Going without a front derailleur seems like the "smart way to go" for many of you readers, I would guess. I do not prefer it, to be honest. I will admit to being pretty overly sensitive to certain elements of a bicycle's drive train, touch points, or other nuances many people do not even consider a "real thing". I think many read my thoughts and probably think I am making things up. Well, that simply is not the case for me, at any rate. These things are real.
So, when my chain gets pretty angled going from a single drive ring to one of the lower gears on the cassette, I can feel this. Don't ask me how, but I can shift to a gear I feel is "good" and almost 100% of the time it is the straightest from the cassette to the drive ring possible. So, 1X set ups have never really been my preference as 2X or 3X allows you to keep your chain the straightest and most efficient.
This makes me wonder if I need a lower end range if I would not be better off going smaller on the drive ring. Bigger rear cogs create more extreme chain angles in the lower gears, so sacrificing high speed combinations for the lower end makes sense while allowing me to keep the rear cassette I have now on the bike. I'll have to examine some gear ratio comparisons before I decide, but this is where I am at with the drive train at the moment.
The bearing still needs to be upgraded on the non-drive side of the bottom bracket, although it spun well enough on this test ride. I still need a proper lower cup on the head set. And I still have not found my stash of six bolt rotors. I cannot mount a single speed cog on the front wheel until I settle on what is happening with the drive train. I'm getting closer to being done, but I'm not quite there yet.
More soon.
I totally agree with you on chain angle. My preference is 2x. I can definitely feel the difference on big/big combos even when I set my crank as inboard as possible.
ReplyDeleteIt also seems to reduce chain drop with no “fixes” needed. (Chain guides, wide/narrow rings, clutched RDs). I have ridden bikes with “normal” 52mm chainlines where the chain would bounce to the small ring while coasting.
And as a single speeder, I definitely learned how a straight chainline affected efficiency, along with ring/cog size. I once setup 48x28 (same ratio as I normally ran). It was super smooth and “easy”. But I folded the ring on a log-over.
I can also feel when my chain needs to be cleaned/lubed
For the ultimate in chain line management, there is the
ReplyDeleteElswick Hopper Vampire Convincable, where the cassette moves side
to side, to maintain a perfect chain line. Trivelox was another sliding
cog set derailer system.
https://bikeville.net/2009/08/22/1957-elswick-hopper-vampire-convincable/