Our friendly and house-trained bike mechanic Al Vines is here to guide through the process of going 1x.

Tools you will need

• Soft faced mallet
• Cable cutters
• Chainring bolt tool
• Flat blade screwdriver
• BB tool
• Narrow wide chainring
• Short chainring bolts
• Chain tools
• Allen keys
• Torx keys
• Torque wrench

>>> Best mountain bike cranks: single-ring

The key invention that holds the whole 1x system together is the narrow-wide chainring (sometimes called thick-thin chainring).

This new type of chainring is designed to really, really hold on to the chain, thus making dropped chains a thing of the past. No more front mech or chain device required.

For most people anyway, some really aggressive and rough riders combine a thick-thin ring with a compact retention device/guide as well.

>>> Best deals on 1×11 drivetrains available right now

After carrying out the surgery featured in this video your bike will be lighter, have less on it to go wrong and will be significantly quieter.