Howdy, Been awhile since I've been on this forum. Anyway, my Jamis Renegade came as a 2X11. The front derailleur has always been fiddly - when on the small ring, I could only use the 5 or 6 bigger cogs before the chain started rubbing front cage. A bike shop had the same issue with the adjustment.
Lately, the front shifter has started working intermittently, sometimes shifting and sometimes not. So I thought this might be an opportune time to switch to a 1X. What do you all think - 1X11 or 1X12? I'm pretty much an out of shape 65 year old rider and need the equivalent of my low gear - a 34/36.
I would not. I am 54 and not super strong for my 100kg weight. For the hilly riding I do the typical 1x setup wouldn't suffice. I prefer a high cadence and find it difficult to climb out of the saddle on loose surfaces. SRAM 40x10-50 would be nice but it's expensive. There's no way that I'd want the mainstream 40x11-42 setup on my gravel bike. It just wouldn't offer me the low or high end that I need. I'm in Switzerland and it's up and down all the time - if it's relatively flat where you are then the answer might be very different. I think I'd contact Jamis and get advice on how to fix the front derailleur issues before giving up. Very likely it can be resolved - you might try posting again with that specific purpose in mind.
I ride a 2018 Jamis Renegade (steel version) with 105 2x11. One thing I have noticed about the 105 bottom pull derailleur is that it has to be kept clean. It might take a switch to a new derailleur or a good clean out of your current one, including cable replacement and thorough cleaning of the brifter too.
I'm riding a 1x Force crank with long cage Force derailleur. Crank is 42T with a Sunrace 11-46 in the rear. It works fine. The only hill I couldn't climb was a 20% gravel section of NC hwy old 105. My bike was loaded for camping. The larger jumps do take some getting used to.
I have a 2015 Renegade Elite with the same problem - it has to be something about drivetrain geometry. Mine came with Ultegra 2x11 and I tried everything to quiet the FD. I upgraded the groupset to Di2 and that was the answer. If you like the bike, invest in a Di2 GRX groupset and don't look back!
jonz not sure what grade your Jamis came with but guessing a lower quality and therein might be some of your problems. Here is my experience. 1st I guess you have to decide how much you really like your bike and how much you want to spend on upgrades if you really like your bike. My Raleigh Roker Comp came with Sram Rival 1x and I really never liked it. It started out with the double clicking shifting which I kind of got use to. It then progressed to too big of jumps between the lower gears. Ok if you are riding by yourself but when you are riding with a group you are shifting all over the place. This spring before the virus hit I switched over to the Shimano GRX Ultegra 48/31 with a 11-40 rear. The GRX is all they say it is and more. I probably pick up 3-4 or maybe 4-5 mph on the top end and the lower end with the bail out gear is awesome until I get back in shape. Not sure if you already have hydro shifters on your bike or not. Since I had to shift from all Sram 1x to 2x Shimano it cost me in the $1200 - $1400 range but IMHO it was worth every penny. You might be able to save some money since you already have 2x. I won't own another gravel bike unless it's 2x and has the GRX on it with hydro brakes. Of course this is my experience but the shifting of the GRX is really smooth. Good luck Zman
I built my bike GRX 2x specifically as I wanted close ratio shifting. I find that I more easily hit my 90 rpm cadence. IMO, the only 1x option I'd consider is the new Campy Ekar. Supposedly nicer disc brake feel than Shimano's. Overall, I love my GRX 2x. Would consider getting the front derailleur working with an upgraded Ultegra or something like that.
Not to be contrarian, I have ridden the GRX 2x once and it was nice, but it was very short so I don't feel qualified to comment on it.
That being said, I have 1x11 SRAM on my bike, 38T front, 11-42 in the rear, and it is great for the steep hills around me (Shasta area of NorCal). No real complaints, yeah it might have larger jumps between gears, but it was cheap and has held up well, ~3500 miles so far without complaints.
OP - if you could find a way to test out 1x in the terrain near you, that is likely best. I would vote for 1x with an 11-42 if you do a lot of climbing and don't spend a ton of time in the smaller cogs, want the simplicity of no front derailleur, or don't want to spend the higher $$ on GRX stuff.
I think jonz will be fine on 1x if he is solo riding, but like Zman said - it can be a hassle and difficult if you are doing fast paced road rides (not to mention the wear and tear spending all that time in the small cogs is going to require more drivetrain maintenance and parts repacements.
Maybe the best solution is to have zman sell his old drivetrain to jonz!
Hey gang, thanks for all the replies. I got distracted - just bought a new Huskie 701 LR motorcycle. My bike came with Shimano 105 components 2x11. 50/34 front and I now have a 11-36 rear cassette courtesy of a Wolf Link extender (or whatever it is). I was thinking there might be a cheapo way to convert my front crank to a 1X (or will I need to buy a new crankset?), convert my rear derailleur to a long cage, and then get one of the newer wide ratio cassettes. I'm not a spinner, my usual cadence is 65 -75 rpm so I think I can adapt to the bigger jumps. In my younger roadie days, I used to maintain 80+ rpm but mountain biking has changed the way I pedal.
Based on the responses above, sounds like a call to Wolf Link would be a good idea.
