Transcontinental Race No. 7 - TCR7 - #TCRN07 - 2019

You pull me into another tech talk with this post :)

Have knee issue, have hills, choose to climb, which drives me to experiment with these types of drivetrains. Can do only high cadence with low power. No grinding else it's time off the bike.

I am a believer in the oval chainrings because I have a noticeably happier knee(s). I just picked up the newish one piece Rotor 46/30 oval chainring that fits only the new ALDHU & VEGAST. Looking forward to that. I really want the Osymetric or TA but don't get the 46/30 combo.

Since my last writings on this I've come further with the topic and also setup a Shimano 1x with a 50T Sunrace cassette. Some unpleasant chainline issues that were solved by shimming the cassette outboard and the crank inboard. It's sorta happy now but I'm disappointed in 1x. It's not as trouble-free as I thought and it is not smooth. Tried chains of KMC, Shimano and SRAM all at DA/XTR level. Conclusion, SRAM chains are made to like 1x. The others not so much.

The devil is in the details with this stuff. I'm willing to hash them out with anyone thinking about this but need to know exact model of shifters, F&R mech, and what you are willing to change.

A 46T or 50T in the rear is designed for a 1x.
2x could only work if front rings are very close in size, like CX 46/39 close.

Spent much time on this website comparing gear ratios of what I have to where I want to go. Then reading, buying and trying different stuff.

http://gears.mtbcrosscountry.com

Punch in what you have, then compare it to an 11spd Shimano 11/42(or 40) rear and 46/30 (or 48/31) front.
That is a very solid functioning and achievable setup that doesn't squak or grunt.

Got some Catalyst pedals sitting on my desk now

Makes sense to try them on the commute first, then a couple of local rides to get confident in them. But, TBH, I've never had any problems chainging between them and speedplays from ride to ride. Position is the same, just feels a bit different to begin with. Much nicer for climbing out of the saddle than speedplays - really feel like you are pushing with your whole foot, which you are!

I was using them this weekend on my loaded tourer which has 10-y.o. Tiagra shifters +M triple, so not quite as slick as Di2. And my foot slipped a bit when I shifted heavily a few times. It never slipped off the pedal but a little bit forward, out of position. It might be that it is Di2 that makes these a feasible alternative to being clipped.