There is no denying the fact that modern mountain bike drivetrains are really good. Thanks to the wide range cassettes and clutched derailleurs, 1x drivetrains have become the most common set up. But they can also be quite expensive. Not to mention requiring new freehub designs to make it all work.
That’s why the new microSHIFT Advent X group might be very appealing for a number of riders. Not only does it offer high end wide range 1x performance on a budget, it doesn’t require any new standards to use.
The 10 speed Advent X cassette has an 11-48t spread and features mostly steel cogs, but with alloy used for the two largest cogs and the carrier. That makes it lighter than most of the competing cassettes with 50 or 51t cogs. More importantly, it uses the standard Shimano HG freehub body meaning that if you have an older bike, you can upgrade your drivetrain without changing anything.
Moving the chain through that cassette is the RD-M6205AM rear derailleur.
The derailleur has a rebuildable clutch with an on/off switch at the knuckle. The proprietary clutch system is a bit different though as it uses a ratchet and pawl mechanism to control unwanted derailleur movement.
Up front, the SL-M9605-R shifter moves up and down through the gears. The shifter appears to use thumb/thumb actuation with two separate paddles, both with silicone traction pads. Note that this shifter is not compatible with Shimano or SRAM derailleurs, only the Advent X rear derailleur.
In total, the group comes out lighter than Shimano XT or SRAM GX. However, both those groups have slightly wider ranges, so it’s not a completely fair comparison.
But still, the group is respectably light and very affordable. Pricing is said to be just under $167 for everything in the highest end configuration. That includes the cassette at $64.99, derailleur at $71.99, and the shifter at $29.99. The group is available now through your local MicroSpline dealer.
