Hmm… so how does that impact a 1x vs 2x setup practically? Genuine q.
I hope what follows doesn’t derail the thread and if it’s deemed inappropriate I apologise, but hopefully this sheds light on the wider issue.
I’ve spent quite a lot of time playing around with the idea of a 1x for road, and what I have mainly looked at is ratios and data from my SRAM AXS app.
I have a 48/35 and a 10-33 setup. I’m a fairly strong rider (just under 4w/kg) but by no means genuinely quick. I live on the outskirts of the Chilterns in the UK, so you get lots of short, sharp inclines but very few sustained (>7-8 min) climbs. It’s puncheur territory.
The app suggests I pretty much never use 48-10, and tbh I’m not in 48-11 for more than a few minutes total in a 3hr ride. That tells me that honestly a 4.4 or so is enough for me.
At the bottom, there is only 1 hill within a 30 mile radius that really compels me to use 35/33, and I have got up it (slowly) on a 36/30 before now. Though lower is welcome in a few other places if/when I’m tired, I can get by with 35/28 (1.25), though I’d like some insurance. So that tells me that 1.2 is enough at the bottom.
With that in mind, a 44 front ring and a 10-36 cassette (SRAM) or a 40 and a 9-36 (Ekar) seem like sensible options for me. Have I missed something with gear inches?
Thanks in advance.