1x to 2x

[twg1]

First post so be gentle ! and appoligies in advance for the long first post.

Relative newcomer to cycling haveing started again about a year and a half ago to get fit and lose weight not cycled for years.

I speced my current bike with 1x ( 3t exploro ) and is fitted with sram force 1 by with 11 - 42 rear but with rotor in-power cranks currently fitted with a 42 tooth ring and have tried 44 and 46. It has 700 wheels with 38mm tires.

I have discovored that I am simpley not fit enough to run 1x I can cope on short rides but on longer rides I struggle on hills but conversly I find I am spinning out on the down hills which I find frustrating. So I am looking to move to 2x what I am thinking of is running 11- 34 /36 cassette on the rear or if possible a 11 - 40 with 48/32 or 46/30 combination on the front , that bit is the easy bit whereI am struggeling is which shimano components to use to get it all to work .

Use wise the bike is predominaly used on the road with light occasional gravel tow paths but will see occasional more serious off road use ( when I am fitter).

I would like to move to di2 , I have done lots of reading of this and other forums and have ended up totally confused ! so any guidance on what combination of components to use would be appriciated.

[TurboKoo]

You can use GRX components and have 30-46 or 31-48 front chainring and with GRX 815 rear derailleur and 11-34 cassette.

[wheelsONfire]

Will you keep riding Exploro?
What wheel size will you use (650B or 700C)?
What tire size do you plan using?

Di2 will work without issues when you ride gravel even you ride some trails etc.

[clynch]

I was in a similar boat before. I tried the 1x, but it just wasn’t for me. I have been really happy with the 48/32 and 46/30 crank offerings. I would suggest a 48/32 and 11-34 setup. The 11-34 Shimano cassette spacing is very, very good for gravel. It really allowed me to stay in the center of the cassette with the consistent two teeth jumps from 11-27.

My current setup is 46/30 and 11-32, but I like the 11-34 cassette better.

[twg1]

Hi Will try and capture all the responces in this

I am looking to keep the rotor crank as it's a power meter and I use short 165 mm cranks, will swop the single chain ring for a double, I also use q rings bought them because thats all which was available when I needed them and a pluss I only just realised is that they seem to have sorted a niggling knee issue I had occasionaly !

I have considered GRX but read about the chain line differenced and given I am keeping the current rotor cranks I had ondered if it would work, also I can purchace the ultegra gx rear derailure quire a bit cheaper seen one at £180 today with the grx a good £70 more. Also there is the left field option of the xtr rear mech as well.

Bike wise over the moon with the Exploro, so its not going anywhere soon, I did not actualy start out looking for a gravel bike , after riding my Look for a year I wrote a list of things I wanted out of a bike basicly something more comfy and this turned out to be a gravel bike.

Wheel wise I have the original 650b wheels which I will use with wider more mtb biased tires and on the bike are a pair of hope RD40 carbon wheels with 38mm panracers run tubeless at the moment these will be the main wheelset in use.

[loheiman]

Something far cheaper/simpler to consider is to change your rear wheel's freehub to an XD driver ($50?) and get a Sunrace 10-46 cassette ($110) and 38t chainring ($70). For $250, youll get the same high/low gear as 11-36 cassette and 46/30 chainrings, albeit with wider gear spacing.

[Js2]

I'm on schedule to demo an exploro next weekend. If all goes well and I'm pulling the trigger I am planning to run:

For 2x:
47/32 Easton EC90 SL up front
11-34 Cassette with Ultegra RX805 Di2 (Clutch rear mech)

For 1x:
42T single chainring up front
11-40 XT cassette with XT Di2 rear derailleur

I suspect the demo bike will come with a 1x so it will be interesting how it goes, but I'm 80% sure I'm gonna go with the 2x setup. Most of my riding will still be on road. Climbing off road is definitely more difficult, so an easier ratio would be helpful especially with the increased weight and tire size. At first I was planning to run 50/34 11-34 but have since spoken to a few people w/ more experience and forums. Down the road you can always switch out the front chain rings easily (at least the Easton ones).

[twg1]

Very pleased with mine, gearing you mention in 1x is what I have at the moment, It fine bar for longer rides and bigger hils when I run out of gas ! down hill is the bit that frustrates me the most when I spin out quite easily, i dont feel in control coasting I like to peddle . I would stick some pictures up but not sure how to on here.

I use rotor cranks and its very simple to swop over chain rings I started off with 46 then 44 now 42. 2x is the way forward for me.

[clynch]

I'm on schedule to demo an exploro next weekend. If all goes well and I'm pulling the trigger I am planning to run:

For 2x:
47/32 Easton EC90 SL up front
11-34 Cassette with Ultegra RX805 Di2 (Clutch rear mech)

For 1x:
42T single chainring up front
11-40 XT cassette with XT Di2 rear derailleur

I suspect the demo bike will come with a 1x so it will be interesting how it goes, but I'm 80% sure I'm gonna go with the 2x setup. Most of my riding will still be on road. Climbing off road is definitely more difficult, so an easier ratio would be helpful especially with the increased weight and tire size. At first I was planning to run 50/34 11-34 but have since spoken to a few people w/ more experience and forums. Down the road you can always switch out the front chain rings easily (at least the Easton ones).

Js2, I ran that exact 2x combo and absolutely loved it. I had to switch due to a Di2 routing issue related to my Lynskey frame or I would still be running it.

[Stendhal]

I'm on schedule to demo an exploro next weekend. If all goes well and I'm pulling the trigger I am planning to run:

For 2x:
47/32 Easton EC90 SL up front
11-34 Cassette with Ultegra RX805 Di2 (Clutch rear mech)

For 1x:
42T single chainring up front
11-40 XT cassette with XT Di2 rear derailleur

I suspect the demo bike will come with a 1x so it will be interesting how it goes, but I'm 80% sure I'm gonna go with the 2x setup. Most of my riding will still be on road. Climbing off road is definitely more difficult, so an easier ratio would be helpful especially with the increased weight and tire size. At first I was planning to run 50/34 11-34 but have since spoken to a few people w/ more experience and forums. Down the road you can always switch out the front chain rings easily (at least the Easton ones).

I think that would work looking at the Exploro specifications on the 3T web site, but I would ask around just to be sure. I found out after the fact that the 2x configuration I wanted to use on an Ibis Hakka (46/30) would not work, that the smallerst small ring it would take is 34. The Exploro site has MAXIMUM cog sizes, and has an Red eTap AXS model at 47/33, so it should fit, but again I would check. PS -- I was considering an Open U.P., co-designed of course by the same engineer as designed the Exploro (Gerald Vroomen), and when I wanted to know about compatibility the CEO of the company, Gerald's business partner Andy Kessler, answered my e mail personally. Those guys are great!!

Oh, twg1 (the OP), I had EXACTLY the same issues as you and came ot the same conclusion (2). This site has been very very helpful on many questions I have had. There are true experts here and very little nastiness...it is an excellent site. So your post was absolutely spot on, perfect, and welcome!!!!!

[Js2]

Thanks for the insights, I read somewhere that the minimum was 30 tooth chain ring on the small ring, but it might slap the dropped chain stay. I will recheck again with the people from 3T when I pick up the bike for demo. Will keep you guys posted here!

I am considering the Exploro more because it will double as my semi-aero road bike and I think I would prefer a more aggresive geo (but we'll see after the demo), and the utilitarian look is very appealing to me. Open up has a more classic timeless appeal for sure!

[twg1]

I have sent an email to 3t asking the question about the chainrings, no resonce as yet.

Keith

[twg1]

Well by way of an update , I took the plunge !

Ended up with ultegra di2 rotor mix , that being 11-34 casette , rx rear mech , ultegra front mech, rotor direct mount 48/32 chanin rings , only a short road ride so far but really pleased with it so far. Only thing I have picked up on and that may settle down is the move from q rings to round my knee was twinging a bit where by no issues with the q rings.

So three rotor direct mount rings for sale soon , cant see me going back to 1x for my use.

[FactoryMatt]

mannn after trying 11-40 1X on my CX/Gravel bike TWICE, i decided to go back to 2X and I'm stoked.

the 1X was just grindy and draggy no matter what i did. tried different chainrings and even took a dremel to the wide teeth on a garbaruk 1x 12-speed chainring. it just never felt right. on the quicklink you could even seen some pretty righteous gouge marks on the inside of the plate. just draggy. i don't notice it too much on my 12sp 1x mtbs for some reason, but just couldn't come to terms with it on the gravel bike. not to mention the wide gaps between gears.

for offseason, i've got a wickwerks 42/34 chainring set up front w/ a 11-40 XTR rear and a GS Ultegra Di2 rear derailleur. the 8050GS is rated for 37T of wrap and this comes out exactly at 37T. im using Specialized's direct mount derailleur hanger (sold by Wheels mfg IIRC) with the B-tension screw alll the way in. I had to remove my 12t Extralite upper pulley and go back to a shimano 11T Guide pulley. this gives just enough room. wrap still seems decent on smaller cogs. not ideal, but decent. shifting is good. i can go big big on a 110-link chain w/ 425mm chainstays with no problems. now i have a super low 34/40 for a low gear and the ability to switch back to a lighter, tighter 11-30 DA cassette for race season (boy they got ^$^% expensive). STOKED.