There was a point in time when you endlessly scoured the internet looking for the perfect bike. We can’t actually see your bike, but we have a strong feeling you made the right choice.
Well, we hate to break it to you. Your shiny new bike isn’t shiny anymore. Wear and tear is taking its toll, and your ride desperately needs a new drivetrain.
With newer technologies and an ever-growing number of options, choosing the best drivetrain for your bike isn’t as easy as it used to be.
Fortunately, we’ve saved you the hassle and put together two of the most popular brands side-by-side.
In this article, we’ll take a look at Microshift vs. Box Components. We’ll compare their key features and extensively cover all their products. If you aren’t convinced by spec sheets and want to see a comprehensive, real-world comparison, you’ve come to the right place!
Key Features Compared
After an extended review period for both companies, we broke down this comparison into four major areas: product range, drivetrains, durability, and price.
Product Range
Both companies manufacture a wide range of products, mainly for BMX and mountain bikes. However, Box Components offers a much larger catalog of bike parts. From brackets, hubs, and headsets to spare parts like bolts and spring kits, Box has got you covered.
Microshift
Microshift was established in 1999 by a group of veteran bikers in Taiwan. The group had hoped to refine the bikers’ experience with robust drivetrains and reliable components.
Equipped with specialized machinery and an arsenal of Taiwanese facilities, Microshift wasn’t kidding around. Two decades later, their nine-speed Advent drivetrain is among the best in the market, and their other products are quick to follow suit.
So, what does Microshift offer? Aside from their three drivetrain sets, which we’ll get to later, Microshift offers shifters, derailleurs (front and rear), and cassettes.
Their products are tailored for mountain, gravel, and road bikes. There’s a wide variety of components to choose from, but you’ll have to rely on third-party manufacturers for most spare parts.
Box Components
Box Components was officially founded in 2012. However, its history trails back to the early 1980s.
Toby Henderson had spent over two decades cutting his teeth as a professional MTB and BMX racer. After 20 racing seasons and several accolades, Toby decided to found Box Components.
Box has a rather simple philosophy: to offer reliable bike components with the perfect balance of comfort, durability, and performance.
Their best-selling drivetrain, Prime 9, is considered one of their most successful groupsets. Other than drivetrains, Box offers an incredible range of bike components. From spoke kits to lockrings and cogs, every spare part you can think of can be found on their online store.
Drivetrains
Drivetrains are the key components of your bike. They usually include pedals, derailleurs, cogs, cranks, chains, and chainrings.
Drivetrains are also the ultimate way to showcase a company’s product line. It’s everything the company has to offer packed together into one product.
This is why drivetrains are a critical point in this comparison. Many manufacturers offer high-quality components that, on paper, seem flawless. However, take the bike for a spin and you’ll quickly be over-encumbered with unreliable shifts and horrible clutch control.
Microshift
Microshift’s Advent X is considered the better-performing drivetrain for two reasons. One, it’s significantly more affordable than Box’s Prime 9 drivetrain. Two, it’s reliable and uncomplicated.
The Advent X is super light, featuring a top-of-the-line alloy spider cassette, a rear derailleur that uses a ratchet and pawl clutch, and the Trail Trigger Pro shifter.
It’s a shame Microshift doesn’t offer cranks, chains, or brackets in its groupset. However, the HG freehub cassette allows for maximum compatibility. This means you can easily find third-party products to complete your setup.
The result is an impressive build that takes advantage of its light weight and build quality to surpass more expensive drivetrains from other brands.
Box Components
Prime 9 is considered the direct competitor of Microshift’s Advent X. Their Box One groupset features a chain, cassette, shifter, and rear derailleur, for almost triple the price of the Advent X.
Yes, you heard that right. The Prime 9 drivetrain is expensive, and it promises better design elements and durability than its competition.
The Prime 9 offers consistent performance and reliable chain control. We can’t say that it’s worse than the Advent X by any means, but the huge difference in price makes it fairly easy to declare a winner.
Durability and Performance
Durability and performance are integral parts of any comparison. However, when it comes to Microshift vs. Box Components, it’s a stalemate.
Don’t get us wrong, both brands are fundamentally different in how they’re built. Box favors simplicity in their designs whereas Microshift goes for a more modern feel.
Both brands use lightweight components, great chain control, accurate shifting, and overall similar performances.
In the end, it all comes down to personal preference. Some people prefer Microshift’s “light and clicky” shifter and praise its responsive traction pad. Others say Box Components handles tough terrains better due to the more durable body and cage.
Price
Across all products, Microshift’s products are much more affordable than Box Components. From drivetrains to spare parts, Microshift usually matches the same performance for roughly half the price.
Microshift
There’s a limited range of products at Microshift. You can only purchase derailleurs, shifters, or cassettes, but you’ll be getting the best value for your money.
Buyers who choose Microshift usually stick with it in the long run. It’s easy to fall in love with the compelling price point and excellent performance throughout their product line.
In the unfortunate event one of the components fails, your wallet won’t take a hit when you replace the damaged parts. Microshift truly stood apart from the competition with its affordable products.
Box Components
Box Components offer just about anything in their store. You can also order your components directly from their website, which makes the whole process more convenient.
If you choose Box Components, be ready to pay a premium price. There’s an ongoing debate on whether Box offers the same value for money as Microshift.
A lot of consumers love Box Components’ products and don’t mind paying the extra dollar for better durability and performance. During our review phase, we failed to appreciate improved durability than the competition, and the performance was just “fine.”
In Conclusion
All in all, we can’t help but recommend Microshift over Box Components. Each brand has its own philosophy to reach superior durability and improved performance. However, Microshift manages to tick all the boxes with its affordable products, solid build quality, and incredible performance.