1 x 9 Setup - Show us yours :-)

[Andy R]

Honestly, if you want gears in a smallish range, for almost everything you'll be better served by some kind of internally geared hub.

I'm inclined to agree Chris - it's just the weight penalty that puts me off.
The Alfine hub weighs 1.590kgs (without the sprocket, no doubt :roll: ) and the Rohloff Speedhub about 1.850 kgs.
In both cases that's almost the weight of the frame - and the difference between a 19lb bike and a 23lb bike is very noticable (well, it is to me, at least ).

 

[one-eyed_jim]

I'm inclined to agree Chris - it's just the weight penalty that puts me off.
The Alfine hub weighs 1.590kgs (without the sprocket, no doubt :roll: ) and the Rohloff Speedhub about 1.850 kgs.
In both cases that's almost the weight of the frame - and the difference between a 19lb bike and a 23lb bike is very noticable (well, it is to me, at least ).

But don't forget to subtract the weight of a cassette, freehub, and rear mech. A Rohloff is heavier than all that, but not 4lb heavier...

 

[Andy R]

You all know I have been running SS for a while but I was getting bored with the lack of hill climbing ability.

No, no Carl ! - hill climbing is where singlespeeds really come into their own, I know two or three singlespeed riders around these parts who regularly whip most people's asses on long, tough climbs.

Flat going is where singlespeeds might struggle - and even then not so much if you can spin well.

 

[one-eyed_jim]

So, would a short cage derailleur be fine even if you're running a 32 or 34t cog in the back?

Depends. MTB short-cage (and the more common medium cage) derailleurs have the parallelogram slanted steeply to account for the big sprockets, so a short (or mid) cage XT or XTR will clear a 34t without problems.

Short cage road mechs have enough cage length to take up the chain slack of a wide range (11-34) cassette, but may not always clear the biggest sprocket. Shimano road mechs are only rated to 27t, but I've run them on 32t cassettes. I'm currently using a short-cage Mavic rear mech on my 2x9 Stumpjumper (42-29 at the front, 11-32 at the back) and it just clears the 32.

 

[Harryburgundy]

You all know I have been running SS for a while but I was getting bored with the lack of hill climbing ability.

No, no Carl ! - hill climbing is where singlespeeds really come into their own, I know two or three singlespeed riders around these parts who regularly whip most people's asses on long, tough climbs.

Flat going is where singlespeeds might struggle - and even then not so much if you can spin well.

Yes Andy I agree...but I was running a compromise road/off road ratio of 38/16....too hard for some climbs. Ideally I would have one 'town' singlespeed and one 'country' singlespeed....or maybe that double Eno system

 

[cce]

i'm tempted to go 1x8 on my kilauea, i hardly ever shift off the middle ring on the riding i do

 

[Andy R]

I'm inclined to agree Chris - it's just the weight penalty that puts me off.
The Alfine hub weighs 1.590kgs (without the sprocket, no doubt :roll: ) and the Rohloff Speedhub about 1.850 kgs.
In both cases that's almost the weight of the frame - and the difference between a 19lb bike and a 23lb bike is very noticable (well, it is to me, at least ).

But don't forget to subtract the weight of a cassette, freehub, and rear mech. A Rohloff is heavier than all that, but not 4lb heavier...

Oh, all very true but a typical cassette will be about 260 grammes and a rear mech about the same. That's still about 1000 grammes lighter than an Alfine.
But on the other hand with an IG hub you don't have a chain slapping around, dragging in the mud and collecting branches.
I might still modify a '95-97 Explosif frame (if I can find one I can afford) for Alfine use, as the next best thing to singlespeed.

 

[kaiser]

So, would a short cage derailleur be fine even if you're running a 32 or 34t cog in the back?

Short cage will not take as big a sprocket, furinstance short cage XT is 28 max.

 

[letmetalktomark]

Excellent. Looks like this weekend may be an ideal time to experiment.

What do you think my chances are of just using a bashguard?

I don’t really want to have to buy a specific chain device.

Is it also best shortening the chain again once happy with the 1 x 9 thing?

 

[kaiser]

You all know I have been running SS for a while but I was getting bored with the lack of hill climbing ability.

No, no Carl ! - hill climbing is where singlespeeds really come into their own, I know two or three singlespeed riders around these parts who regularly whip most people's asses on long, tough climbs.

Flat going is where singlespeeds might struggle - and even then not so much if you can spin well.

Yes Andy I agree...but I was running a compromise road/off road ratio of 38/16....too hard for some climbs. Ideally I would have one 'town' singlespeed and one 'country' singlespeed....or maybe that double Eno system

Thats the spirit Carl....more bikes