MICROSHIFT ADVENT X GRAVEL BIKE GROUPSET REVIEW: BIG RANGE, SMALL PRICE

With a rear derailleur, a wide-range cassette, and a pair of dropbar shifters all for US$287, you’d be easily excused for assuming that MicroShift’s Advent X drivetrain components are kinda crummy. Instead, they’re solid proof that bike parts don’t need to be expensive to function reliably.

In a market almost devoid of low cost 1x drivetrain options suitable for gravel riding, this single-ring mini-groupset is a glimmer of hope. However, some aspects of it shine brighter than others.

It’s been a year since I first installed these single-ring 10-speed components on a well-loved cyclocross bike and it’s well past time I shared my findings.

The current state of play for 1x groupsets

There’s little denying that single-ring drivetrains are here to stay. The front derailleur is well and truly dead in the mountain bike world. Meanwhile, the gravel market remains divided on the topic with the front derailleur still having a place for bikes that toe the line between road and off-road.

Advent X explained

MicroShift has been on a steady rebranding path in recent years. Its original nine-speed Advent components broke new ground for the company by hitting a staggeringly low price while offering a choice of 11-42 or 11-46T wide-range cassettes.

Now in its second year, Advent X remains MicroShift’s top-tier offering. The group consists of a 10-speed shifter (in either mountain bike or dropbar form), a rear derailleur, and an 11-48T cassette combo. MicroShift then leaves the selection of a suitable 10-speed chain, crankset, and single-ring chainring up to you. While some brands do equip these parts on whole bikes, it’s arguably more intriguing as a low-cost aftermarket 1x shifting conversion for existing bikes.

While the vast majority of Advent X customers are using the mountain bike paddle shifter, I specifically wanted to test MicroShift’s compatible drop bar brake lever/shifters. Most notably, these Advent X shift/brake levers (aka “brifters”, but I despise that word) are only available to drive mechanical brakes with a road-type cable pull – whether they be road rim callipers, cantilevers, mini Vs, mechanical disc brakes, or Hybrid Hydro disc brakes (such as TRP’s Hy/Rds).

MicroShift’s 11-48T cassettes fit any regular eight-, nine-, 10-, or 11-speed Shimano-style HG freehub. And unless you’re running Campagnolo, there’s a good chance your old rear wheel is ready for it. Microshift offers two price point versions of the cassette, both of which are given a black anti-corrosion treatment.

Riding Advent X

Notably, the drop bar shifters lock you out of full hydraulic disc brakes. That’s likely of zero concern if you’re using an older rim brake bike (like I did), but it is certainly a key decision if you’re rocking discs.

There are only so many ways a dropbar shifter can work without infringing on a fiercely protected patent. MicroShift’s answer is to stack the higher and low shift one above the other. The button up top releases the derailleur to a harder gear, while the lever beneath it is pressed inward to pull the derailleur up to an easier gear.

My final note on the shifters relates to the external gear cable housing. This is a blessing for easy setup and maintenance but it does leave the housing and plastic shifter body more susceptible to damage.

The rear derailleur moves the chain as required and offers a surprising amount of positivity in the process. The construction is solid, with no noticeable play in the pivots or flex in the cage. Chain retention is also great thanks to the rather unique ratchet-and-pawl-based mechanism that stops the derailleur cage from bouncing around under the weight of the chain. The clutch tension is adjustable with basic tools and there is a clever off-on switch to make wheel removal and installation simple.

Shifting under load is a little clunky, but that’s also to be expected of a 10-speed group with big jumps between each cog. Going to smaller cogs is clunkier than going up the cassette. But while it may be slightly clunky, the derailleur does always, albeit sometimes slowly, hit the intended gear.

My big qualm with the cassette is the spacing. With an enormous 11-48T spread across just 10 gears, compromises are unavoidable. There are noticeable steps between each shift, but those steps become quite apparent as you get into the easier gears. While noticeable, the jumps are quite manageable and often even welcomed in off-road terrain, but such jumps will reveal the limitations of such a setup if trying to match pace with others on the road.

Impressive for the price but best served on a MTB

By now it should be rather obvious that MicroShift’s Advent X is really at its best with the mountain bike shifter and in such a configuration it truly is an impressive low-cost upgrade option for bikes of old and new. The gearing range, ease of setup, chain retention, and shift action almost embarrass the two big companies that start with S, given the asking price.

Sadly it’s a slightly different and less glowing story in the drop bar configuration. Here, it still ticks a heap of boxes at a price point that neither Shimano or SRAM truly play in, but the somewhat aged approach to hood ergonomics is the weak link in the otherwise impressive package. Still, I suspect many who don’t have much of a comparative library will make do just fine and be more than happy, but that doesn’t change the fact that it could be better.

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