1x conversions: the new way to mess well preserved classics?

[Retro Spud]

Everybody can do whatever they want with their own bikes, but I've noticed lately many people using perfectly preserved retro mtbs and doing "1X" conversions.

Will this become the new trend to ruin classic mtb's like the fixie fashion ruined plenty gorgeous Colnagos, Peugeots and other classy road bikes in the mid-00's?

Even if no one else agrees with you - I feel your pain, atheistically it’s just wrong on so many levels

Like seeing expensive and iconic cars with LPG conversions and brandishing plastic filler caps. Okay as M.T.Self has pointed out the ignominy of a 1 x 11 conversion & single speeds can be reversed but even so my heart sinks when I see 24 speed bikes reduced to being fodder for passing hippy fads

 

[torqueless]

Re:

Well... gear mechanisms can be tiresome. Rear wheel strength compromised by dishing. Pulleys and cables.

I'm more pissed off with whoever it was that decided every bike should have vertical dropouts, making a conversion to single-speed almost more trouble than it's worth...

Two of the best things about a bike are simplicity and adaptability. We seem to have gone out of our way to ruin bikes on both counts.

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

example;

22, 32, 42 x 11-32 vs 38 x 10-50

3x = low = 0.69, high = 3.82

1x = low = 0.67, high = 3.8

They basically have the same spread of ratios.

WRT the number of ratios, you'll have between 14-16 unique ratios on a 3x, with a max of 12 on a 1x.

Well... gear mechanisms can be tiresome. Rear wheel strength compromised by dishing. Pulleys and cables.

I'm more pissed off with whoever it was that decided every bike should have vertical dropouts, making a conversion to single-speed almost more trouble than it's worth...

Two of the best things about a bike are simplicity and adaptability. We seem to have gone out of our way to ruin bikes on both counts.

so, you're trying to have a rant that everything in the bike world should be a singlespeed?

Worst. Rant. Evah.

Horizontal dropouts suck.

 

[WimVDD]

you'll have between 14-16 unique ratios on a 3x, with a max of 12 on 1 x 12.

That's my point. The cog you shift to is always just too big or too small.

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

you'll have between 14-16 unique ratios on a 3x, with a max of 12 on 1 x 12.

That's my point. The cog you shift to is always just too big or too small.

not if you're talking 7 or 8 speed... the unique ratios drop to 12-13. 9, 10 or 11 speed, perhaps.

works for me, even on 1x10.

 

[velomaniac]

Re:

Idea is not even new, 1x has been around for ever. Only new thing is the spread of cogs from teeny to huge and their number. Look at a early 80's Schwinn Sidewinder, a proto MTB it was 1x. A MTB is basically a MTB frame with stuff bolted often/usually from a different manufacturer than the frame. We all changed components bitd to suit ourselves, changing the spec is not butchering. All for 1x If the bike gets used

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

Re: Re:

Idea is not even new, 1x has been around for ever. Only new thing is the spread of cogs from teeny to huge and their number. Look at a early 80's Schwinn Sidewinder, a proto MTB it was 1x. A MTB is basically a MTB frame with stuff bolted often/usually from a different manufacturer than the frame. We all changed components bitd to suit ourselves, changing the spec is not butchering. All for 1x If the bike gets used

Well said!

 

[Retro Spud]

That’s fair enough but they still look shite ....


Okay I’ll grab my coat now and exit quietly

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

That’s fair enough but they still look shite ....


Okay I’ll grab my coat now and exit quietly

This is a retro site, so yep, aesthetics are important!

IMO, 1x suits modern bikes, but retros look shonky with it... although a *full* retro-mod can look sharp with modern drivetrain and other bits...

Also worth bearing in mind the Whyte PRST conversation at mayhem. Some people love the function-over-form aspect, some think it just looks like a dogs dinner.


You say Potato, I say banana.

 

[CassidyAce]

Re:

example;

22, 32, 42 x 11-32 vs 38 x 10-50

3x = low = 0.69, high = 3.82

1x = low = 0.67, high = 3.8

They basically have the same spread of ratios.

Close but not quite: 38/50 = 0.76 (not 0.67).

Here's another scenario:

1x
38/50 = 0.76
38/11 = 3.4545

1x spread
3.4545-0.76 = 2.6945

3x with 48T chainset
48/11 = 4.3636
28/32 = 0.875

3x spread
4.3636-0.875 = 3.4886

Difference between 3x spread and 1x spread
3.4886-2.6945 = 0.7941

Difference as a % of 1x spread
0.7941/2.6945 = 0.2947

Just short of a 30% wider range with the 3x. (A bit less with a 12-32 cassette [i.e. SRAM PG730] obviously.)

No strong feelings about this issue myself. I was bored!