The mountain bike drivetrain market is dominated by Shimano and Sram, and has been for quite
some time.
In fact, they are the only two viable options right now if you want a 1x11 or anything remotely
high end.
Can’t anyone else make this stuff?
Specialized makes their own dropper post, and Cannondale has been making crazy suspension
forks for years.
What’s stopping them from making their own drivetrains and bringing those profits in
house?
Well, it probably wouldn’t be worth it.
Drivetrains are complex, so they’re not only expensive to develop, but very risky
to sell.
Anyone bringing a new product to market would be jumping in the ring with Shimano and Sram,
who pretty much have it figured out.
Both companies are selling the best mountain bike drivetrains ever made, seemingly one-upping
themselves every year.
To realistically compete with them, you would need to go all in on research and development.
If you could bring a viable product to market, you would then be faced with the task of keeping
up with their product cycles.
It would take a group of crazy people, with huge balls to even think of doing that.
So, it’s actually fitting that a company with roots in BMX would have the guts to drop
in.
Enter Box, who only started making mountain bike components fairly recently.
Their 1x11 drivetrain, the Box One, is set to hit the shelves in the first quarter of
2017.
Although Box does make other drivetrain parts, the Box One is compatible with Shimano and
Sram cassettes.
Just the derailleur and shifter would set you back about $250.
That’s not cheap, and with their very established competitors offering a wide range of options
in 1x11, consumers are going to want some tangible reasons to go with the relatively
unproven Box One.
Well thanks to you guys, Box sent me a derailleur and shifter to test out.
Let’s take a close look at the Box One, install it, and go for a ride.
We’ll start with the derailleur, which seems kind of big and heavy.
Still it feels rugged, and I could see it taking a lot of abuse.
It has a clutch, which is always engaged, and a cable stop which pivots when impacted.
They call this “Pivot Tech”.
While this does seem like it would absorb side and rear impacts, it’s worth mentioning
that Sram’s cable stop doesn’t stick out in the first place.
Of course, it also needs this little plastic wheel to get the cable going in the right
direction.
Shimano’s solution is to position their derailleur further under the chainstay to
keep the whole thing out of harm’s way.
All three companies have significantly different approaches to protecting their derailleurs,
all of which are quite innovative.
Because the Box One is meant to be used as a 1x11, there doesn’t appear to be a long
or short cage version, just one size.
It has less ground clearance than my Sram XO, but only by about half a centimeter.
Yeah I went metric for you guys.
So at first glance the major plus sides to the Box One derailleur are that it’s simple
and robust.
The downsides are that it’s pretty big and kind of pricey.
Let’s move on to the shifter.
This is where things start to get really interesting, because the Box One “Push Push” shifter
only has one switch.
Shifting into bigger gears is done just like Shimano or Sram, by pushing the lever forwards
with your thumb.
To upshift, you push that same lever laterally with the tip of your thumb.
I don’t know if this is better or just different, but it’s certainly innovative.
Alright let me show you guys something really cool, but first I need to rebuild my Sram
GX shifter.
I’ll just remove these little screws and take this little plate off and ghhaaaa!!!
I’d rather buy a new one than open this can of worms.
Now let’s say you’ve had a particularly rough season on your Box One, and you want
to get it running like new.
The whole assembly literally drops out of the shifter into your hand.
Presumably, you could recklessly clean this entire thing in degreaser, re-lube it, and
get it working like new.
A user serviceable shifter will certainly win Box some brownie points.
When installing the Box One, I needed to take my grip and brake off to get the shifter on.
It doesn’t have a two piece clamp, but no big deal.
It nested under my Sram Guide brake lever nicely.
I should have brought a new cable housing though, because I needed a few extra inches
to reach the cable stop.
So, my cables will be a little messy today.
The rest of the installation went ridiculously smooth.
I set the limits, adjusted the B screw, and tightened the cable to find it shifting perfectly.
I’ll chalk this up to good luck.
Time to hit
the trails.
Most experienced mountain bikers could tell the difference between Sram and Shimano with
their eyes closed.
Shimano has a heavy clunky feel, while Sram has a light clicky feel.
I actually like both of them with a slight preference for Shimano.
On down shifts, the Box One feels more like Shimano than it does Sram, but the long lever
feels totally different than both companies.
Needless to say the lateral upshifts would be a new experience to anyone.
I found it effortless to prod at it with my thumb, however I wouldn’t want to push it
any harder.
If things weren’t working optimally I could see this being annoying, but I don’t know
for sure if that would ever be an issue.
I got used to the Box One almost immediately.
At no point during my ride did I reach for an invisible lever.
Maybe it was because I was excited to use it and consciously thinking about it, or maybe
because I’m used to demoing lots of different components.
The clutch seemed to work fine, and my bike wasn’t any noisier than usual.
I had no problems shifting, and no regrets about putting the Box One on my bike.
That morning, it performed as well as anything I’ve tried from Sram or Shimano.
I liked it.
It just feels fun and enjoyable to use.
This video was a first ride, but I’ll follow up in another month after I’ve put this
through the ringer.
So far I see no compelling reason to strip your bike of Sram or Shimano and replace it
with Box.
Still if you’re building something new it might be worth considering.
Clearly Box is keeping its ear to the trails, and providing features that many riders want.
Some of us are early adopters who are keen to try anything new, and some of us are pragmatists
who want something really robust and easy to service.
Like Sram and Shimano, some riders will like the way the shifter feels more than others.
Some not so much.
For riders who don’t care about a few bucks either way it often comes down to nuances
like trigger action.
My final judgement will come down to hopping from one bike to another over the course of
the next month.
What will Sram XO feel like after I’ve ridden the Box for a week?
What will XTR feel like after riding Box?
I’ll let you guys know, but for now I’m enjoying the Box One and looking forward to
riding it a lot more.
Competition is good for consumers, so I’m hoping this brave new product lives up to
its promises.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.