Hi all, I converted a Talon1 with a 1x10 drivetrain just over 18mths ago. The cassette on the bike was an 11 - 42 and I re-used the chain even though it was to short to use the 42t cog. It didn't matter as I am always on the road and with the Bafang BBSHD I found that cog redundant.
When it came time to replace the chain and cassette I got an 11 - 36 cassette and it has been fine - mostly. What I noticed very quickly was how much more I was changing gears as the ratios were tighter. I also don't think I have used the 36 cog more than once or twice. So I started thinking about how to improve my riding experience and came up with converting it to a 1x8 drivetrain. This would maybe have a few advantages - less gear changing, cheaper chains and cassettes and maybe longer life for the components. All I would need is an 8sp shifter, a new chain and a cassette.
8sp shifters are now limited to 2 bottom rung shimano units so that would be a step down. Everything else seems a plus. What do you think?
I think that there is another variable and that is wheel size. Im actually looking to go to a single gear for simplicity. I ride mostly flat roads in Denver, Colorado. Im looking at using a rear wheel cog of 18 and a front cog of 36. As I understand it, the formula is large cog (36) / small cog (18) x wheel size (26) and the sweetspot (starting place) should be +/- 50. - my example is 52. But I am looking to change my front to 42 so (60.666) that should give me less tork, but I can go faster with better battery life. Combo values below 50 give you more tork (I believe),
I would stick with the 9-speed shifter. My Shimano Alivio shifts cleaner and more reliably than the lower level models. More importantly, it allows you to skip up to 3 gears- a real advantage when you are going down hills.