Limited Exclusive Edition Box One Presented by Neil Patrick Harris Game

Product Information

The maximum jump between gears is eight teeth (consistently between the lowest three gears), with the jumps decreasing as the gears become higher. The consistency of the gaps makes adjusting cadence to a gear change more gradual. Box Components Box One Prime 9 drivetrain compared to SRAM NX Eagle, SRAM GX Eagle and Shimano SLX, XT and XTR Reducing tension on the adjustable clutch did lighten upshifting but increased the amount of chain slap and reduced overall chain stability, making the adjustment to a lighter setting a compromise not worth making.

Compatible with HG Freehub Bodies. Compatible with Standard Derailleur Hangers (Non Direct-Mount). Compatible with most 10,11, & 12-speed wide / narrow chain rings. Prime 9 chain must be used. The cable release lever was also quite stiff but felt way more positive. It was only possible to shift one gear at a time, though. The chain, made from hardened alloy steel, has chamfered shifting edges to increase shifting performance, and solid plates and pins to make it stronger.From a pricing perspective, Box Components Box One Prime 9 drivetrain is comparable to SRAM’s GX Eagle level (once you’ve removed the cranks and chainring from the GX groupset).

The factory setting for the derailleur’s clutch is stiff, which means its initial movement has a significant resistance peak before the cage is able to smoothly pivot forwards.General operation was quiet, too, and shifting under power was good – as long as the shift lever was pushed far and hard enough. The cassette uses Shimano’s Hyper Glide (HG) freehub body which is different to SRAM’s XD Driver and Shimano’s Micro Spline system. Installation was relatively straightforward and I was particularly thankful for the shifter’s hinged bar clamp, which meant I didn’t need to remove the grips or brake lever from the bar to install it. Although the derailleur’s limit screws and b-tension were easy to set, indexing the gears was much harder than I was expecting. Cable tension was very sensitive and there was an incredibly small sweet spot where the gears shifted well. I didn’t find myself stretching lower gears out with increased cadences on flatter sections or grinding up steeper hills in higher gears for longer because the gear ratios were too far apart.

The Box One Prime 9 drivetrain might last longer than SRAM’s offerings – thanks to the chunkier chain and cassette – but I don’t think you’d be able to live with the high-resistance shifter lever once you’ve experienced a lighter system.Because the derailleur’s cable stop is positioned vertically (similar to Shimano) a large loop of cable is required to avoid a sharp bend that could reduce shifting performance. The cable-pull lever can shift four gears at once if pushed far enough, but accessing the last shift is virtually impossible while riding because of the amount of travel required to engage the gear. However, general shifting was good and with a positive push of the lever (more on this below) the derailleur didn’t miss any shifts and wasn’t hesitant in its operation. It also happily shifted gears under power.