 for hills and have an equivalant of a 55/11 for those fast group rides. As your peak power drops off or if you ride bigger hills you just get a gradually smaller chainring. If you get the better 10-52 cassettes the weight difference isn't that much to a smaller cassette. Again the better rear-mechs can save a lot of weight compared to GX. I don't think it's the asthetics of a dinner plate cassette that puts people off, I think it's a peer pressure thing that it looks like you are weak to need a bigger cassette.
I've been using a 10-52 Transmission rear setup with a 48t road crankset. You should try this on your Road Ti bike! It's nice to be able to shift while climbing/sprinting/anything 😂. When I go back to my 2x road setup with 48/35 and 10-33 I have to be mindful of FD shifting, and it does make me want to have 1x on all my bikes.
Do you agree? Is it time to ditch the FD? Why??? ✌🏻
get your fingers outta my face 😀
I 100% agree. I have been riding 1x for over 30 years. I have never had a front derailer on any bike. Its just wrong!
I rode 1x on my MTB for years and like it. Then I got into road about 10 years ago with 2x. Now I have gravel bikes with 1x and 2x. 2x is much better. With 1x I have to choose range or cadence gaps which is annoying, especially in group rides.
I have a hybrid trek FX 2 disc. It had a 46/30. I changed it to a biopace 50/40 took the 30 tooth off.
I was finding that I was constantly shifting gears to maintain a steady cadence.
I hardly ever use the 30 because it is tooo low. However, with 50/40 , 53/36 53/42 ,42/32 combo on other bikes that seems to work better for me.
I said all that to say 2X for me.
In the case of the 46 /30 it's more of a 1 plus 😊 and you'll spin out quicker 😡
It took you a while to land on the setup I've been riding on my Crux for a few years now 😉 Ok, Rival instead of Red, but otherwise that's it. I'm running a 44t chainring and the 10-44 cassette, and I haven't ever wished for more on either end. In fact, I rarely use 44x10 and I've only used 44x44 once.. only to find out that my bikeshop forgot to configure the limit screws on the rear mech, and dropping the chain... which was also the only chain drop I've _ever_ had on XPLR. Lesson learned: set up your bikes yourself.. 😉
The gaps in between the gears I use the most (thanks SRAM for offering up long-term data) are nearly identical to the setup on my road bikes. Further up the cassette it gets a little worse, but it's nothing that will drive me nuts. The 2x11 setup I have on my endurance road bike offers tighter spacing which makes it easier to find the right gear when climbing, but the XPLR setup just gives you less to think about.. like when to pull the front shift 😉
I specifically chose to go 2x on my endurance road bike to have that option (mechanical GRX 2x11, 48/31 x 11-34), but if I could only have one drop bar bike, I'd keep my Crux with 2 wheel sets.
Cadence is more perceptible on road, prefer 2x. Also provides good chain line from gearing combination for efficiency
Also provides good dropped chains on washboard gravel. Never had cadence issues with the SRAM force explr 1x
@@drdumbo9124 5000 miles on a Shimano 2x gravel bike, plenty of washboard and even mtb single-track miles, without a single dropped chain. Not saying this applies to everyone on every 2x setup, but at the same time, I think this proves that it's possible to not have an issue while running a 2x system.
yes sir see above...I do crazy stuff on my cross bike. I do not drop chains. For you guys dropping chains...maybe keep those drive-trains clean, learn how to set limit screws. If for some reason the limit screws are backing out, thus changing limits, just do a little dab of rector seal, or any thread compound that does not cure hard.
I don't drop chains either. Clean and aligned mechs. Also add a chain catcher like many pros use.
@@drdumbo9124 One year with my GRX 2x and not a single dropped chain (yet!).
I personally love the new 1x set up from the gravel XPLR. For 98% of people complaining about differences they probably wouldn’t actually notice anything if on the bikes. I’m a fan of the “keep it simple stupid” approach on gravel.
I most definitely notice. It's extremely noticeable but the pros are worth the cons
Don’t talk crap
Of course the weight difference between 2x & 1x also needs to factor in the 176g weight increase in the cassette (10-44 XPLR v 10-36 Force) and that weight sits in the rear wheel instead of spread across the bike (front mech & chainring). I love the 105 Di2 setup on my Diverge, but then I’m mostly road with 32c Conti 4S tyres. I guess that’s the luxury we have these days, so much (maybe too much) choice! Your input on these subjects is well balanced and honest. Great work, just keep em coming.
Yeah, I agree with this, all the 2x vs 1x reviews I've seen always seem to forget that the rear cassette is much heavier to get low gearing with 1x. Not sure the weight is much different between 1x and 2x groupsets when this is taken into account.
Just purchased a Diverge STR and my average speed is 13.5 mph. I’m not sure if it’s the 1x or I’m not a strong enough rider yet. My neighbor has a Crux and average speed is 18-24 with a 2x. My ride is more comfortable with the rear future shock, but I’m also slower on pavement .
I want smooth gear changes on a slope and 1x does not have it.
They cost roughly the same when you actually buy it.
If a front mech works, it works. It is really hard to drop the chain on a tuned Shimano setup unless you put stupidly amount of load when shifting.
A small chainring in the front is simply a more elegant engineering practice than putting a massive cassette on the rear wheel.
Fair points!
62 years of age, riding/racing since late 80s...(Thanks Greg L.) Rd bike - Ultegra 2x, CX bike -105 2x with 33 mm tires, mtn bike XT 2x. I run my front derailleurs about 3mm above big ring, with chain about 0.75 mm from the derailleur with crank under torgue, when in highest gear. Same with little ring, in lowest gear. I never drop chains. Just do the math, more and better spaced gear ratios.
I went SRAM Wide (43/30 x 10-36). Has more or less the same top end as 44 x 10-42 (especially since I spin), allows for more tire clearance than 46/33 (or similar not wide 2x), and has more climbing gears than the 44 x 10-42. I don't drop chains since I set it up right (has clutch derailer) as long as I don't shift under lots of load. All the gears I need for anything since I am old and cranky and no longer care if I can pedal down a mountain > 60kph. It's literally just 1/2 a gear less bottom range then mullet builds but no giant gaps, so I can climb anything on it.
I ride a Checkpoint SL 6 and it came with a 1x Rival group including the 10-44t cassette. As you mentioned, I updated the chainring to a 44t and I love it's performance on gravel and road. It definitely takes some time to adapt to the jumps while shifting through the cassette. However, that is a minor sacrifice to be able to enjoy the wonderful simplicity of the 1x configuration.
Hidden factor no has mentioned: Bigger tires effectivily alter your gearing. 700c 30mm to 47mm adds a whole gear inch on the ground regardless of actually gearing in the transmission. The result, bigger tires, make for harder gearing up steep climbs if left equal. The solution, drop front chainring size when running bigger tires.
I am biased: as I rode MTB for decades, front derailleurs meant nothing but trouble. Dropped chains, chain suck... . So, when Sram introduced one-by that was wonderful. To me , on gravel XPLR is perfect. I don't really ride pure road, so ideal cadence in group rides are no concern.
I second all that apart from 1 detail. Xplr + eagle mech and cassette. Same weight
I bought an Aspero to serve as a multi surface bike, I have the stock DT Swiss wheels, a set of Ultregra wheels with 30mm road tires and my next purchase is 650b with a wider tire. This build led me to also go with GRX 2x and I have had no issues with gearing, dropped chains etc…. So far it lives up to the multi purpose plan I had. I also have a couple of mtn bikes and a few road bikes so I pick a bike based on the ride…. But more and more, I’m leading to the gravel bike with this build. Can’t wait to try the 650b’s.
My gravel bike has 1x... and I wish I had made it a 2x for one simple reason. Like a suburban Mom in a G5, my gravel bike spends 95% of the time on the road. It's also my winter bike, my rain bike, etc., and it's just a lot of up and down the back cog, plus, it maxes out around 35 mph, and I hit 40+ fairly often.
That is the exact reason for me to stick with 2X, on all my bikes, even a mountain bike. Guess I just got used to always having the perfect gear available.
Then....u should had bought a 2x road bike...not a gravel........
Why not switch out the chainring for more top end, then?
I have a 10-44 XPLR cassette and 50-34 in front. And I am using Shimano Ultegra 12 speed Di2. Having this setup for 1 year now. Best of both world !
What type of derailleur do you use in this setup to get up to a 44?
@@rennradriese5770 Ultegra 12 speed with wolftooth goatlink. I also tried the goatlink 11 and the roadlink dm, but the goatlink gave me the best results on my config (aethos). I optimized the fine tuning to focus on gears from 11 to 44. Unfortunately I cannot use consistently the smallest 10-tooth cog. But that is a tradeoff I am glad to make because the next bigger cog is a 11 on the SRAM XPLR 10-44 cassette.
@@raphaelgernez6680 Thanks for the details :) Did not know about this option! Seems that there is not yet an official product for 12 speed. But good to know you could set it up this way
This 2x system seems excessive on both ends. A 50x10?? This is the same as a 55x11 on a "normal" Shimano drivetrain. Who needs a 55x11 on a gravel bike? A 34x44?? Same again. Anyone who can push a 55x11 doesn't need a 34x44 and vice versa
Nicely said. I waffled on this, opting for a safer choice for me - Ultegra 2x 12 speed groupset with road and gravel wheel sets that allowed me to tune the rear cassette size for each. Though I ride the LS 70% road 30% gravel with 30 vs 38mm tires I think the front derailleur clearance issue is an important one for me and also is a limiting "factor". What puts me off 1x for a do-it-all bike is the very real possibility of needing to swap front chain-ring on occasion which feels a bit wrong. Regarding dropping chains, never been an issue but I do have a catcher there to protect the frame in case.
I have SRAM Wide 2x 43-30 and a 10-36 on my Crux which gets used for heavy off road and as winter road bike. It has such a wide range it can do everything; you look at the gear table and it’s lower than a 42 x 44 and only slightly less high than a 44 x10. Spacing perfect, and with new sram force d2 have never had a chain drop. Lots of tyre clearance with wide too. The bike is my do it all, so this is a perfect set up. Just added blips too and this was a brilliant addition.
Hot Take: XPLR 10-44 with the SRAM Aero chainring (48T or 50T) is ideal for a TT/Tri bike on a hilly course. You spend a majority of the time in the middle of the cassette (good chain line) but have the climbing gears and a 50/10 when needed.
This is what i want to do but would the cross chaining technically be more when in the extreme ends of the cassette ?making it much less effective..?
@@Dontsayyouwill87 Depends what percentage of the time you would spend on the extreme ends of the cassette. For my terrain, I am in the 10 (over 30mph) or the 44 (12-15% + gradient) very rarely so it is a nonissue for me.
I would say it is a stretch. You need to find specific scenario for the system to perform similar to much older and cheaper 2x groupsets. Basically, 1x is an expensive downgrade.
For gravel, 42t oval and 10-50 cassette. For road, 48t oval and 10-50 cassette. For my MTBs, 34-36t ovals and 10-52 cassettes. Never have chain drops or running out of gears here in Michigan.
Same for me xx1 eagle mullet
Oval 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣gimmick
Run a Red 2x a 46x33 paired with a 10-36 cassette on my gravel. Really happy with how it handles trail and pavement.
My Pinarello Grevil came with Rival 1X 42t chainring 10-44 cassette AXS. I do a lot of climbing steep dirt hills here in Southern California fyi. I decided to try a 40t chainring and that helped. But still climbing I always wanted one more gear. Flash forward I changed rear derailleur to Eagle GX, and went with a Garbaruk 10-52 cassette with a 42t chainring. Have to say it is amazing! But the XPLR drivetrain was phenomenal as well, just needed some lower gears! God bless!
I drop the front mech on all my bikes except the tandem. It’s 2by now.
Getting back on the bike after 30yrs off was perfect timing👍
I’m a gravel racer - SRAM 1 x all day every day. Red shifters, Red Aero 50T chainring/Red Quarq crank, Eagle XX1 rear derailleur, Eagle XX1 rainbow cassette and chain. Gorgeous and bomb-proof. And every year we’re running wider tires simply because they’re usually faster.
My ideal is the Full Mullet. 10-52 out back. 40 or 42 Oval up front. The 10-52 AXS Eagle and Eagle T-type Cassettes are 2 gear jumps between the first 5 gears, then 3 gear jumps for the next 2 gears. That's tight enough spacing for me to find a good enough cadence, and nearly the same jumps as an XPLR on the faster end of the cassette. I'm not fast enough and/or confident enough to need anything more than 10 out back and 42 oval upfront. If I'm exploring remote places, carrying gear, bikepacking/touring, or other ultra endurance style ride, you bet I'm going to want more than 1-to-1 on the low end for climbing. AXS makes it "easy" to mullet. If you want the added benefit of SRAM "Transmission", then it can be trickier to find a gravel frame with UDH.
I have had both 2x and 1x for gravel. By far, the 1x wins for me. Had Shimano GRX 2x on one bike and the chain drops and shifting issues on rough terrain were a real headache. Not to mention when it was nasty out on the trails, going from ring to ring was awful and it was Di2. The Sram 1x is awesome in all conditions. I have a 42, 44 and 46 chainring with the 44 cassette on back and I run the 46 ring the most, by far. The SRAM is super quiet and the shifts are great and not one chain drop. And, lastly, I am a huge Shimano fan, but I have to give props to SRAM on this one. I am actually building another gravel bike and that will be 1x as well.
I live where it is steep as hell once you go off pavement, 10-52 is the only way for me to go on gravel.
On road I still use 2x.
That's the peak of modern madness: bike clearance being limited by the battery on the derailed. Let's just say we never had that problem in the past.
No, you just had mechanical groupsets and all of their problems.
@@hail_sagan2830 the worst of them needing to turn some little screws. Seems fair
@@Boss-dr2zk definitely not constantly going out of adjustment, springs and cables being subject to fatigue and corrosion, poor performance under load, being complicated and time-consuming to set up, or usually being impossible to build as “mullet” systems.
Thanks ! After using both 1x and 2x I believe the MOST important factor is gear spacing (which is why i'm unsatisfied with offering such as 11-34 shim 12speed or 10-36 rival cassette btw). Alas Sram XPLR has only one 1 tooth spacing (10 and 11) and most of the fast end of the cassette has 2 teeth gap (13-15-17 etc), exactly where you miss the right gear.
The only real offering to combine 1x and correct gear spacing would be 13 speed Ekar, but it's mechanical, has another specific driver body...
On the aesthetics question, clean front end looks better obviously, but a pan size rear negates it!
100% agree but I come from a criterium background, grew up with 12-13-14-15-16-17-18 corncob gear cluster... even after all these years, that still looks best to me.
No it doesn’t makes the bikes look like cheap chain store crap
26,000kms on a Trek Checkpoint 2x with never a dropped chain. Plenty of washboard etc.
I've ridden both 1x (Campy Ekar) and 2x (GRX Di2) and, technical shifting issues aside, Ekar drove me nuts in that I never felt like I was at the right cadence. I had the 40T 10-44 setup. I actually just got an Aspero-5 that I'm configuring with my 2x GRX Di2 and that serves as double duty for 60% roads, 40% gravel. That said, I think for a future bike (potentially titanium) when I'm older and care less about being/going fast, I think a SRAM transmission with the 10-52 and maybe a 44T Force crank would be perfect. 2x GRX Di2 also works great for me now since I still do a lot of climbing (I'm in the Front Range). I'm not pro/against either - they both have their uses. It just comes down to what you want to do with your bike. But yeah, 1x in my mind def looks "cleaner." 😁
I run GRX 10-51 mullet with 40t chainring and have never spun out in top gear..... but have used the lowest 2 gear more than i thought i would!
All excellent points. However I'm 50/50 pavement and dirt roads and I REALLY appreciate all the range and being able to fine tune my cadence with closer gear spacing. If I was gavel only it would be a different story.
And yea, 1x does look better. Same way that fixies are so beautiful.... the noticeably cleaner, leaner look.
Switched from 2X to 1X on my gravel a year or so ago and can say that I don’t miss the 2X. In fact, I’m glad I don’t have it. Chain drop happened occasionally, but I found that that all the extra shifting on the front was a massive waste of time and lost energy on my gravel bike. I don’t recall what my bike shop put on the rear to expand the range of my gears and, principally, assist with hill climbing, but the change works, both on roads and, especially, on trail. I’m sticking with 2X for my road bike, but 1X on my gravel, same as with my mountain bike.
1by is for specialized usage. If you can pin down your terrain to either steep or not, you might be happy enough. Go outside that range and you will be annoyed and forced to change chain rings or cassettes or both. For wide range and fine gears I'd rather drop a chain once in a while than the whole chain ring. And if you really want a do-it-all solution, you will need to hack yourself a 2by mullet system, with a wide range cassette like 10-40 in the back and 43/30 up front or something like that.
I ride a Masi Giramondo with a front triple and love it. In the over 6k miles, I’ve never dropped a chain and have made 0 adjustments on it. I also run 48c tires with room to spare.
Sounds like a great setup!
About simplicity: what drivetrain could be simpler than a friction 2x8 with a subcompact chainring and a Microshift Acolyte cassette while providing similar range and steps?
Coming from mtb I don’t get this ideal cadence thing. Equally comfortable for me to put big watts with 90 and 50 and everything in between
Of my 6 bikes. 3 of them gravel, i love my 42t 10-50 the most. It is a sram rival axs, love it ❤️ crankset is an Old Shimano 105 from the 10 speed era. Wolf tooth narrow wide chainring has totaly secured the chainring against chaindrop.
I have been riding the XPLR group with 48T, 10-44 for road and gravel, and absolutely been loving it. I'll change the chain ring to a 44 or 46 if need be. But it seems to be doing everything I need and want, and does it really well.
I have a Crux with Force XPLR group. For gravel, it's great. I would blow my brains out if I had to ride road with that group though. Shimano 2x groups don't drop chains except in the most extreme situations. Been riding them for years and never had a chain drop unless I basically crashed or hit a hole so big I broke a wheel.
My Checkpoint I originally setup with 46 upfront, XO1 RD, and a 10-52 on the back. Started reviewing my shifting, and it was very apparent that I rarely used anything over the 36 to my local area, and when I rode the road miles, as I was experimenting with the one bike to rule them all, I found I hated the 16-18-21 jumps. For my area, I preferred the tighter jumps of the 10-44 cassette, but when I went to an area with more climbing, the 10-52 was excellent, so I have both the XPLR setup for my home base riding and when needed, put the mullet back on, and become a billy goat. The beauty of the AXS system is it takes about 10 mins to swap it out. I have an additional wheel for my 10-52, so I don't have to spend time dealing with the cassette swaps. Just replace the RD, Chain, and put the other wheel in, and I am off.
My bike came with SRAM Force 1 groupset; 42T chainring & 11-42 cassette.
Now runs SRAM Force 1 shifter & rear mech but with a 44T Hope chainring & 11-46 SLX cassette.
More range both at the top & bottom.
Run with 50c tyres.
Gaps in the range I don't care about, I ain't racing.
Bike used 50/50 on/off road with usual rides having a ratio of 1 mile : 100 ft elevation with plenty of steep stuff as live in Scotland.
1x is great for many people, but not for everybody. In my case, I'm 64 and I have a great Salsa Las Cruces gravel bike that I don't wish to replace, so I don't really want to toss out my existing Force setup and pay for a 1x setup - and I have no plans to replace this bike in the future. More importantly, I'm not nearly as strong as I used to be, so I do need lower than a 1:1 ratio to make it up the tough hills and such. Right now I have a 43/30 chainset and an 11-34 cassette to give me about a 0.88 low gear. So far, this is working for me, but TBH I would love to go even lower. I don't think I could do that very comfortably with a 1x setup. Several of the (older) folks that I ride with have tried going 1x but didn't like it. Again, if you have the strength of youth (age < 50), then 1x might be a worthwhile option.
I know you are also a dedicated roadie, where 2x makes sense. What do you think about 44t Chainring explorer with slicks on your crux for the road? No racing, at most spirited group rides. I currently have an s works Crux with a 40t chain ring, considering upsizing to 44 and just swapping wheel sets as needed. Really enjoy your content. Thanks.
If you go 1 x , the consequence of that is a weighty dinner plate cassette, and maybe chainline issues (for me). I have 1x on my MTB, but gravel and road are 3x9 and 2x11 respectively - for me. On a 1 x drivetrain riding trails, I tend to spend the most time in the middle of the cassette. I can spin up most climbs with a 34T chainring, and a max 42 or 46T cassette. 50T - I will just be over-revving and losing forward momentum, IMO.
Chain drops are easily eliminated by using something like a oneup chain guide for MTB, and a chain catcher - eg: K-edge. Never dropped a chain again.
Great video.
My Crux came with the 1x XPLR set up and it’s ok, in that it’s ok off road and ok on road here in the UK where I live. I’ve since converted it to run a 44t chainring upfront (instead of the 40t) and a 10-50 cassette (instead of the default 10-44t), having switched the rear mech out for a SRAM XX1.
For me, this is a much better set up, giving me more top end speed and plenty of gearing for steep climbs.
It's all about the cassette ratios. 1x with closer spacing for the high speed road sections and larger gaps for the steep off-road !?
New 13s group seems to be the best of both worlds.
My bike came with 1x red xplr w a 40t chainring. The 40 is too small and I will probably settle at a 44 which is still 1:1. The ability to swap chainrings without having to remove cranks or anything means I can do it for any given event in a couple minutes. It looks cleaner, I’ve never dropped a chain yet, and it’s lighter.
I can swap both chainrings on my 2 X 10 Ultegra 5 arm crank with standard rings in minutes without removing the crank. Only the ugly sculpted type chainrings stop this being possible. As for being lighter, your 1x dinner plate cassette probably weighs the same amount extra over a standard cassette to account for the front derailleur weight so no saving there.
I use a chain catcher and hardly ever drop chain on changes (once in 12,000km ) plus get the best chainline I can by never using big - big or small - small combinations. 1x promotes cross chaining as a virtue while citing 2x disadvantages as extreme chainlines due to 2 rings, forgetting that 2 rings allow the avoidance of bad chain lines ! Plus top end gearing and bottom end gearing are independent and not inextricably linked by compromise of 1x chainring.
Best case of Emperor's New Clothes that I know of. Even the looks point is moot given that dinnerplate on the back end.
@@neilparnell5712 A 10-44 is far from a dinner plate.
Compared to 11-32 it is still a hefty chunk of metal circa 400g unless you pay £170ish for a lightweight version so weight or cost is a price to pay for 1x to omit front mech.@@mikewikstrom3416
@@neilparnell5712 even the cheap stuff 11-50 dinner plates arent that much heavier, its just about about 100 grams because the bigger rings are made of aluminum, 2x is better, but never lighter.
I have had 2x for ever on road bike
Now running 1x
Sram axes GRX and for me no difference in performance
1x Much easier to maintain,use, never drop the chain
A bit more noisier on gear change other than that advances out weigh the disadvantages
Same, i got 1X. 46 front 9-46 at the back. No notice difference at the top speed (approx 50kph @60-80rpm), but i got 1 to 1 ratio for the climb.
I really love the 1x Xplr setup my Crux Expert comes with. Never felt like I've needed more gears for gravel and this is perfect for climbs. I only run out of gears on road but that's with downhill sections exceeding 45mph. Overall it's a great 1 bike setup for me since I can travel without worrying about gravel sections that pop by suprise up when I'm doing road.
Don't think there is any doubt 1x looks cleaner. Less (or no) cables/wires and less bits bolted onto the bike.
No doubt.
Good video. Simplicity for me is most important. I've had a 1X on my road bike for the last 7 years? Whenever the SRAM Force One came out. I planning the build for my next bike (A Mason Bokeh) and I want to go full mechanical. No more hydraulics, no electronic shifting. That really only leaves me one choice, the Microshift Sword. I'll admit I'm not in love with only 10 gears and the lowest being an 11 tooth instead of a 9, but I'll just have to put a 42-44 tooth on the front and man up on the steep climbs.
I get that a lot of people drink the 1x kool aid, but for me I’m looking for low gears like my mountain bike to climb long steep fire roads with a heavy load and high gears like my road bike for fast canyon descents, without the jumps in between being too jarring. 1x just can’t deliver that.
I think the new 13s XPLR group solves that problem- at least it does for me.
Weal as I grow older my ego gets a little bit smaller. I remember the days trying to shave off as many grams as possible. fast as possible to train the hardest as possible now I still do a little bit of that stuff and now I sit back and enjoy the view
I would say 1x11/12 for gravel. Also with all the dirt etc, consider a waved chain. Im going that way on everything due to it being so much cleaner and I like the process.
I’ve been a 1x convert for years. I’m not that fast or strong so I lean towards the lowest gearing I can get. If I spin out on a downhill, I spin out that that’s it. Ekar 10-44 is my preferred cassette, though, with a 34t chainring.
I have 2x12 600 series GRX shifters and a 1x 10-51 cassette but I can swap out the rear derailleur cage and the chainring to a 2x12. Fairly easy swap and didn’t cost me too much extra money. With that being said I mostly use the 1x. I find the slightly larger gaps are nice on a lot of the rolling hills around me as there is less shifting overall. Plus I just hate shifting with my left hand haha
Fully agree, I bought a cervelo áspero with rival axs with 1by rival xplr just because it was on sale even though I wanted a 2by. I'm a convert, I don't miss 2by at all and I do mostly road riding with it.
I have an 2014 3x MTB, 2021 1 x Mtb and 2 x gravel bike and still ride all (most miles on the gravel bike). I'd never have a 1 x gravel, don't like the gear gaps, gear range limitations (am a spinner so use them) are a factor but I also find chain deflection at the extremes of the 1x cassette grates. I much prefer riding the correct ring of a 2 x for extreme high and low gearing. Riding the old 3 x I sometimes think have dropped a chain when it has just gone onto the smallest ring. The gear range is so wide!
I’ve run 2x most of the over 50 years I’ve been riding. I’ve been using 1x for the last 3 years. Unless you have a steady diet of racing and fast group rides, gear spacing is highly overrated. The simplicity and aesthetics of a 1x system is much better. I’ll never go back. I use my titanium gravel bike for road and gravel with a set of wheels for each. I have all the gearing I need and no front derailleur to mess with!😊
You are obviously very satisfied with what 1x has to offer and that is brilliant. I think 1x is great for people who don't gel with FD's or who don't need the flexibility. I am not anti 1x, but I don't like the way some camps are pushing 1x with the risk of limiting choice and availability - that's all.
For me there is a need for 2x that I can't avoid even if I want to as I ride in ''The Peak District ''where all the climbs tend to be very changeable in gradients and mainly pretty steep and the bigger jumps are between the lowest gears which is exactly where I don't want them so it's 2x for me. Plus the aesthetics conversely don't work for me, I prefer the smaller cassette and the ''Big Dog'' up front.
I think both systems can and should co-exist happily as there is clearly a need for both.
We both clearly have exactly what we need and that is how it should be.
Long live 1x and 2x, don't lose the choice.
The tire clearance is only a problem with SRAM AXS, on Shimano and on mechanical is less of an issue.... Also GRX offers a 48/31 that is a big deal on gravel :)
I got my Diverge 1 x a couple years ago, as I rode out to do some familiar hills I was happy at the fact that it was faster on the roads, flats and rolling gravel roads compared to my slightly dated by still fast Epic mountain bike. No real surprises there.
Now my Specialized Epic mountain bike was the last model to have 2 x, back 2011 when it was thought by some that people racing would want 2x
Doing some familiar hill repeats on my 1x Diverge I was surprised that I was slower, compared to my 2x Epic, what was going on?
The steepish hill had many semi flats before ramping up each time and I realized that the closer gearing on my 2x Epic allowed me to change gears much more often to get better speed before the next ramp. The more limited 1x especially in the hill climbing gears was too spaced apart.
Now I get the simplicity of the 1x, but sure do miss the range and closer gearing.
Given the limitations of the 2x with tire clearance (thanks sram), I am going to stick with what I have.
Quite a few people have talked about dropped chains on 2 x. In defense of 2x its normally it’s your own fault, you don’t change down to the smaller ring earlier enough when going up a hill. Smooth peddling while gently changing gears back up could normally get the chain back on with cable gearing. I don’t know if that trick can so easily be used with double chainrings with electronic.
Love the Asthetics and simplicity ofna 1X. Can't stand the front chain ring rub no matter how I tune the front derailleur it alway come back eventually Just discovered that a 44T was the sweet spot for me, and I paired with a Ztto 9-42. cassette works for me on gravel. On the road, the 48T in the front and 10-36 works for me on the road. I have 2 sets of wheels, and I don't mind swapping out chain rings since it's easy to do.
On any drop bar bike I am a 2x fan for life. I want all the range, optimal chain line, and small jumps between gears. My 46/30 crankset with 11-40 cassette allow me to go anywhere. Since I am meticulous about bike setup and shifting, the simplicity benefits of 1x are lost on me, and is only beneficial imo on mountain bikes and CX race bikes
I have a 43/30 (Rival Wide) up front on my gravel bike. You can spin up climbs and still have a road-worthy top end gear.
I’ve just put Rival axs xplr on my Revolt. I kept my 40t front chain ring paired with the 10/44 on the back and spun out at 22mph. Terrible for road sections and down hill so I bought a 44t front ring and it went front one extreme to another. I barely used 12th gear and using 12th on the road going down hill, I would probably spin out at 40+ mph. I’ve gone for a 42t now and it’s the sweet spot for gravel and road. If I were to ride only gravel, 40t and if I were to ride only road, 44t.
Yep, I have 1x explorer on my crux. Just bought a 42T front and I have 10-44 rear so I will have the same setup as David Arthur 😊 glad I didn’t switch to 2x , especially off road 🎉
Yep. Ditch it! And yes 1x looks better by far . . . especially if installing a Garbaruk or Absolute Black chainring or Crank Arm and ring set by Ingrid. I run Red Xplr on my road bike an OPEN MIN.D. and never find myself wishing I had a 2x set-up. In fact my frame dosen't even allow for one.
2x for gravel where u ride on road a lot, I started with 1x but kept spinning on the road
nice perspective.. as ya' depends on the conditions and terrain. I'm riding smoother grav and pave and cadence is king..so i'm sticking 2x grx set. YmmV as they say ! :- )
The weight part isnt correct since the bigger chain rings you need on a 1x actuallly compensate for that. Just a small correction, else good points made. I run a 2x12 GRX and even though there is a lot of riding i stilll have to do, I often think its overkill.
Love 1x, converted my road bike to 1x. Cadence wasn't really that important to me, then again I ride my road bike on smooth gravel. Found that 2x is also harder to clean, especially mucky chainrings when I ride in the rain.
Same here, I find the 1x gearing easier for me to push. I am really not strong enough to push the 50 ring that comes on most road bikes without cross chaining.
I agree. The only guys who need a double chain ring are those that can average speeds above 35kmph over a 50km ride with at least a 1% elevation gain imo
Or anyone that doesnt want to expend loads of money on overpriced 1x cassetes that dont last, and a new hub for those inefficient smaller cogs. They are going all wrong about 1x, they should be making rear derailleurs than could easily deal with a big 46-50ish chainring and a big cassete with 13+ speeds that isnt being overpriced like its made of diamonds, the price they ask for 400 grams of aluminium carved into rings is fucking ridiculous.
Really appreciate the work you are doing with the channel! Your insight is helping me decide between the Kaius and Crux. I currently own a Van Dessel Arch 65 roadie with 105 Di2 and a Revolt Advanced Pro with a SRAM Red/Eagle mullet. I just relocated to Reno, NV and find myself barely taking the roadie out due to the mixed terrain and pitchy climbs. Really just want to run one drop bar bike and two wheelsets. I'd opt for the Crux straight away because of the raised BB for CX/crits but am attracted to the aero design of the Kaius. I've seen reports that the Kaius can barely clear 44's and frame rub is a concern. I'd say my training rides are 50/50 tarmac and gravel and mostly gravel race with the occasional Nor Cal crit or road race on the calendar. Would you run XPLR over an Eagle mullet and if so, what chainring(s) would you consider?
Glad you found it helpful! I’d run XPLR over Eagle if you’re 50-50 road-gravel. The gear spacing with Eagle is a little rough on the road. I wouldn’t go smaller than 44t up front.
Awesome, thank you for the feedbck!@@outdoorbros_
For gravel racing, I think 1x is a no-brainer, considering that 46x10 (high gear) is almost the same as 53x11 and 46x44 (low gear) is lower than 39x30.
As much as I appreciate the simplicity and weight savings, unfortunately, the XPLR groupset does not have enough range for me as I use the bike on mixed roads and gravel. 40T has enough for climbs but suffers on flat and downhill and 42-44T for me is not enough for big long hills. It's like a forced compromise that can be solved with a 2X setup. I do hate that essentially 1/4 of the gears in a 2X setup are just overlap or unusable and front derailleurs are fiddly.
Hey Chris, thoughts on the new Roubaix as the do it all bike over the Crux? I'm planning to follow your build and convert my Crux to a 2x 48/35 and 10-36, but the shop mentioned the Roubaix as a similar option
I don’t know enough to offer a solid opinion about it. I’m not a huge fan of the future shock, so it wouldn’t be the bike for me.
@@outdoorbros_ Thanks for the honesty, I made the decision to go with your setup! 🙌 Thanks a lot for the vids!
Nice one! I think the future will be 13x 1 electric. This will probably be the best of both scenarios and not require constant adjustments like the campag system
The Chinese already have a practical 2x13 in use
I dream of this bike Sworks version to replace my Tarmac sl8 Pro and my Diverge Expert.
X2 Sram Force D2 chainrings,
2 pairs of wheels. the Rapides for the road and the c38 for Gravel.
1 bike to do it all!
Replace tarmac sl8?? It just came out
On 1x systems it's way too often that I feel like I'm slightly off from where I'd like to be and the 2x stuff usually has those gaps filled. I think it really depends on what you are riding.
also for road bike if you do a lot climb and ride alone xplr 1x is the best choice
What is the largest 1x front chainring you can fit on the Crux?
Maybe 50t? I’d double check with specialized on that one.
@outdoorbros_ I went to 1X on all of my bikes years ago it was best decision I have ever made. I run a 44F and 9/50 rear to keep that top end. Then, I am just changing my front ring. And, your shifting / gearing choice will go away once you change to a 9-X cassette. I found SRAM even gear cassette choices did not fit my pedaling cadence. Once I changed to e-thirteen cassettes my gearing/cadence fell back into place.
srampagnolo (11x sram shifter with 13s ratio technologies ratchet) 34x9-42 ekar is the perfect gravel setup, mountain gearing on one side of the cassette and 1t steps from 30km/h on onwards is where its at.
ive had to get strong asf on my 1x. felt sluggishand super slow at times. I really only needed to change my tire combo. 2.6 front and 1.7 in back to, 1.95 for front and back. My speed has gone up, I dont even need an 11 to 42 since i dont even use the 42 gear. am gonna get 11x40 shimano xt
For road and gravel, definitely a 2x but for mountain and my type of riding, i prefer single speed since i only ride downhill. There's no need to 12speed, IMHO 10 speed is good enough for any type of riding and single speed for downhill
XPLR, climb anything, quick on the road…. I’ve taken road koms on my gravel bike! 👍
I built up my crux with apex axs xplr with a 42t up front. its great for winter road duty and gravel. ive been tempted to push a 44t for that extra speed, maybe a 46t, but i really only need it on descents, but for a greater majority of my riding (moderate short/ punchy climbs) 42t w/ 10-44 is perfect.
Not time to ditch the FD. Applied to the terrain, you can keep a more efficient chainline with 2X. Just a personal preference???
Had the same situation with the front mech eTap battery limiting my tire clearance. Removed it and changed my tire from a 44 to a 50c/2". Game-changer (for me). The MS pain in my hands makes rough stuff a bit more annoying, bigger tires makes for a supple setup.
On newest gravel, adventure gravel/ bigger tires rough terrain gravel focused bike. I have a 1x with a 44t chainring
One my gravel, roadie gravel/pavement and Century ride gravel bike. I have a 2X with 46/30 chainrings
I know it’s a crazy combo but it works.
2x cleaner, better range, for group rides 1x.......for races.....always 2x. My competition just bought an Enve Mele 1x with a 48t in the front. I can't wait for our next gravel race.
yeah 1x on my crux and can swap from 40 to 38 chainring for really steep climbs and not change chain length and it works fine.
I'm putting 2x Force on my Crux for one reason: I liked how your 2x Crux looked....
I like the way you make a true generalization, and just go, yeah I know whatever, it’s a generalization and it’s true, ok?
Gravel - 42 front 10-52 rear. Love it so far . Road 48/35 10-33….not entirely convinced for road to go 1x
48t 10-44 offers almost exactly the same range as 48/35 10-33
@@hail_sagan2830 bigger jumps in road makes a difference imho and hard to switch suddenly to easier gear with sudden change in gradient. I’ll stay 2x on road regardless
@@andrewlovett5001 I’ve been riding that exact setup on the road, in the Front Range, for 2 seasons and I neither miss nor need the FD. The gaps are virtually the same as the 2x setup with the only noticeable difference being at the top of the cassette. And most non-pro riders are only spinning 48/11 at 95rpm on long descents or in their dreams.
@@hail_sagan2830 it’s not the descents that trouble me
The 5 smallest cogs are only 1 tooth different for a 10-44 (10,11,13,15,17) and 10-52 (10,12,14,16,18) so for road use (when cadence is probably more important) there isn't really much between the two. If you are strong, because of the 52 you could run a 50 chainring and still have less than 1:1 for hills and have an equivalant of a 55/11 for those fast group rides. As your peak power drops off or if you ride bigger hills you just get a gradually smaller chainring. If you get the better 10-52 cassettes the weight difference isn't that much to a smaller cassette. Again the better rear-mechs can save a lot of weight compared to GX.
I don't think it's the asthetics of a dinner plate cassette that puts people off, I think it's a peer pressure thing that it looks like you are weak to need a bigger cassette.
but if you really need low gearing while keeping your top end respectable, 2x with a cassette larger than 40t is the way to go bar 3x
I've been using a 10-52 Transmission rear setup with a 48t road crankset. You should try this on your Road Ti bike! It's nice to be able to shift while climbing/sprinting/anything 😂. When I go back to my 2x road setup with 48/35 and 10-33 I have to be mindful of FD shifting, and it does make me want to have 1x on all my bikes.
Love the 1x on my Diverge.
Try Classified, awesome for gravel!