Yea, two posts in one day. Seems I’ve got a lot to talk about this morning.
The wheels are starting to turn on an Air 9 Carbon build. Once again, I need some help from the studio audience. This is going to be my primary race machine. While I plan on racing singlespeed whenever it’s either a)offered as a women’s category or b)not offered, but not a disadvantage, either (example of a “good” singlespeed course: Syllamo; example of a course where it’s a disadvantage against geared riders: Shenandoah 100)
Bottom line- there are going to be times when I want gears.
Enter the SRAM EP (employee purchase) program. I can get an XX group (including the fork and brakes I need for my SS build) for less than retail price (the first rule of EP is that you don’t mention the actual cost of EP). My original plan was to utilize the XX crank and hunt down a SS ring to convert it much like I have the Noir crank that I use on my One9. However, I found this memo from Niner:
There appears to be a compatibility issue with the GXP version of the SRAM XX crank and our CYA system. The GXP design has 4mm of float built into the system. This can in some cases allow the CYA cup to push out of the frame 4mm and cause the chainring to rub the Ti guard.  If a customer wants to use the XX crank on the AIR9 Carbon it should be in the BB30 style crank set.
So… this throws a proverbial wrench into my plans since the Niner EBB isn’t made for a BB30 crank. Sure, I could just have two cranks (a SS one and a BB30 XX one) and two BB inserts (the EBB and the BB30), but that would mean spending more money and time when I want to jump to gears and back. I’ve been researching and sorting through options, and this is what I’ve come up with so far:
-Get the XX group minus the crank and purchse a different crank that uses an EBB-compatible bottom bracket. Get a crank that can be run with either 2 rings or 1, such as the triple (with some modification) from e*thirteen.
-Get a nice SS crank (such as the one on the e*thirteen site linked above) and a chain keeper (again, refer to above link). Go 1×10. This represents my simplest option. No front shift housing/derailleur to mount, and no chainrings to change out. However, is it the most advantageous from a performance standpoint? Simplicity is good, but being able to go fast is the #1 priority.
So… what do you all think?
I have been toying with the option of 1x9ing my Felt. Think of SS, you never burn yourself to death on the road or pull a team dickey and be a pussy on the climbs.
With that said, you could run a 34T front ring and a cassettte with 12-36rings. On the climb in 34/36 you have something pretty easy. on the road you have a 34/12 which is pretty fast, definitely fast enough to draft with a group in a 100.
problem solved?
I don’t even know what most of those words mean.
Middleburn Uno and Duo…or go with the 1×9
The EBB will not work on the A9C if you want to run gears. The little front derailleur cable widget that you need to install on the inside of the frame when running gears. will get in the way. Get the non BB30 XX crank, the standard threaded CYA cups, and borrows part off your One9 when appropriate. Hope this helps
Thanks for the info! I had not thought about that part. Guess it’s going to “have” to be two separate cranks/CYA inserts… now the question is, do I want standard or BB30 :D
a 1x set up works real well for most courses
i am trying a 2 x 6 set up this year
with a hope s/s hub
i second the middleburn suggestion- uno/dou
2 bikes: one SS, one geared. Personally, I hate working on my bikes, which is one of the reasons I went to the single speed to begin with. However you do work in a shop and it is much more enjoyable to work on your bike when you are on the clock.