I’ve gone full circle with my gravel bike.
My first dedicated gravel build was quite some time ago, so I cobbled up a mix of road compact front 50/34 with SRAM XX 11-32 cassette. In order to run this cassette, I needed to run MTB rear derailleur, so I ran the SRAM XX derailleur.
The old Ridley X-Fire wasn’t the most supple or stable gravel racer, so once the Cannondale Slate came out, I decided to venture to the simplified world of 1x drivetrains. Having spent much time cleaning mud out of my 2x drivetrain (and cantilever brakes!!) at a now-renamed major gravel race in the Midwest, the simplicity was rather appealing. I rode/raced the Slate happily for a few years with its 44T/10-42 gear combo. I had almost all the range of the old 2x setup, but no front derailleur to mess with. Not being Ted King, only on fast fire road descents I would at time find myself spinning out the 44-10. However, the large gaps in gearing were at times frustrating late into events. Once you’ve been on your bike 10 hours or more, the littlest things can become big things.
A year ago, as I was planning for the season of 2020 (huh, what happened to that?), I decided that I wanted to go back to 2x. I selected the SuperX AXS Force Etap for this purpose. It came with a 46/33 crankset and a 10-33 cassette. The season didn’t play out as hoped, but I’ve had enough time on the bike that I can say I’m very happy with my choice. The extra complexity and weight of the 2x drivetrain (AXS isn’t exactly weightweenie to start with) is forgotten quickly as can always find happy cadences to work with, even when fatigue starts rearing its’ ugly head.
Next project will be to see if the new 10-36 AXS cassette will work without buying a new longer cage derailleur. SRAM says one needs to replace the derailleur, but there are reports of this not necessarily being the case. With the 46/33 chainrings, that cassette would be a welcome item for long sustained climbs in the mountains.
Bottom line, I think the 1x is fabulous on mountain bikes or cyclocross, but I wouldn’t do another gravel/road bike with 1x.