Peregrine 1:43

I appreciate what SRAM has done for the one-by cause.  With their Eagle MTB drivetrain system, they've enabled all of us to eschew the now irrelevant front derailleur.   In fact, the front derailleur today seems silly for anyone who never used one on a mountain bike.  But I still won't go one-by on my road bike- I gotta have that super-jump turbo-blast that only a snappy front shift from 39 to 53 can bring.  But I digress...

Being a person who can never accept the norm for what it is until I fully scrutinize it, I've been riding my own version of the one-by for several years now.  It's not that I don't think Eagle works, it's just that I have to do things differently- if you know me, you understand.  So I've been rocking what I call the Falcon on my Thunderbolt for the last several years.  This consists of an 11-36 cassette mated to a 26-tooth chainring rather than the standard Eagle which uses a 10-50 cassette.  Yes, I've given up a little on the top end and on the low end, but I've rarely been left wanting at either.

I'm closing in on the day- July 27th- whence the Intense will be complete and I've decided a new, more advanced, one-by system shall be employed.  I call it The Peregrine.  It is an 11-40 cassette with a 28-tooth chainring.  GREAT TASTE!  LESS FILLING!  More on the low end, more on the top.  And I can still use a medium length derailleur- something important to me and only a few others on this planet.

In other news, here's something completely relevant right now: