Building a Cyclecross/Adventure Bike

[Zeds Dead]

I am coming down to the final pieces and parts of my build. So I have a last minute questions on items I am looking to order before I start to assemble.

I have decided for this build to run a 1×10 drive train. The front crank is a SRAM APEX 42 tooth 175 mm crankset. I have a SRAM Apex WiFli 10spd Rear Derailleur – Mid Cage. SRAM lists the rear derailleur as being set up for 11×32 rear cog. But at the last second I am debating running a 11×36 just to get a little more climbing gear under me. I am fairly confident I can make this work. On my MTB I am running a 1×10 as well. My front crank is a 30 tooth Race Face NW and my largest rear cog is a 42 tooth Wolf Tooth. My derailleur is a SRAM X9 10spd short cage. The travel for this derailleur is pretty much tapped out but it shifts fine.

So here is the question… Am I really going to gain anything by going to 11×36 over 11×32? Most of my riding will be done on the back roads and fire roads of East Tennessee. Am I sweating too much of the small stuff? If I am being a weight Nazi then the 11×32 would be a logical choice.

Do any of you guys have experience with this kind of riding and really how much time to spend in your biggest climbing gear. I don’t spend that much time in it on my MTB unless I am just climbing something really steep or choppy, and even then do I ever rarely get into that gear. I just usually try to leg it out.

[Head Over Handlebars]

I live in East Tennessee and know from experience that some of those back roads and fire roads can get really steep, so I’d personally go with the 11-36, although I’m not a particularly strong climber. The only thing I’d be worried about is the derailleur not working with the larger cog.

In my experience I’ve found that I typically have to use the granny gear on my road bike for most climbs longer than a few hundred feet around here, although as stated before, I’m not a very strong climber. And heavy. Unfortunately heavy. If only there were contests for who can huff, puff, and wheeze the most up a hill.

You could also try going with the 11-32 cassette and get a smaller front chainring later if you find yourself needing a lower climbing gear.

Edit: The smaller front chainring on my road bike is a 34 tooth and the cassette is 12-25 tooth, if it helps.

[Aaron Chamberlain ✓ supporter]

You’re gaining a nearly 12% easier climbing gear by going with the 36T. That’s pretty significant. I’ve ridden in East Tennessee too, I’d want something easy.

If you kept the 11-32 cassette, you’d need to go down to a 38T chainring to get a similarly easy climbing gear. Of course, you’d lose about 10% on the top end.

My mountain bikes have been 1x for years and I love it. I’ve looked at going 1x on my road and gravel bike, but I just can’t make it make sense for me. If I was racing cross I’d do it, but for riding road or gravel, I gotta have that easy gear.

[Greg Heil ✓ supporter]

My mountain bikes have been 1x for years and I love it. I’ve looked at going 1x on my road and gravel bike, but I just can’t make it make sense for me. If I was racing cross I’d do it, but for riding road or gravel, I gotta have that easy gear.

Aaron nailed it IMO. If you’re dead set on 1x I’d personally go with at least the 36. That said, I just bought a gravel bike and while I looked at some gravel bikes with a 1x drivetrain, I really like the range (both low and high) that running 2x gives me. Now if they had a 12-speed eagle drivetrain… ?

[Eingalls]

I would definitely go with the 11-36 without question.  I’ve ridden plenty in NC and needed every bit of granny gear I had to get up some steep long climbs.

Just as an FYI for anyone interested…you can run a 2×11 SRAM drivetrain and get tons of gear range with a great granny.  I have 46-34 front chainrings with an 11-42 rear cassette.  This allows me to tackle any terrain that I come across.

[Zeds Dead]

Thanks for the advise… I may end up switching over to a 2x drive train, but for now I am going to run a 1x and see how I like it.

I used Wolftooths website when I was thinking (still thinking) through gear ratio. I could almost go 11×40 or 11×42, if I thought my derailleur could handle that much chain difference. Both Sunrace and Microshift make 11×42 and 11×40 rear cogs.

https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/pages/1x-gravel-setup

Just talking out loud, I can make a X9 short cage work on a 11×40, I would think I should be able to get a mid cage to work on a 11×40 or 11×42… hmm…

So if I run a 1×42 up front to a 11×40 in the rear then I would line up very close to the 4th line on the graph on the link above. Hmm…

So many options.

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