I know there's a few folk who've done it, so what did you use, what ratios are you running, have you got any pics or details?

Thinking of knocking something up with a thumbie on drops

Although not butchered I ride 1x7 on a normal freehub. I use a 34-11 9sp cassette, but remove the 2 smallest cogs and space the cassette centrally on the freehub. This gives a better chainline and for an XO mech is as much as the limit screws will handle.

A Surly SS 35t front to this 34-16 rear has coped with everything I have thrown at it for the last 2yrs from 24hr races to Woodcock's C2C.

I took apart an old LX cassette where the cogs were all joined to each other by three bolts. I think I went for 24, 21, 18, 16, 14. I couldn't quite squeeze a sixth cog in. I discovered that shifting wouldn't work with a shimano shadow mech as the gradient over the larger cogs was too steep and its closer position to the drop out meant that it fouled on the cable clamp arm on the mech when shifting up to the 24 cog.

To be honest, I didn't find it all that beneficial. I felt like I had all the disadvantages of gears (i.e. extra weight, drag, noise etc) and none of the advantages (i.e. suitable range of gears for higher or lower speeds or steep gradients).

The only real sense in doing this I think is get some use out of a decent SS hub rather than having to buy another wheel.
A friend only had a SS setup and needed some gears to ease knee pains while climbing in the Dales so I donated a Hope SS hubbed wheel which a SRAM Pg99?? (dont know the numbers) casseste fitted a treat without the lower 3 sprockets.
He was happy as he didnt want to go any faster, just spin up the climbs a bit easier.

The only real sense in doing this I think is get some use out of a decent SS hub rather than having to buy another wheel.

That was my thought but you're all slowly putting me off ... might just invest in a rear wheel to match another spare front that's in the workshop. Anyone know where I can buy a single 9sp bar end shifter rather than a pair?

Ian wrote:To be honest, I didn't find it all that beneficial. I felt like I had all the disadvantages of gears (i.e. extra weight, drag, noise etc) and none of the advantages (i.e. suitable range of gears for higher or lower speeds or steep gradients).

+1

I've tried it with a WTB Single Duty hub, 4 cogs from a road 9-spd cassette (14/17/21/27) and a 32T ring. It's nice having gears, but if you're going to go to the trouble of fitting them, you might as well have loads of them. I might try again with the 4 cogs, but combine them with 22 + 32T rings and see how that goes.