1x10 without a chainguide

T

takai

Eats Squid
I ran mine without a clutch on some pretty nasty tracks for a few months with no issues. Stuff where even the Saint mech (M810) was still slapping the chain on the stays, but no issues at all.
 
loc81

loc81

Likes Dirt
treble said:
Sounds like incorrect chain length to me. if your running 1x10 on a hard tail, when you are in your shortest ratio (largest cog in the rear) the derailleur should be very close to full extension. Because you don't have rear suspension, chain growth isn't an issue. I've got a race face NW (34) and a x9 clutch rear derailleur, and mine is set up like this. has never dropped a chain and i regularly steer it through rocks, roots, jumps, bumpy stuff.
Click to expand...
I'll look into my chain length this afternoon but I've further complicated the matter by getting a 42t rear cog a few weeks back (which I can recommend!) and a new chain/cassette. I'm guessing the 42t cogs chain demands will mean I'm limited to chain reduction- however xx1 is that size and they achieve it so..
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
loc81 said:
I'll look into my chain length this afternoon but I've further complicated the matter by getting a 42t rear cog a few weeks back (which I can recommend!) and a new chain/cassette. I'm guessing the 42t cogs chain demands will mean I'm limited to chain reduction- however xx1 is that size and they achieve it so..
Click to expand...
Was your XTR a middy or long? If long, does it have the capacity to handle 11-42? Shorties are fine for 11-36, but that's all my experience is limited to :noidea:
 
loc81

loc81

Likes Dirt
moorey said:
Was your XTR a middy or long? If long, does it have the capacity to handle 11-42? Shorties are fine for 11-36, but that's all my experience is limited to :noidea:
Click to expand...
Mid cage- wolf tooth site says that's fine but yep you're right, short cages are a no-go.
 
ozdavo

ozdavo

Likes Dirt
loc81 said:
I'll look into my chain length this afternoon but I've further complicated the matter by getting a 42t rear cog a few weeks back (which I can recommend!) and a new chain/cassette. I'm guessing the 42t cogs chain demands will mean I'm limited to chain reduction- however xx1 is that size and they achieve it so..
Click to expand...
Post a couple of pics showing your drivetrain in each of the extreme gears.
 
VEX33D

VEX33D

Likes Dirt
Loc81, post up some photos if you can whilst having shifted across the cassette range i.e. lowest and highest gears.

I'm running a Raceface NW 34t front ring with a XT clutched rear mech (long cage) and 11-36 cassette. My local trails are Ourimbah, ride the DH and AM trails weekly, in no way am I a smooth rider. Have put over 300 bush KMs on this setup with not even one dropped chain. Running guideless on a Trek Remedy, but with a chain link removed from the chain length.

No idea yet as to why you guys are dropping chains. In addition to chain length, have you adjusted the tension of your clutch?
 
loc81

loc81

Likes Dirt
To you and the other chap above, I'll post some pics this afternoon. As for clutch tension I'm not aware that you can adjust it on SRAM derailluers?
 
loc81

loc81

Likes Dirt
3 pics here for all y'all- high gear, low gear and a chain line view from 5th gear. See what you think.


 
treble

treble

Likes Dirt
yeah chain looks too long to me, not that familiar with sram mid cage derailleurs but it looks like it should be a fair bit more 'extended' in the 42 tooth

can you move the derailleur much further (by hand) towards the bottom bracket when in the 42 tooth?
 
Wombatone

Wombatone

Likes Dirt
loc81 said:
3 pics here for all y'all- high gear, low gear and a chain line view from 5th gear. See what you think.


Click to expand...
I would try a new chain first, might fix your problem.
Any mid to high end chain should do the trick.
Running Sram 1091 at the moment and no chaindrop whatsoever.
If it does work all is good , if not ,no big loss as you can always use a chain and you will have eliminated at least one probable cause.
 
treble

treble

Likes Dirt
just looked at mine, i think its short cage.

Looks like this in the 36 tooth. can move maybe a cm further before the derailleur is fully extended.
 

Attachments

loc81

loc81

Likes Dirt
Wombatone said:
I would try a new chain first, might fix your problem.
Any mid to high end chain should do the trick.
Running Sram 1091 at the moment and no chaindrop whatsoever.
If it does work all is good , if not ,no big loss as you can always use a chain and you will have eliminated at least one probable cause.
Click to expand...
This chain is less than a month old- I replaced it and cassette when putting on the 42t.
 
Wombatone

Wombatone

Likes Dirt
loc81 said:
I'm not sure that is even possible- there is definitely only one way for the chain to sit on NWs
Click to expand...

Jacko69 might be onto something here as you are wrong in the believe that there is only one way for the chain to sit on the NW, there are two.
As suggested you must make sure that the wide tooth on the NW ring matches the wide gap in the chain and the narrow tooth matches the narrow gap on the chain.
If you are out by one tooth/slot the NW will not work as designed and might cause the chain to come off in certain conditions.

If all else fails get a Blackspire front NW and be forever happy.
 
foxpuppet

foxpuppet

Eats Squid
loc81 said:
Hey folks,
I've been following this thread for a few months and am surprised at all the positive reviews when a friend and I have been let down pretty badly! Ill try to give as much info as I can and I look forward to any thoughts on the issue.
I've been riding an all-mountain hard tail for a well over a year, a 1x10 set up with a BB mount top only chain guide. After reading so many good reviews on NW rings I decide to drop the cash on a black spire model. My LBS who runs XX1 on the same track is highly confident that I won't drop a chain between the NW and my SRAM clutch derailleur. At this point he is vouching for xx1 full drivetrain and hasn't dealt really with these "close enough" rigs. He also takes some chain links out to keep things snug.
My local trail, Ourimbah, is fairly rough, scrubby terrain- 1st ride and I drop the chain. Twice. A couple more drops in the coming weeks and I couldn't depend on this thing at all. LBS and I are both equal parts stumped and disappointed on the money and time spent. Back on goes the top chain guide and I'm $100 lighter. During that 1st ride I even had another hard tail, NW ring user chat to me and he's never had a drop! WTF..
Case 2 is my mate who rides a '13 Norco sight. Bike had 2x10, wanted to ditch the granny so he coughed up for a Race Face NW ring. Again, chain is tight and clutch derailleur. He's had it on for about a dozen rides so far and nearly every one has had a dropped chain.
LBS had a thorough look at his set up recently, checking as much as he could from his xx1 drive train- one thing he noticed was that when the hanger was pulled far forward and he pulled the chain off the ring from the bottom up, the xx1 was super snug to the point of effort whereas the chain using race face, despite the NW teeth, was swimming on the ring.
2 different bikes, 2 different brand chain rings, all appearing to be a waste.
I'm really keen to see if you lot can shed any light on this!
- with so little to go wrong, why is it going wrong?
- surely the trail isn't that rough? Many more must be riding similar terrain?
- who has upgraded their chain? If so, to what?
Click to expand...
Post up some pics of the setup, might help someone here spot something untoward.


Sent by courier pigeon
 
foxpuppet

foxpuppet

Eats Squid
loc81 said:
3 pics here for all y'all- high gear, low gear and a chain line view from 5th gear. See what you think.
Click to expand...

I remember you were riding this in the GE at ourimbah a few months ago right?

What year is that x9 derailleur? I thought the type 2 had a grey body. Could it be the clutch not operating properly? I have X9 type2 on my bike and X9 type 2 on the wife's bike. Both are fairly firm to pull the cage forward toward the BB. As in sometimes it feels like it won't budge then bazinga away it goes.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top