1 x 11 - is it time to make the change?

[jimo746]

I ride mostly on the road nowadays and I've got used to appreciating being in the right gear for my cadence, and I usually like to ride as fast as my ability/fitness will let me rather than just to pootle around. I like to have a pretty big gear for the times I ride on the road (I don't enjoy spinning out quickly on the flat), so I'm reluctant to lose 44x11 for example.

based on the above, in my opinion, you’d be better staying with a triple or double up front, much the same as most road bikes and a fair few gravel bikes are still using 2xwhatever.
1x11 is great on a mtb where generally you just ride off-road, but taking it on the road etc there will always be a compromise. On my 1x mtb it’s geared for climbing and general hilly trails, so it’ll top out at around 14mph on the road.

 

[Madmax1993]

In the interest of balance, not every 11 Spd cassette has to cost 'north of £300'. Slx 11 spd cassettes go for £75 retail, and pre covid went on sale quite often. Not everything costs as much as Eagle does.

 

[wynne]

I love 1x. Got it on all my bikes including road bikes. I rode it for years racing cx for reasons of mud clearance. If you live somewhere with claggy mud and ride your bike all year round then 1x will keep you going when you'd otherwise have had to stop a few times to scrape the mud out of the front mech.
Yes, there are bigger gaps between gears, but unless you're racing in a bunch and trying to minutely adapt your cadence to those around you then i don't find it a big issue most of the time.
I really like 1x10. Chainlines can get a bit iffy with 1x11 on short chainstays. You can set yourself up fairly cheaply with great kit that just seems to keep working. Something like a deore shifter, zee freeride rear mech, blackspire or hope nw chainring, deore or sunrace 11-42 cassette and a chain. Availability is patchy at the mo but in normal times you should be able to get that lot for about £150 if you shop around.

 

[raidan73]

I'm a fan of the 1x10 I have on my Chromag but on the road I will spin out on even gentle downhills. I'm ok with that though, as the road bits are just there to get me to the off road bits, where the gearing is just right. I also love the uncluttered look on the bar and around the bottom bracket.

It does sound like you, @Fatal Swan, might be better sticking with the 3x set-up, based on your original post

 

[Fatal Swan]

Thanks everyone for these interesting thoughts - I'm glad to hear it's not quite clear cut but it sounds like I'm going to need to try 1x properly for myself at some point to see how much I like it. My original post was a couple of months back and to finish the build off (photo below) in the meantime I've provisionally gone with the triple XTR drivetrain I had left over, but I may still take the plunge if a good 1x10/11 setup comes along...

 

[tintin40]

If you buy e13 cassettes then you can have a 9 teeth cassette which helps on the flat. I have a 12 speed 9-46x32cr and a 36 chain ring option. I love the simplicity of 1 by

 

[Knightrider]

I've just gone full deore 1x10 on my Orange O2 rebuild as an experiment - everything (including BB and crankset) cost ~£150 on Ebay. I am quite liking the simplicity, and the 11-46 cassette has more than enough climbing range. If you ride a lot on the road/flat, you might miss the bigger chainring, but you could go up a size or two (I currently have 32T) at the expense of climbing range...

 

[madjh]

Have you seen the rear casettes of 11 and 12 speeds? The jumps and very big, in your 9 speed cassette only 2 teeth for near all range. I usually use 10 speed 11-32 and 22-32-44 in front and it is very confortable. One by 10 or 11 or even 12 is not as versatile as 10 speed casette x3 for example. And ofcourse the prices ... for 12 speeds are so crazy. The weight is near the same. The rear casette 10-50 or 52 weights a lot.

I like how the cannondale looks now