Reply With QuoteDepends on your build aswell I think, I'd swear with a 1x.
I'm looking to get into cycling more - I've had the same hybrid (Specialised Sirrus) for about 10 years, and used to do around 40 miles on a Saturday, mainly around the west coast of Scotland (including the islands) - but I've not cycled for years (I do long walks and rowing erg instead, since getting a dog). I'm looking to buy a cyclocross bike mainly for cycling around Edinburgh (mix of road and paths) and along the John Muir way around Loch Lomond (trails and paths). In addition to alloy vs carbon, my main quandary is chainring, whether to go 1x or 2x.
When I last bought a bike, 2x was the norm. Now, this seems to have moved on to 1x being the preferred choice on more expensive models. A triathlete friend swears by the 1x setup. I initially thought 1x (less gears) would be less useful on hills, but from reading online it seems to be the reverse - 1x recommended for hillier routes, and 2x for cycling on the flat (to maintain a constant cadence). 1x means less chance of chain issues and failure, and a marginal weight saving too. I imagine easier to adapt to 1x for the fitter / more experienced cyclists, so maybe 2x more for the novice.
Just looking for the views of cyclists on here, especially thoughts of those who have switched from 2x to 1x.
On alloy vs carbon, I'm veering towards alloy, as carbon more prone to cracking, and weight benefit marginal.
Any suggestions on bikes would also be appreciated. My budget is c£2k but is flexible.
Thanks all.
Depends on your build aswell I think, I'd swear with a 1x.
I just bought a Specialized Diverge - carbon base. I was looking at cyclo-cross but in the end decided a pure gravel bike would suit my needs better.
I went for the 1x SRAM purely to avoid complication and the 11 speed casette has been perfect so far. I just did 37 miles around Essex on the weekend and the gearing was perfect on a mix of forest/path/road. The only time I've wanted more gears is when being silly going downhill where I could do with an extra 1 or 2 but looking at Wahoo my top speed on the weekend was 42mph so it's probably better I don't have the extra gears.
If I could go back again I'd still get the Diverge and I'd still get an 11 speed 1x, 12 if available. At £2.2k it looks to be in your budget. Might have a job finding a bike at the minute though.
Wow.. congrats. Thats a lovely one.
Dont you mean 36.92 miles?Originally Posted by wileeeeeey
I will right that wrong this weekend! :(Dont you mean 36.92 miles?
I’ve got 1x11 2x10 3x9 across my mountain bikes and all do there job.
2x10 on my fs bike for bigger days out.
1x11 on my xc hardtail for mile munching or crap conditions (though I find this slightly under geared so might change the cassette and/or chainring to give a bit more bottom end)
3x9 on my old winter hack as it’s cheep as chips to replace in crap conditions.
If it were me and road biased/mixed use and speed was a consideration then I’d look at the 2x options, whichever you go for get hydraulic brakes.
Nice, presumably you don't ride it with the saddle like that?
As for the 1x, for me it's definitely the way to go. I've always disliked front mechs. Probably because on bikes in the past they never seemed to be set-up properly for long, and either dropping the chain off the lower or top ring, especially on bumpy singletrack.
For what you're describing, I'd definitely look for something marketed more as gravel rather than CX. There never used to be much difference but nowadays anything listed as Cyclocross is likely to be more CX race specific. The geometry is slightly more relaxed on gravel bikes and the kit will be set up more for longer days out than hour-long lung-bursting CX races!
The biggest benefits (for me anyway) to 1x rather than 2x are on mountain bikes. Losing the left-hand lever means you get some extra space for a dropper lever and it means you don't have to design the rear suspension around a front mech. Neither of which really apply on a gravel bike. Even so, the added simplicity of a 1x makes it worth considering. The jumps between gears are bigger but off-road this is less of an issue to be honest. My CX / gravel bike has 2x11 but that's only because 1x wasn't really a thing. If I were to re-groupset it now, I'd go 1x I think.
Carbon is nowhere near as fragile as you'd think and can be relatively easily repaired as well - probably more so than Al. I don't believe it's any more likely to crack than aluminium - a rock strike that damages a carbon frame will still put a nice big dent in an alloy frame.
No, that was when I was playing around with the seat trying to find a better position. It's nearly level now. My back would be in pieces if I tried 30 miles like that.
Various frames and components are more/less finicky on chainline alignment. I find that some 1x setups are noisier, more difficult to shift cleanly without frequent adjustment. I'd rather ride than wrench, so 2x for me.
If you are going to spend a fair amount of time on the road, then get 2x - the gaps between gears on a 1x make getting a comfortable cadence more difficult.
I have both by the way.
Pete
Picked up my Specialized Diverge last week - 2nd hand alu with carbon forks - cracking bit of kit & no way would I have survived without that 2x set up going out today.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
Hope the dork disk has gone too ;-)
go then, what’s a dork disc?
Cheers,
Ben
..... for I have become the Jedi of flippers
" an extravagance is anything you buy that is of no earthly use to your wife "
Plastic clear disc behind the gear cassette on the rear wheel
must admit that on my 2x - I 99.9% of the time am on the larger chain ring
a smaller 1x chainring is very tempting and may go that way next time need to redo the handlebars...
It’s the plastic disc that sits between the cassette and rear wheel, designed to stop your chain dropping off the largest cog. It’s not required if your rear mech is set up correctly.
^^^ beaten to it.
Last edited by SlipperySam; 22nd July 2020 at 08:45.
Thanks, that what I thought but was not sure.
Cheers,
Ben
..... for I have become the Jedi of flippers
" an extravagance is anything you buy that is of no earthly use to your wife "
Job for the weekend :)
I have 1x11 on my MTB and 2x11 on my road bike. If I was buying now for a cx or gravel bike I'd be looking at 1x12. Might not be possible but if you could get a demo on both set ups and have a go you'll find which is best for you.
I’m hoping to get this once back in stock, will use the cycle to work scheme, 1 X set up , 11 gears, hydraulic brakes .
Will get a second set or road wheels and tyres for easy swap over for road use. I want a less aggressive geometry so this seems to tick all the boxes . However god knows when they’ll be available stock.
https://www.cube.eu/en/2020/bikes/ro...mnorange-2020/
I’d personally avoid 1x12 on a CX, unless the CX mech cage is considerably shorter than the mountain bike cage. It’s a big dangly thing that’s so easy to jam up with crap on the ground, bits of heather/grass etc. 1x11 seems fine but the massive range of the 12 speed cassette makes the mech cage much longer.
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