1x9 w/ no chain guide - trouble?
jacksonpt
Posts: 10,413 Member
I'm putting gears on my SS for a race in 3 weeks and I'm trying to keep it fairly low budget. I'm using a cassette (sram 11-28) and deraileur (x9) from my spare parts bin, and bought a x5 shifter.
My local trails are pretty rough/technical and I'm wondering about dropping the chain off the front ring... Am I asking for trouble running this setup (with Truvativ Stylo cranks/32T ring) without any type of chain guide? I know 1xs are pretty common now, but I'm running an older crank/ring that was intended for SS use.
My local trails are pretty rough/technical and I'm wondering about dropping the chain off the front ring... Am I asking for trouble running this setup (with Truvativ Stylo cranks/32T ring) without any type of chain guide? I know 1xs are pretty common now, but I'm running an older crank/ring that was intended for SS use.
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Replies
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Since you're going low budget, a great way to do a chain guide is get a fairly thick Zip Tie and put it around your down tube so that it barely leaves enough room between the chain and the tube. Keeps the chainsuck away............... If the chain is falling off the other direction, you gotta get a longer cage der. or simply remove some chainlinks.0
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Shorten your chain to the least length it can be so that your derailleur will keep the maximum tension on it. If that is not enough and you don't want to run a chain guide, then other parts to keep it in place are a chain catcher on the inside and a bash guard on the outside. Both can be had for less than $80 total.0
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New 'narrow-wide' chain rings are designed to be run with no guide. I have the RaceFace version and it works great.
http://www.jensonusa.com/!fmidiWe7EC4OTBzEl5P!tA!/Race-Face-Single-Narrow-Wide-Chainring?utm_source=FRGL&utm_medium=organic&gclid=CPfsj8CT578CFWho7AodU00AeQ0 -
New 'narrow-wide' chain rings are designed to be run with no guide. I have the RaceFace version and it works great.
That's brilliant. Makes perfect sense.0 -
If you have a spare front derailer you can put it on the front and use the limits to lock it in place. It's ugly but it works.0
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If you have a spare front derailer you can put it on the front and use the limits to lock it in place. It's ugly but it works.
I do, and I thought about taking my dremmel to it so it would act as a chain guide but not create a bunch of annoy chain slap. It's a last ditch option.
I was looking at a Paul's chain keeper, but I can't tell how well it would work with a bash guard. I ordered one of these to try (only $10)
If that doesn't work I'll look into the wide/narrow chain ring.0 -
DuraAce on a mtn bike? I love it!!0 -
Before switching to the narrow-wide I used an N-Gear Jump Stop and a bash guard with no problems. The narrow-wide is just much cleaner, and I don't 'bash' into much stuff anyway.0
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DuraAce on a mtn bike? I love it!!
lol... I didn't even notice. Not my setup, just a random sample pic from the net.0 -
Here is my 1x9 with the ghetto derailer.
I had the crank pulled and just threw it back in so ignore that the other side of the crank is missing.
Without the derailer I would lose my chain quite a bit when riding. Especially on bumpy downhill sections, I would hit the bottom and spin with no chain.0 -
Here's the RaceFace Narrow/Wide on my Niner. The bike's dirty, but the setup is clean!
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Nice. I stopped into my LBS last night and they recommended the same setup vs a chain guide. Unfortunately they had to order the ring (nothing like the small town LBS), but it should be here Tuesday.0
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@sinker59, that looks fantastic!0
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Got in about 12 miles tonight with the Jump Stop... worked like a charm.
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Picked up and installed the narrow/wide chainring last night. Fail. Due to the longer teeth and different offset, there isn't enough clearance at the chainstay.
#customframeproblems0 -
That's a shame, hope you can return it. On the other hand, there's really nothing wrong with the Jump Stop.0
