Single drives are becoming increasingly popular. However, they also divide opinion. While many mountain bikers still swear by conventional double or triple drivetrains, single drivetrains are clearly gaining ground, especially among downhill-orientated all-mountain bikers, enduro riders and racers of all disciplines.
Why simple at all?
But why only ride one chainring at the front? Are racers and downhill enthusiasts simply more exposed to the long arm of the industry? It's not quite that simple. Because the single drivetrains naturally also have advantages over conventional drivetrains, which have been the norm for years. The lack of front derailleur, chainrings and left-hand gear lever saves an enormous amount of weight. Around 500 grams compared to a classic triple drivetrain. In addition, the look is tidier and the system is less vulnerable.
However, this is usually at the expense of the gear range. If you fit a small chainring with 28 or 30 teeth to a single drivetrain, you will have to make concessions on flat terrain and at high speeds, but you will climb mountains just as well as with a triple drivetrain. However, if you fit a 36 or 38 tooth chainring, you will miss out on the smaller gears. Not a problem if you have thighs like Jaroslav Kulhavy, or if you only ride your enduro bike on winding trails where you rarely reach speeds above 45 km/h anyway.
A more detailed overview of the pros and cons of single drives, including an informative gear ratio table, is provided by this article.
New single kit from Commencal
Single drives are therefore of interest to anyone who has a very clearly defined area of use in mind. If you want to climb long climbs in the Alps as well as ride a good average on the flat, you'd better leave it alone. For others, however, the conversion to single is a good tuning measure. Because where else, apart from perhaps the tyres, can you save 500 grams of weight in one go?
Until now, however, converting to single-speed has always involved a lot of tinkering or was expensive. Either you simply replaced two or three chainrings with one and got rid of the front derailleur and the gear lever. However, this had the unfortunate disadvantage that the gear range fell significantly below that of a modern single drivetrain, as the cassette on modern eleven-speed drivetrains usually has up to 42 teeth, but only 36 on normal ten-speed drivetrains. The other option was to buy a completely new single drivetrain. Depending on the model, this is a cost that should not be underestimated.
Conversion kit with chainring and sprocket
This is precisely where the bike company Commencal from Andorra comes in. It now offers the "Ride Alpha" conversion kit for Shimano ten-speed drivetrains, which is intended to solve the problem of the gear range. The highlight: the chainrings are not only replaced by a single one, but the cassette is also modified. The 15 and 17-tooth sprockets from the Shimano ten-speed cassette are replaced by a 16-tooth sprocket from Commencal - plus the large 42-tooth sprocket results in ten gears again and raises the gear range to almost 382%. The rear derailleur does not need to be replaced; a longer adjusting screw is intended to ensure compatibility. With the adjusting screw supplied, the rear derailleur can lift the chain onto the 42 sprocket.
How the kit performs in practice and whether the compatibility is actually as good as advertised by Commencal remains to be seen. Nevertheless: A good and favourable concept! The cost of the entire kit, including a new chainring, the two replacement sprockets and the adjusting screw for the rear derailleur, is a relatively moderate 99 euros.
The Commencal "Ride Alpha" kit you get here in the Commencal store.
40 or 42 t mountain sprockets for 10-speed drivetrains from Sram or Shimano have been around for some time. Likewise, single chainrings with the so-called "narrow-width profile", in which the teeth engage exactly in the plates of the 11-speed chains and prevent the chain from jumping off. Super-Dan shows how the assembly works correctly.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
