Always there to offer alternatives to extend your drivetrain, Garbaruk has added a GRX cage upgrade that expands the capacity of Shimano’s gravel derailleurs up to a 50T cog out back. No need to switch over to SRAM AXS or go 12-speed, Garbaruk’s 11-50T 11-speed cassette and a number of new GRX compatible round & oval 1x chainrings will have you adventuring & bikepacking in no time. Oh, and who can argue with those anodized colors…
Garbaruk extended Shimano GRX 11sp derailleur cage
With growing options for wide-ranging 1x gearing, more riders are looking to take advantage. Especially the adventurous gravel & bikepacking crowd looks for easy gearing & simple drivetrain, without sacrificing top-end speed for paved sections. Hacks like Budget Mullet SRAM 1x + Eagle reduce the need to drop a ton of cash on AXS, but for those who prefer Shimano shifting (and more often Shimano braking), Garbaruk’s extended cages are a straightforward solution. All you need to do is unbolt the stock derailleur cage, bolt on the Garbaruk replacement, and your max cog goes from the standard 42T up to a 50T. The derailleur stays 11-speed (which is governed by the shifter, of course), meaning you will simply need a wide-range 11sp cassette, and likely a longer chain (unless you are equally reducing chainring size to compensate.
Garbaruk even claims the geometry of their extended GRX cage will improve shift performance of your Shimano derailleur, offering better optimized distance between the pulleys and both the smallest & largest cogs on your cassette. The 47g 7075-T6 aluminum cage is CNC machined in Poland, and is compatible with both mechanical & Di2 versions of the GRX rear derailleur (RX812 & RX817). It does not appear to work with a RX810 derailleur.
The extended GRX cage sells for 59€ and is available in eight different anodized colors. For an extra 60€, you can add a set of Garbaruk oversized 11+16T derailleur pulleys to improve drivetrain efficiency.
Garbaruk 11-speed 11-50 Shimano HG cassette
Of course you need a new 11-speed cassette to get the full benefit of that GRX derailleur upgrade, and Garbaruk can help there, too. At just 295g, their lightweight 11-speed 11-50 cassette fits on a Shimano HG freehub (XD and smaller versions are also available.) The wide 11sp cassette is machined from a monoblock of hardened steel with a color anodized aluminum largest cog, and sells for 205€.
But it appears that if you buy the cassette, you can get a cage for just 34€. It looks like the crossover combo deal was originally just intended for the Shimano MTB extended cage, but could now apply to GRX too if you contact Garbaruk directly.
Garbaruk GRX round & oval chainrings
While you are updating out back, you could probably sort out a new chainring, too. (This is starting to add up, isn’t it?) New Garbaruk GRX 1x chainrings are shaped to work seamlessly on your GRX RX600 or RX810 cranks, letting you pick round or 12% oval rings.
Either option is again CNC-machined in Europe from 7075-T6 alloy, with Garbaruk’s own tall narrow-wide tooth profiling. The rings are available in the full range of 8 anodized colors. The rings sell for 69-76€ depending on the number of teeth, offered from 38-52T.
All of the extended GRX cages, chainrings & wide 11sp cassettes are in tock and shipping within two days.
