Where to find cx1 chain sets?

veryslowtwitch

Hi,
I am looking for a cx1 chain set with gxp bb but cannot find any online in the uk. is there a shortage in Europe? There seem to be loads in the us but they are pretty expensive to import. I am hoping this is temporary supply problem. If they have stopped production then I might as well stop looking and go bb30. Thanks, Alan

852Kompol

veryslowtwitch wrote:

Hi,
I am looking for a cx1 chain set with gxp bb but cannot find any online in the uk. is there a shortage in Europe? There seem to be loads in the us but they are pretty expensive to import. I am hoping this is temporary supply problem. If they have stopped production then I might as well stop looking and go bb30. Thanks, Alan

https://www.merlincycles.com/sram-force ... 72340.html
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... om_Bracket
no chain rings, but that's not hard to find anyway

bendertherobot

https://www.raceviewcycles.com/sram-riv ... rrency=GBP

bendertherobot

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sram ... prod136595

Bit more "choice" there, and you can use BC to get 10% off

ugo.santalucia

These things are stupidly priced. For 60 quid or so I bought a Shimano Zee for my wife... it's a 36T, it's a nice piece of kit, comes with bottom bracket and washers to fit to both a 73 and a 68 mm bottom bracket shell. I wouldn't spend a penny more TBH

bendertherobot

ugo.santalucia wrote:

These things are stupidly priced. For 60 quid or so I bought a Shimano Zee for my wife... it's a 36T, it's a nice piece of kit, comes with bottom bracket and washers to fit to both a 73 and a 68 mm bottom bracket shell. I wouldn't spend a penny more TBH

Well, you would if you wanted more teeth And that's the thing. The MTB market is very reasonable. The CX is not. Move up from 36t and it becomes a bit harder.

ugo.santalucia

bendertherobot wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

These things are stupidly priced. For 60 quid or so I bought a Shimano Zee for my wife... it's a 36T, it's a nice piece of kit, comes with bottom bracket and washers to fit to both a 73 and a 68 mm bottom bracket shell. I wouldn't spend a penny more TBH

Well, you would if you wanted more teeth And that's the thing. The MTB market is very reasonable. The CX is not. Move up from 36t and it becomes a bit harder.

if the bike is used only off road, 36 is plenty... if the bike is used on the road too, then I would recommend a double

bendertherobot

ugo.santalucia wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

These things are stupidly priced. For 60 quid or so I bought a Shimano Zee for my wife... it's a 36T, it's a nice piece of kit, comes with bottom bracket and washers to fit to both a 73 and a 68 mm bottom bracket shell. I wouldn't spend a penny more TBH

Well, you would if you wanted more teeth And that's the thing. The MTB market is very reasonable. The CX is not. Move up from 36t and it becomes a bit harder.

if the bike is used only off road, 36 is plenty... if the bike is used on the road too, then I would recommend a double

If the bike is used on road 42t is plenty, ditto CX. And that's the kicker, if you want more teeth you end up spending more than a Zee.

veryslowtwitch

Many thanks for replies but all these suppliers are either out of stock or bb30 only, apart from chain reaction but this is a 42 which I think is a bit big for cyclocross racing unless I got a really big cassette.

Thank you very much for the answers anyway. I should have said it is for cx. Would a 42 work for cross?

bendertherobot

veryslowtwitch wrote:

Many thanks for replies but all these suppliers are either out of stock or bb30 only, apart from chain reaction but this is a 42 which I think is a bit big for cyclocross racing unless I got a really big cassette.

Thank you very much for the answers anyway. I should have said it is for cx. Would a 42 work for cross?

It's what very many have so yes. I have 42t and 11-36. The main issue is whether you have enough low range, you will. The upper range is a bonus.

bendertherobot

Bear in mind that:

42t and 11-36 gives you a climbing gear of 30.8 inches.

To replicate that on the bottom ring of a compact (34t) you'd need a 29t cassette.

If you opted for say, 38t, then, with a 32t cassette you still wouldn't as low a gear as with 11-36 on 42t.

At the end of the day much depends what kind of races, what kind of spread you want etc, and if you want to use the bike for non CX. So for example, at Battle on the Beach, I was hitting mid 20's on the beach with 42t. I'd have been spinning out much earlier on 38t.

And, of course, if you decide 42t is too much then just get a replacement ring in due course.

veryslowtwitch

Many thanks. I want to emulate my current 34/25 bottom gear so looks like I would need to find a 32T cassette if buy a 42T front ring. I see chainreaction have the GXP crank arms w/o rings so might start there. Looks like minimum £150 for new arms/ring so I may use some old crank arms with a new narrow/wide chainring.

bendertherobot

veryslowtwitch wrote:

Many thanks. I want to emulate my current 34/25 bottom gear so looks like I would need to find a 32T cassette if buy a 42T front ring. I see chainreaction have the GXP crank arms w/o rings so might start there. Looks like minimum £150 for new arms/ring so I may use some old crank arms with a new narrow/wide chainring.

That's the easiest option. What do you currently have?

I had Apex and just picked up a cheap absolute black from a mate.

https://roubaixcycling.cc/2016/02/22/iv ... sometimes/

Hard to easily find cheaply so on the commuter I went for a Hope retainer.

https://www.evanscycles.com/hope-5-bolt ... g-EV240014

veryslowtwitch

I was wrong and have a 36/46 at present so my low gear is 36/25. Think I will go for 40t front and 28t rear. Still seems daft that I can't just buy a complete 38 or 40t narrow wide chain set in uk. Thanks for looking at options.

ugo.santalucia

Alfine makes a 39 if you don't mind the chain protector

veryslowtwitch

Thanks but I would like to go narrow wide and I think they must have even teeth numbers.

ugo.santalucia

veryslowtwitch wrote:

Thanks but I would like to go narrow wide and I think they must have even teeth numbers.

I am not quite sure what narrow/wide means, but I don't see how the even/odd number of teeth can have any influence

PuttyKnees

Narrow wide refers to the format of the chainring on single ring set ups. The teeth are not the same - they vary in thickness, alternating between thick and thin to retain the chain. The number of teeth will need to be even if he goes for a narrow wide. With a 40T front I'd go bigger than a 28 on the back, but needs vary I guess.

hagar123

bendertherobot wrote:

veryslowtwitch wrote:

Many thanks. I want to emulate my current 34/25 bottom gear so looks like I would need to find a 32T cassette if buy a 42T front ring. I see chainreaction have the GXP crank arms w/o rings so might start there. Looks like minimum £150 for new arms/ring so I may use some old crank arms with a new narrow/wide chainring.

That's the easiest option. What do you currently have?

I had Apex and just picked up a cheap absolute black from a mate.

https://roubaixcycling.cc/2016/02/22/iv ... sometimes/

Hard to easily find cheaply so on the commuter I went for a Hope retainer.

https://www.evanscycles.com/hope-5-bolt ... g-EV240014

Would you need a chain guide when using a single chain ring with a SRAM wifli rear mech?

trek_dan

Probably be ok. Id want one for security if i was racing. Best bet is to ditch the wifli road mech for a medium cage MTB clutch mech.

bendertherobot

hagar123 wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

veryslowtwitch wrote:

Many thanks. I want to emulate my current 34/25 bottom gear so looks like I would need to find a 32T cassette if buy a 42T front ring. I see chainreaction have the GXP crank arms w/o rings so might start there. Looks like minimum £150 for new arms/ring so I may use some old crank arms with a new narrow/wide chainring.

That's the easiest option. What do you currently have?

I had Apex and just picked up a cheap absolute black from a mate.

https://roubaixcycling.cc/2016/02/22/iv ... sometimes/

Hard to easily find cheaply so on the commuter I went for a Hope retainer.

https://www.evanscycles.com/hope-5-bolt ... g-EV240014

Would you need a chain guide when using a single chain ring with a SRAM wifli rear mech?

As Dan said, better safe.

Mind I'm running a non clutch MTB mech on the commuter with narrow wide as well with no issues. That one did battle on the beach (borrowed by mate's son) with no issues. Just get a cheapo SRAM G series

veryslowtwitch

Thanks to all, going to get clutch RD with narrow wide ring to minimise chance of dropping chain. Don't want chain retainer or old FD collecting mud up front. The technology is great but expensive.