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The 1x - N/W - Clutch RD Drivetrain Review
The New Era of Drive Trains...
The non pro view:
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I have now been riding one iteration of the new generation of Narrow Wide chainring coupled with a clutch rear mech. Today on my standard local romp down the tech singletracks of Kilvey Hill in Swansea I carried out a thorough test of the system by running the clutch in the off position for the entire two and a bit hour ride. I did not loose a single train once despite the best efforts of my local roots, drops, jumps, and rocks and I think that that is enough said.
The long and the short of it is that this new replication of the MTB drivetrain is a simpler, lighter, and crucially easier to maintain for the average joe. Our older 3x drivetrains and even more recent 2x and a bash iterations were chronic for holding mud and grime and were trickier to wash. This increased wear and I strongly believe that rather than this being the MTB industries most recent attempt to complicate the system and trick you all out of your hard earned cash this is a genuine step forward on the level of hydraulic disk brakes and genuine suspension technologies (as opposed to compressed elastomer).
It is not often that such a revelation presents itself to the MTB community that is also so available - we could all lament for hours of the theoretical advantages of 11 speed drivetrains and open bath technologies but, as with hydraulic disk brakes, until that technology is available lower down the spectrum then the benefits cannot be said to be felt by the MTB community as a whole.
I can only thoroughly recommend a new mech and chain-ring to you when you have the money and you smash your current - yes it works but trust me, the £25 extra quid will be well worth it.
For further reviews and writings please visit: www.thelumberjackmtb.co.uk
The non pro view:
I have now been riding one iteration of the new generation of Narrow Wide chainring coupled with a clutch rear mech. Today on my standard local romp down the tech singletracks of Kilvey Hill in Swansea I carried out a thorough test of the system by running the clutch in the off position for the entire two and a bit hour ride. I did not loose a single train once despite the best efforts of my local roots, drops, jumps, and rocks and I think that that is enough said.
The long and the short of it is that this new replication of the MTB drivetrain is a simpler, lighter, and crucially easier to maintain for the average joe. Our older 3x drivetrains and even more recent 2x and a bash iterations were chronic for holding mud and grime and were trickier to wash. This increased wear and I strongly believe that rather than this being the MTB industries most recent attempt to complicate the system and trick you all out of your hard earned cash this is a genuine step forward on the level of hydraulic disk brakes and genuine suspension technologies (as opposed to compressed elastomer).
It is not often that such a revelation presents itself to the MTB community that is also so available - we could all lament for hours of the theoretical advantages of 11 speed drivetrains and open bath technologies but, as with hydraulic disk brakes, until that technology is available lower down the spectrum then the benefits cannot be said to be felt by the MTB community as a whole.
I can only thoroughly recommend a new mech and chain-ring to you when you have the money and you smash your current - yes it works but trust me, the £25 extra quid will be well worth it.
For further reviews and writings please visit: www.thelumberjackmtb.co.uk
Author Info:
Member since Jan 8, 2011
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On a similar note - I found the clutch on its own was sufficient for a lot of retention I my own testing, as you've been running the set up a while have you had a little look inside it to see if it needs a lube/tighten? Just a thought...
Either way - cheers for contributing and hope yours behaves from here on in!
You re-installed the RF ring and took it for a spin then I imagine? Must be getting frustrating!
Cheers for the update - please keep it coming!