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1x10 or 1x9...really any difference?

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dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
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Ok, building up a new stable of bikes, and the question is whether or not to do the drivetrains. I have 3 bikes that will need new drivetrains so that I can swap the wheels between them all.

SO!

Question is, is 10 speed worth it? If I stay 9 speed, then I can use some older drivetrain bits on the less loved bikes, and get better stuff for the new bikes. But really, I can't imagine one more gear is going to make any significant change...am I wrong?
 
bullcrew

bullcrew

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Dec 8, 2004
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I'm running the sram X0 1x10 and swap to the 2x10. No issues mainly it was a hookup so I tried it I like a 11/36 on the bike.
I can't really see a huge gain aside of the 36 tooth option, a 9sp chain should be a bit stronger and X0 in any speed is crisp shifting.
If you don't have to spend the money then don't put it elsewhere if you want the latest and or would like a bit bigger rear gear then go for it.

I wouldn't have like I said except it was a hookup.
 
davec113

davec113

Monkey
May 24, 2009
419
0
I went 10 speed on my trail bike, but only because I had a hookup. There's a noticeable difference between 11-34 and 11-36, if it's not a big issue financially I think the 10 speed setup is worth it.
 
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contactjt

Monkey
Apr 4, 2007
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10 speed is not going to be as good with wear and cable stretch. It has a less advantageous shifting ratio, so it looses some of the advantages SRAM has over Shimano with respect to still functioning well if worn.

Unless you want the extra gearing, which i doubt you do for DH, best stick to 9spd.
 
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ucsbMTBmember

Monkey
Nov 20, 2009
137
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your cable reaches a finite stretching point and then stops stretching. doesnt really matter what the shifting ratio is, its just marketing bs. If we are talking about a DH bike, wear isnt much of an issue. on my DH bike which gets ridden year round i replace the chain around once a year, which is usually how long it takes for me to stretch the chain.

The only downside i could see would be if you rode in particularly nasty areas. the spacing between the cogs is smaller and they dont clear quite as well.

Although i see a major advantage for running 1x10 on a trail bike on dh bike its just not worth the extra cost.
 
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tnickols

Chimp
Jun 10, 2009
8
0
Well as Leslie Nielsen said in his instructional VHS Bad Golf My Way "the difference between a 3 dollar golf ball and a 2 dollar golf ball is one dollar". So following this logic it would be behoove me to say that the difference between the two is one gear.
 
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Mr Nug

Monkey
Aug 26, 2007
138
1
UK
Very minor differences IMO unless you go for the XTR shadow plus tech. Makes the bike super quiet, it's almost eerie!

Big weight savings as you don't need a full chainguide - just something like the e13 xcx which is 56grams.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

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May 23, 2002
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I can't imagine it being worth it. I mean, you have to decide what worth it is...you'll get one more gear in the same cluster, for closer ratios, or a lower granny gear. you could simply run a smaller front chainring, but then the industry would cease to be able to sell you crap you down need. I find 8 speed to have plenty of range for a DH bike, and I want more range than a 1x10 setup can provide on an XC bike, so I go 2x9. I'd keep everything 9 speed unless you have a full bike shop in your basement, and enjoy retuning your drivetrain after every ride (some people do). I'm more in the "don't adjust your angleset every ride, and don't tune your derailleurs every single ride, and don't bleed your brakes every week, and don't clean out your fork lowers every ride" kind of a guy, so what do i know....
 
'size

'size

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May 30, 2007
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shimano also makes a 12-36, 9 speed cassette. it's heavy but cheap so if you want to keep using your existing 9 sp gear and just upgrade the cassettes for the additional gearing you can.
 
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climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
I have found that the 10sp is more likely to skip on me. They seem a lot more finicky when setting up and its hard to get it in the sweet spot as far as shifting goes.

Some of the bonuses though is you can run 11-36 which is nice for uphill. Also the whole industry is switching to 10 speed so it may get harder and harder to find 9 speed stuff. The plus side to that is 9 speed is cheap right now.

I have 10 speed on my trail bike so I could get away with single ring up front but I will run 9 speed on my DH bike for as long as I can find parts for it.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,235
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Sandwich said:
I can't imagine it being worth it. I mean, you have to decide what worth it is...you'll get one more gear in the same cluster, for closer ratios, or a lower granny gear. you could simply run a smaller front chainring, but then the industry would cease to be able to sell you crap you down need. I find 8 speed to have plenty of range for a DH bike, and I want more range than a 1x10 setup can provide on an XC bike, so I go 2x9. I'd keep everything 9 speed unless you have a full bike shop in your basement, and enjoy retuning your drivetrain after every ride (some people do). I'm more in the "don't adjust your angleset every ride, and don't tune your derailleurs every single ride, and don't bleed your brakes every week, and don't clean out your fork lowers every ride" kind of a guy, so what do i know....
Click to expand...
here here.
 
William42

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,934
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in fairness, I've logged probably ~1K miles on my trail bike, including a decent amount in slop, and I ride it like a DH bike (30 inch bars, short stem, 1.5ply tires) and I haven't had to adjust either derailler since I got it, and I'm only running SLX.

also, afaik, isn't cable stretch a complete misnomer? I didn't think steel cables were actually "stretching" per se, but that the housing would splay
 
Dogboy

Dogboy

Turbo Monkey
Apr 12, 2004
3,209
585
Durham, NC
William42 said:
also, afaik, isn't cable stretch a complete misnomer? I didn't think steel cables were actually "stretching" per se, but that the housing would splay
Click to expand...
Yep, you are correct. It is the ferrules seating on the housing ends, not the inner wire stretching.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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kidwoo said:
Cables definitely stretch. Mostly when new.
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yes. this. you can pre-stretch them some to minimize how much adjustment you'll have to do later. just get it routed to the derailler and then pull on the actual cable itself by hand (obv won't work if you run full housing).
 
Dogboy

Dogboy

Turbo Monkey
Apr 12, 2004
3,209
585
Durham, NC
kidwoo said:
Then why do you think that shifter cables are the only steel based wire rope configuration on the planet that doesn't stretch?
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Okay, I won't say that they don't stretch some, but I think most of what people attribute to cable stretch is in the housing/ferrules compressing.
 
manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

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Jul 10, 2003
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'size said:
shimano also makes a 12-36, 9 speed cassette. it's heavy but cheap so if you want to keep using your existing 9 sp gear and just upgrade the cassettes for the additional gearing you can.
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it actually isnt that heavy, that is what i got simply because i didnt want to swap out parts...32/36 gives me enough range to not run a little ring.
 
jackalope

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
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manhattanprjkt83 said:
it actually isnt that heavy, that is what i got simply because i didnt want to swap out parts...32/36 gives me enough range to not run a little ring.
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I was also wondering if there is any shifting issues going from the 28 toof to the 36 (assuming the second biggest cog is a 28, and not something bigger)? I definitely want to run a 1 X something with a 36 cog, as it would allow me to deal with what sh!tty climbing I do and continue to run a chain guide, but I just always assumed that 1 X 10 was the way forward.
 
w00dy

w00dy

In heaven there is no beer
Jun 18, 2004
3,417
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Cable stretch isn't your biggest worry. After a few rides the cable stops stretching any significant amount. As your housing wears out the friction between the cable and housing increases until your derailleur spring won't drive the chain to the sweet spot every time. This is what gives you the spongy feeling and wandering gears. Most of the wear happens in the rear loop because of the extreme bend.



The closer your gears are, the sooner this becomes a problem. I still run 8 speed because I don't need close ratios off-road and the service life is longer.

The chains are narrower, for a reduced life. The cassette cogs are narrower, for a reduced life. You have to buy new shifters and derailleurs.

At this point I see every new gear count as something which will be obsolete in the near future. I therefore select as few gears as possible. They still make the stuff and it is cheap as hell because it's not promoted. I bought new deore shifters for $30. The function is identical to any 9 speed shifter I've used.

On top of it all I get to be a retro-grouch. PBRs all around!
 
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OBB

Monkey
Sep 25, 2008
157
3
Worth it IMO. By running the same ring up front, you just get more bottom end range with the 36T. Or you get more top range by going to a bigger ring up front. Increased gear range is the name of the game.

I've always ran a 32T up front on my trail 1x9 (11-34T) bikes, but now I went to a 34T with an 11-36T cassette and can still tackle all my usual climbs, and have a bit more speed when I take my trail bike to a DH trail or the bike park.

Of course, you can buy the 9spd 11-36T cassette but it's solid steel. Heavy.

Now Deore and X5 come with nice alloy-carried cassettes that won't break the bank. Chains are reasonably priced as well.

I don't care about closer ratios, but increased gear range is a nice upgrade.
 
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OBB

Monkey
Sep 25, 2008
157
3
Granted, upgrading 3 bikes to 1x10 setups is expensive......shifters, derailleurs, etc. Ouch.
 
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TheMontashu

Pourly Tatteued Jeu
Mar 15, 2004
5,549
0
I'm homeless
I love my 10 speed stuff (just did it on all the bikes for some interchangeability) on the DH bike I actually just limited out the first gear for when my derailer hit a rock at northstar. On the trail bike it's incredible, I run a 32 tooth single, and have basically climbed half the downieville downhill on it and did fine. That 36 tooth makes the world of difference if you like running single rings.

As far as maintenance goes 10 speed has been the road for a long time now, and has been problem free. Yes you have to replace chains a tad more often, but so what, since when is mountain biking a cheep sport. 10 more rides on a chain is what, about 40 cents worth of cost overall? Yes it's a tad more finicky to adjust but I'm pretty sure the OP (and most of us on here) know how to take the literally 3 seconds it takes to turn out a barrel adjuster.
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
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manhattanprjkt83 said:
oh damn when i saw the post i compared it in qbp as a 34 (the 36 weight isnt listed) that is a bit heavier than wanted...whatever it does the trick, my bike is pretty light as is.
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its actually on par with what my super heavy cassette on my AM bike weighs but i like the idea of the 36t. i didnt know they had that size. i didnt see why it would be a problem to run a 9speed like BTI's site says too
 
Biffff

Biffff

Monkey
Jan 10, 2006
913
0
After riding XO 1x9 for the past 5 years on my trail bike I switched to Shimano 1x10 (XTR shifter, xt cassette 11-36 and a XT deraileure) I am here to tell you it was well worth it. I can't knock the XO setup as it worked flawlessly for the entire time it was on my bike. The extra gearing is very noticeable: I now never wish I had a granny gear on those long climbs ( I did with 1x9), and the XTR shifter has the crispness of the XO, yet is shimano smooth. The shift effort is the same throughout the range as well. I've been running it for the past 4 months steady and in wet conditions and its been 100 % perfect. Its really made my trail rides more enjoyable.
I still have XO 1x9 on my DH bike, and wouldn't upgrade to 1x10 on that unless something broke or it wore out. That being said my DH bike for next year is 1x10 and I look forward to giving it a try in that application.
 
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ucsbMTBmember

Monkey
Nov 20, 2009
137
0
bullcrew said:
There's a guy that makes a 36 tooth ring to replace the big ring on a 9speed cassette here in santee or El Cajon.
Buddy has it on his but was pretty pricey works great though.
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Any idea what machine shop makes it? there arent alot left in the santee/el cajon area. Also, keep in mind that on all of the higher end cassettes the 3 largest cogs are typically on a carrier. May be much harder to add that large cog.

How much was he charging for it? that cog should only take 30mins max on a cnc.
 
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