I have a 19 Warbird custom setup with a mechanical Ultegra drivetrain including derailleur clutch. I am a Florida boy (puny hills) but will be doing races in N GA and other very hilly places I was looking for some advice on what cassette range and front gear to get that will work well on hills like I will be riding in N GA. In general I am very good with climbs but not so good with figuring out ratios etc. Any friendly advice would be appreciated!!
What is the advantage to going 1x? I have ultegra and I can’t complain. I don’t’ shift the front much, but when I do, I need to. And, being able to have tight gear changes is nice (small jumps, quick sharp shifts).
Generally, people like a 1:1 ratio for long climbs. 32 front 32 rear on a 2x could work well. I think on a 1x, I would need at least a 40t in the front, which means going pretty big in the rear to get 1:1 (and larger gaps).
For gearing, you really need to know your low speed and your top speed that you will realistically be pedaling at. For instance, above 35mph, I’m realistically better off coasting (getting aero, getting my heart rate down and recovering). So, you could target 1:1 for climbing, and then something that gets you 100rpm at 35mph for example. 45 x 10t will get you to about 35. 40tx10t is typical for 1x, and that will get you about 31-32mph
Just use an online gear calculator to play with the numbers.
I was looking at 1X because I like it aesthetically and I like the simplicity of one less adjustment and one less component to fail. I am shooting for Kanza and one of the big concerns I read about are mechanicals. Anything I can do to reduce that risk that goes along with my aesthetic values is a go for me if reasonable. Your post helped a lot!! I really appreciate that. I was thinking 40T chainring and 10-42 rear cassette. Thoughts?
I have the Apex 1 2019 Warbird. It came with a 42t in the front and 11-42 in the rear. I ended up swapping out the crankset for a Force 1 with a 38t chainring. I'm super happy with this gearing for my riding. I live in rural western MA which doesn't have high elevation, but is very hilly. I don't miss the higher speed end of the range at all. I can easily spin up to 28-ish mph on a downhill, which is plenty for me.
Personally, I'm enjoying the simplicity of the 1x, but totally understand that it doesn't meet all use-cases.
Only you can decide what gearing you need. I use a 40t front and an 11-34 cassette on my commuter and a double on my race bike. If you weigh more/less or have more/less hills or are stronger/weaker you may need a different ratio.
Plan A: 1) Figure out what kind of hills you are going to be climbing 2) Figure out what kind of power you want to climb at - or find the longest hill you can and figure out what gear you're in and what the incline is. 3) Figure out how fast you'll be going up that hill - http://bikecalculator.com/ 4) Figure out gearing https://www.gear-calculator.com/
Plan B: 1) Figure out your cruising speed. Set that for the front ring x 13t gear. https://www.gear-calculator.com/ 2) Buy whatever 11sp 11-xx (34 -36-40-42t) cassette that is on sale that fit your freehub and RD, live with the gearing. You can probably do 38t front, 11-34t the cheapest. If you go oval front, you can get away with a bit higher gearing on the hills.
Brian - I can understand that. Make sure you get a tune up before the big day (or check all your bolts and of course anything that squeaks should be tightened down). Theoretically a 1x chainring will have better chain retention, although a short caged clutched ultegra doesn’t really have retention issues.
One solution is just not to shift. When I am doing gravel alone, I’m just in the 36t chain ring. If I’m determined to sprint with a fast pack over 28mph, I’ll use the big chain ring (last night showed me pulling hard at 36mph with some testosterone induced lycra gravel bikers), but on a long ride like Kanza I’m gonna keep my heart rate down (and not push it over 25mph).
I think 40T with a 10-42T sounds good to me – although it depends a lot on the rider and terrain.
I keep a spreadsheet with all my bikes gearing calculated in gear inches. Start with the GI online calculator chas mentioned and copy or recreate the formula - its easy to do and makes good reference material to compare your own experience with "what if" scenarios.
Another good option... just get the cassette you're going to get. Then buy an extra crank/ring depending on the mud/hill factor. Rather than changing rings on one crank, it's a lot easier to keep them mounted on a separate crank as AL chainring bolts are good for 1-2 uses in my experience. A used and abused 105 or Tiagra crankset isn't that expensive.
jfranci3 wrote:Another good option... just get the cassette you're going to get. Then buy an extra crank/ring depending on the mud/hill factor. Rather than changing rings on one crank, it's a lot easier to keep them mounted on a separate crank as AL chainring bolts are good for 1-2 uses in my experience. A used and abused 105 or Tiagra crankset isn't that expensive.
Another good option... just get the cassette you're going to get. Then buy an extra crank/ring depending on the mud/hill factor. Rather than changing rings on one crank, it's a lot easier to keep them mounted on a separate crank as AL chainring bolts are good for 1-2 uses in my experience. A used and abused 105 or Tiagra crankset isn't that expensive.
Actually, the reason I would keep 2x is to be able to do that without changing anything. I have a track bike - change rings and cogs all the time to tune it for the race. I kinda like pressing a lever to change rings/cogs on my gravel bike, lol.
Really, if you are going to change chain rings, just leave it 2x, get the cassette you need and shift to the chainring you need before you ride. (good chainring bolts are not expensive if you go that route).
TBH, I went 1x last year, and with the availability of the GRX cranks and front derailleurs that don't hit your tire, I'd have to give it a lot of thought if I were doing it again today. I like the (mechanical) simplicity of it, though I question how much weight it really saves when you factor in a big cassette, and it sure doesn't make picking components easy. I started with an XT cassette and my original 105 derailleur, then an Ultegra R8000, then switched to an XD cassette, an RX800 derailleur, and finally the GRX RD812... and it finally works right. There were easier options using SRAM, but I'm fine with my Shimano levers and I didn't want DOT4 brake fluid.
I wouldn't want to go 1x without an XD cassette, or waiting for Microspline to become more popular. IMO, with an 11t you have to go too big on the other end, both for available derailleurs, and just plain practicality... my 42t looks huge, and 46-50+ are just silly. Although with the 812 rear derailleur, you could probably at least get it to work with a 46 if you really wanted. The upside to switching to XD (and I'm sure Microspline) is you don't have to use a steel freehub body to avoid biting up an aluminum one and getting gears halfway stuck on there.
I'm not saying I wouldn't do it again, I do like the simplicity and the look, and a lot of my reluctance to get into 1x was wondering if this handful of components that I needed to make it work (like narrow-wide rings and an XD 10-42) would still be around in 4 or 5 years when I need replacements, and I don't think I have much to worry about there. But man, if I could've clicked a button then and bought a 46-30 crankset and a front derailleur that cleared my tire (for a reasonable price... I know the derailleur existed a year ago, but the subcompact cranks were rare and not cheap) I wouldn't have minded giving that a shot first.
Brian wrote:I have a 19 Warbird custom setup with a mechanical Ultegra drivetrain including derailleur clutch.I was looking for some advice on what cassette range and front gear to get that will work well on hills like I will be riding in N GA. In general I am very good with climbs but not so good with figuring out ratios etc.
Thanks!
We can help you with figuring out ratios, but we don’t know how many gear inches you want.
