All Arround MTB

This new gearset from Box Components has been in development for a while (it started appearing at trade shows three years ago) but now we’ve finally had a chance to put some trail miles in on it – 330 miles, to be precise. Is it time for SRAM and Shimano to be worried or have the BMX-based company got some more work to do? When the Box system first appeared it was 10-speed, but with both industry leaders releasing 11-speed transmissions, they had a refresh and added another click into the mix. They’ve also designed their own 11-46t cassette, but that wasn’t available at the time of testing. A big difference with Box’s system is that there’s only one shift lever, which operates both up and downshifts. Push the dimpled alloy trigger forward and you can go down as many as four gears in a single sweep if a climb suddenly steepens. Click the forward tab of the lever – or the sharp end of the shifter if you’ve got tough thumbs – inwards into the shifter and you’ll drop into harder gea...

We've had a few months on several sets of Shimano's new flagship mechanical groupset so what do we think and where does it rank in the drivetrain charts?

SRAM has led the way in drivetrain innovation for allmountain riding ever since they introduced their radical 1x11 XX1 group in 2013. since then, 1x11 has almost taken over the market, although the wider gear range of a 2x system still has lots of appeal to certain riders, usually depending on local geography. This year, SRAM is releasing a completely new group called GX that trickles down 1x11 to lower price points and also adds flexibility by giving the riders the option to run 2x11 or 2x10 shifting setups.

SHIMANO'S LONG-AWAITED Di2 electric shifting might be the headline act of their latest-generation XTR groupset, but stripping it right down to an analogue 1x11 format reveals its outstanding level of detailing and build quality, and it's remarkably good value for money too.

IT'S GREAT TO watch technology shunt all the way down a price range over time and the Deore group now delivers all of Shimano's 2x10 durability and chain security features at a pocket money price.

X1 DELIVERS ALL the wide range single-ring simplicity, bad weather durability (compared to SRAM 2x10), decreased bike clutter and weight advantages of SRAM's 1x11 system in its most affordable - though still expensive - form.

XT M780 IS now Shimano's oldest serving MTB gearset but it's still delivering shifting in a light, smooth and ultra durable format.

IF YOU'RE NOT bothered about weight, Shimano SLX is literally a super-solid, full feature gearset.

SRAM'S RADICAL RESTRICTED range DH set-up is a rock solid close-ratio race specialist with super-positive shifting but a punishing price.

X7 IS THE cheapest way to get most of SRAM's latest 10-speed mech and shifter updates and it's a positive, secure set-up for fans of double or triple chainrings.

THE NEW XTR is Shimano's lightest groupset to date and also their first to boast an 11-speed cassette. While the 11-40t spread isn't as wide as SRAM's 10-42t X-DOME block, it has the major advantage of fitting on a standard freehub rather than needing a proprietary driver body.

Flagship groupset goes high-tech for 2015