Anyone have anything they'd like to rant about?

What's old is new again. I remember over a decade ago when people were putting 5 or 6 cogs on singlespeed freehubs. Pre-boost of course, so the wider hub flanges were a real benefit. So yeah, I'll join in the rant that for off-road riding small jumps between gears to maintain cadence are just not that important and we probably should have just added range to 9 or 10 speed drivetrains instead of going to 12.

Thinking about usable gears (plus parts shortages) has me pondering drivetrain alternatives. I just sized down to a 28t chainring and stuck with 11 speed 10-46. Now I don't feel like I need a 52, but the biggest benefit seems to be spending more time in the second and third largest cogs with the 46 as a true bailout. No more wearing out expensive aluminum cogs while the rest of the cassette has a ton of life left, hopefully.

And I haven't missed the top end gear once. If I'm descending on singletrack around here I'm not pedaling, and if I'm descending a logging road (or worse, pavement) on a mountain bike ride something has gone horribly wrong so I don't care about spinning out.

Never giving up my dropper though. Even for winch and plummet riding.

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Originally Posted by skaredshtles

I, too, would love to have a wide range "smaller" drivetrain - 5sp, 7sp... something.

WRT dropper posts - what if I told you, while being able to drop the seat on descents is nice, it's not the *most* important advantage of a dropper post, at least for me.

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What if it told you my RF dropper was way over pressurized when i first installed it and i used it to prank friends who would hit the trigger and then get punched in the taint/balls by dangerously fast return?

Is the advantage you are talking about the ability to have your seat at the exact, to the mm, height everytime for climbing? If so, i bet your riding clipless too with a dialed in cleat angle? Im not that finicky. Instead of adjusting my derailleur properly i just havent had the use of my granny gear in 18months and instead simply got stronger. I use flat pedals and there is a definite wobble to my rear tire and dents in the rim big enough that i have to run tubes. I dont sweat the little stuff as long as it works.

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Originally Posted by californiagrown

Interestingly, i would also be very much in favor of a 5spd drivetrain with MASSIVE jumps between gears. I really only use my granny gear, the next gear down, a middleish gear, and then my biggest gear on downhills/bikepark/shuttling. out of my 11spd drivetrain, probably 7 of those cogs have seen less than a mile of use in 3 years. Probably goes back to not having rolly trails, and instead just settling in to the long uphill grind.

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I kinda go back on forth on that one. On one hand, I could get away with fewer gears and be happy. On the other hand, I'm not convinced that fewer gears with bigger jumps is going to shift better (it almost certainly won't), be much more durable (unless they find a way to completely redesign the drivetrain format), or be much lighter.

In reality, I'd rather have a good quality 10 speed drivetrain with only slightly bigger jumps between certain gears, and that still uses a 12 speed chain. That'd allow for more space in between the cogs, which would make shifting less fussy and would allow for a slightly misaligned derailleur without being utterly useless. Basically, the same upsides of the 5spd drivetrain but with 5 more gears, which I don't think adds much in terms of downsides.

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Originally Posted by californiagrown

I dont sweat the little stuff as long as it works.

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Sounds like you don’t even care that it actually works

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Originally Posted by J. Barron DeJong

Sounds like you don’t even care that it actually works

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What i consider "rideable" vs what you consider "rideable" is probably very different haha.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

On the other hand, if you asked me if I'd rather give up my dropper post or my drivetrain (and just go single speed), I'd have to think about it a bit. I guess it just depends where you live / what you ride.

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Also, good luck getting >100 mm of seat height adjustment on most new frames with a rigid post. Hell, a lot of frames probably wouldn't even allow 100 mm.

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Originally Posted by rideit

This is close…

https://www.amazon.com/Microshift-Ad.../dp/B083WMTPZ2

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They also make that in 11-46, and the whole group costs less than $150. There's also Box's Prime 9 group (https://boxcomponents.com/collections/prime-9) and SRAM's 8-speed EX1 group (https://www.sram.com/en/sram/mountain/series/ex1). It's a bit strange that the EX1 cassette doesn't come in XD flavor.

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Originally Posted by californiagrown

Is the advantage you are talking about the ability to have your seat at the exact, to the mm, height everytime for climbing? If so, i bet your riding clipless too with a dialed in cleat angle? Im not that finicky. Instead of adjusting my derailleur properly i just havent had the use of my granny gear in 18months and instead simply got stronger. I use flat pedals and there is a definite wobble to my rear tire and dents in the rim big enough that i have to run tubes. I dont sweat the little stuff as long as it works.

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1. Shtles riding clipless, LOL.

2. You're way beyond "not sweating the small stuff." That's like driving around with garbage-bagged windows and the muffler dragging on the ground.

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Originally Posted by californiagrown

Interestingly, i would also be very much in favor of a 5spd drivetrain with MASSIVE jumps between gears. I really only use my granny gear, the next gear down, a middleish gear, and then my biggest gear on downhills/bikepark/shuttling. out of my 11spd drivetrain, probably 7 of those cogs have seen less than a mile of use in 3 years. Probably goes back to not having rolly trails, and instead just settling in to the long uphill grind.

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Box Components I think has few gear still big range setups if memory serves.

I definitely notice that my 11s GX drivetrain seems to shift better and make less noise than 12s GX. And I want a new XC hardtail, if I build one I might go 11s because it's lighter and cheaper and on a bike like that 10-42 is all I really need.

I think the super wide range 7-8s cassette is something people wouldn't like much once they tried riding it because of how big the jumps are, which will also mean the shifting won't be very quick or smooth. And wide range 8-10s stuff does already exist- there's that sram ex 11-48 8-speed, Box prime 9, microshift 9 and 10 speed advent, deore 10 speed for example. Oh here you go- microshift acolyte https://www.microshift.com/products/groups/acolyte/

If I stick with 11 speed I think this is my next cassette in 11-46. Probably with 11 speed shimano shifter/derailleur if I can find them.

https://garbaruk.com/11-speed-xd.html?category=10

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

2. You're way beyond "not sweating the small stuff." That's like driving around with garbage-bagged windows and the muffler dragging on the ground.

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Id argue its more akin to driving without AC or heat and the bumper ripped off. And for something that i crash a hanful of times per year, im not sweating the stuff that doesnt prevent me from riding haha. Im not like you dentists with your flawlessly working bikes that make no sounds when pedaling and work factory fresh haha.

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Originally Posted by californiagrown

What if it told you my RF dropper was way over pressurized when i first installed it and i used it to prank friends who would hit the trigger and then get punched in the taint/balls by dangerously fast return?

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That's actually pretty awesome. :D

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Is the advantage you are talking about the ability to have your seat at the exact, to the mm, height everytime for climbing?

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Nope.

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If so, i bet your riding clipless too with a dialed in cleat angle?

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Wrong! Been on flats for ages, now...

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Im not that finicky. Instead of adjusting my derailleur properly i just havent had the use of my granny gear in 18months and instead simply got stronger. I use flat pedals and there is a definite wobble to my rear tire and dents in the rim big enough that i have to run tubes. I dont sweat the little stuff as long as it works.

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You and I could hang out... though I'd probably draw the line at running tubes. :D

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

<snip>
1. Shtles riding clipless, LOL.

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In his defense, I *did* ride clipless for about... 20-ish years. :D

I’m way too much of a spaz for flats, I wouldn’t ever know where my feet should be. :cool:

got a flat on the trainer last night
got one the night before also
motivation to fix a flat while 3/4 through an ass kicking workout is about nil
super frustrating
:cussing:

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Originally Posted by forty

got a flat on the trainer

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https://media.giphy.com/media/bzOwkf...2OxW/giphy.gif

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Originally Posted by skaredshtles

I, too, would love to have a wide range "smaller" drivetrain - 5sp, 7sp... something.

WRT dropper posts - what if I told you, while being able to drop the seat on descents is nice, it's not the *most* important advantage of a dropper post, at least for me.

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Not following. Can you elaborate?

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Originally Posted by rudy

Not following. Can you elaborate?

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Maybe he's in it for the nut taps.

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Originally Posted by californiagrown

Interestingly, i would also be very much in favor of a 5spd drivetrain with MASSIVE jumps between gears. I really only use my granny gear, the next gear down, a middleish gear, and then my biggest gear on downhills/bikepark/shuttling. out of my 11spd drivetrain, probably 7 of those cogs have seen less than a mile of use in 3 years. Probably goes back to not having rolly trails, and instead just settling in to the long uphill grind.

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Preach

I think 9sp with something like: 50, 46, 42, 36, 30, 24, 18, 14, 10 would be my ideal. I'm no engineer, but I'm guessing that it's probably kinda hard to have smooth shifting of more than like 4 teeth on the small end, and I know from experience going from that whatever the stepping was with the Wolf Tooth 46t conversion on 11sp SRAM was, it was really awkward.

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Originally Posted by Andeh

I'm no engineer, but I'm guessing that it's probably kinda hard to have smooth shifting .

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Everyone with this complaint is missing the point. People who want this drivetrain are rarely actually shifting on trail. We shift into the granny gear at the start of the climb and then shift into the two bigger gears once we top out and are ready to descend. We arent constantly shifting to maximize effeciency. I don't mind shitty shifting because im not doing it much... which is why i dont need many gears... and want this bastardized drivetrain.

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Originally Posted by rideit

This is close…

https://www.amazon.com/Microshift-Ad.../dp/B083WMTPZ2

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On paper this is the answer.

I put the Advent X 11-46 on my Patrol because we had a full set of it in the house, and pandemic parts are hard.. So far I have mixed feelings. It shifts really well, feels on par with GX. That said, the clutch tension is just not strong enough. There's significant free play in the rear derailleur before the clutch engages, and even with it adjusted as hard as it goes, I still have significantly more slack in my chain than I've ever had with 12 speed SRAM or Shimano. (Yes, my chain is the correct length.) I'm holding off my verdict until I've ridden it more, but so far I'm not sure how great it is.

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Originally Posted by skaredshtles

That's actually pretty awesome. :D


Nope.


Wrong! Been on flats for ages, now...


You and I could hang out... though I'd probably draw the line at running tubes. :D

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Funny thing is the float on the cleat is what I miss now that I'm on flats (because of knee surgery)

Have been considering putting a dropper on my SS, though don’t ride it that much these days.

On my rant, have had some chatter about it but I think I’m over inserts. The amount of fucking hassle isn’t worth it. Getting tire on/off is ridiculously stupid. Then I’m convinced it prevents sealant from actually covering everything even w more sealant than normal as it blocks flow. I’ve actually had more leaks/flats than before on 2 bikes w 2 different inserts; Tannus and tubolight. Ranting here and probably going to sleep on it, I’m regretting even bothering.

Have a leak coming through a nipple, on a rim/tape combo I didn’t change, just insert and new tire. Now can’t get the f’ing tire off and can’t get it to seal no matter how much sealant/etc. fuck inserts

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Solid rant. Inserts take up a lot of empty space, significantly reducing the air volume, so a slow leak that’s an inconvenience without inserts can become a ride killer.

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Originally Posted by bagtagley

Solid rant. Inserts take up a lot of empty space, significantly reducing the air volume, so a slow leak that’s an inconvenience without inserts can become a ride killer.

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But, you can also probably baby a wheel riding out on a flat tire with inserts, vs having to stuff the tire full of pine needles and leaves without an insert. Other good part of an insert would be if you do get a flat, a single CO2 canister could fill two tires, as opposed to having to carry two cannisters or just hoping you only get 1 flat.


i have another rant. We have a 7 week old baby. He's fat, healthy, and hardly cries... we got lucky. Its dope. BUT, my wife will kill me if i hurt myself and am unable to help with the baby. I havent been able to ride outside of my local super mellow trails for about 3 months now, and probably wont be able to until shitty weather hits sometime this winter/spring. I really miss the freedom to be able to injure myself.