![]() Should You Single Up? For commuting, fitness riding, and those who are newer to cycling, it's 1x FTW! It might encourage people who never touch their gears because they're intimidated by them, to make better use of their bike's abilities. I think this system would work beautifully for casual or newer cyclists. Did I enjoy the climb without them? Absolutely. If I'd had more cogs, would I have used them? Probably. I did rely on that easiest gear on a road ride with longer climbs, some with steep switchbacks. When I stopped to rest at the top, tired but not trashed, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I'd actually had two cogs to spare. As I neared the crest, I rose out of the saddle because I figured I'd reached my easiest gear. I was pedaling up a short but steep wall of road, clicking into easier gears along the way. RELATED: How to Get Quads Worthy of 1x Drivetrains ![]() I could confidently tell someone who wants a bike for recreational use that a 1x drivetrain is really worth considering. Having fewer gears to deal with and no left lever to think about is awesome. Who is this 1x drivetrain for? Maybe someone like me. I had gears to spare on that first climb. ![]() On my first climb, a ridiculous thought crossed my mind: Could two-by drive-trains eventually end up in landfills next to tube TVs? Of course they won't, but the experience was so satisfying, it seemed valid for a moment. Group: SRAM Rival 1 with S-Series S-700 Flat-Bar Shifters But on longer, fully-loaded tours and gravel races, you may want more gearing options. For lightweight touring and all-day adventure riding, we love the simplicity and climbing assistance of a 1x and a wide-range cassette. ![]() Should You Single Up?: Definitely, maybe, probably, sure. But 1x was ideal for these long, climb-y rides where you're just out to explore all day. Maybe if you were gravel racing, you'd want a bigger gear and more fine-tuning. It was also easy to quickly find my comfortable gear. The nearly 1:1 low gear gave me what I needed even when climbs hit over 10 percent, and I rarely spun out on descents-though I wasn't pushing the pace, because that wasn't the point. One shifter, one chainring, one question: Easier or harder? Bada-bing, bada-boom. The Double-Tap shifters were also a fantastic complement they only further simplified things. Days like these, you turn your brain off and just pedal, so it was nice to forget about front shifting. I tested the 1x on some long, solo rides, including one with 7,000 feet of climbing and dirt roads. RELATED: What You Need to Know About Bike Gear Shifting Coming down Fifth, I had a high enough gear to be satisfied on the steep downhill too. Sure, I was slow, but I could just chug along without fighting for every pedal stroke. I took it up Tenth Street-which hits over 20 percent grades-with loaded panniers, and never felt like I didn't have enough gears. I liked this system more than I expected. In my opinion, this setup was ideal for carrying weight, climbing steep terrain, being off-road, and any combination of two of those things-not all three of those conditions at the same time. But for the fully loaded, cross-country touring I used to do, during which you're carrying 50 pounds, I would have needed a smaller gear in the front for the eastern part of the country (the Appalachians), though probably not the western (the Rockies). I was surprised at how fluid the shifting was and how little I felt the need for another chainring.Īs for this particular gearing combination, I think a stronger rider would be okay with it. I rode this bike after work on a day I felt especially cooped up and frustrated, so I was tearing around like a bat out of windowless office hell. ![]()
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