Category: Drive Train Parts

We had the opportunity to attend the recent Shimano GRX Press Camp in Columbia Falls, Montana. There, we received a glimpse into the future of gravel bikes and components, including Shimano’s awesome new GRX Di2 electronic gravel groupset.

In May, Shimano caused quite a stir when it announced GRX, the world’s first dedicated gravel road components. It’s a bold move from the Japanese component giant, and it’s a sign of the direction they see cycling moving in the future. We recently got an exclusive first ride on Shimano’s GRX mechanical group and here are our first impressions.

I applaud the coming of ‘adventure’ geared cranks and kudos to Shimano for finally jumping in. I think that the 46/30 is a nice thing to have for a large segment of the gravel population, bike packers, etc. Unfortunately, if it is not perfect for your needs, it’s not like you get a chance to choose a different crank set-up when you buy your bike, forcing you to make what could be a costly swap to get what you want.

But frankly neither one are what I want. What would I want? How about a 46/36 or 46/34 with an 11-40 rear cassette? Not with the components I have though, unless I could make it work with something like Wolftooth’s Road Link, but with 2x, I still have to deal with the capacity of the rear derailleur to handle chain slack.

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