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TECH NEWS
SRAM announces single-ring transmissions for the road
Component manufacturer SRAM is bringing its single-chainring transmissions to the road with a pair of variants on the Rival and Force groups joining the range it calls 1x.
SRAM introduced its first drivetrains based around a single chainring and massively wide-range sprocket set for mountain bikes in 2013, expanding the idea to cyclo-cross bikes in 2014 with Force CX1.
Now SRAM is aiming at road, gravel, adventure, fitness and triathlon applications with SRAM Force 1 (which replaces CX1) and SRAM Rival 1.
The 1x system (which SRAM wants us to pronounce 'one-by' - good luck with that) comprises three elements. SRAM’s X-Sync single chainrings are now available in a range from 38 to 54 teeth; wide-range 11-speed cassettes are available in 11-36, 11-32, and 11-30, plus the whopping 10-42 introduced for the original mountain bike 1x, which needs a special XD freehub body. Finally, there's the clutch mechanism rear derailleur which controls chain slap.
SRAM says: "Conventional thinking about what’s truly necessary on the bicycle is being scrutinized. Efficiency, lightweight and functionality are the preference over excess, redundancy and complexity."
The company says a 1x transmission can give the same range as a double chainset. A 46-tooth chainring with the 10-42 cassette in fact gives a slightly wider gear range than a 50/34 compact double with an 11-25 cassette. There are definitely some interesting possibilities here for inveterate ger tinkerers.
As well having appeal for general riding and messing about on dirt roads, the system may well suit time trail riders who want to keep things simple. with a 54-tooth chainring, a less outre cassette than the wide-rangers, like an 11-26, yields a gear range from 56 to 133 inches and no need to think about a front derailleur while you're fighting through the lactic acid.
SRAM will offer matching brake levers for its mechanical and hydraulic stoppers, and trigger shifters for flat-bar bikes.
Force 1 and Rival 1 components will become available this summer, starting with brake levers, disc brakes and derailleurs in June, cranksets and chainrings in July and the 11-36 cassette in August. Some cassette sizes are already available as they are part of existing mountain bike and cyclo-cross sets.
Prices are laid out in this Excel spreadsheet. Also: full specs of the new groups and SRAM's complete product booklet For Force 1 and Rival 1.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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46 comments
Hi Sean - that alone is enough to put me off! 30 mph down hill is nothing; if it was 40 I could maybe live with it.
For me, the minor pluses of a single are massively out-weighed by the benefits of a good double set up, even before you look at the cost of changing. Ok so a couple of the combinations of chainring and cassette are similar if not identical but you need a decent spread of gears even in the soft south of England. If Iived in the Lakes or abroad where hills go on for miles...
What goes around comes around. Welcome back 1960.
Or 70s even. Rode around hilly Hampshire as a child/teenager with 5 gears! As did everyone else and we had plenty of fun and never worried about it. On the flattish and rolling country round Cambridgeshire I only use about 4 or 5 gears now 90% of the time. Add in a low one for really steep climbs and you're done.
If I was building a new bike I'd look into it. If it got popular the prices will soon go down. For a TT round here I could probably manage with 3/4 gears no problem.
I think k this is a good concept for TT and flat road riders but for every other possible type of road rider this is a no...spinning up climbs will be difficult and powering downhill would be almost impossible, you'd just so in out.
Is it just me, or does that mahoosive cassette not look frigging ugly!? And call me old school, but I want a cassette with 1 or 2 teeth jumps, not about 5!
And there really is nothing wrong with a double. If I'm riding so hard I can't work a shifter on either side of the bars, I probably shouldn't be on the road.
My 2015 Genesis CDa+ 20 has almost exactly this: a 1x10 setup with a SRAM mountain bike rear mech and Apex right shifter. Not sure where they got the fixed left brake lever from but seems a match for the right.
Anyway it works well. Did my first CX Sportive on it last Sun. Slightly over-geared overall for that (it was hard) but perfect for road training/commuting or fairly level off road.
I think I'll change the chainring and it will be spot on. Really the concept works.
It is more interesting than comments imply. You should look at the ratios in 2x setup. Lots of overlap, depending on the rear ratios this could work well . The spacing needs to be consistent ratios, but you m ight find the jumps are nicely progressive. There is no weight advantage, but a significant price advantage overall.
what ever the marketing department can come up with someone
will buy just so they can have the latest/newest wherever !
"A 46-tooth chainring with the 10-42 cassette in fact gives a slightly wider gear range than a 50/34 compact double with an 11-25 cassette."
And what about the gaps between two gears on the 1X? No thank you, maybe if they come with a 14x1, i'll think about it!
I really don't see the point. What exactly is wrong with a double front chainring? Yes, you throw your chain every once in a great long while. So you put it back on, usually without having to stop pedaling.
It's an aspirational sport now, with all the marketing led nonsense that such a label implies. The opportunities are endless, from seasonal clothing changes through to bikes for every conceivable condition...
Bumpy sportive? you need the rear suspension Pinarello.
Windy climber? You need the lightweight shallow rimmed wheel.
Flat ride to work? You need the deep section disc rim with added Hi-Vis.
Jesus wept bike industry, the bile is still fresh in our mouths from all this disc brake nonsense. Now you want TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY QUID FOR A SINGLE-RING CRANKSET?
...and how am I supposed to show off my double-shifting prowess now? Eh?
I've been running a 1x10 on my CX/winter bike for about 6 months and it has been great. I do spin a bit at the top end on the road, but generally it has been great and ideal for the winter.
Hmmm makes some (limited) sense for MTBs, but at £230+ for a cassette you'd better not ride your bike too much
I don't see anywhere saying it would cost £230 for these cassettes: the spreadsheet costing has cassettes at £57 for Rival 1, and £80 for Force 1.
If you want the 10-42 cassette, then SRAM recently unveiled GX gruppo. The XG-1150 cassette costs £115.
Personally I don't think I'd want this unless I was riding a crit or a flat-ish TT. Otherwise I quite like the "Goldilocks gear" where my cadence can be "just right" for the effort and will therefore keep my double.
I am guessing people are using the mtb cassette pricing structure?
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