1x or 2x - What's Best For Gravel?

Hello, welcome back! Today we chat about gearing, what gearing set up is the best for gravel and why. How you can easily convert to 1x, if you should and the pros and cons. Let me know your thoughts below.

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[thecappy]

2x for life. Currently 48 for the road 31 for the dirt. 11-40 cassette in the back.

[MattChapple]

I’m currently borrowing an old MTB with a TRIPLE chainring. It sucks but I reckon it’ll be back in fashion before we know it...

[paulsslightlyactivelife]

Enjoyed the technical waffling today Dave. Yes, the most obvious difference between these setups is the terrain they're used on and the need (or not - when gravel riding) for smooth, close-ratio changes. Having said that, I'm still persevering with a 3x on my hardtail but that granny gear makes mincemeat of near-vertical hills.

[pierrehenri]

Hi, i run x2 on my gravel bike- which is my only bike that i use for commuting. This may be controversial but i run it with mtb pedals and i love it!!
You should try it!!

[mattsysko]

Great video and topic. I’m 2x all the way. When riding with others I appreciate the smaller jumps with finding the group cadence. Just seems to have more flexibility too. Where I live there is a lot of flat gravel rail trails which is almost like road essentially. For Mtb definitely 1x though

[jonathanbenn]

I ride a 3X, a 2X and a 1X on a regular basis. They all work great and each has its advantages and drawbacks. Unlike rings, there is no one to rule them all.

[djmartinsmith]

I have 1x and 2x on CX bikes and Only thing I think is an issue with 1x on gravel is running out of gears and spinning out on faster surfaces or terrain. A lot depends on rolling resistance of your tyres and size of front chainring vs cassette range, but your 9 tooth sprocket on cassette sounds ideal! Great vid dude!

[dalerider]

2x all the way for me. Maybe 1x if your 100% off-road but I need my gravel bike to do everything, currently running 46/30 with a 11/34 cassette combined with my WTB Resolutes seem ideal at the moment.
To me it's just restricting what you can do with a gravel bike.
I'm not even sold on 1x on the MTB, even though I did go 1x on the MTB I run out of gears at speed and am very tempted to go back 2x on it.

[bainies]

I have 2x on my gravel bike, but I only have one bike, so use it for road, gravel, hills etc. I guess if you are lucky to have a fleet of bikes you can choose the best setup on each. I think the 2x gives a lot of flexibility, especially for casual riders, where big jumps up steep climbs could be a problem. The 105 front mech works really well too.

[keenrunkeenride]

Ride what you have if it suits your need. Always good to have a little experiment. I adjusted my front mech of my triple on my trek fuel so it stayed on the middle ring only. Ran it for month, didn’t miss the other gears for the routes I ride so changed to a race face single ring and removed all the front gear shifter stuff. Loved 1x so went for it on my new gravel bike, no regrets. Keep up the vids Dave 👍

[ridekernow]

Essentially.... it’s really about the ratios. So long as it ranges from around 1:1 for the steep hills to 1:4 for the flats, you’re pretty good to go - with a 2 or 3x, you have that range but in reality there is so much overlap with the gears in the middle that they really don’t get used efficiently, people effectively use them as a 1x except at the extremes! My 2x set up has at least 4 selectable gears with almost exactly the same ratios in the middle - but you just ride to what feels right at the time! The big advantage of 1x is that the ratios are sequential, which they aren’t with more than one front chainring, you would have to jump backwards and forwards on the front to achieve that, and people don’t do that kind of calculation on the hoof!

[MrSparkyAprilia]

My gravel bike is set up as 2x, but I also use it as a winter bike with different wheelsets fitted with different tyres depending on what terrain in riding.
But if u had a separate winter bike I worked set up my gravel as 1x for sure.

[cycletosanity]

Had a 3x chainring on my bike of which I pretty much only ever used the middle ring, so when I gave it an overhaul I went to 1x on narrow wide ring of the same tooth number. It’s only a 7 speed rear which for the fairly flat urban area I live in does what I need of it with a 12-28 rear cassette, contemplating getting a 12-32 to give a little bit more range for hills when I try bikepacking later this year

[zdravo]

1x is one of the best inventions in bike industry for MTB-s and I believe for Gravel bikes from my point of view

[touchphotography]

I currently have 1x Shimano GRX on my gravel bike... but I'm seriously considering upgrading it to a 2x GRX (though perhaps Di2 also). I use this bike for winter training too and as you mentioned I find the jumps in gears are pretty annoying out on the road only. I also use this bike for bike packing in the summer and when it's fully beefed up, I think having sub-compact chainrings on the front will help to lug up the bike & gear on those real bigger or steeper climbs... while having the benefit of keeping a closer cassette range on the back. But for purely shredding and having a fun ride... 1x is more than fine. Whatever works for you init - just have fun 👍

[platypushatstand]

What goes around comes around. I think it was Carlton Reid who advocated running a 50/39 road double on a MTB instead of a triple, as they’re lighter, better chain line, less gear overlap etc. I’ve been thinking of doing the same on my ‘94 Kona Cindercone, looking at gear inch calculators. As it’s originally a 7-spd cassette, I think I can run an 8-spd cassette as they’re the same width, use a narrower chain and use an 8-spd thumb shifter.
I currently run a 1x2 with a 3-spd IGH, but I like the simplicity of the Brompton.

[emmacavillsketches]

I just love the simplicity of the 1x on my mtb and my gravel bike. They look better too, less clutter 😄

[robinjapan]

Dave, mate, got 2x on my gravel bike. Coz I can only afford one bike and it's gotta serve as my commute to work in rain or shine and my long rides on my days off. It's gotta have mounts for mudguards and a rack for panniers. A 2x gravel bike lets me do absolutely everything. I wish I could have a dedicated 1x gravel for thrashing about... But then I've got a 25km commute on roads the next day.

[WesCook]

2 X. Less jump and larger range for when I’m on the road. I have a clutch and have never dropped a chain on some pretty bad terrain.

[Wojtas_G]

Both have a pluses and minuses...I have 1x in MTB and 2x in gravel bike and fun is the same on both bikes. If You have a power in legs You can ride almost on
everything ;)