It would seem the rest of the world is getting pretty well amped up on the idea of a single front chainring for mountain bike racing.
My first experience with that was Geoff Kabush’s Bromont World Cup winning Rocky Mountain Vertex hardtail with a 1 x 9 XTR/MRP drivetrain.
The Bromont course was short and punchy with the steeper climbs tackled out of the saddle, so the single ring made perfect sense. Of course I’m not fit enough to push it in those conditions, and it would be tough for longer races, but for most Catamount races I think it would be perfect.
Of course now that I have the Divide and the RSL I can experiment a little more while still having something ready to go. Most likely I’ll run the Divide in my longer events this year, and there are a fair number of times when I feel like I’m a little caught between the 26 and the 39 up front on my current XX crank. Ah, the XX crank- something I’d wanted for a long time for its slick 2x setup, carbon arms and narrow q factor. In some ways it’s a crank I’ve been awaiting for years, so it’s funny for me to consider putting it aside even temporarily.
So here’s the starting point- an e.thirteen XCX seat tube mounted chain guide.
Why white for a drivetrain part which is likely to see significant wear and grease? No idea- I suppose I’m a victim of fashion, but I do think it’ll look really cool. Not quite as cool as it looks on Absalon’s rig though.
Interestingly I’ve got this Hive/e.thirteen crankset kicking around that is PF30 compatible and ready to be reconfigured to 1x duty once I get the right bottom bracket. I’ll need to clean it up substantially and I need to track down a non-ramped chainring which will probably be a 32t.
I’m still sorting out the drivetrain on the Divide after a large stick unceremoniously destroyed my rear derailleur and hanger, but once I have that assembled and running again as a reliable double chainring option I’m going to get to work on making this happen.
What could be more fun than pushing questionable gearing with early season fitness?