DUB Eagle crankset on a Rivendell?

[Michael Morrissey]

Hi,

I know we are all retrogrouches here, but it has been over 10 years since I ditched front derailleurs forever on all my bikes. Are some of the new cranksets better for "one by" setups nowadays?

On my bike currently, I have a vintage White Industries crankset with a WolfTooth narrow-wide chainring, a 9 speed chain, a SRAM GX 10 speed clutch derailleur, and a 9 speed SRAM cassette, with a Silver1 shifter. It works great.

I was wondering if anyone has a SRAM DUB crankset or any other direct-mount crankset on their Rivendell. I've been reading about the DUB cranks and they seem actually simpler with fewer parts than a traditional 5 bolt crankset. I was wondering if the Q factor also would be wider.

The SRAM Eagle SX crankset seems to be available at a nice price (under $75 total), and I'm curious.

Thanks,

Michael

[Eric Marth]

Would love to see someone's SRAM Hillborne... if they have one. 

[Piaw Na]

I have an Ultegra SL triple crankset converted to 1x via a Wolftooth chainring on my Roadini and a Shimano GRX 810-1 on my custom touring bike (which is based on a Bridgestone RB-1). There's no appreciable difference in Q factor that I can tell when riding. The biggest problem with the GRX is that the smallest chainring you can get for 4-bolt 110 BCD is 36t, while if you went with a traditional 110 5-bolt BCD you can get a 34t chainring. If you don't frequently ride in groups that are trying to drop people and hence you have to keep your cadence in a narrow power band, 1x definitely is the way to go. I never realized how frequently I dropped the triple until I switched to the 1x and found myself switching gears that were just on the border between what would have been the middle and the granny all the time --- something I avoided doing on the triple because I was fearful of dropping the chain.

I did a short writeup here: https://blog.piaw.net/2022/06/a-transition-to-1x-drivetrains.html

[Garth]

SRAM mtb cranksets start at 169mm for q factor, the Eagle SX is 173mm. See their fitment catalog here . https://www.sram.com/globalassets/document-hierarchy/frame-fit-specifications/mtb/2021-mtb-frame-fit-specifications.pdf

All their road cranksets are 145mm. Quite a jump !

There's lots of 1x specific cranks, tons. BMX stores are a great place for alternatives to the same ol' same ol' big brands.

All I can say is just educate yourself beforehand as to what type of ring attachment a given crank uses. SRAM 's are all direct mount, while BOX for example uses a regular 104mm or 110 BCD ring. Also, chainlines can vary wildly among these, so you better have a good idea of what you're pairing it all with.

I don't see any type of crank/BB as any more/less "easy-er" than any other as such terms are relative. 

[a spen]

Hi Michael,

I can address the part of your query 

--I was wondering if anyone has a SRAM DUB crankset or any other direct-mount crankset on their Rivendell. I've been reading about the DUB cranks and they seem actually simpler with fewer parts than a traditional 5 bolt crankset--

 Based on my experience with the SRAM NX Eagle 1 x 12.  During the pandemic I was doing a build up and found myself short on matching drivetrain parts, unable to acquire what I needed, and tired of matching/mismatching bits & parts for 2 or 3 x 8, 9, 10 cassettes and so broke with tradition and installed a NX drivetrain on a Gus.  It required a DUB BB tool, an additional 12 or 13 links to accommodate the loooong chain stays and a couple of 2.5 mm shims to accommodate the BB. The operation was smooth and flawless and I was impressed by the ease and simplicity of installing the entire unit.

I realize your question is directed towards the SX, but my experience with the NX has been quite unexpectedly  positive.

Hope this adds to the conversation,

Al

[lconley]

I have a White Industries M30 on my Gus Boots Wilson. It is one of those invisible components by virtue of it working well, but so do my other cranks, some of which are 50 years old. I haven't really checked out the side to side runout as that is mostly irrelevant with a 1X.

The chainrings are relatively affordable compared to the crank itself. It required a new tool for the bearings that doesn't have any other usage, but I like buying tools. It is kind of awkward tightening the chainring to the arm/axle off of the bike with the cassette tool.

It is a beautiful polished piece of aluminum and is theoretically a lot stronger and stiffer than all my other cranksets. I just don't challenge it riding around in south Florida. I originally bought it for a Crust Scapegoat that turned out not to fit me well. I use it with a SRAM GX 11 with SRAM GX trigger shifter and Shimano XT 11-46. Everything works as it should.

Laing

On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 6:55:06 AM UTC-4 Michael Morrissey wrote: