Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB

I tried some bikes with it. Can't stand not knowing when the FD gonna shift.

1x gearsets, except for FS MTBs where fitting a front derailleur is impossible, is total Emperor's New Clothes. SRAM can't make a front derailleur that actually works for shit, so rather than making one that works they tried (and largely succeeded) in persuading everyone that they don't need/want one.

And basically mix it with Shimano one.

-500ft in 4 miles

Why are you even pedaling? Save chains, save lives.

SRAM FD work well enough if fitted correctly, better in fact for cables where you don't get rattling levers or trimming.
1x is perfect off-road, a lot harder to drop a chain, don't have to be panic shifting chainrings when finding a 25% rock climb after a corner.

It comes down to personal preference as, technically, it works with whichever you choose.

I hate 2x on gravel. If I’m riding something even remotely technical, the last thing I want to be doing is shifting the FD whilst also compensating by shifting the RD therefore having to take away control from both brakes and having to ease up on the pedals for a rev or two.

You never rode MTB when triples were the thing offroad?

Quite enjoy the 1x
As for jumps in gearing, I kinda expect to change gear when I change gear. I’m not looking for a chauffeur driven ride.

On the downside I used to have an FSA/SRAM 1x drivetrain and if I was group riding, sometimes it would throw the chain. This was always at easy pace everyone else on regular road groupsets , on the flat. I think it was to do with cadence and the chain getting some kind of “frequency wobble” and just diving off the cogs.

Currently using a mixture of force and apex and its robust, it does the trick and cleans up nicely.

Pros and cons of each drivetrain aside, 1x was designed for MTBS for chain retention needs. The gaps in gears, cost of the system and chainline compromises are worth it on an MTB that gets used for trail/enduro/shuttle type use. imho that balance of compromises changes for a bike that goes on road half the time at wider speed ranges and has less need for such solid chain retention. But as long as you can pedal it..

Wasn’t long ago when we’re riding on 52/39 and a “big” cassette was a 11-28t.

Thumb shifters are different to brifters... and triples on mtb were shit.

I was thinking about this as I rode the other day- and remembered the good old days of refusing to leave the 52 for the whole ride.
I'm now soft, love my high cadence, and can't grind up a hill like I used to... Aging is a glorious thing

I like having knees

Knees are nice.

Remotely technical fast: big ring
Remotely technical slow: little ring

HTH

the good old days of refusing to leave the 52 for the whole ride

If it was a crit, I'd agree with you.

You never rode MTB when triples were the thing offroad?

Triples were still a thing in Shimano's last generation of MTB groupsets.

Why are you even pedaling? Save chains, save lives.

This is the mentality of an ultra racer.

1x on current cross bike and MTB, new 'gravel' bike has 36/40. It'll make sense I reckon as I find the gaps between gears on 11-42 annoying on the road, and it quickly goes from 'bit too hard for sharp technical climb' to 'bailout, not moving at all' gear off road. Easier to clean and ride when very muddy though, admittedly.

I often find the most technical bits are transitioning from downhill to uphill, hence big gear changes. Maybe i’m just not looking agead enough but I personally find having to think about an FD more of a hinderance than a help.

if you have a wide 2x system you can easily avoid shifting the big ring constantly on singletrack. especially with di2. i ride singletrack all the time with 50/34 x 11-40. singletrack i'm basically always in the small ring. 34 x 11 is plenty big on tight/tech stuff. in any case di2 fd are so good that you can shift it really most any time without a hassle.

On rollers I quite often just swap the front ring. Big ring to keep chain tighter and be able to add a little power while mostly coasting descents and then dump into small for next climb. If it's extended climbing or descending that's where it'll stay in one front ring and I'll bother changing the RD.

When you only have 1x and you have rollers like this you're actually waiting longer for appropriate gears to be available whereas I get to go back to concentrating on other stuff instead of waiting for the chain to fly up or down the cassette.

34 x 11 is plenty big on tight/tech stuff.

Mine is setup so it won't cross chain like that, but I agree with the general principle of this. I just change into big ring out of habit mostly and since you don't often get a nice gradual transition to the climb, just dumping from big to small ring tends to work a lot better than having to move all the way up or down the cassette.

Basically 2x is better and #hippyisalwaysright

Can I interest you guys in a Mac vs PC argument?

But why do you need that much range? If I'm on a ride where I might need a 34-40, there's no way I'm going to need 50-11.
Di2 is good, but you still can't brake at the same time as shifting without some crazy finger contortions.