What Size Chainring Should I Run For 1 x 11 Drivetrain?

A big question we get almost every day is “What size chainring should I run for 1x11?” Depending on what type of riding you do, what your endurance level is and whether you want to be out of the saddle slamming the pedals or sitting down spinning, this can all be catered to by the proper sized chainring. Essentially when choosing your 1x chainring, you want a gear range that suits your riding/endurance abilities. 

Most riders are looking for a happy medium between good climbing ability and still being able to pedal without topping out at the highest gear when you need a little more. The smaller the chainring, like a 28T for example, will make pedaling up the climbs much easier so you can sit down and spin, but you lose your top speed pedaling. When running a larger chainring, for example a 34T, there will be more resistance on the climbs making it a little harder, but you will have a much better top speed and won't max out the highest gear. On all of our demo bikes here at the shop, we like to run a 32T due to it being a good in between gear where it's not too hard on the climbs and still holds a good top speed. 

All of this is good to keep in mind when choosing a chainring for any 1x drivetrain, but it really comes down to what you want most out of riding and where you stand physically when out on the trail. We have numerous different brands of chainrings that we offer for your 1 x 11 set up. Our top three most popular brands for chainrings are Wolf Tooth, RaceFace, and SRAM.

Click here to check out our selection of Wolf Tooth chainrings.

Click here to check out our selection of RaceFace chainrings.

Click here to check out our selection of SRAM chainrings.