Cheapskate 1X8?

bompington

My cheap nasty Revolution is needing some serious drivetrain replacement - probably all of it, although the BB might get away with packing some grease in.
I like the idea of doing away with the front mech completely, I've read plenty of opinions on the pros and cons so please don't offer any more, but I'm a really serious cheapskate so I want to stick with 8 speed. A few questions:

- Am I right in thinking it won't work just taking off the big and little rings up front? In which case what would people recommend for a budget single ring chainset? If I get new cranks, what sort of length? I'm a bit of a shorty at 5'8" and have always felt MTB cranks to be a bit long.
- 11-34 appears to be the widest range 8 speed block available, is it possible (while remaining cheapskate) to convert this to e.g. 11-36 or even 10-36, i.e. replacing the large and small rings?
- While I'm at it, the fork now has a greater range of travel forward and backward than up and down, what is the cheapest fork that would survive a bulky middle aged man bashing around local woods and paths to walk the dog, and occasionally trying to keep up with his teenage kids on red runs?

supersonic

You can take the rings off - though you will need longer chainring bolts or a bashguard.

11-34 is the widest you can go, and converting, while could be done, would mean cracking cassettes and adding correct spacers. Not really worth the cost or hassle! Stick with a triple chainset for a lot of gears, or a double.

Suntour XCR on ebay are a good buy for 60 quid or so.

The Rookie

You can buy a 36T ring but it's expensive, I thought 11-32 was the best you could get in 8, but you could get a 34T off someone with a trashed cheap 9 and swap it in.

You'll need some form of a cahin guide at the front, and onld front mech locked off on H&L stops is the cheapsake way.

Cranks are 175mm or 170mm generally, although shorter are available, my daughter is 5'3" and is fine with 170mm. You could get a single specific off a childs bike with 165mm cranks, e.g. I have a set (square taper) laying around.

.blitz

1x8 on the Chucker.

11-32 cassette SRAM
32T chainring
bog-basic Truvativ chain device with a Blackspire roller
e*thirteen Supercharger bash ring
X4 shifter
X7 mech
Full SP41 outers

works fine virtually maintenance free. Can get round Cannock on it apart from the first climb on Monkey

bikaholic

If you have an angle grinder in your tool kit, then this is what I would do:

1. Remove the smallest chainring and grind off the tabs;
2. If the biggest outer chainring is overly worn then grind down the teeth and make it into a bashguard;
3. If a bashguard is not required, then shorten the chainring nuts (the outer shroud threaded part) by grinding them down. Use the biggest chainring as a holder for them, press against a flat surface then grind - be sure to measure how short they need to be. If you're skilled at holding the grinder in one hand, you can deburr the resulting shroud nuts with the other (oooer!).

That would be the super cheapskate option.

A 10T sprocket (if one can be found) may cause skipping issues with the chain. But, experiment.
Your current RD may not be able to handle the 36T sprocket, but this can be dependent on hanger geometry. Again, experiment.

Don't forget to shorten the chain.

For a weighty person, I'd go for a coil sprung fork fitted with the firm spring kit: lower end Marzocchi, SR Suntour, Rockshox etc.