Gearing Question

[Flat Broke]

Okay, so I'm pedalin my pig around the neighborhood, and its starting to become somewhat clear that even when my legs get going good again, I'm going to be somewhat limited in what I can climb with my 32 front ring and an 11/32 cassette. So I got to thinking, what if I droped the front ring to say a 26 tooth? It would still be a trade off over having a front deraileur and a 22 tooth ring up front, but it would make climbing much easier than the 32/32 ratio I currently have for low gear.

Since I relate everything back to my old BMX bikes, I try to gauge ratios based upon what I ran the most on my 20". If my math is right, a 26:11 ratio on a 26" rim is about equivalent to a 46.5:16 ratio on a 20" rim. That would mean high gear on my geared setup would be noticeably higher than the 44:16 ratio I used on most of my 20" deals. I'd still get a 19% or so underdrive in low, and hopefully the high end ratio would be steep enough to keep a relatively low cadence for long flat stretches and downhill pedals.

If anyone has any input on this, it'd be greatly appreciated. I can run a 26 inner ring to try it, but I don't think that setup will work long term as the inner ring wont work too well with a SRS guide, not to mention that I'd need to space things different on my cranks to get a a more neutral chain alignment on the inner ring since everything is set up for the middle ring position right now. I can make a spider that just has the 64BCD pattern on it, so that I could run a clean 26t setup, and e13 offers the supercharger, so it can be done; I just want to see if anyone has any feedback before I spin my wheels so to speak.

Thanks,
Chris

[dstepper]

I would try two rings up front first?

[Flat Broke]

Originally Posted by dstepper

I would try two rings up front first?

I have what I need to do that, but I'd rather keep a single ring up front. I guess I'll bolt a 26 on the lower ring, ride it like that for a while and if it seems to work out as a do-all gear, I'll fab up a new spider.

Chris

[jinks]

Sweet, another 1x9 on this forum . I run a 32 up front, and I got a 11-34 cassette in the back rather than a 11-32. It took some getting used to, but now I can climb anything that I'd ride normally. I'd have problems riding up something like Polls in El Morro, but who'd want to ride THAT regularly, hehe. Just keep at it. I thought about a smaller ring up front before, but decided against it, because it'd be too spinny on the flats and downhills. But whatever works for you .

[P-Funk]

Originally Posted by jinks

Sweet, another 1x9 on this forum . I run a 32 up front, and I got a 11-34 cassette in the back rather than a 11-32. It took some getting used to, but now I can climb anything that I'd ride normally. I'd have problems riding up something like Polls in El Morro, but who'd want to ride THAT regularly, hehe. Just keep at it. I thought about a smaller ring up front before, but decided against it, because it'd be too spinny on the flats and downhills. But whatever works for you .

I run the same as you on my 1X9 29er. It's tough on some of the steeper climbs, but it's do-able. And no dropped chains! yet..........

[EndoMaster]

Originally Posted by jinks

Sweet, another 1x9 on this forum . I run a 32 up front, and I got a 11-34 cassette in the back rather than a 11-32. It took some getting used to, but now I can climb anything that I'd ride normally. I'd have problems riding up something like Polls in El Morro, but who'd want to ride THAT regularly, hehe. Just keep at it. I thought about a smaller ring up front before, but decided against it, because it'd be too spinny on the flats and downhills. But whatever works for you .

Do you have any trouble with chain coming off the front ring?

I have been considering trying a similar setup, in my case 1x8. I have a blackspire 32 tooth, unramped front ring and a 11x23 road cassette.
The front ring is labelled as a SS ring but I think as long long as I use it with a 8/32 in. chain then I should be o.k. Anyone see a problem with this?

[jinks]

Originally Posted by EndoMaster

Do you have any trouble with chain coming off the front ring?

Yeah, the first couple rides my chain was dropping on the downhills. The first ride was because I had too many links on the chain for a 1 chainring setup. The second time was just because it is how it is. It's not like a singlespeed where the chain drive stays straight. I did some research and then I got a bashguard to stop the chain from jumping to the outside, and a chainguide to stop it on the inside. I got the NGear Jumpstop. That guy rocks. He sent it out right when I placed the order, even before I sent any money. You can also get a chainguide at REI for pretty cheap. Or you can get a nice guide that Freeride/downhill people use, but those cost bank and weigh more.

[Flat Broke]

Cool to see some other single ring setups. Tomorrow, I'll grab a 26t for the inner ring slot, and see how I like it.

As far as the question about the chain falling off, I set my chainline up so that it is straight on the middle to high gear cogs as they would see more load. The angle is a little extreme on the 32 cog, but the chain holds. Once I figure out what I'm doing for certain I'll either get something like the E13 SST (for 26t setup) or the 32 special.

Chris