Chain line, chain wrap and free chain - Best 1x10 setup?

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Chain line, chain wrap and free chain - Best 1x10 setup?
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flag Uuno
Posted: Apr 14, 2016 at 5:55 Quote
This is about 2 different drivetrain options which have different chain lines, chain wrap and free chain. I'm trying to find out what is best to achieve maximum durability.

Current 1x10 system :
Chainring 34t NW oval
Chainline 51mm, 430mm chainstay, 140mm FS bike with normal chain growth
Chain 10 sp
Derailleur XT Shadow + long cage
Cassette CS-HG-50 10 11-36

It works fine (good shifting, no chain drops...) and the range is good.
My chainline is something like 51mm (the NW ring replaced the 38t ring of my 24-38 original setup, and I used spacers to get it 2mm inwards so 53-2=51mm).
I know this is not ideal, and it is clear that the chain is quite angled when I use the 36t sprocket.

Future 1x10 option :
Replacing the cassette with a Sunrace MS3 11-42.

Good : with the new cassette (I need to buy one anyway and it's 40€ so same as 11-36 XT) the chain would have a smaller angle when I use the low gears (36,32,28,24). Of course I will still get max angle when using the 42 but I know I won't use it much.
Bad : chain wrap will decrase and free chain will grow. Can be improved with costly options (goatlink, rad cage). Heavier and lower quality than same priced XT 11-36.

So what's the best for durability? Is chain wrap so important? Is it so bad to push hard when the chain is angled?
flag spencer81
Posted: Apr 18, 2016 at 13:36 Quote
IMO 1x10 is always gonna be a bit of a compromise between good function an durability, look how angled the chain is when at the extremes of the cassette, on mine when the chain is straight it sits roughly in the middle of the cassette
flag markg1150
Posted: Apr 20, 2016 at 13:06 Quote
I'd say chain rap makes a big difference to durability. I was going through 11t +13t on my cassettes really quickly. It was a the point I was buying 11t on there own to replace them as the rest of the cassette was fine. Shifting was fine but they just wasn't lasting at all. Got a one up radr cage and a goat link and the difference is massive chain rap in the smaller cogs is critical for wear rates. Now Durability is back to where it should be and shifting has gone back to perfect to. But given that 11spd has since dropped price I wouldn't bother messing around with goat links and rad cages and then the 16t and 40t + sprocket.
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