3 ms·

1x12 in Mountain Biking is one of the best innovations to happen in the last couple of years. The reason is sequential shifting.... Sequential shifting is a "ni

1x12 in Mountain Biking is one of the best innovations to happen in the last couple of years. The reason is sequential shifting.... Sequential shifting is a "nice to have" in gravel and road biking... but for MTB is a must. You need an absurdly larger climbing gear on MTB (51-52 tooth) for climbing and wheelie-ing the front off the ground while on inclines. You need a relatively small gear for some speed on downhills and to load the suspension. And because the terrain changes rapidly, you need to fly between the combinations quickly and any point on the cassette. Being able to dump a few gears and quickly pull them back in a few seconds later is a trick you can't pull off with a 2x setup. It's a party trick a 1x12 does in practice and still gives you reasonable jumps between gears. A 1x12 is also a pound or two lighter than a 2x setup. It also is _far_ more reliable... Dropping a chain with a big-little chainring is unheard of and this can be done without a chain guide or bash guard. Losing these two components is another weight savings... You also can't do big-litle chainrings with a 2x setup, because it's nearly impossible to derail the chain. Finally, and maybe most importantly, a 1x12 free up cockpit space for a dropper lever on the left side or a suspension lockout lever (if you're into that).

SavageBeast 4y ago
I still miss having a big ring for the times I want to ride to the trail. A 39 up front and a 11-12 out back just isn't fast enough for that kind of thing. There are a good many trails where having a big ring makes sense too. The current hot setup is too focused on the lower end of the range and totally gave up the high end. I recently bought a 105 level road bike with wide tire clearances and stuck the largest gravel tire I could fit on there and use that in place of my MTB for riding the gravel paths around town. It's nice to be going fast again. MTB manufacturers listen up - make frame clearances support larger than a 39 tooth ring up front. People like me will thank you. Also - back in the 3 ring / 10 speed days I was riding full XT and chain drops were a similar non-issue then too.
- exabrial 4y ago
  39 up front??? How fast are you going man
  - SavageBeast 4y ago
    Im a Texan and its relatively flat here. We have some undulations and rises but not too many real climbs here. A 39 is the max the average Santa Cruz supports - Im running a mere 36 on my Salsa Timberjack because one more tooth and I got a frame grinder. It's adequate but if you're out on a ride with an equally fit friend with a 39 you just get smoked. Now knowing that 700c roadie wheels and 29" MTB wheels are the same circumference ... riding a roadie on gravel with a 48 up front and a 11 out back is comparatively fucking fast!!! Im not going to take any "real trails" on the thing but as the gravel path around the lake goes - fitness rides etc - it hauls ass like my old MTBs that had the similar gearing. I really miss it to be honest.

SavageBeast 4y ago

I still miss having a big ring for the times I want to ride to the trail. A 39 up front and a 11-12 out back just isn't fast enough for that kind of thing. There are a good many trails where having a big ring makes sense too. The current hot setup is too focused on the lower end of the range and totally gave up the high end. I recently bought a 105 level road bike with wide tire clearances and stuck the largest gravel tire I could fit on there and use that in place of my MTB for riding the gravel paths around town. It's nice to be going fast again. MTB manufacturers listen up - make frame clearances support larger than a 39 tooth ring up front. People like me will thank you. Also - back in the 3 ring / 10 speed days I was riding full XT and chain drops were a similar non-issue then too.

exabrial 4y ago
39 up front??? How fast are you going man
- SavageBeast 4y ago
  Im a Texan and its relatively flat here. We have some undulations and rises but not too many real climbs here. A 39 is the max the average Santa Cruz supports - Im running a mere 36 on my Salsa Timberjack because one more tooth and I got a frame grinder. It's adequate but if you're out on a ride with an equally fit friend with a 39 you just get smoked. Now knowing that 700c roadie wheels and 29" MTB wheels are the same circumference ... riding a roadie on gravel with a 48 up front and a 11 out back is comparatively fucking fast!!! Im not going to take any "real trails" on the thing but as the gravel path around the lake goes - fitness rides etc - it hauls ass like my old MTBs that had the similar gearing. I really miss it to be honest.