Oversize derailleur pulley cages are typically upgrading the bearings and pulley size, and there are lots of options. The new Token Shuriken for the latest Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 and Ultegra R8100 takes things a bit further by offsetting the upper pulley’s position to optimize the chain’s position relative to the cassette.
All the other features that make its OSPW system unique are here too, from the ultralight carbon fiber cage to the chamfered tooth profiles that make surprisingly little contact with the chain to reduce wear and noise. Here’s how it works.
The upper pulley is offset slightly from the cage’s pivot point. It’s subtle, maybe only 6-7 mm, but it’s enough. Offset upper pulleys are nothing new, they’re used on wide-range mountain bikes and gravel drivetrains to help bring the pulley further down as you shift into bigger cogs, thereby allowing more room while letting modern derailleurs use a more stable horizontal articulation.
With Shimano’s top-end cassettes now coming in only two (historically) large 11-30 and 11-34 options, the road cassette has up to a 23-tooth gap to cover. Token says this new Shuriken’s offset design keeps the chain closer to the cassette across the entire gear range while allowing them to run bigger pulleys for better system efficiency.
Token’s Shuriken uses a 13-tooth upper pulley and 19-tooth lower, both with ceramic bearings. By contrast, Shimano’s stock 11-tooth pulleys seem puny. To be fair, the new Shimano groups shift extremely well, so I’ve requested a Shuriken to test on the new group.
Weight is halfway between the Ultegra and Dura-Ace, pricing TBA (we will update when we get it).
Not willing to void your very expensive derailleur’s warranty? They make a wide variety of drop-in derailleur pulley replacements for Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo derailleurs.
Token S-Box & M-Box Stealth Routing Headsets
Much like the new Ritchey headsets, Token is looking to provide more options for frame manufacturers and builders beyond FSA and Deda (not that there’s anything wrong with those).
The S-Box and M-Box headsets are for road/gravel bikes (shown above) and mountain bikes that use the 1.5-inch upper and lower headset cup standards. Top caps and spacers allow cables and hoses to run into the headset while using a standard stem and handlebar.
A variety of parts and spacers help it fit brake hoses, shift and dropper post cable housing, and shift wires, while still letting you get the stack height where you need it.
The M-Box and B-Box for mountain bikes (including e-bikes, with slots for bike-powered light and computer wires) come in two versions, one with its Rotation Block that limits how far the handlebar can turn so it doesn’t smash into your top tube if you wreck.
Token has also updated some of its wheels with hookless rim profiles for easier tubeless setup. The ROUBX G33 (shown above) is its 33mm deep gravel wheel with a 25.3mm internal width. Above it is the Konax Tri Disc with 76.3mm deep aero rims.
