The top dogs Shimano and Sram leave little competition in the bicycle derailleur sector, with hardly any choice on the market. Box Components, an American company previously known primarily for high-quality BMX parts, wants to enrich the desert landscape with a 1x11 mountain bike drivetrain and presented its own product at Eurobike 2016 (BIKE reported). But how does the new drivetrain from Box Components perform on the trail? We put it to the test.
First impression: The Box-One rear derailleur and the associated PushPush lever are largely made of aluminium and fibre-reinforced plastic. The ensemble is well made. A special gimmick when operating the box shifter: the gears can be shifted both up and down with just one lever. If you press the lever forwards with your thumb as usual, you change to an easier gear. If you tap the lever from above with your thumb like a biro, the chain jumps to a smaller sprocket.
In practice, you quickly get used to the alternative operation. As with Sram or Shimano, the chain jumps up to four sprockets higher on the cassette to a lighter ratio or one sprocket down to a heavier ratio with each lever movement. The rear derailleur damping on the Box One rear derailleur is somewhat weaker than the Type 2 or Shadow Plus technology of the competition and cannot be adjusted. However, the tension of the drivetrain is usually sufficient to keep the chain on the sprockets. In extremely rough terrain, however, the chain occasionally skips on the cassette.
All in all, the derailleur works well and represents a real alternative, even if you have to dig a little deeper into your pocket for the exotic status than for a Shimano XT model. The German distributor Traffic Distribution charges 200 euros for the rear derailleur and 100 euros for the lever. Sram's X01 groupset is priced at a similar level. A cassette with an 11-46 gear ratio is offered for 120 euros, but the drivetrain works with all 11-speed sprocket packs.
Box Components: Advantages and disadvantages of the Box One circuit
PLUS In the event of a breakdown, both the rear derailleur and the lever can be combined with Shimano products. The supply of spare parts on a tour is therefore guaranteed.
MINUS On our pre-production model, the coating on the cage and on the contact points of the end stops came off. The function was not impaired.
Further information on the box website: www.boxcomponents.com
