Cycling in Waterloo Region

[Canard]

My main bike (2016 Trek Verve 3) has a 3x8 gear setup - 3 sprockets on the front (28t, 38t, 48t) and an 8-speed cassette on the back (11t-32t). I never, ever change the front one; it’s always on the 38t (middle) sprocket. I am not looking for an explanation on why I am a terrible person for riding like this. It is my personal preference - I ride very casually and have more than enough range with the cassette in the back with that single centre chainring up front.

I’ve been reading about this recent obsession with “1x” (One By) setups and I like the idea of just removing the larger and smaller sprockets, front derailleur, and front shifter from the handlebars. Just looks so nice and clean.

Has anyone done this to a "regular" bike, or can see any downsides? The one I’m thinking of is: do I need to switch the chainring I’ll be leaving on to a “narrow-wide” one, to grip the chain a little better now that the front derailleur will be gone and won’t provide any guidance? The chainrings that are on my bike right now likely have a tooth profile designed to make it easy for the chain to slip off and move from one ring to another, which is something I would not want happening if I removed the larger and smaller ones and the derailleur.

I might also drop down to 36t from 38t. When I am riding and always have it in that middle chain ring up front I sometimes wish I had an ever-so-slightly larger ratio staring out (i.e., fewer teeth up front), but I’m never maxed out at top speed wishing I wasn’t spinning so fast (meaning I have no desire to go any larger up front).

The bike show is coming up and I’m just making a shopping list of all the bits I want to get. Already settled on Shimano SL-M310 shifters to replace the crappy all-in-one EZ Fire my bike came with (my other bike has true Shimano RapidFire shifters and the difference is remarkable).

Thanks!

[clasher]

I'm going to the bike show on sunday! I'll be at the randonneurs ontario booth trying to promote our kind of long distance cycling.

A lot of bikes at the 8 speed level have riveted rings that aren't replaceable so I'd check on that before looking into buying a chainring as you might need a whole new crank. 1x started off big with MTBs which bounce around a lot more and hence the chain is more prone to slide off the sides. Clutch derailleurs also help with that problem, but if the bike isn't bouncing off logs and potholes all the time I think one can get away using a normal ring. It's also possible to buy regular rings that don't have ramps and pins (the shifting aids) but they aren't 1x specific. I think Black Arrow Cycles sells the surly brand stainless steel rings but they might be only for fixed gears that run 1/8" (wide) chain. Most derailleur chain is 3/32" or narrower with 10 speeds and above.

[danbrotherston]

Which bike show is it that you are going too?

[jamincan]

So the Suntour NEX inner chainrings are not replaceable - the inside two are a single unit as clasher suggested might be the case. Suntour seems to use a 24mm spindle, which is the standard size for Shimano cranks. Something like the M640 crankset may work and you could probably find it for less than $150. The SRAM NX X1 crankset is probably a cheaper option yet, but you'd have to replace your bottom bracket with a BB30 or GXP bottom bracket. Replacing your OEM bottom bracket isn't necessarily a terrible idea, but it'd probably bump the cost up another $50-$100.

If you guys are interested in the bike show, you might also be interested in WCC's bike swap at the Waterloo Rec Centre from 2-5pm on Sunday.

[jamincan]

Which bike show is it that you are going too?

I think they're talking about the Toronto Bike Show on the first weekend of March.

[danbrotherston]

@jaminican Ahh, thanks. So it isn't *this* Sunday--the source of my confusion. I was disappointed because I am in Toronto this Sunday, but not the following.

I would think if one wanted a 1x setup without the cost of actually buying the 1x equipment, you could probably just remove the from derailleur and keep the triple chainring. I don't think having the other chain rings would harm anything other than weight. Of course, it's moot if you wish to change the rings anyway.

I've been tempted to do this on the only bike I have that has 3x gears currently, but I do occasionally use the little ring for climbing the particularly big hill up to work...perhaps I'm just weak.

[Canard]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Dan - Yeah, it's the Toronto show, March 2-4.

Jamincan - The rings on my front are actually bolted, not riveted, thankfully. The way it is set up is the smallest ring is bolted to the middle ring, and then the middle and largest ring are bolted together with the "+" of the crank in between. So, I could easily remove the smallest ring, but to remove the largest ring, I would need shorter bolts.

The guys at work (other cycle guys) were telling me that I should be fine to use a 9/10 front sprocket if I wanted to go to the narrow-wide profile on an 8, because the chains get narrower as you go from 8, to 9/10, to 11 (11 being the thinnest - makes sense). There don't seem to be any narrow-wide sprockets ~36t for an 8-gear rear cassette chain (probably because everyone doing 1x up front wants at a minimum 10 gears at the back).

I've actually been playing around on my last several rides just trying to settle on "one ratio" and see what I would want as a setup if I were to ever buy a fixie...

[jamincan]

Single speed commuters are actually pretty popular for winter commuting amongst some of my friends. I'm not sure you actually want a fixie...

[Canard]

I’ve never tried one. I think there’s an allure to controlling motion entirely with the cranks.

...but I also want an Omafiets, a Priority Continuum, a R&M Charger and a pennyfarthing.

[jamincan]

I've only ever ridden fixed gear on the track, which is admittedly a slightly different ball game. If you do end up going that route, make sure you equip it with front brakes at the very least. I think it may be a legal requirement in Ontario, which is likely persuasion enough for you, but you also probably already understand the benefits of front braking over rear braking.

[clasher]

I used to ride a fixed for all my commuting but that bike is on the freewheel side now since my housemate used it as well. Fixed can be hard on the knees, especially doing skid-stops and pushing a harder gear up hill is something I found aggravated my knees. I ride a ridiculously low ratio on that fixed commuter, 36x16. It's easy enough to spin up most little hills in town and I can still spin fast enough to cruise between 20-25 which is all the speed I want in-town. The nice thing with the fixed commuter is that my drivetrain is all stainless-steel.

I don't know if bike forest still rents bikes but they had a smaller penny farthing that I got to ride once when it came to a critical mass here, years ago. Kinda neat but I dunno if I'd want one all the time.

[KevinL]

...but I also want an Omafiets... and a pennyfarthing.

From anyone else, I would think this was pejorative, but...

[Canard]

I’m serious!

I love bicycles. Riding them, looking at them, working on them.. totally addicted. 2/3 of the way through “The Dancing Chain”.

[jamincan]

Are you familiar with rule #12?

Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.

While the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

(From http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#12)

[timc]

My main bike (2016 Trek Verve 3) has a 3x8 gear setup - 3 sprockets on the front (28t, 38t, 48t) and an 8-speed cassette on the back (11t-32t). I never, ever change the front one; it’s always on the 38t (middle) sprocket.  I am not looking for an explanation on why I am a terrible person for riding like this.    It is my personal preference - I ride very casually and have more than enough range with the cassette in the back with that single centre chainring up front.

I’ve been reading about this recent obsession with “1x” (One By) setups and I like the idea of just removing the larger and smaller sprockets, front derailleur, and front shifter from the handlebars. Just looks so nice and clean.

Mine is the same, because the front derailleur is seized up and I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet. :-D I have thought of doing the same sort of thing.