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Alpine riding. Getting ready to climb ...... and climb ...... and climb.


throet
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When I was riding Alpine trails almost exclusively between 2012-2014, I had a 3x XC HT. Last time I rode in Colorado, in 2016, I was on a 2X drivetrain. More recently in 2019, I did some serious climbing out in California on a rental bike that had an Eagle 12-spd drivetrain. Now I'm getting ready to head to Colorado with my 11-spd. Even at 62 I consider myself a strong climber, and my 27lb bike is very well suited for climbing. I'm obviously short a climbing gear though from what I've been accustomed to in the past. Should I swap out my 30t chainring for a 28t before heading up there, or do I just suck it up and risk burning my legs out early?   

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TBH, 42t is not enough and I've ridden with you so not a slight in the least. The old man's got some legs😁

Recently got my dose of reality in AZ. Granted I was on a 38lb park bike but I was still a slow moving kitty at 9k feet with a 34/50. 

FWIW, I have a race face 28T my wife used for one race that you can have. 

Edited by ATXZJ
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In the grand scheme of things, 2T will probably not make much of a difference at the highest end. Where it will make more of a difference is in the middle of the cassette. I spend ~90% of my time in the same 3-4 cogs in the middle of the cassette. 2T can make a lot of difference, but mostly in shifting your "normal" range a bit.

It can't hurt and if you have access to a new ring for the front, why not. Even if it is a placebo, placebos are not tested for in all of the doping regimens, so it is a free performance boost 😉 

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IF it were me, I'd grab a new cassette and run the 28t. Sunrace makes a 10-46 11spd XD driver cassette that'll work with your XX1. I have tested the 11-46 on my 11spd X01 and it worked fine. 46 is max on those.

plus the 46t will take up some chain, and the 28t will give you the slack back.

Better over geared than under.

https://www.sunrace.com/en/products/detail/csmx9x

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9 minutes ago, ATXZJ said:

IF it were me, I'd grab a new cassette and run the 28t. Sunrace makes a 10-46 11spd XD driver cassette that'll work with your XX1. I have tested the 11-46 on my 11spd X01 and it worked fine. 46 is max on those.

plus the 46t will take up some chain, and the 28t will give you the slack back.

Better over geared than under.

https://www.sunrace.com/en/products/detail/csmx9x

Now you're talking! 

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Well if we're changing cassettes also, then I would suggest the E-Thirteen 9 x 46.  That will get your top end back.  Currently on my second one, and love it!!  Normally I am able to climb everything around here with my 32 oval.  But when I did the hill climb race out of Palo Duro canyon I did swap out and put my 28 back on.                               

9-46T: 9,10,12,14,17,20,24,28,33,39,46
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46 minutes ago, Ericbike6 said:

E-Thirteen 9 x 46.

I've got about 11k miles on 3 of these. And Jessica put about 3k on one. They perform great. But if you don't disassemble and re-lube them often--like about 300 miles--they get crazy noisy. They sound like your chain is dragging against the next higher cog. Really frustrating. I've emailed with them extensively about it 

Edited by Barry
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1 hour ago, Barry said:

I've got about 11k miles on 3 of these. And Jessica put about 3k on one. They perform great. But if you don't disassemble and re-lube them often--like about 300 miles--they get crazy noisy. They sound like your chain is dragging against the next higher cog. Really frustrating. I've emailed with them extensively about it 

My shimano cassette on the gravel bike seems to be like this.  It’s prettt annoying.  Is the e-thirteen multi-piece? 

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Yeah, although they keep changing designs. I think the current one is 3 peice. The 46 tooth, a plastic bushing then the other 10 gears are together. It's for an XD hub.

The Gabaruk cassette XD is one glorious piece. But IMO it's too lightweight for my use.

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2 hours ago, Barry said:

I've got about 11k miles on 3 of these. And Jessica put about 3k on one. They perform great. But if you don't disassemble and re-lube them often--like about 300 miles--they get crazy noisy. They sound like your chain is dragging against the next higher cog. Really frustrating. I've emailed with them extensively about it 

Yuup, ran into the same issues, huge PITA, but the recent design change on the one I have now, only about a year old, I haven't had the same issues.  Totally different mounting platform, and seems to be working out fine.   No more plastic bushing if I remember correctly, haven't had it off in awile.

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Slightly Related. When I used to ride Dual Sport (Street Legal Dirtbikes). On some trips were we had to do 60MPH for a length of time and to get to tight twisty steep single track we'd pack two sprockets and tools to change. Ride out with the 15T Countershaft Sprocket, Swap to a 14T for the trails and swap back for the ride home. While not super common it was nice. Does anyone do this for MTB on this this type of riding? If anything, it seems easier on a MTB because you don't have to worry about adjusting the chain tension and the sprocket is lighter to carry. 

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To make things more difficult. I'll throw out another option.

Buy a GX eagle derailleur and a 11-50 sunrace 11spd cassette and just keep your existing shifter and chainring.

I'm running a XT 12spd derailleur, sunrace 11-50 cassette, XTR selectable 11/12spd shifter with a 12 spd KMC chain. Works well and keeps things easily upgradeable.

Edited by ATXZJ
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  • 5 weeks later...
On 6/18/2021 at 7:49 AM, ATXZJ said:

IF it were me, I'd grab a new cassette and run the 28t. Sunrace makes a 10-46 11spd XD driver cassette that'll work with your XX1. I have tested the 11-46 on my 11spd X01 and it worked fine. 46 is max on those.

plus the 46t will take up some chain, and the 28t will give you the slack back.

Better over geared than under.

I ended up taking the cheap way out and just replaced my 30t chainring with a 28t oval ring. Very first ride we did in Colorado was this! Managed mile one OK but the grade on that second mile dirt road climb was insane. I pedaled all the way up, but had to stop multiple times to catch my breath, and my legs were toast when we finally got to the top. My buddies were riding either 2x11 or Eagle and didn't struggle too much. Did another ride later that day and my legs were still hurting. When we rode the Monarch Crest trail the following day, I ended up just walking some of the really punchy climbs at the beginning to save my legs for the full 35 miles. That strategy worked well and kept me from falling behind my buddies by too much. 

image.thumb.png.e760d8a9284cc2de0fe3690cfb8d58a0.png 

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4 hours ago, throet said:

I ended up taking the cheap way out and just replaced my 30t chainring with a 28t oval ring. Very first ride we did in Colorado was this! Managed mile one OK but the grade on that second mile dirt road climb was insane. I pedaled all the way up, but had to stop multiple times to catch my breath, and my legs were toast when we finally got to the top. My buddies were riding either 2x11 or Eagle and didn't struggle too much. Did another ride later that day and my legs were still hurting. When we rode the Monarch Crest trail the following day, I ended up just walking some of the really punchy climbs at the beginning to save my legs for the full 35 miles. That strategy worked well and kept me from falling behind my buddies by too much. 

image.thumb.png.e760d8a9284cc2de0fe3690cfb8d58a0.png 

Awesome! Altitude adjustment is a mofo too so there's that as well. Certainly worth checking out a 46t or 50t with eagle derailleur if you do it again.

Enough with the climbing, how was the descending😁

Edited by ATXZJ
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2 hours ago, ATXZJ said:

Enough with the climbing, how was the descending😁

Yeah the descending was righteous man! Some of those downs were so long that I'd end up raising my saddle a bit just to cop an occasional seat going down. Inevitably I'd suddenly come across something janky and take a direct hit in the stones from that slightly raised saddle.   

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  • 2 weeks later...

I decided to get my bike ready for the mountains next week:

Picture1.thumb.png.41d42382f3ab2940808129f29b4d9662.png

Kept the 36T on the front, threw a 10-speed cassette on the back and zip-tied the shift cable to it. I am guessing the 1:1 ratio will be better for climbing than the 36:15 combo as a single. 

Gonna give it a spin here for a few days and shake it out. Guessing I need to get used to the lack of suspension, it's gonna feel like 1997 all over again.

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On 6/18/2021 at 11:31 AM, RedRider3141 said:

Slightly Related. When I used to ride Dual Sport (Street Legal Dirtbikes). On some trips were we had to do 60MPH for a length of time and to get to tight twisty steep single track we'd pack two sprockets and tools to change. Ride out with the 15T Countershaft Sprocket, Swap to a 14T for the trails and swap back for the ride home. While not super common it was nice. Does anyone do this for MTB on this this type of riding? If anything, it seems easier on a MTB because you don't have to worry about adjusting the chain tension and the sprocket is lighter to carry. 

remember these?

FD.jpeg.52462a8801d58447c4c35ebe83da7c6c.jpeg

Edited by mack_turtle
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I'm in the same boat - decided to fly into Salida this summer, and save myself the drive. I had my original 2011 Stumpjumper brought up from storage in the Springs. That has an early 1 x 11 on it, and it's gonna be interesting, since I'm so used to my Eagle setup!

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