I mentioned it above, I started out road riding with 2x, not coming from a 1x MTB like a lot of people. I am very keen on keeping my cadence exactly where I want it and keeping the wide range with more than a 1:1 ratio on the low end for carrying a loaded bike.
1x13 may be a step in the right direction, but that’s still not mainstream yet.
I spent some time today really looking at gearing and my riding. On my 38x11-32 I spend most of my gravel riding time in either the 18, 16 or 14. Faster than that and I’m usually descending or have a healthy tailwind. Slower and I’m climbing or fighting the wind. It turns out, the 10-50 eagle cassette also has these same three cogs. Intrigued, I went digging through the parts bin to see if I could put together a temporary hacked mechanical 1x12 eagle setup. Here’s what I did:
- Set my existing gevenalle index shifter to friction mode (they’re based on microshift units).
- Install GX eagle derailleur from parts bin (free).
- Install XD driver body ($50).
- Install GX eagle cassette from parts bin (free).
- Install new shift cable from parts bin (free).
- Install new GX eagle chain ($40).
- Kept the same 38t wolftooth chainring on my crank.
After setting the limit screws and the b-screw adjustment, I found this actually worked in the stand! Granted the shifting leaves a little to be desired as it takes a gentle touch to shift 12 cogs with a friction shifter, but it works!
I took it out for a spin around the local neighborhood trail (about 8 miles) just to see how it felt. In my short trial time, I really did’t feel like the gaps of the eagle cassette were that big of a deal. I suppose this is because I was probably in the same three cogs I always am. For fun I went to a super easy gear going up one of the hills and just laughed at how easy it was to spin up grade at 7 mph.
I’ve got to say, this was eye opening. I think I’m going to try it out on a longer, preferably gravel, route before making up my mind, but my opinion of the mullet setup has certainly changed.
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@jct I’ve never had mud be a huge issue on an FD, ice, yes, but not mud.
If you would consider experimenting a little with the 1x11 setup, the Shimano 105 level HG CS-700 “11-34” is a very very good cassette.
The middle cog is a 21t, with 2t jumps for the 3 cogs either side of it. Provided you pick the appropriate chainring that keeps you in the 21t as your “default” gear then you’re only into the bottom 2 (or top 2) cogs when going uphill, downhill, or with strong tailwind/headwind.
It’s a good cassette but I’d imagine your range is going to be a bit limited. Terrain and use dependent, I guess.
I currently run the 105 11-32 in a 1x11 setup. It’s great for cross races, but lacks the climbing gears needed in the mountains.
Just a quick warning. I just bought a bike with Force Wide and according to SRAM, there are no compatible crank or spindle power meters. You can only do hub or pedals.
Well I took the plunge. Ordered an Eagle AXS XX1 rear derailleur and a set of force shifter/brake levers. Excited to ride it this weekend!
Now I’m worried its going to make me want AXS on my mountain bike…
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That’s pretty much a guarantee… It’s so good!!!
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So I’ve had a few rides now on my electromullet setup and I’ve got to say, I really like it! AXS is awesome and I like having the range of the 10-50. Microadjust is a great thing since the frame I am using doesn’t have a spot for a traditional barrel adjuster and i have to use an inline one. With the inline barrel adjuster I often had trouble adjusted while riding, not so with microadjust! Even though AXS is super cool and performs flawlessly, an 11 speed 10-42 with Force 1 shifters/derailleur (as suggested earlier in this thread) is the same gearing minus the 50t and costs significantly less. I ended up being unable to resist the splurge for AXS, but the smart money is on the force 1 10-42 combo like jct suggested.
I’m gonna stick with this setup for the next season or two, I really like it. That said, I think my MTB is going to stay mechanical for now - a well adjusted mechanical eagle setup shifts pretty well in my experience. I will say, I like the new b-gap tool that came with the AXS derailleur better than the old one. I used it to adjust the b-gap on the mechanical GX drivetrain on my mtb and it shifts better than ever now!
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Hello
I am building similar drivetrain as your previous one : 1x11 with 38t chainring and 11-32 cassette. You have stated that you’ve paired it with XT derailleur. Would you be able to tell me what specific derailleur and cassete have you used? It looks like a pair of MTB derailleur and road cassette (or is it a 11-32 11s MTB cassette?) - and i usually find opinions that such combo won’t work smoothly. I’d be very happy to know what components have you used.
Thanks!
Can you not just use a bog standard sram 1x drivetrain? 38t chainring and 11-32 cassette.
Im doing 44 front and 11/42. It’s almost 1:1 and if I have a flat race I’ll swap front to a 50.
Doing sram I would do 42f with 10/42 it’s good up to 30mph and not feel like a sewing machine and still 1:1
I ran a 105 5800 11-32 cassette with a wolftooth 38t chainring on a 105 5800 crankset with an xt rear derailuer rd-m8000 shifted with gevenalle shifters GX – Compatible with Shimano Dyna-Sys and SRAM MTB Deraileurs – Gevenalle
Absolutely awesome setup for cyclocross, shifter is bulletproof and if you manage to break it the repair is only $35. This will be my cx setup for the foreseeable future.
For long duration i found the hoods of the gevenalle/tektro levers to be uncomfortable. For long gravel rides, the smart choice is the 11 speed force 1x group with the 10-42 cassette.
Thanks a lot for the response!
I understand this setup worked smoothly despite the fact that in theory smallest large cog for XT is 40, not 32, and that distance between the cogs in road cassette is different than in MTB. I’m asking, because when I was looking for info about mixing MTB derailleur with road cassette, most answers were that it isn’t possible. Have you done anything special to make it work, or it was good from the start? Thanks!
The cassette (road or mtb) for 11 speed doesn’t matter. You usually can’t run a road shifter with a mtb derailleur (or the other way round), because the cable pull ratio is different.
If you have not heard of this, this is a pretty cheap option to use mechanical eagle with Sram road shifters. This is what I’ve done for my gravel bike, but haven’t got the brakes bled yet. My first impressions after taking a quick spin around the block was that it felt the same as Sram 11 speed shifting.
https://ratiotechnology.com/product/12-speed-upgrade-kit/