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Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 3:49 pm
by FLV
Something I've lived with for a while. Whenever the drivetrain gets muddy (gritty here in the peak) it very quickly becomes very noisy indeed. I guess some of this is expected but I would be interested in experiences of quieter drivetrains.

MY set up is as follows;
Absolute black / hope / raceface type Narrow Wide aluminium chainring (32t)
Sunrace cassette, 11-46 (used shimano too)
XT mech
Sram Chain
11 Speed.

Is the extra noise a narrow wide thing (I expect it may be a significant contributor)
Is it an 11 speed thing (and presumably 12)

Whats the best set up you have found to reduce the grinding ?

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 4:02 pm
by Bearbonesnorm
I kind of believe it's something which is worse with 1 X drivetrains due to the angle the chain often finds itself at - could be wrong.

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 5:00 pm
by dlovett
Bearbonesnorm wrote: Wed Sep 25, 2019 4:02 pm I kind of believe it's something which is worse with 1 X drivetrains due to the angle the chain often finds itself at - could be wrong.
My 1x11 is noisier than my 2x when mucky as well.

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 5:52 pm
by Lazarus
My 1 x 11 is noisy in the two easiest gears same set up as you- i always thought it was just an extreme chainline issue

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 6:31 pm
by FLV
Oddly mine isnt noisiest in the most extreme chainlines, its a few higher than the lowest. (2 or 3 down the cassette from the largest)

Wondered if there was a difference between sram and shimano, or anyone had reduced the issue with different chainrings etc

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 6:45 pm
by whitestone
In my experience 1x drivetrains can be noisy but there's a few variables at work here: chainline; chain and dirt.

While most setup guides have you putting the chainring in line with the centre of the cassette I've found it's better a couple of mm further in towards the frame so that there's less deflection when using the lower gears.

Shimano chains tend to be noisier than SRAM which are noisier than KMC.

Dirt: sort of allied to the chain but keeping things clean (not always possible mid-ride of course) makes a big difference.

I've not noticed much difference between makes of chainring having used Absolute Black, RaceFace and Hope.

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 7:53 pm
by ScotRoutes
No noise from my 2x11 or 1x11 all-Shimano gear setups. It's easy to mock the idea that the components are made to work as a series but, in my experience, there's some truth in it.

As for SRAM chains - alright if they're on a tractor.

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 4:54 am
by Leerowe76
I run 1x11 XT set up with a 34T absolute black oval on the front and can sometimes geta little grindy when going through lots of shitty mud and gloop which I try to avoid, maybe it has something to do with the narrow wide I'm not sure.
A good clean and re-lube should be fine though, I normally use the green gunk engine degreaser from Halfrauds works great
:-bd I'm a Shimano man too so that Sram chain will be sub standard :lol: KMC or Shimano are the only chains I'll use and trust

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 9:02 am
by dlovett
TBH when clean and lubed, my sram 1x11 if pretty much silent, the only noise is when its mucky, then I sounds grindy.

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 10:28 am
by FLV
Interesting...

Its silent when clean, and not too bad half of the year. This time of year though, graunch graunch grid after the first 1k.

Might try a shimano chain next time, never used to get them due to lack of quick links but thats not an issue now.

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 10:55 am
by whitestone
This thread has shamed me into cleaning the drivetrain on the Solaris. So far I've been at it nearly two hours - apparently I have a silver cassette :roll: and I think the jockey wheels were carrying their own weight in gunk :shock: :oops:

Edit: Now all back together and a quick test spin around the yard - crikey that's quiet! :-bd Unfortunately there's more bikes needing doing and I need a whole load more degreaser :YMSIGH:

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 11:56 am
by techno
FLV wrote: Thu Sep 26, 2019 10:28 am Interesting...

Its silent when clean, and not too bad half of the year. This time of year though, graunch graunch grid after the first 1k.

Might try a shimano chain next time, never used to get them due to lack of quick links but thats not an issue now.
How close does your chain run to the tyre?
I switch to a narrower rear once the weather turns in an attempt to reduce the crud picked up by the chain

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 8:18 pm
by fatbikephil
When its muddy, it'll grind. Don't worry, in 2015 I did a 6 and a half day ride in extreme mud and the chain was grinding for most of it. Afterwards I gave it a good clean and it lasted another year....

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 9:01 pm
by jameso
1x can be grindy and a newer chain on a worn chainring can make a real racket, but try this stuff - it's the quietest-running lube I've used so far, brilliant stuff ime - https://fenwicksbike.com/product/profes ... hain-lube/
it's a wax lube but I've been getting far better durability even in the wet than other wax lubes (maybe 4-5x the miles that MucOff dry does) and it's far cleaner on a multi-day trip than oil.

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 9:49 pm
by dlovett
Get an ultra sonic cleaner, much quicker and gets it spotless like it need again.
whitestone wrote: Thu Sep 26, 2019 10:55 am This thread has shamed me into cleaning the drivetrain on the Solaris. So far I've been at it nearly two hours - apparently I have a silver cassette :roll: and I think the jockey wheels were carrying their own weight in gunk :shock: :oops:

Edit: Now all back together and a quick test spin around the yard - crikey that's quiet! :-bd Unfortunately there's more bikes needing doing and I need a whole load more degreaser :YMSIGH:

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2019 11:02 pm
by whitestone
I know. I have looked at them but would need one big enough for a 50T cassette just to be future-proof

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2019 7:39 am
by FLV
51t surely :grin:

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2019 5:23 pm
by sean_iow
More like 60 or 70 surley :lol:

My mate has an ultrasonic cleaner and the tank is rectangular in shape and not big enough to lay a 50t down in. It's long enough to fit upright but not deep enough to completely submerge it, he just does the bottom section and rotates it round as required. The same technique is used for road bike chainrings.

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2019 2:13 pm
by redefined_cycles
Dave... you sure you're not riding with the clutch (if you have one) engaged. I always noticed they cab make everything a bit more grindy cos of the extra stiffness...

I just gave mine a (bordering on 'deep') clean after a really muddy ride the other day which had the fork juddering of which I'd assumed was knackered pads- they're not abd everything is back to normal.


Post clean I took it out without relubing yhe chain and it was surprisingly v v quiet :smile:

Re: Drivetrain 'Grind'

Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2019 2:25 pm
by benp1
Has anyone seen a good and cheap ultrasonic cleaner? I'd be well up for one