1 ring or 2

[Vantage]

I was once out in remotest Remoteshire on my mountain bike and going over a particularly big boulder I bent the big chainring. Short of having a flat surface hard enough to take a hammering and another object hard enough to try hammer the ring straight again, I was left with two perfectly good rings with which to get home on.
You don't have that luxury with a single chainring.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

It’s difficult to take you seriously sometimes. I am with you up to where I have inserted the break in paragraphs above. I totally get that part.

The last part is where you lose me completely, with that typical quote of “more money than sense”. I do wonder what goes through your mind?
I secretly hope that you’re just jerking our chains with these comments. .

To me, if you just chuck anything away that still has useful life left in it just because it's getting on a bit, the you do indeed have more money than sense. In the case described, it's entirely possible someone had left it where they did in the hope it would get salvaged, as it was on the opposite side of the pavement from the rubbish left out for the dustman. They might have thought one of us at work would take it in and get some tunes out of it. In the event it got saved and put to good use, but if I hadn't been in work that day, it might well have ended up in the dustcart, so it was hardly a responsible disposal strategy! Mind you, the properties in the street are worth millions, so any system costing a mere few hundred quid would just be loose change to any of the neighbours.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

To me, if you just chuck anything away that still has useful life left in it just because it's getting on a bit, the you do indeed have more money than sense. In the case described, it's entirely possible someone had left it where they did in the hope it would get salvaged, as it was on the opposite side of the pavement from the rubbish left out for the dustman. They might have thought one of us at work would take it in and get some tunes out of it. In the event it got saved and put to good use, but if I hadn't been in work that day, it might well have ended up in the dustcart, so it was hardly a responsible disposal strategy! Mind you, the properties in the street are worth millions, so any system costing a mere few hundred quid would just be loose change to any of the neighbours.

i use a small box that plugs into an ‘80s jvc hifi so can stream anything from laptop or iphone. makes a lovely noise

 

[Low Gear Guy]

The bicycle industry just wants to keep selling you new stuff you don't need in order to get hold of more and more of your cash - it's as simple as that. When the market was saturated with drop bar sports bikes, in the 1980s, the industry started pushing rigid MTB's, or ATB's as they were originally called - often heavily influenced by old roadster frame geometry. Once everyone had loaded up on rigid frame MTB's and saturated that market, then they started pushing hardtails and full-sus bikes, and increasing the wheel sizes along the way to accelerate the frequency of the bike replacement cycle. More recently it's been "gravel" bikes, i.e. road bikes that actually have some tyre & mudguard clearance - a bit like the typical non-racing sports/touring bikes of the 70's and 80's did as a matter of course, but was considered normal! The whole name of the game is to convince cyclists that the bike they currently have is soon hopelessly out of date and therefore they absolutely MUST go out and buy whatever the latest thing they and the sycophantic cycling magazine media decide is a "must have". If you stand back and detach yourself from all this industry-driven marketing hype, you can see it for the BS it really is. Bikes do NOT need to replaced with new bikes every couple of years; once you possess a bike or bikes that do the job you require of them, they can last as long as you maintain them to last. Most of my bikes have had at least two owners, are over 20 years old, and are still every bit as useful as they were on the day they were built.
I've ignored the fad for 27.5" then 29" MTB's, ignored front or full suspension, ignored carbon fibre, ignored aero frames, ignored 1 x drive trains - yet strangely enough my old "outdated" machines still manage to get me everywhere I want to go on them without any fuss and probably with a lot less maintenance headaches than a lot of much newer stuff. We like poking fun at women and their shoe obsessions, yet a lot of male cyclists are far worse fashion victims concerning their bikes & the kit that goes with them, than any woman is about clothing.

I seem to take so long working out what the new fashion and if it is any good that it is then out of fashion.

 

[jowwy]

whats the above posts got to do with 1 ring or 2??

 

[marzjennings]

.
I've ignored the fad for 27.5" then 29" MTB's, ignored front or full suspension, ignored carbon fibre, ignored aero frames, ignored 1 x drive trains - yet strangely enough my old "outdated" machines still manage to get me everywhere I want to go on them without any fuss and probably with a lot less maintenance headaches than a lot of much newer stuff. We like poking fun at women and their shoe obsessions, yet a lot of male cyclists are far worse fashion victims concerning their bikes & the kit that goes with them, than any woman is about clothing.

Then you’ve missed out on some really great innovation. I must first admit I’m a new gear junkie and have paid the price for buying cool looking shiny things only to find out they don’t live up to the hype, but mostly I’ve found the new stuff works.

I’m sticking with a 1x11 as it’s been the most efficient and silent multi-geared setup I’ve ever had. Almost as quiet as my old SS. Plus with the narrow-wide rings and new clutch systems I don’t get chains jumping off the front rings.

Over the years I think some of the best innovations that delivered actual improvements have been...

Canti’s to v brake to discs brakes. No more hand cramps and the ability to stop using one finger

Clip to clip less pedals. Easier in and out, better attachment, more efficient.

Steel to alu to carbon frames. Lighter and stronger frames that allow for smarter frame utilization.

Rigid to hardtail to full sus. The ability to ride faster for longer without getting beaten up.

Carbon wheels. Bomb proof wheels that seem to buckle less often

Press fit bottom bracket on an mtb. Ok that was stupid.

Tubless tyres. Many more miles between punctures.

Straight to tapered headset. Stiffer forks with better feel and steering.

26 to 29 inch wheels. Faster and smoother riding.

QR to 20mm to 15mm front axles. Stiffer wheels, better steering and braking.

I’ve yet to try a dropper post, but that’s on the list for the next bike which with luck I’ll get next month replacing my current 2 year old out date bike.

 

[DRHysted]

I have 2 triples, a double, a single speed, and a 1x11 in my stable.
On all of them I never feel as if I’m in the “perfect” gear.
On the triples I tend to spend most of my time in the middle ring, big ring on the double. I love the simplicity of the single speed, but occasionally (Scotland) I like extra gears.
At present the 1x11 appears to be a good mix the lowest is 42/42 and the highest gets me to 30mph (downhill). Not playing with trim or swapping front cogs, just going up and down the cassette makes it quite simple.

One triple is an old MTB, the other is a road bike. The double is a sportive bike. Both the single speed and the 1x11 are CX bikes.

 

[Ciar]

My MTB has two rings and it covers all the bases for me personally, a friend of mine switched his to a 1x and i saw how he struggled on certain bits and pieces.

as for my previous commuter i actually switched the road bike from 50-36 i think it was to a hope 44 narrow wide and it worked rather well on road. now back on the commuter but a hybrid with 46-34 and seriously tempted to switch it to the 44 narrow wide, it covers everything i do commuting wise, especially in London.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

+3 4 3.

 

[Kajjal]

I use 2 x 11 gearing on one bike and 2 x 10 on the other. This is due to wanting a wide range of gears with speed and hill climbing ability on natural trails. One thing I did notice more with 2 x 11 was the gears were so close together I eventually adapted to shifting up two gears at a times when accelerating quickly.

That being said my old 3 x 8 bike rides well with smooth gear changes but I have to get used to it again each time. The gearing on it means it will almost climb walls due to the extreme low gearing.

 

[Venod]

QR to 20mm to 15mm front axles. Stiffer wheels, better steering and braking

I have run a 15mm front axle couldn't tell the difference between that and QR, don't see how the size of the axle makes a stiffer wheel or improves steering and braking, a QR done up tight holds the wheel same as a through axle.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I resisted the 29er thing for ages but I think they are much better for xc style riding, I roll over much more stuff easier than I did on 26.

They do, but I find that once under about 4 mph they are not as stable, I weave on mine at that speed just trying to keep going, but as the 1,2 or 3 debate I have 3 & it works for me, I'm an unfit, overweight cyclist I need all the gears I can.

 

[Venod]

They do, but I find that once under about 4 mph they are not as stable

Yes I have noticed this, 26" wheels are better for slow speed maneuverability.

 

[marzjennings]

I have run a 15mm front axle couldn't tell the difference between that and QR, don't see how the size of the axle makes a stiffer wheel or improves steering and braking, a QR done up tight holds the wheel same as a through axle.

QR’s with 9mm skewers were quickly replaced with through axles are fork suspension travel increased, as they couldn’t provide sufficient torsional rigidity. My first long travel forks had a 9mm QR axle and they were terrible for the tyre rubbing on the inside of the forks and disc rub on the calipers during hard cornering and rough sections. Once I upgraded to a 20mm axle these issues went away and I could lean heavily into corners without the tyre jamming itself against the inside of the fork.

 

[Kajjal]

I have run a 15mm front axle couldn't tell the difference between that and QR, don't see how the size of the axle makes a stiffer wheel or improves steering and braking, a QR done up tight holds the wheel same as a through axle.

It does depend on the wheels you have as well. My gravel bike (Bolt Thru) had quite a flexible front wheel but once replaced with a stiffer wheel the difference was very noticeable. Also stronger , heavier, faster riders will notice the difference more as they push the bike harder.