1X Single Chainring Road Bike Conversion

I decided that I wanted to try and ditch the dual chainrings and front mech on my road bike (a Cannondale CAAD10) for a 42T narrow wide single chainring from Superstar Components.
This video is a how to of that process.

[jamesfaught]

Thank you for actually showing every step! Watched many 1x conversion videos including ones by “big” channels, and they all magically skip steps

[lennymclean.]

Nice instructional and this really shows the virtues of buying older, 5 bolt chainsets rather than the 4bilt type Shimano higher Sora and higher groupsets all use. On my cheap 1 X 8 speed Saracen Morzine I have a 48t chainring with a 28-11 cassette which works perfectly for all the hills in my city and surrounding suburbs. The replacement chainring costs £15! The replacement cassette I have so many 8 speed ones I'll never have to buy one in the next decade. Slide-in (i.e. no adjustment except barrel shifter) Brake pads £8 for 4 so it's the cheapest bike to maintain and gets used every day as a commuter. I regularly beat electric delivery drivers on the uphill and all-day long on the downhills. It's a Saracen Morzine, ally framed "budget" racer from 2003 with old Sora shifters that work absolutely fine!

[brody]

Having owned a 1x11 apex on a Cannondale slate I can say the 1x11 is great to ride and I never needed any more gears . The gaps aren’t bad either . It had a 44 x11-42.

[KekkopF]

Isn't your chainline out when you mount the ring on the inner section only? There are offsetted chainrings for 1x setups on 2x road cranks for this problem.

[BrensRCracing]

Thanks for the tutorial pal have been considering this on my road bike 👍

[giovannispinotti]

Very well done.

Please add the link to your next video, the one where you substitute the cassette. Thanks.

[stevexxl]

I really enjoyed this tutorial! Also its looks much cooles now.

[his.purpose]

Great tutorial! I've got a CAAD 10 and I'm planning to make this switch. Aside from never experiencing chain drop again, what should I be concerned with?

[michaelhatch]

Why remove the crank?
It's an FSA Gossamer, I have the same and I have switched chainrings more than once without removing the entire crank.

[xelseartheonlyone]

Thank you. I have an all road Giant with 2x9 Sora and i really wanna do this after a mechanical i had in my 100km ride. I didn't like the x3 or the x2 system since the start to be honest.

[dawson]

it looks like the chainring you put on had seats on the bolt holes for the bolt head to sit in, but they faced the crank when you installed it. Are you sure it's not on backwards? If so, what then is the purpose of those little indents?

[george.carlin]

In my case trying to pull the chain (with hands) as hard as I can - master link doesn't lock. How hard did you pull your chain to get master link pin in place? Thank you.

[TheRocktalk]

That's what's always put me off buying Shimano chains - having to use a new connecting pin every time you split it.

[alvin]

Suppose the clearance between the new chainring and the frame were not adequate or too great, would you try to adjust the clearance with spacers? If not, how? If yes, are such spacers commonly available?
I removed my front and rear derailers. I live in flat country and do not need to shift gears. I simply left the rear and front cassettes in place. I removed a spring from the rear derailer and use it as a chain tensioner. I would like to increase the diameter of the largest front gear, but I believe I should have to replace the entire front drive to do that. Sellers seem to believe that their market is the sportsman with unlimited funds for prestige equipment. My funds are limited.

[Gperformance]

Cool video. What's the chainline on the 1x crankset?

[janakramchiary]

Doing it this week thanks for the video brother

[iang]

Hi there
Great video
What are the advantages in changing from two to 1x ...?
It looks a lot nicer but will it compromise on the speed..?
Many thanks

[johnjerizlopezignacio]

Hello, just want to ask if I can rock a 54t or go with 58t-60t since my smallest cassette is 16t. What do you think?

[danfuerthgillis]

I have zero doubts that this should be standard on every road bike. 2 rings is completely useless if you live in flat lands. With 1 ring you have the advantage of not cross chaining when using big ring and big sprocket combos thus in the heavy winds a massive advantage. Riding on a 47 x 32 is awesome as everyone else is afraid of cross chaining and snapping their chain and hearing the dreaded chain rub noise.

[krzysztofgrabowski]

Good video. Thanks for sharing. Couple of questions when you have a minute: Are you happy with the change? Any problems with that setup? What chainring did you use?