Road 1x?

   Browsing the bicycling subreddit the other day, came across this neat looking bike. 

Specialized Allex Sprint

   Not only is it cool looking, it's a 1x road system. This guy is running a 50t up front and an 11/36t cassette in the back. This system really relies on a wide ratio mountain bike cassette. That range sounds pretty radical, but lets look at the numbers:

50/34 = ratio of 1.4
34/28 = ratio of 1.2

Does that make a big difference? Well if I were riding in my 34/24ish, it would be about the same ratio. So I tried that and it was a fair bit more work, especially if you're really grinding uphill. If you are a stronger rider than me, or you aren't terribly into hills, this seems like a great solution for simplicity.

   But what do the masses think? Let's go to the lengthy ass comment section...

Ruh roh

   There are a lot of differing opinions out there. I would encourage you to look out for these set-up's, but you might not be able to easily recognize them. Carbon road 1x and Cyclocross 1x are remarkably similar looking, and with the infiltration of the market by disc brakes, it's even harder.

   One last nice shot of SRAM's offering here...

Sram 1x road system

   Wait a minute - are there two quick links? Thanks to sharp eyed BikeRumor reader Christopher for noticing that one...

To master links?

   In the future I think we'll be running chains that are only quick links.