Adventures in 1x10

After 4 months and over 1000 offroad miles, I'm really pleased with the 1 x 10 drivetrain that I’m training on this year. My main goal was improved reliability over a standard mountain bike setup with front shifting. I'm riding a Niner EMD with the following setup: -Shimano M785 Crank w/Homebrew 32 middle Chainring and BBG outer bashgaurd -Sram XX 11-36 Cassette -Shimano HG-94 Chain -Sram X9 shifter mated to a short cage X7 derailleur -N-Gear jump stop chain guard. So far, the aluminum frame and crank have proven stiff enough to provide a drama free riding experience. The middle ring chainline and heavy duty Homebrew chainring continue to provide chainsuck free riding in the worst conditions, even when starved of chain lube. The short cage rear derailleur combined with the jump stop and bash guard continues to provide snappy and accurate shifting without any chain derailments, even when descending rough singletrack at over 30 mph. There is some audible chain rub between the inner plate surfaces of the chain and the chainring teeth when using the low and high extremes of the cassette, but it’s worth the added simplicity and reliability. So far, I haven't missed the extra gears, but I could see it being an issue on rides with fast pavement sections or extreme steep/long climbs. The chain made it about 3 months before stretching beyond 1/16th of an inch. This is about the same life that I get with chains on standard double ring drivetrains, so the wear rate is about the same. Thanks to Jonathan at Cahaba Cycles for helping me get everything sorted out.