Going from a triple to a double – what don’t I know?

[TwoWheelsDC]

@jrenaut 157950 wrote:

This sounds like great advice, but it at least doubles the cost, right? I have to replace chain, cranks, and cassette. If I stick with Shimano I can probably leave my brake/shifter combo and my rear derailleur.

I guess it depends on what you plan to use the bike for. If you’re just cruising around town, then going cheap makes sense. If this is going to be a bike you’ll put a lot of miles on doing longer rides, then spending the extra money to do it right is probably the better option. Keeping your shifters/brake levers and derailleur will save you about $200 (~$75 for RD, ~$90 for rear shifter, ~$40 for non-shifting brake lever).

[jrenaut]

@hozn 157967 wrote:

You don’t need to replace the crank, I don’t think. I thought you were replacing the cassette already? And yes, you have to replace chain either way.

I have a triple now (50/39/30) and want to go to a single 44. Is that what narrow/wide ring means? A single that fits where the triple was?

[drevil]

@jrenaut 157972 wrote:

I have a triple now (50/39/30) and want to go to a single 44. Is that what narrow/wide ring means? A single that fits where the triple was?

Narrow wide chainring is where the teeth alternate between thick and thin. Here’re examples:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14487[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14488[/ATTACH]

Yeah, if you use a narrow wide chainring, you don’t want it shifting between it and other rings because the chain gaps need to fit in the proper width teeth, and there’s no guarantee that it will if you move it back and forth. Plus, they aren’t optimized for shifting like modern chainrings with pins, pickups, and cutouts that make shifting more smooth.

[jrenaut]

@drevil 157973 wrote:

Narrow wide chainring is where the teeth alternate between thick and thin.

So what does that do?

[Anonymous]

@jrenaut 157974 wrote:

So what does that do?

Holds on to the chain better.

[drevil]

@jrenaut 157974 wrote:

So what does that do?

In a nutshell, it minimizes the space between the sides of the chainring teeth and the inner faces of the chain plates, which minimizes lateral movement of the chain in order to have a more tenacious hold, with the end result of less dropping/inadvertent derailling of the chain from the chainring. Prior to the narrow wide chainring, all of the teeth were designed to be only as wide as the inner width of the inner (narrow) chain plates (red arrows), which left a big gap between the the chainring teeth and the inside faces of the outer (wide) plates of the chain (blue arrows). Check out my image to hopefully make sense of my blather.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14489[/ATTACH]

[hozn]

If you do decide to go all-in on a new drivetrain + brake/shifter, be careful about your wheel (freehub body) compatibility. If you cannot put an 11sp cassette on your wheels (and don’t want to pay for XTR 11sp that fits on 10sp freehub body) you probably want to stick to 1×10 (i.e. a 10sp rear shifter). The SRAM derailleurs are the same, though, for 10 and 11sp road (and 10sp MTB).

[jrenaut]

I think the only question remaining is how to get a narrow/wide 44 that will attach properly to my triple cranks.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@jrenaut 157997 wrote:

I think the only question remaining is how to get a narrow/wide 44 that will attach properly to my triple cranks.

As long as the bolt pattern matches, it’s just a matter of removing the existing chain rings and bolting the new one on to the middle tabs on your spider. I’m guessing your spider is 130BCD, assuming we’re talking about your Volpe.

https://www.modernbike.com/product-2126216915?gclid=CjwKEAjw_PfGBRDW_sutqMbQsmMSJAAMpUapV3AqexiHzshEd3ap2EJ_AfjMhgJp3MN3sf7DDsme2RoCsJbw_wcB

[vvill]

Yup – I have an Absolute Black n/w chainring on the middle of my triple cranks (for my 26″ beater). You will probably need single (shorter) chainring bolts, and as TwoWheelsDC mentioned, the correct chainring for your spider BCD.

(I ended up doubling-up on chain retention and getting a bashguard on the outside as I have grease-ruined too many jeans/trousers – I often don’t wear bike specific stuff with this bike, and the RD on this one isn’t clutched. In this case I actually needed longer chainring bolts.)

I don’t know if there are a ton of 130BCD n/w chainrings around though. Usually folks on 1x want smaller chainrings so 110BCD is more common.

[hozn]

I would get a SRAM X-Sync because that should adjust chainline inboard which sounds useful since you have a triple.

[jrenaut]

As you may have seen in the other thread I started, I was inspired to move forward with this because I killed by bottom bracket this morning. So here’s where we’re starting:

3X10 with unusable bottom bracket by Jon, on Flickr

And now I’ve taken off everything I can without tools I don’t have:

On the way to 1X10 by Jon, on Flickr

[jrenaut]

I have a 44t narrow wide coming to the Bike Rack tomorrow. For now I might just put the old big ring back on, but going forward I think I need a chainguard. Anything I should know about chainguards?

[TwoWheelsDC]

@jrenaut 158453 wrote:

As you may have seen in the other thread I started, I was inspired to move forward with this because I killed by bottom bracket this morning. So here’s where we’re starting:

3X10 with unusable bottom bracket by Jon, on Flickr

And now I’ve taken off everything I can without tools I don’t have:

On the way to 1X10 by Jon, on Flickr

In addition to the right tools, I also have a hose and scrub brush…jeez….

[jrenaut]

@TwoWheelsDC 158455 wrote:

In addition to the right tools, I also have a hose and scrub brush…jeez….

Ha, I know, it’s filthy. Freezing Saddles! No time for bike cleaning.

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