It's been a while since I've been on here. Other, non-bike-related stuff got in the way of my plans to sort out the front end position (forks/stem, etc.).
This is my only bike and most of the time is used for the 30 min commute to work, so reliability is key. Well, I have reached the point where I need to sort the drivetrain out.
The picture, if it works, shows the current situation. But now I have a dilemma and your input would be welcome.
The chain snapped on me the other day. It was old, so needed replacing anyway. When I then looked at the cassette and chainrings it became obvious they would need replacing too, so it would be a waste of money putting a new chain on knackered teeth. I know in the grand scheme of things this won’t cost me silly money, but I don’t have a lot of money to throw at this. Chains are cheap, and cassettes are cheap, but chain rings will bump the cost up.
As far as I can tell I’ve got three options:
a) Replace everything.
b) Go single speed.
c) Go 1x8.
SS really appeals and I can do the SS conversion cheaply, but this is my only bike, not an N+1 bike and I do have one hill to climb every day. I’m struggling to see the point in running three chainrings as I only ever use the top two (42 and 32t). A 36t would be a good compromise, if I kept 8 cogs at the back. And the old XT rear mech still shifts OK. At least, it will once I’ve tweaked it again.
Thoughts?
As far as niche bikes go, I reckon late 90s steel French hardtails running 1x8 is pretty rare.