Here's why a 1x11 setup isn't much of a compromise

[Carbon_Dude]

MTBR published an excellent graph showing gearing of 3x10, 2x10, 1x10, and 1x11 setups.  No compromise in climbing gears, only in top end.  I only run out of gear when I ride the neighborhood and get above 26mph.  Compare that to my max speed of about 23 mph out on the trails, so for off road, my 32T/10-42 setup works really well. Thought I'd share the graph from MTBR as it is a very good graphical representation of just how much overlap there is in 3x10 and 2x10 setups.



"The jumps in rolling distance observed in the 3x (blue plot) and 2x (red plot) show the change from one chainring to the next. While 3x does offer a slightly better range of gearing, the amount of redundancy in gear ratios is extreme. Comparing the 24T ring of the triple to the 32T ring, you can see that the first 8 high gears overlap in rolling distance to gearing in the 24T ring. Only the last two shifts offer a new ratio. The same is true of the 42T ring. Of the 30 gearing choices on a triple 10-speed setup, only 14 combinations offer unique gearing, the rest are redundant. The same is true of a double but to a lesser degree. Of the 20 gearing combinations on a double, 14 are unique ratios. Doubles offer an almost identical range of a triple with one less ring."

You can read the entire story here:
http://reviews.mtbr.com/tech-1x10-narrow-wide-conversion-gearing-revealed-2

[carbonazza]

Thanks for posting. The article is very interesting, and will probably help some friends to switch.

The end explains to step down 2 teeth for the chain rings between 26, 27.5 and 29 wheels for the same cassette.
If you are ok with a 34 teeth on a 26, take a 32 on a 27.5 and a 30 on a 29er.

[bdub]

Great article and it explains it a lot. I think 1x is a great option but I don't mind the 2x10 setup I have. The minimal weight I add by having a 2x10 is not a big deal and it's nice to have the extra range if needed.

[jwilds1]

I was on the fence a lot before I ended up going 2x10.  The reason?  I was able to place (1) order with Ribble for everything I needed and it was for (1) SKU (full 2x10 XT with brakes).

For a noob like me, having to source everything independently if I were to go with a 1x11 would have been a pain and I guarantee I would have had to return/replace/reorder something.  Yeah, I probably could have just asked here for guidance but it really was a piece of cake.