When did the 3/2x7 die and is 1/11 or 1/12 really better?

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Dantastic372

New Member
Hey guys what’s going on?

My 1st post in this forum and you can probs tell by the title it’s been a while since I was in the saddle properly.

Is having just rear gears actually better? I mostly ride XC and used to love cranking away on the big cog at the front and bug at the back and dropping from the 3rd to the 2nd, then only 1-2 on the rear to get up steeper climbs and found I could do this in about half a rotation of the pedals.

Can you really go from cranking speed on somewhere around the 10th gear to say a 2/3/4 quickly?

Interested to hear your thoughts.

Cheers.

Dan.
 
1x on a mtn bike has been more than a little game-changing. The narrow-wide front chain ring combined with a rear derailleur clutch has made dropped chains pretty rare. There are even some DH racers that run minimal chain guides now. I don't run a chain guide on my enduro bike and I don't remember the last time I dropped a chain even on some pretty rough tracks at bike parks.

Removing the need to mount a front derailleur and allow for multiple front rings has given frame designers more freedom with lower pivots and the overall bottom bracket design. Also allows for better rear tire clearance.

All that said, I still prefer a 2x 11 or 12 spd on a road bike as in that application I want closer gear ratios to get a comfortable cadence for the speed and how I'm feeling during the ride.
 
Steve Vai said:
Insert Single-speed comment here.
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1 liner thread killer, bam!

As a wannabe bike mechanic just the added simplicity of not having to adjust a front derailleur does it for me. Doing the math how much the gearing on the 3 chainrings overlaps and is efficient given the angles the chain is subject for example when on the big chainring and biggest rear cog or the other way around?
 
I'm going to go a little further than a single speed comment. I'll say that for an"average" mtb rider, the ability to instantly shift across you entire gear range, with out pedaling or mashing a trigger 5 times provided by a IGH is a better choice.
I'm back on a derailleur bike for the first time in years, and after 2 months, and decided it's not for me.
Just going to have bite the bullet and spend the money for a pinion or rohloff bike.
 
mattybfat said:
You might be even more mind blown, they replaced the front derailleur trigger to work the "Dropper Seatpost"

Hands down best bike invention,
well since the wheel 🤣
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Road a bike with non-functional dropper last year in Moab. I would have taken canti brakes and a working dropper.

Didn't actually occur to me really after reading your post that we needed 1x to fully get the dropper post lever.
 
Santapez said:
Road a bike with non-functional dropper last year in Moab. I would have taken canti brakes and a working dropper.

Didn't actually occur to me really after reading your post that we needed 1x to fully get the dropper post lever.
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Not entirely true... a friend runs a 2x on his 2014 Trek with a dropper. There are actuators that work with a left side shifter. The Reverb hydraulic "button" actuator, for example as well as the original Manitou Jack actuator, which was really low profile and easily fit between the grip and a front shifter.
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Steve Vai said:
In actuality it doesn’t matter, you couldn’t buy a 2x bike if you wanted to. Be like trying to buy an 8 Track or Atari 2600 or car with front drum brakes and 3 on the tree. It’s dead. D-E-D Dead. Time to buy a house with running water and a bike from this century.
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Bikes have gone to shit over the past decade or so. Stuff's expensive, fragile, and there are increasing electronics of questionable reliability. Fiberglass frames are stupid, more plastic trash. 3x to 2x made a degree of sense, 2x to 1x didn't.
 
johnbryanpeters said:
Bikes have gone to shit over the past decade or so. Stuff's expensive, fragile, and there are increasing electronics of questionable reliability. Fiberglass frames are stupid, more plastic trash. 3x to 2x made a degree of sense, 2x to 1x didn't.
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I don’t know if that’s true, up until about 2010 I broke a frame every other month. MTB, road, CX, every material. When I rode for Fisher I was on a new frame every race. New SuperSix every month. Scalpels? We’re way better off now. Bikes are bombproof. It’s why the industry is tanking, there’s no longer the need for a new bike every year because they actually work. My XX1 AXS group is from before anyone could buy it and it’s still flawless. Literally the oldest electronic group in the state. And it’s on like my way too many bikes to count. Bombproof.
 
Steve Vai said:
I don’t know if that’s true, up until about 2010 I broke a frame every other month. MTB, road, CX, every material. When I rode for Fisher I was on a new frame every race. New SuperSix every month. Scalpels? We’re way better off now. Bikes are bombproof. It’s why the industry is tanking, there’s no longer the need for a new bike every year because they actually work. My XX1 AXS group is from before anyone could buy it and it’s still flawless. Literally the oldest electronic group in the state. And it’s on like my way too many bikes to count. Bombproof.
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I usually ride until the frame breaks, currently on a 2015 Intense Tracer 275 Alloy Pro, which I try to beat to death, and it's still rolling. The fork wore out in 2022, so it has been replaced with a 2020 RockShox Lyrik, which has been working fine.
 
If the bike works, then no real reason to change. Especially if built in the last 5-6 years. Around 2018 or so, the current trend of long and slack really took hold and while there have been moderate adjustments the improvements have been minor. I used to ride size medium frames, but over the last few years I've generally settled on a reach number between 470 and 480 when combined with a 40-60mm stem.

A bike that intrigues me at the moment is the new Vampire bikes Fastarossa from Chris Canfield. Especially the Ti version... the idea of an enduro bike that can be fairly easily converted into a full-on DH bike by swapping the fork, wheels and moving a few pivot bolts is an interesting concept. Some of the new gearbox/belt drive bikes are also interesting. But I'm generally happy with the current quiver of "normal" (not e-bikes) mtn bikes - the newest of which is from 2020 with two from 2019 - so I'm definitely in the camp Steve mentions above and kind of the industry's worst nightmare. I can afford to buy almost any bike I could desire, but right now I don't see anything out there that makes me want to replace anything I currently own.

Then there's e-bikes... but that's a whole different discussion...
 
Some good info here guys and some awful analogy’s but appreciate most of it.

Interesting to hear that like most things prices have gone up and build quality has gone down.

@Steve Vai interesting comment RE houses, especially considering most houses around this area are built by wood like the rest of the world was doing back in the 1700’s 🫡

Looking forward to seeing some of you guys on the trails.
 
Steve Vai said:
Scalpels?
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I liked to call it my 4000 mile, free new bike program.

Im still not sure why everyone gets so bent out of shape that ultralight XC carbon frames crack eventutally...it usually coincides with your desire to get a new bike...or at least a new color. Just make sure you buy it new and/or it has a warranty.

Meantime, I have a 2017 and 2019 santa cruz tall boy and bronson.....2022 firebird, all carbon.....They won't break, believe me I have tried

Dantastic372 said:
Interesting to hear that like most things prices have gone up and build quality has gone down.
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I don't necessarily agree with that....yes...if you go onto a bike manf. website and look at the very top end model....its expensive and mostly these bikes are just filled with overpriced fancy nonsense...like $400 saddles, $3000 wheelsets, flight deck system.....I bought my first new carbon bike in 2012 and it was $4000.....no dropper, cheap alloy wheels, shock was a POS that broke many times.....It had sram XX on it, which was great and REALLY light, but god was it delicate and the cassettes cost 3-400 and lasted maybe a season. You can still get a very nice bike for that kind of money (adjusted for inflation, thats about $5500 now)....I have two sram axs setups, one is now 6 years old and I have never touched it...still uses the same battery....WAY WAY tougher than any RD I have ever used given its ability to release when hit. Brakes are light years better....tires are light years better....tire inserts are awesome IMO....geometry for most bike is much better....they are certainly more capable then ever.....and to your original question....1x12 over a front dr ANY day...my god...never ever would I want to go back.
 
Still deals to be had out there where you might jump on all the new tech for a "reasonable" amount of money:

How about a Pivot Mach 6 for $2999 .. I can make that happen.
 
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