Hi, I have a Trek Checkpoint ALR 4 with SRAM Apex 1 40T x 11-42 gravel bike. I use the bike probably ~60% off-road and ~40% on road with 45mm tires. I’m looking into getting a second wheelset for use on road-only rides with 32mm tires. Wondering what would make the most sense for gearing based on my…

My preference is to keep the cassette the same on multiple wheels and swap chainrings as needed for terrain. A few reasons I like this - You can often get away with the same length chain for multiple chainrings when they are fairly close in size If racing, having a spare set of wheels at the aid …

Thanks for your thoughts here and it is a good point. I could definitely just get another 11-42 cassette. Two reasons I an considering the 11-36 is 1) I don’t use the 42 tooth on the road (but no harm in having it…) and 2) the speeds on the road are higher and I find myself using the 15 and 13 cog q…

Is this 11 speed? If so, I know SRAM make a 10-42 cassette, which is what I’d recommend. Or I guess 10-36 if such a thing exists? You’ll need an XDR freehub but if you haven’t got the new wheels yet then that shouldn’t be an issue. The difference between a 10 and 11t cog is pretty significant an…

[image] checkpoint: Road rides will be mostly solo and I haven’t been too concerned with needing more top end speed. It’s really only on the slight downhills where I can be spinning 30mph but not fast enough to coast where I have felt limited, but it’s not a major issue at all. I average anywher…

Good ideas. I have considered the 10-42 but it is more expensive and would need to make sure the new wheelset hub could take that driver body, though probably not that hard to find. The 10-42 will introduce some bigger gaps as well (10-12 vs 11-13). I like that the HG driver gives me options to run …

I know the chainring size is big issue for many but I’ve been surprised how good it has been (understand 32mm tires will reduce the speed a bit at same rpm). I find that I like to spin fast on the road, like 90-100rpm, so that helps. The other thing is that if I find I’m getting fitter and average s…

40 tooth seems awfully small for a road setup. I guess it would be fine for endurance rides, but if you plan to do any A group/hammer rides I have to imagine you are going to spin out. You’ll also completely wear out your 11 tooth prematurely. And the steady state chainline will be highly ineffic…

Interestingly your setup would be very similar to mine just with one additional (massive) overdrive gear. Assuming 32mm 700c tires, your gear inches are 30-104 (minus the 10 tooth) and mine are 30-99. You are also probably a much stronger rider than me. I do not plan on participating in any fast gro…

For a period I ran a gravel bike with 2 wheelsets and 2 cranks. Larger ring at the front and less cogs on the back and vice versa meant the same chain length was OK. It was something like … 42t 11-36 38t 11-42 …and honestly, just run 40t 11-42 on both wheelsets. You can always try the 11-36 late…

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1x road setup on gravel bike

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operatingthetan666 March 3, 2025, 6:23pm 2

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1x road setup on gravel bike

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