Mbuk say the front derailor is dying!

7448stewart

Ok in this month's mbuk mag they have said that the front derailor is on its way out with new developments in the way mtbs are being built.

So I just want to see what people are thinking bout this?

Oh an I think it isn't imo

lawman

It probably isn't dying, will be around for a while yet... But I think it should die and quickly for high end mtbs. It's just a royal pain in the arris and there's no need for it IMO. 1 chainring and wide ratio cassettes are the way forward for sure.

njee20

Dying I think, not dead. There are quite a few bikes now that are single ring specific. In previous years that would only be full on DH bikes, whereas now there are Enduro and trail bikes and even the XC race specific 'World Cup' variant of the S-Works Epic, with no means of fitting a front mech.

rockmonkeysc

Sounds like the usual MBUK b0110cks to me.
I ride on the Quantocks, Exmoor and Dartmoor. I will always have a bike with a granny ring.

cooldad

I love my granny, so until they invent a cassette with 20 cogs around 11/50, I'll stick with 2 rings.

Twelly

I tried a single ring set up. I liked it so much I bought an XT double chainset abd a new front mech last month..

supersonic

Same way the press said tubes were dying, hardtails are dying, xc bikes are dying. Nope.

alexthebear

wow if this is true then anyone with a 26er, HT that has a front mech will own a collectable soon

rockmonkeysc

In recent years MBUK also made the Orange 5 their trail bike of the year and Specialized Hardrock budget bike of the year. The also did around 2 million articles about why 29ers are the future of mountain biking then changed their mind and said 29ers are rubbish and 650b is the future.
Now I read Wideopen & Dirt instead.

Northwind

One of my front mechs just died. It's only a matter of time.

SRAM 11-speed genuinely does take away a lot of the reasons not to go single ring, and as soon as that stuff stops costing as much as a semi-detached house I'll be all over it. Til then, front mechs.

supersonic

As long as we have a choice. Single/double/triple all have their place.

mcnultycop

supersonic wrote:

Same way the press said tubes were dying, hardtails are dying, xc bikes are dying. Nope.

I went out on my 26" XC HT with old fashioned tubes this morning. I saw lots of others riding similar bikes. Admittedly, I was probably the only one without a front dérailleur, but that is just my preference. If I take that bike to the Lakes, for example, I'll stick a granny ring on it.

Nick Cod

As long as your happy riding who cares. All my mountain bikes have front mechs and on any normal ride I'll only use the granny and middle ring. As with anything else I think its down to personal choice but I certainly wouldn't say a front mech is to become dead technology yet

kajjal

Just marketing BS.

With a single front gear you can either get up steep hills or go fast down them, not both

Seems they are becoming more and more the marketing mouth piece of the Bike Manufacturers :shock:

njee20

Unless you're a strong rider?

Not for everyone for sure, but the proliferation of 1x drivetrains in the upper echelons of MTB racing in all disciplines suggests it may be alright...

kammybear

RockmonkeySC wrote:

In recent years MBUK also made the Orange 5 their trail bike of the year and Specialized Hardrock budget bike of the year. The also did around 2 million articles about why 29ers are the future of mountain biking then changed their mind and said 29ers are rubbish and 650b is the future.
Now I read Wideopen & Dirt instead.

When I was new to the whole thing, I went with their recommendation and got a Hardrock despite everyone on here telling me not to. Big mistake and replaced it with a Cube.

Fell for their bullshit again and went for a 29er....now on a 27.5 but only cos I like em rather than falling for the hype.

Fuck MTB magazines! Forums are where its at....just like for every other hobby!

Northwind

Kajjal wrote:

With a single front gear you can either get up steep hills or go fast down them, not both

Not my finding... I'm using a 32T front, which is only 4 teeth lower than what's on my downhill bike, so while it's not got the range of high gears you can get with a triple, it's not drastically low. And though sometimes I would like a lower gear when climbing, it's not that often- you mostly climb in the middle ring after all, I found a lot of times when on my 2x9 bikes I'd use the granny, I just ride up it anyway- so the granny basically allowed me to be lazy, and I didn't need it even when it felt like I did.

Ironically, on many climbs I go faster- it's like stall speed, you can ride a bike much slower with lower gears, lose the granny and you lose that option so you've got no alternative but to go faster or stop.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes it'd be nice to go slower!

Herdwick29.

Just gone single!
As I tested my self where I ride, stayed in the middle ring for the whole day out and concluded is adequate for most of the time, well I pushed it for a few yards on some long steep climbs, but I will get stronger...
For the majority is a relief knowing is there even if they don't need a granny, or as Northwind said, just being lazy some times. But is not dying, as is an attraction for the new comers.

Kowalski675

Northwind wrote:

SRAM 11-speed genuinely does take away a lot of the reasons not to go single ring, and as soon as that stuff stops costing as much as a semi-detached house I'll be all over it.

Don't hold your breath...

cooldad

Herdwick29. wrote:

Just gone single!
As I tested my self where I ride, stayed in the middle ring for the whole day out and concluded is adequate for most of the time, well I pushed it for a few yards on some long steep climbs, but I will get stronger...
For the majority is a relief knowing is there even if they don't need a granny, or as Northwind said, just being lazy some times. But is not dying, as is an attraction for the new comers.

I'm about as far from a newcomer as you can get, but apart from long steep slogs, I mainly use granny on steep switchbacks where the corners are too sharp for me to get any speed.
It's not just fit. strong youngsters who ride. The elderly and infirm need help too.

stubs

cooldad wrote:

It's not just fit. strong youngsters who ride. The elderly and infirm need help too.

Dont forget fat people like my own rotund self.

Herdwick29.

cooldad wrote:

Herdwick29. wrote:

Just gone single!
As I tested my self where I ride, stayed in the middle ring for the whole day out and concluded is adequate for most of the time, well I pushed it for a few yards on some long steep climbs, but I will get stronger...
For the majority is a relief knowing is there even if they don't need a granny, or as Northwind said, just being lazy some times. But is not dying, as is an attraction for the new comers.

I'm about as far from a newcomer as you can get, but apart from long steep slogs, I mainly use granny on steep switchbacks where the corners are too sharp for me to get any speed.
It's not just fit. strong youngsters who ride. The elderly and infirm need help too.

I'll keep the granny in the drawer for when the days come

kajjal

Northwind wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

With a single front gear you can either get up steep hills or go fast down them, not both

Not my finding... I'm using a 32T front, which is only 4 teeth lower than what's on my downhill bike, so while it's not got the range of high gears you can get with a triple, it's not drastically low. And though sometimes I would like a lower gear when climbing, it's not that often- you mostly climb in the middle ring after all, I found a lot of times when on my 2x9 bikes I'd use the granny, I just ride up it anyway- so the granny basically allowed me to be lazy, and I didn't need it even when it felt like I did.

Ironically, on many climbs I go faster- it's like stall speed, you can ride a bike much slower with lower gears, lose the granny and you lose that option so you've got no alternative but to go faster or stop.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes it'd be nice to go slower!

You are either exceptionally fit or don't go up the long steep technical climbs I mean

The kind of steep climbs I mean leave you hunched over the bike try to keep rear wheel traction while not pulling a wheelie. Anyone who can get up them without using the granny ring is very strong and fit. Unlike me

cooldad

Herdwick29. wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Herdwick29. wrote:

Just gone single!
As I tested my self where I ride, stayed in the middle ring for the whole day out and concluded is adequate for most of the time, well I pushed it for a few yards on some long steep climbs, but I will get stronger...
For the majority is a relief knowing is there even if they don't need a granny, or as Northwind said, just being lazy some times. But is not dying, as is an attraction for the new comers.

I'm about as far from a newcomer as you can get, but apart from long steep slogs, I mainly use granny on steep switchbacks where the corners are too sharp for me to get any speed.
It's not just fit. strong youngsters who ride. The elderly and infirm need help too.

I'll keep the granny in the drawer for when the days come

Seeing your other thread, you may want to actually ride it first.

Herdwick29.

No worries, I tried it, I spend a whole day in the middle ring and looked fine, not on my bike, a friends scott genius, then I did mine.

Northwind

Kajjal wrote:

The kind of steep climbs I mean leave you hunched over the bike try to keep rear wheel traction while not pulling a wheelie. Anyone who can get up them without using the granny ring is very strong and fit. Unlike me

Not that amazingly fit tbh but I prefer to do technical climbs in the middle ring anyway, to keep the reaction/quick strokes going. (oh, it helps that I have a bike that's really bloody good at it I suppose!)

BigAl

I've always ridden triple - but have gone double with my Duster

Running 38-24 front and 11-36 rear. I haven't used the 24 yet

Seriously thinking of going 1x10, with a 34 or 36 front. Frankly if I can't climb with a 34 front, 36 rear I'd rather walk

pilch

I like the simplicity of 1 x 10 I think a good balance for me trail riding is 30t with a 36 cassette on the rear, very rarely spin out on the downs and I don't seem to be walking up things that others are managing to ride on 2/3 rings.

russyh

I have found that running a 34t Wide Narrow front ring, with a 10speed XT cassette and the 42t General lee is more than ample for anything i managed to get up with my old 3x10 or 2x10 setups, but also gives me more than enough range going back down. In fact my Strava times on routes has got faster with the 1x10 setup but not significantly. The simplicity of the system is what does it for me. What with Reverb levers etc. there was just too much happening around the bar area.

Now i dont profess to be being anything other than a mid 30's father of 2, but the 1x10 with the cassette adapter works for me

BloggingFit

The Trend is certainly going that way but until we see entry level bikes running 1x10, 11... setups I think the front mech is pretty safe.

The Rookie

I have 4 bikes and only one front mech between them.....
MTB 1x9
Commuter 1x9 (11-28 cassette, but then the route and gradients is rather predictable on a commute bike!)
Town hack 1x7 (11-28 and ditto above)
Retro MTB 3x8 (1997 Fuji Nevada) would look wrong with anything but an Exage Triple with Biopace rings!

Having said that we just converted my Daughters back from 1x9 to 2x9 as she was struggling with the longer hills at some of the places in Wales.

Stewart, for the love of whatever is holy to you, fix the spelling of derailleur in the title (or call it a mech!)