I've always liked the simplicity of 1x drivetrains on MTBs. There are compromises to be made in terms of outright gear availability, and it's difficult to predict just how right you'll get your chainring and cassette selection first-time from using gear calculators alone, but I believe the compromises are worth it for a simpler drivetrain. Little organic changes will take place in your riding after you make the switch to 1x, and there's no substitute for riding to figure out what those changes will be. It might be tyres, routes you take, all kinds of stuff.
For commuting on tarmac, I ran a single 46T ring and a 9-speed 12-25T cassette for many years. Tyres were 26x1.0.
For dirt, snow and climbing off-road, I've gone for a single 32T ring and a 10-speed 11-36T cassette. Tyres are 26x2.2.
In the end your own fitness will be a big deciding factor. Trying to imagine how the jumps in the cassette feel when you've been used to shifting through two or three chainrings is quite difficult without just doing it. P'raps try riding your bike for a week or two with the chain left on the middle or outer ring (depending on what kind of riding you do), and see how you get on.
The bonuses of 1x (to me) are:
- less weight
- less work
It's not for everyone.
Regarding 'converting' your bike to 1x; It's not rocket science. You don't need a ton of new parts. If your chainline's good, you may not need anything single-speed specific apart from chainring bolts. To get started just take off your front mech/cable/shifter and some chainrings and ride the damn thing. If it drops the chain, examine why and try to fix it. It may involve moving say an outer chainring into the middle, or swapping your BB out for a different axle length (if still on square-taper).
I know SRAM and co are trying to make a fast buck from new 'special' 1x groupsets right now, but outside race environments the average punter won't really notice the difference.
I will say this; I struggled a little with chain retention on my 1x9 setup - it would occasionally throw the chain outwards when shifting into the 12T cog. The chain would land on my shoe, and I learned to put it back on with my foot whilst pedalling.
I wear slightly nicer shoes these days, so in the interests of chain retention for my 1x10 setup I've gone the way of the 'Shadow Plus' (Clutch) rear derailleur. It's brilliant. Maintains chain tension even when you ride down a flight of stairs (which I did, on a test ride today).
The other modern aid is the 'Narrow-Wide' chainring. I wish they'd made those 15 years ago, they look brilliant.
