6 Reasons 1x Gearing Is Better: Why I love it and why you might too

Let me share the reasons I really like 1x gearing with six key benefits

Content
0:00 Intro
1:13 Is it fast enough?
2:56 Range anxiety?
4:19 Gaps and cadence issues
7:52 Cross-chaining
9:53 Clean looks
11:39 It’s quiet
12:11 Is 1x best then?

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[covali]

Can't tell enough how much I value you not being worried about the Pros. Makes your reviews much more valuable to me.

[SignorLuigi]

Best review of one-by drivetrains I've ever watched. Bravo! 👏👏👏

[kylehudgins]

This is a very, very useful review. If you're an average or even above average rider, 1x makes a lot of sense, especially if you've decided to dabble in the gravel world. The perceived problems are simply not as important as most people think, and it's great to have one less derailleur to worry about in terms of maintenance and noise. I switched to a 1x setup this past fall, and I love it. I may never go back to a 2x.

[walcottav]

Thanks again for being so rational Dave. I look forward to trying 1x.

[tjm]

Another brilliant real world opinion David, thank you. I am fortunate to own a 2016 Giant TCX Advanced SX which I run as a one-bike solution with two sets of wheels; one set sporting 40mm gravel tyres for the winter and summer mixed surface rides and another with 28mm road tyres for the better weather months. The bike came with SRAM Apex and I recently upgraded to Shimano GRX (40T & 11/42). I absolutely love the simplicity of the 1x groupset and the smoothness of GRX over the entry level Apex has been more than worth the investment. I do sometimes miss the closer gaps between the gears of a 2x setup on fast road rides, but as a one bike does all solution would still choose 1x over 2x.

[michaelsigismonde]

I own a 26" Montague Paratrooper folding mountain bike. The US Army uses this bike for its silence, and because it has the ability to go anywhere without fuel. It has a 3 chainring Shimano transmission. I very rarely, if ever, use the smallest chainring, which has the shortest gears for the steepest hills. Occasionally I may use the middle ring--which seems to have nicely spaced gears--but nowadays I just use the largest outer ring. Its lowest gears are sufficient for climbing, and the bike is very fast at the top. When folded, the bike easily fits in my Hyundai Elantra's small trunk. The Montague is the best bike I ever had.

[shwndh]

Nice review. Personally, I like 2x on road and 1x on mountain. I hate having to shift across 3 or 4 gears at a time on 1x to get the ratio I want. It’s so much easier on 2x to make a wider ratio change quickly. To each their own. It’s nice to have choice.

[ashleyhouse]

Agree with everything you said including not giving a toss about what pros do. I've been running 1x for years now and it actually used to be a bit easier years ago when you could mix-'n'-match Shimano road and MTB components. The road groupsets now are a bit better than they used to be though with 11-speed systems with bigger cassettes and compact chainsets.

[BlackWaterCyclist]

Great points! I really like a 1x system and that is why I am now using 1x13 and 1x12 on all my bikes, road and mountain bike. I am actually designing my own gravel frame around a 1x system. Thanks for a great video.

[Bigsbeee]

Love my 1x on my Gravel bike - Love your vid's mate.

[donadams]

I am outraged that David says I should not think like a pro. I mean, when I am rampaging down the road at 22 kph, spitting out 140W for minutes at at time, I am practically Wout Van Aert!

I kid, of course. I think the entire bike industry is wise to move away from an exclusively race-centric model of development and marketing. For all but a relatively small number of competitive amateurs and purists, wide tires, compliant seat posts, and other comfort enhancers are far more important than marginal gains in weight or aerodynamics. 1x may or may not be right for me, but if not it would have more to do with the general availability of 2x groupsets. I would have to customize a bike to even try a 1x setup, and that would mean some time and expense that might not produce any benefits. I like the simplicity it represents, just not sure there is any practical way to even experiment with it when all the bikes I would otherwise consider come with 2x setups. But would I if I could? Absolutely. I am neither a racer nor a purist, just a guy who wants a fun ride.

[chiefrocker]

Great summary David. All your points are very much the same experience for me, in particular group rides. I swapped over to 1X about 3 years ago. Before I did this, I started to watch the gears I typically used in all types of riding. Once I knew that, I worked out the ratio and then established that I needed a 11-32 and a 42T 1X. Only gotcha to date has been in group rides. If you ride a 1X long enough, your legs get used to the variance, gears and cadence, however, depending on terrain, group rides may impose cadence that may not suit the group. What I found is that for flat groups rides, I need a 46T, whilst climbing 8-13%, I need a 38T. While this may be not for everyone, if you are into doing most of the maintenance on your bikes, then swapping out single chain ring now and then is no effort. I have also adopted oval chain rings as 1X (Absolute Black and Gabaruk). At the end of the day, I am having fun playing with all these gears and terrains. Isn't that's what "just ride bikes is about"

[neiltruswell]

Must admit I’m one of those who try to stay at around 90 cadence until a big hill appears then it’s just get over it .
In regards to the x chain I always change as and when it’s required so I don’t worry if I’m x chaining!! Great blogs BTW 👍

[danalec]

I already converted my winter bike to 1x. I love it. It is very easy to clean it as well. 1x bike is lighter, therefore faster and I actually like the gaps. They give me another training opportunity and I am able to increase suddenly my muscles. And finally it is not very expensive to convert your bike. Excellent video. Thanks.

[Jchen]

Really great video debunking some common myths and bringing a real world perspective on bike trends. I have a 1x and 2x, and you nailed all the benefits of 1x and debunked the common complaints that I have to explain to others. Next time I’ll just send this video 😂

[damo]

Another solid presentation, filled with clear facts, stats, and your expertise. Thank you.

[slantedorbit]

I agree with much of your reasoning. My primary reason for preferring 2x on my all-road/gravel bike is that if I need to make a dramatic shift of gears, as when a steep grade appears unexpectedly, I can shift both front and rear and be in the gear I want in fewer clicks. In some cases this can be a safety issue, but even simply as a convenience I prefer it.

And if I don’t want to shift between chainrings, modern front derailleurs have enough clearance to run through most if not all of a cassette anyway.

[jrs]

I know three people who bought new road bikes last year. They all went for Shimano 11-34 cassettes and 2x. The first 4 sprockets on that cassette are 11, 13, 15, 17 - So that’s an example of a 2x system where the ‘gaps’ are no smaller than in a 1x system.

2x11-34 does have more gears, but those extra gears are grouped close together at the easier end of the cassette, where the gaps in a 1x system are small anyway.

The overall range of 50/34 x 11-34 is also only marginally greater than that of 44 x 10-42.

[stevewebber]

Nice video. One way of establishing the exact gearing differentials is to divide the number of teeth on the chain ring (s) by the number of teeth on the cassette and multiply it by 2.7
The result gives you the length of travel per revolution of the crank.
For example taking a 2 by:
52/34 with an 11/34 rear cassette for climbing very steep terrain will give you;
34/34 x 2.7 metres = 2.7 metres of travel per revolution of the crank.
At the other end of the scale;
52/11 x 2.7 metres = 12.76 metres of travel per revolution of the crank.
I would suggest that anyone considering a 1 by to simply go through their 1 by and each individual 2 by gearing and you will establish exactly the comparative differences.
Cheers Steve

[Mike-vdqt]

Great vid, thanks! My first 1X12 bike is on order now. My last touring bike was 3X10, canti brakes, down-tube shifters, and tubes. I'm finally moving into the 21st century.