1X or 2X that is the question.

ljsmith wrote:If you are running a 10 speed 11-36 now, the jumps of a 10-42 are not going to be any different, so that is not something to worry about.   On my gravel bike I am running Force 1 with a 40t front and 10-42 rear, it has all the gear I need and the jumps are all just 2 teeth in the gears I regularly spin in.  The larger cogs where the bigger jumps are, are really only for climbing so the jumps are not that big of a deal.  I have an e13 9-44 on my mountain bike and it works great in that application.  But it has some strange gear spacing for road/gravel use, like why do I need a 9 and a 10 tooth?  It just makes the jumps get kind of big earlier on the cassette than on the SRAM 10-42. 

ljsmith wrote:If you are running a 10 speed 11-36 now, the jumps of a 10-42 are not going to be any different,

Slim wrote: But they are bigger jumps. 10-42 adds a 42t as the 11th cog, meaning that the remaining 10 cogs span 10-36, instead of 11-36, so it has a larger range and therefor bigger jumps. Remember, it's not the number of teeth in the jump, it's the percentage increase: 10 > 11t is the same as 30> 33t

drwelby wrote:The 10-42 will still have bigger jumps in gear ratios, here's a graph. 

Whether they're significant is another story. And you can't really do much about it when the jump between any given two cogs is only going to be one or two teeth at the bottom half of the cassette.

Kuhlkid wrote:Building up an OPEN UP and trying to decide on my gearing. I really want the lighter weight and simplicity of a 1x set up but I'm worried about the jumps between gears. My current gravel race bike has 46/34 front with 11/36 rear and is about perfect for the races I do (lots of long steep climbing). I can get the same range running Di2 shifters, a 40T front ring and a 10/42 on the rear with a Di2 XT derailleur - could even go to a 9/44.  Anyone running a similar set up and can share their thoughts?

ljsmith wrote:
 If you think that is significant on the bike, as opposed to when staring at a spreadsheet, then you probably believe waxing your legs makes you faster also.  

RoverAl wrote:I am seriously considering going 1X 11-42 with a 38T in front. It's on the bike I have in mind. Not many hills where I ride mostly flat and I ride long stretches of paved 30 plus miles or more at a time. Gravel when I can. Not a racer. Would this be a good choice or would I be hunting for the right gear to cruise in all the time? 

DrSpoke wrote:My Niner came with a 42t front and a 10-42 cassette.  Since it's very hilly out here (SoCal) and the bike was for mostly off-road rides I changed the front to a 38t immediately.  And this has worked out quite well for me.  About the only thing I've had to change is my shifting as I have to be careful not to do a double shift in most instances - either up or down - as this has a significant impact on cadence.  Part of this problem was that it has SRAM so it took me a bit of time to get used to the shifters.  I've also used the bike on century road rides w/almost no issues.  The only issue is that I spin out on some of the descents.

Which brings me to my recommendation.  I generally try to gear for my lowest and highest needs.  A 1x system doesn't have the range of a 2x system so often you give up something on either the low end or the high end.  For me, I geared for the low end and gave up a little on the high end.  Since you live in a more flat area I would try to determine your needs for the lowest and highest gears and go with gearing that accomplishes that.  It's possible you won't need the range required out here and may be able to get away with a 11-36 or 11-32 or perhaps a 40 or 42t big ring w/the 11-42.  Regardless, the gaps are a little bigger but I've found them to be manageable as long as I don't accidently do a double shift.