Have we got to the point where 2x etc are regarded as the 'alternatives'?!!

I never made the connection. I am an OG Sheldon fan. This episode such a great example of the passion and work Russ has put into this.

@@christofs-a1834 unfortunately. I'm riding 3x9 which, according to FB groups, is 'unrideable'.

@@christofs-a1834 The best reasons to adopt 1x I hear are 1) its simpler 2)less weight but every riders needs and conditions are so arbitrary this seems like fluff. 2x is also simple, marginal weight gain but adds more range and less time either out of the saddle or pushing uphill. Riding long distances over varied terrain the economy for me is staying my cadnece for the duration. I am going to test 1x for a while but already miss my granny.

@@michaelrowave If anybody really cared about weight they'd either lose weight or get a carbon bike. 1x, 2x, 3x literally doesn't matter weight wise

Read “Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” for more info on beer can shims!😂👍

3x is brilliant for 26 inch wheels as the smaller diameter has a wider range of rpm's required. I cringe at the sight of all of these 26 inch rebuilds going 1x.

commuter bikes don't even need shifters

@@SurpriseMeJT O cringe is the word for it, good one. And whatever happened to revs and knees, just having a rear derailleur is like heading back happy to the stone age. :)

@@justdude8115 Maybe but the problem is those party pacers. You never know when they'll amble past and act all mellow but inside you know they're laughing because they're faster than you. So yeah, that's when I hear the call of the big ring and show them who's who on a ride through the countryside. Tho' I do feel bad when they can't get their 42 to go any faster. :)

@@robbchastain3036 hah, noice. But in this case I would simply go with 46t chainring and 11-42 cassette. I don't quite like running front derailleur, I prefer simplicity, but these steep protracted hills are forcing me to run double/triple. I have 22/36 on my current bike, but for my vintage mtb I want to buy 26/40 chainrings

I've also seen people running a bail out chain ring with no front derailleur. It's possible to shift down using your heel. Obviously you have to stop to shift up again, but that's my norm at the top of a long steep climb!

@@davidraffe3445 I've seen this more common on tadpole recumbents, which makes sense if not for the greasy fingers on the lifting to the big ring. Seems a nice middle ground where the lower end was the old flip your rear wheel around to get another gear. Not too much reduction else chain length issues.

I’ve found indexed works better in traffic. It’s impossible to hear if I’m in gear over the sound of the cars.

@@ClockworksOfGL Some of us rode in traffic long before all these proprietary clicky bits existed. Its the rider, not the freakin bike. A bit of gears rattling hardly slows me down at all. I'm pretty sure the operator has more to do with it.

@@rollinrat4850 i smashed my taint about 4000 times running a friction 8/9 speed rear. tried several different shifters. suntour power ratchet worked the best for me but i just had to ride too timidly. back to indexed xt triggers and no more smashed taints. it definitely has everything to do with the riders style and where youre riding. i know tons of people totally happy running friction and they are all pretty mellow riders. i like a good matched cadence to what im doing on my bike and i shift very often, indexed just works for my riding style.

@@anthonidanowski9404 Geez! Maybe consider a dropper post? Keep your weight back and down as much as possible. If you descend real steeps you should be trying to almost sit on the back tire. That'll buzz your ass every once in awhile!! Your shifter was where?? I should probably admit to using trigger shifters on my fully and hardtail MTBs, but not my SS! But I enjoy going up hills just as much as going down. Often I rest on descents. I've always been more interested in seeing how long and far I can possibly ride. I like pushing those limits. I love lots of fairly techy trails though. I won a trials comp once back in the '90s! I'm Certainly not a gravity junkie. I'm too old for that. Since I'm surrounded by big mountains, often 2000+foot climbs, at least 70% of my time is spent going up. Ive just built a 29er monstercross with dirt drops. I built custom modified friction mtb thumbshifters that now fit in the hooks just under the brake hoods. I ride in the hooks mostly since I designed the bike around that intention. These shifters something I worked on quite awhile and finally perfected. They're awesome! I'll ride it on any of the rocky trails I take my MTBs, I just go a bit slower downhills due to no suspension, but this bike can do long distance and haul my entire household for over a week of self support if need be.

@@rollinrat4850 i have a dropper post on my rigid mtb (96 stumpjumper). running 9x3 with xt triggers on that and love the setup! my regular route i do on it involves about 5k of climbing in a 50 mile loop out my front door. the only time running frction shifters didnt bother me was on long tours. were i wasnt trying to ride agressively at all. i like the simplicity and the period correctness of the bike (1979 fuji america 650b) but as soon as i started commuting on it they drove me insane. shifting is not something i want to pay attention too, i just want to focus on riding hard and not getting hit by a car or more importantly ( on shitty portland bike paths) not running over glass.

Also make sure the derailleur matches the number of teeth on the largest cog. I had to replace a chainset on my 26" mountain bike and carelessly didn't notice that the new one had more teeth on the largest cog than the original. I ended up changing the front derailleur as well.

To be fair, with modern 1x, I have never dropped a chain anywhere: front or rear. Narrow-wide chainrings and clutches mean they are very reliable. I used to drop chains on my 2x (even Di2). I have Ekar now on 2 bikes and no chains dropped, ever.

@@seanrequiredfieldcannotbel1362 Good for you. My Sram GX clutch can't seem to handle the washerboards. I'm using a 1x Raceface Narrow Wide chainring. My 90's mountain bike with Alivio front and rear derailleurs slapping about doesn't drop the chain on the same mile long washerboard section. All I'm saying is a front derailleur serves as an effective chain guide.

@@newttella1043 have a shop look at your 1× setup. Morern 1× does not drop chains, is what I'm saying. Your point is moot because I can drop a chain on a 2× that has a front mech.

That's indeed a good tip

Lol

I did a 10 days touring on my Brompton and oh god, that was fun.

We move closer to cavemen. This constant flopping around to the newest trend then going back, flopping between 'standards' will be the end of the bike industry as we know it. And thats a good thing. I love cycling but the industry, including the press, are ruining it.

Yep I agree brompton was doing 1x long before it was a trend lol minus well just go all out and stay ahead of the trend and do 1x with Rohloff SPEEDHUB LOL!

What does this mean? I'm not really into bikes. What does Brompton do that's so special?

Sounds great. Which cassette is that?

I use the Claris FD with 46/30. It's designed for as small as a 46t big ring. I think Sora might be the same.

P.S. I haven't tried the Claris FD with friction shifters, only indexed.

I'd bet that a 42/39 double would make a great half-step with that 11-52. If it works like every other ultra-wide-range rear / 3-4 tooth front I've modeled, you'll end up with 20/22/24, 7-8% gap gears from ~18 to ~110 gear inches. Slap a road double front derailleur on it, and Bob's yer uncle. (Most triple FDs won't work, the inner cage is too low.) --Shannon

WickWerks makes one that drops a bit further than the FSA or IRD, if I recall correctly.

Have a 40/22 with Red, XX and XO.

Yes. I have a vid on using an x9 double for touring.

IME 3x FDs are not widely compatible, and 2x FDs are compatible only in the sense that with some adjustment it's usually possible to make one click do the shift. That said, there are differences even between Shimano FDs.

@@szurketaltos2693 what’s this click you refer to? We always run them friction :)

Indexed 2x shifters are a waste of time. Those clicky bits are for folks who never learned how to shift, haha. Brifters are ALL overpriced dumpster filling eventually. Just Ask me how I know. Its all RubeGoldbergish.... I'd rather use no front derailleur at all and shift with my freakin hand! I really dug Russ' seat tube shifter! Everyone NEEDS to think outside the box. We're considering custom drivetrains here. Purchasing junk is a consumer decision. You bought the freakin farm!! Buy only frames with round tubes and threaded BBs. Avoid INFERNAL routing. Forget about everything else or be a slave to proprietary dumpster filling! Again, ask me how I know! A plain bare round tube gives us the most options as Russ showed. Make sure it's top or bottom pull OR add the problem solvers clamp. Find a Deore M616 derailleur. It fits several seat tube sizes with shims. Its a dual pull derailleur for 2x mountain. A good low profile. Currently I use 20/36 'rings. Ive also used 22 with a 38 one by ring. It shifted ok, but not fast. Ive also used 24/42 with the same derailleur. All my cranks are decades old square taper mtb triples except one SLX Hollowtech I got for free. I get most of this old junk used, often free or I just bought it and used it for decades. Cycling is supposedly a freakin 'green sport'!

I've found that GRX 2x11 works fine with the SRAM 11-36T cassette.

What crankset did you use to fit a 46/28 chainrings? I have a gravel bike but I treat it more like a MTB sometimes with my riding and a small 28 would be useful sometimes.

Ése es el que uso en mi Trek 1200 '93. Shimano 600 con plato "porteur" Stronglight de 38 y 26 delante y 11-28 atrás.

I agree. I have that setup and find it covers a wide range without that cranking angle of the chain but there is some gear overlap that can be adapted to. Love the XT and 9x 3x.

anything from 9 speed and down is king, i have no interest in anything above that.

I find that the shape of the 3x derailleurs works better for smaller chainrings as opposed to the ones designed for 50/34 cranks

@@jasongraham6772 I was thinking the same, nice to know you’ve tried it. I figured an old triple is meant to hit that range just need to get the stops in the right place

@@thebr0wnhornet I am trying to get my hands on a modern derailleur like the grx ones to compare the shape, would be interested to see how different they are

@@jasongraham6772 that's where I started looking bc most say they can handle 14-16 tooth difference, I just wonder if they can drop to a 24t or 26t small ring

Concur, using it with a 42-32-24.

Michael, I’m curious - do you feel the 30front / 40rear combo is not low enough for climbing? Would you start spinning out on decents with lower front chainrings? I’ve found that fully loaded a 46/30 and 11/42 combo gave me the best of both worlds, so I’m curious as to your need/thought process of going lower. Thx!

@dmartel243 Thanks for the reply. A great question. The reason I want to explore going lower in the front is that my bike has a front load bias. When climbing, that extra range I think would help alleviate the sensation of pushing that weight up even more. However, having the ability to go 30/40 is awfully nice in those situations.

@@michaelmonardo3266 understood, thx for the reply! Good luck in your quest!

Care to tell me which RD, FD and cassette?

@@kurthuman XT rear derailleur with Wolftooth Goat Link, XT 2x front derailleur and a XT 10sp cassette with Wolftooth 16t and 42t cogs

I tried that. It turned out being less fun than it sounds.

Shimano dyna-sys