Anyone converted from 2x11 to a 1x12?

[Cycleops]

Oh dear, this all sounds terribly confusing and more hassle than I personally want. I'll likely just get the LBS to do it all nd advise me accordingly.

If you're going to let them do it might make more sense financially to sell the bike and get a 1x12.
Then you'll have the joy of a shiny new bike 😜

 

[Sloth]

If you're going to let them do it might make more sense financially to sell the bike and get a 1x12.
Then you'll have the joy of a shiny new bike 😜

Good point, but it's already a shiny new (ish) bike
It's a bit of smoke and mirrors as well to be honest. The bike was a birthday gift so selling it may trigger a response I don't want, whereas modifying it is just a reasonable 'investment' in the same bike, if you get my meaning?

 

[JohnHughes307]

Oh dear, this all sounds terribly confusing and more hassle than I personally want. I'll likely just get the LBS to do it all nd advise me accordingly.

I've never got into gear inches as it is the relative gear ratio that seems to matter rather than the absolute. Your current highest gear is 50/11 (4.55) and your lowest is (probably, if you have the 11-28 cassette) 34/28 (1.21). That means that your back wheel goes round 4.5 ish times every turn of the pedals in your hardest gear and 1.2 ish times in your easiest gear.
If you just change the front to a single 40 tooth ring (as an example - other sizes are available) your ratios would be 40/11 or 3.64 for your hardest gear and 40/28 or 1.42 in your easiest.
Only you can decide whether that makes sense or not.
You can add extra options by switching the cassette as well as the chainring. If the harder easiest gear sounds like a bad idea, then swapping the cassette to an 11-40 would give you a 1.0 ratio which is pretty "easy' for a road bike.

 

[Sloth]

Thanks, I'm fairly OK with the ratios I already, have but just don't want the 2x on the front to faff about with.
I'd not really want the easiest gear (hills!) to be any harder though.

 

[Jody]

I'd not really want the easiest gear (hills!) to be any harder though.

Stick it in the small ring and ride it for a week or so and see if you spin out regularly. If not, buy a NW chainring same as the small and bin off everything you don't need

It will cost you nothing for the weeks trial and then about £20-30 for a replacement ring (and bolts if needed)

 

[Sloth]

Stick it in the small ring and ride it for a week or so and see if you spin out regularly. If not, buy a NW chainring same as the small and bin off everything you don't need

It will cost you nothing for the weeks trial and then about £20-30 for a replacement ring (and bolts if needed)

Actually, I tend to only use the smaller front chain ring anyway. I only begrudgingly change to the large one if the cross chain drives me bonkers.
As I said, flat and down hill speed is not my thing, so comfortable average pace riding is fine. I'm happy to spin up hills, and freewheel down them if I run out of top gear.
Problem is the cross chain does kick in when I try to use the (2) easiest gears whilst on the smaller front chain ring.

 

[Tigerbiten]

At the moment your bike is setup with road gears which top out at around 120".
What you probably want is a setup of touring gears which top out at around 100".
So if you shrink your chainring by around 20%, 50 x 0.8 = 40t, it will give you a reasonable range of gears working down.
But to keep your first gear as low as reasonable you may want to also change to a 11-40 or a 11-42 cassette.

 

[cisamcgu]

Actually, I tend to only use the smaller front chain ring anyway. I only begrudgingly change to the large one if the cross chain drives me bonkers.
As I said, flat and down hill speed is not my thing, so comfortable average pace riding is fine. I'm happy to spin up hills, and freewheel down them if I run out of top gear.
Problem is the cross chain does kick in when I try to use the (2) easiest gears whilst on the smaller front chain ring.

I'm not sure I follow, surely the easiest rear cogs do not have any cross chain issues on the smallest chain ring ?

 

[Jenkins]

I've taken the front changer mech off two of my bikes. Replaced the two rings at the front with a single 40t, narrow/wide ring and resized the chain by taking out a link or two.

So only costs needed are for a new chain ring and a new set of chain ring bolts.

The chain runs smoothly across all 10 gears. And to move up/down the ratios, just a single click, rather than a shuffle moving the front up and the rear down.

I've done something similar with three of my bikes so far - two from 2x11 to 1x11 and the other from 2x10 to 1x10. It helped that they were already running SRAM Apex or Rival chainsets & rear mechs so all I had to do was find Rival1 or Apex1 chainsets at the right price - with the exception of the Spa Elan (swapped from Shimano shifters & rear mech to SRAM Rival 1 equivalents).

Not knowing much about Shimano's 1x chainsets, what is available if @Sloth goes for a proper narrow/wide chainset?

 

[Jenkins]

Google Bikecalc for gear tables.
Or, multiply wheel size x chainring teeth, divided by sprocket size.

For wheel size, just use 27, approx the same as a 700 metric size.

Thus 27x50/14 gives a 96" gear. This equates to the theoretical diameter of a Penny Farthing wheel.

Oh dear, this all sounds terribly confusing and more hassle than I personally want. I'll likely just get the LBS to do it all nd advise me accordingly.

I've taken a punt that the set-up on the Fastroad is a 50/34 double with an 11-34 cassette and put them into the gear calculator for you, but included a 42 tooth fictional middle ring calculation so you can compare what gears are similar to what you currently have of you move to the 42 tooth single ring.
http://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=...5,27,30,34&UF=2185&TF=75&SL=3&UN=MPH&DV=teeth

As you can see, you will loose the 50/11 and the 34/34 & 34/30 combinations, but the 1x11 set up fills the rest of the range.

 

[Sloth]

I've taken a punt that the set-up on the Fastroad is a 50/34 double with an 11-34 cassette and put them into the gear calculator for you, but included a 42 tooth fictional middle ring calculation so you can compare what gears are similar to what you currently have of you move to the 42 tooth single ring.
http://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=...5,27,30,34&UF=2185&TF=75&SL=3&UN=MPH&DV=teeth

As you can see, you will loose the 50/11 and the 34/34 & 34/30 combinations, but the 1x11 set up fills the rest of the range.

Thanks, appreciate this.
So does this mean I'd not notice any hardship up hills (other than the usual that is)?
Would I spin out more often/easier?

 

[Jenkins]

Thanks, appreciate this.
So does this mean I'd not notice any hardship up hills (other than the usual that is)?
Would I spin out more often/easier?

Converting to the 1x set-up illustrated above, you'd lose the equivalent of the 50/11 combination at the top end (big ring up front and smallest cog on the rear) so could spin out if you have a lot of downhills(or just take it easy and freewheel more ). Then at the bottom end you'd lose the equivalent of the smallest front ring and biggest 2 rear cogs on the cassette which would make it harder uphill if you use that combination a lot.

 

[Sloth]

Converting to the 1x set-up illustrated above, you'd lose the equivalent of the 50/11 combination at the top end (big ring up front and smallest cog on the rear) so could spin out if you have a lot of downhills(or just take it easy and freewheel more ). Then at the bottom end you'd lose the equivalent of the smallest front ring and biggest 2 rear cogs on the cassette which would make it harder uphill if you use that combination a lot.

Hmm, ok thanks, that wouldn’t work for me then. I can perhaps sacrifice some flat speed and spin or freewheel down hill, but if anything I want it easier up hills, not harder.

 

[Jenkins]

Hmm, ok thanks, that wouldn’t work for me then. I can perhaps sacrifice some flat speed and spin or freewheel down hill, but if anything I want it easier up hills, not harder.

You may be able to find a single ring chainset with a smaller ring (MTB or gravel?) to give the easier hill climbing, but youd lose out even more on the flat or downhill. I'm not up on what Shimano kit would work - especially as the specs I've looked up onlie show it has an unspecified press fit bottom bracket.

Anyone else able to offer suggestions?

 

[Sloth]

I'm not sure I follow, surely the easiest rear cogs do not have any cross chain issues on the smallest chain ring ?

You’d think wouldn’t you? Yet it does happen.