If you were going to build a new brand, going up against Shimano and SRAM may not be on the top of most people’s lists of launch strategies. But Toby Henderson isn’t just anybody, and his relatively young Box Components brand is doing just that. Why? They wanted to offer people another choice.
We spotted the shifter at DealerCamp this summer, and now he’s added the rear derailleur in an effort to bring a complete drivetrain to market. Both have some unique features – not just to avoid patent disputes, but also to improve the user experience.
On the rear mech, there are O-ring seals at all the pivots. All pins are hollow to save weight, and the main pivot is 30mm wide to keep it super stuff and precise. Long lasting Delrin pulleys are rolling on sealed cartridge bearings.
Shift down for detail pics and specs, plus a look at their sweet new four piston brakes…
Articulation is pretty straightforward with a design that doesn’t protrude too far away from the frame in the smallest cog, helping keep it out of harm’s way.
The cable housing stay is spring loaded so it’s less likely to snap off in a wreck. This feature may or may not make it to the final production version. It’s nifty, but losing it would save a few grams. As is, target weight is 235g.
The main pivot for the upper parallelogram is a massive 30mm wide.
Shifter is about 118g and uses a unique lever movement to shift the derailleur. It’ll come with two levers -one short, one long- and there’s a small spacer (silver wedge) in the clamp to let you adjust the angle.
Push it around like normal to shift easier (in the rear) and depress it to shift harder. It’s mounted at an odd angle on this bike, but in practice it’s more ergonomic than it sounds.
The front shifter will come in options for both double and triple chainring setups. At the moment, there’s no Box front derailleur, but the shifter will pull cable appropriate for any SRAM or Shimano front mech.
Look for an April/May availability with pricing in par with XT. They’re working toward offering a complete group, likely taking their BMX crank design and modifying it for gravity mountain biking at first. They’re also looking at single chainring options. A cassette will be a wide range model but stick to 10-speeds at first. That keeps things compatible with current cassettes from others.
