1x10 drivetrain bikepacking in colorado?

[bncrshr77]

I'm a big fan of the SRAM 1x stuff.  I know it's overkill for most of you but I have the 26t direct mount wolftooth ring up front and after a few rides I love it.  I would say the bottom line is that it's all about conditioning and you can do any trail with whatever gears you happen to have if you train enough...  Obviously if you have bad knees or something it's a different story.   

[dream4est]

Well I have about 300 miles on the One Up 42t cog. So far fine but I dont expect it to last after a chain change.

IMO these conversion cogs are priced a bit too high for soft aluminum bullshit results. No way they should cost more than a XT cassette.

There is a guy on MTBR (Ikomar) that is making steel conversion cogs himself. I may go that route. Mainly because how is one going to do Tour Divide on a setup like this without replacing the big cog AND the chain halfway thru the race?

[KeithG]

SRAM XX1 - expensive but worth it.  Lasts a LONG time (seriously, longer than anything I've ever used) and easy cheesy to swap between a 32t cog for regular riding and a 28t for bikepacking.  Gear range is great

[Adam Alphabet]

I've got just under 1100 miles on a 40T One Up cog that I put on in the middle of November and the thing is doing just fine. I toured New Zealand's north island (mostly dirt and single track, bikepacking gear) on it and have been riding in really wet, muddy, crappy BC winter conditions all this year. It's worked great for me so far, I've got a 42T here waiting next in line. No complaints as of yet.

edit added... I had to change my rear derailleur after Air Canada broke it coming back from my trip. Same XT cassette, same chain, same 30T race face narrow wide, just switched from an x9 long cage to a med cage, works fine.

As for touring Colorado on a 1x10, I would absolutely. I toured the CT in 2012 with a triple, 24, 32, 42 and XT 11-36, worked great. I would go for a 28T or maybe even a 26T up front and then an XT 11-36 with a 42T one up. That's my plan for when I get back down there this summer anyway.

[rick miller]

1/19/2015 Update:

After about 1500 miles on my OneUp 40T cog, I had about 5/16" chain stretch and decided to install a new one (Sram 1070), whereupon I immediately got skipping on the 40T while mashing. Upon inquiry, OneUp customer service informed me that "1500 miles is an acceptable mileage for a cog to wear out" (the other cogs on the cassette have about 5x the mileage and no issues). They also advised me to replace the cog, so I ordered an new one... from Wolf Tooth.  Upon further research, it appears that OneUp cogs are aluminum and Wolf Tooth are steel.

Edit:  Wolf Tooth cogs may be aluminum also, can't tell for sure from their website.

2/9 Update:

I received and installed the 40T Wolfstooth.  It is aluminum alloy but looks beefy compared to the OneUp and I got this pm from customer service:

     "We have had 1 (yes 1) GC wear out since we started selling them. Now we know they WILL start to wear out at some point for people, but they are lasting far longer than 1500 miles.

     Of note is that our teeth are 10% thicker than the brand that you had making the wear surface larger and he life significantly longer (lots of variables here so I don't want to quote
     a % longer life). We can have this additional thickness, which by the way is also stiffer, because of how we create the shift gate teeth (relieved on the back side and
     significant shaping). This was not the cheapest way to do it (more machining), but it allows for the smoothest shifting and longest GC life."

I'm not endorsing this cog until after a couple chain changes but have my fingers crossed.

[dream4est]

I just have to say that E13 told me basically the same thing Rick, that they had never seen a cog of theirs wear out. I laughed right into the phone at the guy HARD. Thats classic! Like no one rides these cogs more than a few miles a month.

In defense of Wolftooth though they seem to have the least negative reviews of any of the GC's out there.

Update to the One Up setup- I have real good shifting but not so much up from the One Up 16t. However I dont like my chain choice (KMC 10.93) so maybe its the chain. I used the same cheap chain last time so maybe I should try a better chain as the 10.93 sounds like crap in the mud and grit.

[Adam Alphabet]

...Update to the One Up setup- I have real good shifting but not so much up from the One Up 16t. However I dont like my chain choice (KMC 10.93) so maybe its the chain. I used the same cheap chain last time so maybe I should try a better chain as the 10.93 sounds like crap in the mud and grit.

Initially I didn't have the greatest shifting out of the 16T One Up but once it settled in the shifting was fine, I don't notice it anymore. I've been using a SRAM 1071 with mine, have yet to change it out.