What gear ratio are you running?

I can't understand how running something like a 30t "big ring" with a 24t bailout that requires you to stop, get off the bike, manually shift back and forth during a ride is a better compromise than simply learning to set up and maintain a front derailleur and keeping a true wide-range of gearing. It seems to me that at this point you've got a big ring that still severely limits your top speed with the hassle of stopping and manually switching to a granny for longer climbs, worst of both worlds if you ask me but I must be missing something, so please enlighten me.

You'll have to pry my 38t big ring out of my cold dead hands..more gearing = more fun on the bike IMO.

It's done to have a more reasonable handlebar setup (reverb button in the right place), reduce the constant noise from the front derailleur on rough trails, and shave some weight.

I must be getting lazy because I find I'm doing all my climbing in the 24 t and switching to the 32 front on the way down. Still better than the slap of a front dérailleur IMO.

Might have been mentioned already, but remember that wheel size matters for gearing, smaller wheels means lower gearing… 30t ring on 29" would feel similar to 33t on 26" wheels.

I converted my 2x10 to 1x10, 32t front and 11-42 rear on 27.5" wheels.

I don't miss the lost upper range at all riding the shore. As for climbing, I've become a stronger rider by being forced to use slightly harder gears, after a few rides I don't miss the ol' granny at all… glad I chose 32t over 30. Might try an oval ring in the future.

Call it a hype if you want, but going 1x10 was a huge win for me, pros far outweigh the cons.

25t in front 10t in back. That's it.

25t in front 10t in back. That's it.

yeah,we get it.

my ss is 36/12. take a seat.

Bumping an old thread. Current bike is 26 inch wheels with 24/36 with 11-36 out back. I use the 24/36 regularly (Old Buck, steep fire roads) and have no illusions: I am a slow/fat climber.

Looking at some gear ratio websites and switching to 650b with 32/10-42 would result in my lowest gear ratio going from 0.67 to 0.79 which is an 18% decrease if my math is right. I can do most climbs in 24/32 0.75 but I definitely use the 36 pretty often.

Is my math/understanding right here? If so, will have to consider either a 30t ring, 11-46 cassette although that 37-46 shift must be rough.

I am similar type climber that just went from 26" -24-36 to 650b - oval 30-44. I only notice the tougher gear on steep roads like the backside of Burke which I believe is 11 percent grade. It's been a while since I've climbed old buck. I am going to try to stay with the 30 to keep the antisquat lower. Some other things need to be considered as well like change in bike weights and geo.

http://ritzelrechner.de/ has a good gear calculator.

Here is a comparison of your setups:

http://ritzelrechner.de/?GR=DERS&KB=24,36&RZ=11,12,14,16,18,21,24,28,32,36&UF=2100&TF=90&SL=2.6&UN=KMH&GR2=DERS&KB2=32&RZ2=10,12,14,16,18,21,24,28,32,36,42&UF2=2196

Bumping an old thread. Current bike is 26 inch wheels with 24/36 with 11-36 out back. I use the 24/36 regularly (Old Buck, steep fire roads) and have no illusions: I am a slow/fat climber.

Looking at some gear ratio websites and switching to 650b with 32/10-42 would result in my lowest gear ratio going from 0.67 to 0.79 which is an 18% decrease if my math is right. I can do most climbs in 24/32 0.75 but I definitely use the 36 pretty often.

Is my math/understanding right here? If so, will have to consider either a 30t ring, 11-46 cassette although that 37-46 shift must be rough.

Sunrace makes a cassette that goes 36-40-46 instead of Shimanos 32-37-46. Alternatively get an 11-42t Shimano and add the OneUp 47T cog for a nice 37-42-47 jump (though this is a pricier option). I can get by most places around Van/Squam/Whistler with my 10 speed with 30t(oval) and 10-42t out back and I am by no means a 'climber'.

With the 42 tooth cassette, if you want the same low gear as a 24/36, you need to have a 28 tooth chainring.

The 9-tooth jump on the Shimano 11-46 is huge, but if it's just your Old Buck bailout gear, maybe you think that's OK!

Hmm some good options to ponder. I've heard the Sunrace cassette's don't shift well and have poor durability? One-up 47 is appealing but yeah, $110 is just under what the 11-46 cassette + XT chain are going for. That would be the ideal solution for me though, with a 32t front.

I'm running a One Up 32t oval ring and a Sun Race 11x42 cassette. The shifting seems better than my old XT cassette with a wolftooth 42t...but that was getting super worn out.

I ended up with a 32t front and 11-42 in the back with OneUp 50t Shark cog and cage. Great shifting with the cages. The 32x42 is good for most climbs, especially if I don't want to be lazy, but having the 50t as the bailout is great.

I've currently got a double on (38/24, 11-36), but I'm looking to shift to 1X once I get some cash (though I'm half-tempted to hack/make a kind-of mechanical syncroshift so I can keep the range).

I don't generally use the top gear (or the top few) on the trails, but I do really like my bottom gear for "those days"...

In terms of what you run - safety comes first, and for most normal riders the limiting factor (at least on technical trails) is skill, and how much braking you do - not the gearing. You'll probably use lower gears more than higher ones if you're riding varied terrain a lot anyway - so if you can, it might be worth popping down a chainring size or two (28X36 is fairly similar to 32X42) - it's a whole lot cheaper (generally) than an expander cog.