1x Set-Ups: Volume 1

January 8, 2017

Only 8 percent of Slowtwitchers say they’re going 1x (a single chain ring) for their next bike. But once upon a time MTBers said the same thing.

Here is the first of several photo galleries of Slowtwitchers who’ve eschewed polyringamy for the monoring.

This is James Haycraft’s 1x P5, and if you want more about his 1x journey you can read about it on his blog. He removed the FD mount. He didn’t like the battery location, and going 1x made it possible to place an internal Di2 battery inside the left-side aerobar extension. Clever.

He’s got a mixture of Shimano and SRAM:

– Shifters are Shimano SW-R671 2-button and he left both on (one unplugged) for ergonomics (that’s quite common).
– RD is a mid-cage RD-6870.
– Ultegra chain.
– Crank is a SRAM Red Quarq, 130bcd, 165mm, with a 52t X-SYNC ring. – Cassette 1 is a 6800 11-32.
– Cassette 2 is a 9000-series 11-28 for flatter courses.

James had a D-Fly unit on his P5 for a season, and it generated a file that Garmin could not parse, but there is a third-party website that can, and here is an example of the data from a ride. It's quite impressive and above is a screenshot from it.

Austin Cooley had a P5-6, but it he felt it was overkill for his purposes and he sold it along with its expensive Gucci wheels. His 1x here is a P4 frame, size 58. Here is the spec:

– 2011 Cervelo P4 evo frame (58cm)
– 3T Ventus II bars
– SRAM brake levers
– Dash TT saddle
– Cobb low profile dust cover
– SRAM aluminum R2C 11 speed shifters (left one is not hooked up)
– TriRig Omega front brake

– Quarq Riken AL crank/PM 165mm with Sram 52T X-SYNC ring
– SRAM force RD – not clutch
– 11/28 cassette
– Light-Bicycle 90mm tubeless carbon clinchers
– Wheelbuilder wheel cover
– Race on 23C Vittoria Corsa Speed tires set up tubeless
– Look Keo pedals

Like Mr. Haycraft above, and many others, SRAM’s X-SYNC front ring is the central piece of equipment that is most often used by 1x aficionados, regardless whether Shimano or SRAM is the shift system. That said, we have some others, notably a Rotor ring and that’s upcoming.

Austin Cooley reckons this bike, which started with an eBay purchase of the frame, cost him all-in an amazingly low $3000.

Longtime Slowtwitcher Francois Modave is both very powerful on the bike, and turns a fairly low cadence when he rides. This makes him an ideal candidate for 1x as it now is (we will talk about what it takes for 1x to appeal to a wider audience).

Francois’ Quintana Roo PR5 began its life, as most bikes do, with a pair of chainrings and a pair of derailleurs. It still has a pair of shifters for the same reason as the bikes above: ergonomics.

It is spec’d as follows:

– Mechanical Ultegra, short cage RD (he has long cage RD in abeyance, with a 11-34 cassette, for hilly courses)
– SRAM X-SYNC 54t chain ring
– 11-23 cassette