If you haven't seen the 3x to 1x Drivetrain Conversion video these riding impressions are based on, you can find it here: ua-cam.com/video/128Fc6CFu3s/v-deo.html
Ah found the next one !!!!! I fitted the 30 tooth. You could go smaller if you use the inner ring mount, but you might then need to adjust the chain line.
This is where my lack of experience shows up. I see the IXF crank is listed as BCD 104mm, which I believe refers to the outer mounting holes. There are hidden more closely spaced holes on the inboard side of the crank although I have no idea what their specification is in order to look for smaller chainrings that would fit there. As you mention this would move the chain line further inboard at the crank end, possibly making shifts to the smallest rear gears challenging.
@@chasingmyfreedom3642 BCD = Bolt Circle Diameter. It describes the circle that the center of the bolts are aligned on, measured in mm. Easy to measure when you have 4 bolts - just measure across two opposite bolts.
Yeah, go with the 30t. Maybe even a 28t? It's not like you're trying to reach higher end speeds on a bikepacking rig. It'll probably be helpful for when you pack your bike with stuff as well.
I'm using the same gearing as you (the same exact cassette even), but on a 29". I usually go on about 40km rides with some very steep climbs here and there. I'm not light, but I am moderately strong and the 32 tooth fits my riding perfectly. I've tried a 30T on my mate's bike and it was alright, I've always found that very tall gears aren't as useful on mountain bikes anyway, especially seeing that I seldomly use the tallest gear on my 32T bike myself. I'd say definitely try a 30 tooth chainring, it's what's coming from factory on many, many new bikes nowadays.
Thanks for the perspective and that makes sense. My Kona Big Honzo has 30T front which (if my legs are willing) allows me to crawl some steep things. What I really want is very low gearing for climbing while bikepacking with a loaded bike so I hopefully won't have to resort to hike-a-bike as often. I think I will eventually move to a 30T to help get there. Like you, I expect my lowest cogs will wear out long before my tallest (smallest) ones will. :)
@@chasingmyfreedom3642 Load up your bike to bikepacking weight, find somewhere flat and ride around to see how you feel about the top gears. Repeat with some downhill sections. If that top gear feels tough on the flat and you're not spinning out on the downhill, then you're not going to lose anything by dropping to the 30T chainring. Also, you could consider mounting a 30T on the inner (64BCD possibly?, easy enough to measure) mount points and keeping the 32T anyway. Use the 30T for bikepacking, 32T for lightweight riding. You don't need to bother with a front derailleur - just use a tool or stick to switch between them. Your rear derailleur has a total capacity of 41T, of which your rear cassette uses 39 (50 minus 11), so it has the 2T capacity needed to handle the chain length difference between the 2 chainrings. You could try 28T and 32T, but you'd probably have to choose between not being able to use 28x11 due to too much slack and 32x50 due to not enough chain.
Hi and thanks for the update i have a probably around 2006 Giant mtb with an 8 gear cassette to the rear and a 3 cog crank set to the front and i want to ditch the front set but leave the rear as is for now can you point me in the right direction of what front crank please
Without specific model and year details to try to find specs online I think your best bet would be to try to identify what type of bottom bracket you have by sight (there are so many different types...) and find what special tools you may need (amazon has good, cheap options for single use) and then be brave (that's what I needed) and get in there to take it apart. From there you will have a better idea of what replacement cranks you can source. If the bottom bracket is threaded like my Giant then I recommend the iXF cranks from amazon that I used for a great price to performance ratio. Check out this video to help identify what style of bottom bracket you have: ua-cam.com/video/e-8G1G9QNX8/v-deo.html Good luck!
So I guess the cassettes on 11 speed are almost identical between sram and shimano. On 12 speed there is a slight difference in width between cassettes of around 1.2mm.. While it does sound minimal, I am getting misshifts on one sprockets when using a Sram derailleur on a 12speed shimano cassette. Might just be bad luck ;) If you need more stopping power, you can get some pretty cheap MT420 calipers to work with your brake levers as well. Entry lvl though but a decent upgrade to the mt400 and really worth it!
Didn't know there was a width difference between SRAM and Shimano cassettes. Good to know I have an option to upgrade from MT400 to MT420 calipers to get 4-piston stopping power. Likely only worth it for the front brake. At the moment I'm so happy with the upgrade I already did from mechanical to hydraulic and it seems like more than enough at the moment but I haven't done a bikepacking trip since the upgrade with added weight.
If you haven't seen the 3x to 1x Drivetrain Conversion video these riding impressions are based on, you can find it here: ua-cam.com/video/128Fc6CFu3s/v-deo.html
With pedals, tighten toward the front of the bike. Simple way to remember. With BB's you tighten toward the rear of the bike.
Ah found the next one !!!!! I fitted the 30 tooth. You could go smaller if you use the inner ring mount, but you might then need to adjust the chain line.
This is where my lack of experience shows up. I see the IXF crank is listed as BCD 104mm, which I believe refers to the outer mounting holes. There are hidden more closely spaced holes on the inboard side of the crank although I have no idea what their specification is in order to look for smaller chainrings that would fit there. As you mention this would move the chain line further inboard at the crank end, possibly making shifts to the smallest rear gears challenging.
@@chasingmyfreedom3642 BCD = Bolt Circle Diameter. It describes the circle that the center of the bolts are aligned on, measured in mm. Easy to measure when you have 4 bolts - just measure across two opposite bolts.
Yeah, go with the 30t. Maybe even a 28t? It's not like you're trying to reach higher end speeds on a bikepacking rig. It'll probably be helpful for when you pack your bike with stuff as well.
I'm using the same gearing as you (the same exact cassette even), but on a 29". I usually go on about 40km rides with some very steep climbs here and there. I'm not light, but I am moderately strong and the 32 tooth fits my riding perfectly. I've tried a 30T on my mate's bike and it was alright, I've always found that very tall gears aren't as useful on mountain bikes anyway, especially seeing that I seldomly use the tallest gear on my 32T bike myself. I'd say definitely try a 30 tooth chainring, it's what's coming from factory on many, many new bikes nowadays.
Thanks for the perspective and that makes sense. My Kona Big Honzo has 30T front which (if my legs are willing) allows me to crawl some steep things. What I really want is very low gearing for climbing while bikepacking with a loaded bike so I hopefully won't have to resort to hike-a-bike as often. I think I will eventually move to a 30T to help get there.
Like you, I expect my lowest cogs will wear out long before my tallest (smallest) ones will. :)
@@chasingmyfreedom3642 Load up your bike to bikepacking weight, find somewhere flat and ride around to see how you feel about the top gears. Repeat with some downhill sections. If that top gear feels tough on the flat and you're not spinning out on the downhill, then you're not going to lose anything by dropping to the 30T chainring. Also, you could consider mounting a 30T on the inner (64BCD possibly?, easy enough to measure) mount points and keeping the 32T anyway. Use the 30T for bikepacking, 32T for lightweight riding. You don't need to bother with a front derailleur - just use a tool or stick to switch between them. Your rear derailleur has a total capacity of 41T, of which your rear cassette uses 39 (50 minus 11), so it has the 2T capacity needed to handle the chain length difference between the 2 chainrings. You could try 28T and 32T, but you'd probably have to choose between not being able to use 28x11 due to too much slack and 32x50 due to not enough chain.
Hi and thanks for the update
i have a probably around 2006 Giant mtb with an 8 gear cassette to the rear and a 3 cog crank set to the front and i want to ditch the front set but leave the rear as is for now
can you point me in the right direction of what front crank please
Without specific model and year details to try to find specs online I think your best bet would be to try to identify what type of bottom bracket you have by sight (there are so many different types...) and find what special tools you may need (amazon has good, cheap options for single use) and then be brave (that's what I needed) and get in there to take it apart. From there you will have a better idea of what replacement cranks you can source. If the bottom bracket is threaded like my Giant then I recommend the iXF cranks from amazon that I used for a great price to performance ratio.
Check out this video to help identify what style of bottom bracket you have: ua-cam.com/video/e-8G1G9QNX8/v-deo.html
Good luck!
So I guess the cassettes on 11 speed are almost identical between sram and shimano. On 12 speed there is a slight difference in width between cassettes of around 1.2mm.. While it does sound minimal, I am getting misshifts on one sprockets when using a Sram derailleur on a 12speed shimano cassette. Might just be bad luck ;) If you need more stopping power, you can get some pretty cheap MT420 calipers to work with your brake levers as well. Entry lvl though but a decent upgrade to the mt400 and really worth it!
Didn't know there was a width difference between SRAM and Shimano cassettes. Good to know I have an option to upgrade from MT400 to MT420 calipers to get 4-piston stopping power. Likely only worth it for the front brake. At the moment I'm so happy with the upgrade I already did from mechanical to hydraulic and it seems like more than enough at the moment but I haven't done a bikepacking trip since the upgrade with added weight.