Why Did The Mountain Bike Industry Kill The Front Mech? | Ask Tech 261

Front derailleur was annoying 1x12 is way better

I still use 3x but I have my 1x 12 speed deore xt. You know what, I still prefer to have that chain guide/front gear mechanism. You go from 42 down to 22. Man, that's a cheat code right there. FDs ain't dead!

Front mech is gone because of rear suspension. Sure, it's simpler, but simplicity has never been the driving reason to get rid of something. I mean, we have headset cable routing. But no front mech allows for complex rear suspension.

Front derailleurs are like in-laws. Even when there is nothing wrong with them, they are still annoying.

1x is good on mtb Trail, Enduro and dh, 2x good on XC, gravel and light trails and 3x is good on road bike more adjustability on speed while 1x are slower but reliable

It´s because off the 29" wheel Sram made a 1x11 in 2012, nothing to do with clutch mechanism´s.
A 29" wheel has a larger circumference, and that made the 3x11/2x11 systems obsolete....!!!
GMBH i need the number for your dealer, that shiat must be from the top shelf

I dont jump on the 1x drivetrain! These are crap! Only mountain or only street setting. 1x drivetrain on mtb is only for people the drive on a car to the mountain and not by bicycle!
26-36tooth in front is crap on the street!
Nothing can Rule over the 2x or 3x drivetrain that are multi settings.
Or can someone be better then a bandwith of 854% with a 1x drivetrain?
Wo say front derailleur is anoying can not use it right

Really? Where did they go? I use a 2x10. New front derailleurs are being made in factories right now.

A lot of "mucking around" in this women's comments on ft. der's. I've said it before, over zealous kid engineers fixing problems they created to fix problems that didn't exist. 1x sucks and that's my opinion!

Don't grease carbon interfaces Anna... U would likely then have to over torque it so it grips., risking damage... Use carbon assembly paste, NOT grease.

Thanks again, Anna and Isaac!

Sure front mechs are gone but this did not bring down the cost of bike but went up. d*** bike industry!!

I’ve got a new NUKEPROOF megawatt.
But still love my aging giant trance 2 with a front mech!

Dude someone people just don't wanna go to a 1x. Just answer HIS ? And you guys are so sold on this bike industry thing with the 1x. You won't give any ? That involves a front mech and seriousness. 99% of people will not be able to afford a $10,000 bike. I mean alot of the people that watch your channel can't afford those bikes so how about you do some things that will apply to your viewers and all of them

I kinda wish I had kept my 2010 KONA XC bike with 2X. I could have updated it and kept the super useable gearing. Turned out I bought a new E bike anyway.

The stupid 1X argument will go on for ever. 1X can have lower gears or it can have higher gears, it cant have both. Not like a 2X has.

It’s the bicycle industry selling people what they don’t need.
If nothing new comes out every year then people stop buying.
The industry peaked at 9spd and it has been all downhill since.

The gearbox system will eventually kill the rear derailleur system😂😂😂

I like my front derailleur on my XC bike with a 2x9. With the small front chain ring the steps between the individual gears are very small, so you will always find the perfect gear for each grade of slope at climbing, and you could replace the whole drive train if it's worn for the cost of a single Sram 12 speed chain

Thanks Anna! That's the most succinct explanation I've ever seen about why 1x systems are the norm now in MTB (and becoming more normal in road).

I also find from a riding perspective long term, the 1x system is just one less thing to think about while riding and it isn't a small thing. With a 2x one could get from harder to easier with only one click, but in reality it was a bit of a juggle trying to dial in the right gear and no matter how comfortable a rider was with that system it required some degree of brain power instead of using it for riding the trail well. I would never consider going back.

1x is just simpler and way less dropped chains, dropping to the small ring on a 2x MTB setup without dropping the chain was a dark art, though at least you could put the chain back on with the front mech haha. Also better climbing gears than most 2x setups, the modern pie plate has climbing gears more akin to what you'd see on a 3x.

Discussing the word 'Grease' with a carbon handlebar - I'm assuming you meant products in the 'carbon assembly compound' category. Isn't it important to use these 'gritty' grease compounds when assembling carbon components? Yes/no?

I’ve got a front mech on my xc bike,need the bigger front chainring for cycling on the road,makes me laugh when I pass people spinning out with a tiny front chainring mtb.

1x is a compromise, if the rear suspension doesn't allow a front derailleur. Then some submissive bs channels promoted it as dummy proof shifting. At least you know your audience.

Broccoli head is boring.

I don't really ride hills anymore but all my bikes have three chainrings in the front. I wonder how long I will still be able to buy stuff that is still compatible with this stuff ???

Your creativity knows no bounds.

answer? to sell you more stuff.
question: why will the bike industry bring back the front mech? (see above)
repeat, repeat, ad nauseum, ad infinitum....

The real reason is because most riders don't know how to properly shift a front derailleur.

Front derailleur aint out of style. I got a trek hard tail with 2x 10 gear system. I replaced it with a slightly bigger crank for 3x 10 system (I only use the large part of the pedal crank). I tell you what, I can speed as fast as all the cars that ply the roads i use, as well as climb any steep land leading to a bridge.
1x 12 can only climb effortlessly for very steep terrain but not fast on flat terrain, you would have to pedal extremely fast like a maniac with that small crank but still not fast enough like a pro racer bike in tour de France. My hardtail is so multi purpose I love it.😊

The Front Mech going in the bin in one of those advances (like disc brakes, hydraulics, dropper post etc) which the rider has hugely benefitted from. Yeah there will be some 2 x fanboys - no problem with that, but for 99% of the GLOBAL market for bikes (remember we are in a niche folks!) the 1x system is easier to fit, manage and maintain.

I've seen carbon handlebars break but I never saw aluminium ones break. Are they really worth it?

SRAM could never make a front mech that worked, that’s why they heavily pushed the 1x revolution. Bearing in mind I have ridden 1x since the late 90’s

2x12! Sounds pointless but it's awesome

To the user that's asking for a wheel build, know that spokes can also break if the wheel wasn't correctly built and lost tension. They can also break from a prior accident. It doesn't always mean hard riding. If you are willing to learn and diy build it, go ahead knowing that it's easy to screw up. Learning isn't easy or cheap.

I learnt on my own and boy, the times i f-up on my first builds. Spokes too short or too long, valve ending inside the crossed section, egg shaped wheels... the typical stuff. But at the end it is acheivable.

I want to learn how to lace wheels because I have older bikes that I want to bring to the modern age but wheel manufacturers only make thru axle wheels now.

I ride 1x12, 2x10 and 3x10. Different jobs need different tools. On the touring bike longevity is important, I wouldn't go 12 speed even if it gave me wider range than the 3x10(it doesn't, by a country mile)

Hated front mech noisey and seized sometimes

2 by FTW in my world (but each to their own)

I didn't have any problems with front derailleur and I'm on a hard tail running 12x1. So this leaves me with a quandary, why would I never go back? Love 12x1

The front mech.. Has just been replaced by a chain guide. Which is essentially what the front mech does, quite adequately displayed on the bike used in the example of where its "removed"

To sell us dropper posts instead

The industry didn't, the brainwashed customers that just argue "its better" without being able to tell you why

i dont regrer the end of the front dereilleur, more stuff to maintain, more stuff to break.

They didn't. I'm looking at my three bikes with 'em on and they ain't dead yet!

I have a 1 by and don't like it, at least a 2 by will be my choice from now on