bikedog wrote:So you do prefer no front derailleur. Would that be because it is more reliable when changing gear or some other reason? Have you found it offers enough range in gears? I read some people say they don't?

Keep in mind conners is a huge U2 fan.

bikedog wrote:So you do prefer no front derailleur. Would that be because it is more reliable when changing gear or some other reason? Have you found it offers enough range in gears? I read some people Wobbler says they don't?

FTFY

This is true, I'm the only person still running 2x. I have huge chainwear with my additional front cog that makes me cry myself to sleep.

I still run 3x but don't post about my massive range or the deficiencies in others small ranges.....

bikedog wrote:So you do prefer no front derailleur.

Yes. But this is a flawed question - of course if anyone could remove a front derailleur with no compromises then of course they would.

bikedog wrote:Would that be because it is more reliable when changing gear or some other reason?

Yes. As I sad earlier, missed shifts/dropped chains were the bain of my riding life.

I also rode with a mentality of only using my granny ring as an absolute bail out gear - I would only shift down when I really needed to, and then back up out of the granny ASAP. I'd developed this habbit from years of suffering from chainsuck in crappy conditions, so I was always trying to keep my granny in the best condition that I could for when I needed it. I know a lot of people who ride 2x probably shift to their granny at the start of the climb, and then switch to big ring at the top - but that's not the way my brain is programmed.

One thing that I really like with 1x is that your lowest gear is a single rear shift away, not a front shift.

bikedog wrote:Have you found it offers enough range in gears? I read some people say they don't?

For the tracks I mainly ride, yes. As I said earlier:

Conners wrote:1x is working well for me - and I haven't needed to go for a stupidly big cassette (on a 32 tooth oval chainring and 11-36 cassette (on 26" wheels)). Front shifting (or mis shifting) has always been a bug bear of mine - so it's kind of refreshing in that regard.

But if I was going to go and race Karapoti I would definitely need my granny back on.

Wobbler wrote:

bikedog wrote:So you do prefer no front derailleur. Would that be because it is more reliable when changing gear or some other reason? Have you found it offers enough range in gears? I read some people say they don't?

Keep in mind conners is a huge U2 fan.

GET ON YOUR BOOOOTZ

Conners wrote:Yes. As I sad earlier, missed shifts/dropped chains were the bain of my riding life.

For context here is a photo of some of Conner's old chainrings taken this very afternoon.

Are you liking the oval Conners? I am thinking of trying one when I need a new N/W ring, and if I like it will go 1x oval on the new CX bike I intend to build for next season, and maybe oval inner ring on the road bike too.



FWIW I run a 32T single ring on the MTB with an 11-40 cassette (11-36 Shimano with a 40T extender) and yeah it is enough for what I ride around here and elsewhere. Steepest thing I would ride on a regular basis is makara 4wd track or the 4wd from top of jungle gym to start of freewheel at wainui, or some of the steeper doubletrack at mt vic, so nothing super steep for long periods of time. It'd probably suck up tip track or something, but I never ride up there anyway so a non issue. In terms of wear, I find chainrings don't last quite as long as the rings on my double used to, but I am surpised how long the 40T rear has lasted (I have gone through 2 front rings and 2 chains in the time I've had the 1x setup), especially given it is alloy, but I suppose I don't really use the 40T a heap.

dwgknz wrote:I still run 3x but don't post about my massive range or the deficiencies in others small ranges.....

What if someone makes incorrect statements about wear rates? Would you comment or just have a sly masty to the thread?

oldandlazy wrote:

Conners wrote:Yes. As I sad earlier, missed shifts/dropped chains were the bain of my riding life.

For context here is a photo of some of Conner's old chainrings taken this very afternoon.

Connersrings.jpg

Oi get out of my stuff man!!!
That right there backs up my comments on using my middle ring at all costs. One of those was actually slipping on the chainring

wachtourak wrote:Are you liking the oval Conners?

To be honest I haven't noticed it at all - which I guess is probably a sign that it works as per the marketing/hype? A lot of the reviews I read people spoke of them feeling a bit weird initially, but I just rode it and it felt fine.

I went with it a) because it was one of the cheaper options in the CRC build kit that I bought (Absolute Black brand) and b) I convinced myself I was getting more range if I used 30t when calculating my low ratio and 32t for my highest.

Oh and that the 2mm offset bosses so that your chain doesn't foul on the crank spider means 2mm better chain line at the low end of your range which is where you spend the most time pedalling under load (for those who like to wah about 1x chain line issues)

There's heaps of recommendations for Trance's about but few for Anthem, why is that?

I've been after a Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt for a couple of years as a rowdy xc bike but can't raise that kind of money. The Anthem SX seems to fit that bill for me and is only $3,299. Anyone got any experience with one? Also anyway around T7s must be collected in store rule?

The anthem has historically been more built for chasing seconds in an XC race. Now that the trance is basically an old reign though, has the anthem shifted to fill the spot of the old trance?

Nah the anthem is mostly still an xc race bike. The SX has a bit less of a race bike feel with a longer fork, dropper post and more comfortable cockpit. Like the componentry with the x1 and revelation fork but not sold that is still QR rear.

dwgknz wrote:Also anyway around T7s must be collected in store rule?

Ring nearest store with credit card in hand. Giants inconvenient policy will be quickly relegated to irrelevant if they have a bike in a box.

Where does the bike need to get to?

Paraparaumu