i've researched it but with no real solid info, so here goes my idea... single 38ish front, 13-25 ish cassette 8spd rear with a short cage ultegra or similar and an 8spd xt or xtr shift pod will this work? my goal is have my primary ring closer to the bottom so the rest of the cassette is for climbing so i need to gear accordingly for the front...but i am slightly concerned about the chainline, or is that not a real issue?
If this is for anything other than a commuter or a downhill rig you will regret that gearing choice. I run 1x9 with a 32 front and 11-34 rear. It works great, but on long climbs it is a b*tch...my wife runs a 28 front with a 11-34 rear on a 29er. She likes that set-up a lot. Just my .02 cents. Cheers, Andy
this is the roadie forum i cringed when i first read 38 x 25 would be his easiest gear thinking this was for a mtn bike .
i should have mentioned this is for a Mary bar road bike built to explore the brutal streets of Los Angeles it's not that much climbing, and i am not as svelte (read as: a bit overweight and out of shape) as i'd like to be
Your gearing will be fine, seeing how my fat ass climbs with a 39x25. My only concern would be keeping the chain on. You will need some type of chain device in the front to keep the chain on the top of the chainwheel
That would work well for dropping the chain to the inside, still need to worry about it dropping to the outside. Might be ok without anything If you set the chainline a little wide.
if you're worried about it dropping to either side, check out the rohloff chain guide ^not mine, but i do like the one i have
I ran 1x9 for a year or so with an n-gear on the inside and a Spot bash guard (any will work, but Spots are super light) on the outside. It worked fine, but the Rohloff thing is certainly cleaner, if not cheaper.
I have a 1x9 with a bash guard, chains has only fallen off once on really rough trial other then that its awesome. I have a 32 tooth front and an 10-32 rear cassette. oops just realized this was the roadie forum. disregard my comment unless your looking for a mtn bike setup.
I was running a 38 x 11-25 on my cross bike for awhile. It was okay and I never had any problems, but I ultimately wanted a wider gear range. I ended up going with a 42t x 11x34t and was much happier. Downhill were faster and the uphills were easier. just my 2cents