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Advent X vs 12 sp GX vs 12sp SLX/XT

8030 Views 14 Replies 10 Participants Last post by loranbriggs, 4 mo ago

uphiller

Discussion Starter · Oct 29, 2021

Hi everyone,
I am going to build up my first new bike in a long time and am torn about which drivetrain to use. I ride trail- nothing extreme.
I was wondering what everyone's opinions are about Advent X vs the latest 12 speed drivetrains from the big guys.
-SRAM XD and Shimano Microspline cassette bodies are the future. The Hyperglide used on older hubs, and Advent X, probably is going to be around for a long time- right?
-Some people complain that the jumps between gears in 12 speed (Shimano or SRAM) are so small that you end up double shifting a lot. Sounds right, but am not sure myself.
-Some people complain that 12 speed (Shimano and SRAM) comes out of adjustment easily and that you spend a fair amount of time twiddling barrel adjusters to get things right again. Again, sounds right, but am not sure myself.
-Reviews say that Shimano's 12 speed Hyperglide Plus stuff has much better shifting into a higher gear under load than non-Hyperglide stuff. Never tried, but can't say, and am skeptical of marketing stuff and professional reviews. Can anyone speak to the shifting under load of M7100/ M8100 stuff?
-SRAM has a reputation for poor build quality. Not sure if that's jsut SX and NX, or if it even is true of GX.
-Advent X is light and cheap, but I saw a review on YouTube where somebody with normal use bent a tooth on the cassette, and had weird clicking noises. Bikeradar also says that the shifter feels slightly vague, cheap and slow compared to Shimano and SRAM. Not sure what to believe on these points.
In reality, I probably can't go wrong, but still want to make the best choice possible. So anyone's thoughts and comparisons informed by personal experience are greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

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p1nhead

· #2 · Oct 29, 2021

Don't know anything about Advent X - but the part about "featuring zero new standards" got me right in the feels... https://www.microshift.com/news/advent-x/

Box also has their Prime 9 groups which are a wide-range 9 speed option, that also look pretty compelling. https://boxcomponents.com/collections/prime-9

I definitely like the concept, but I don't have any experience at all with these alternative drivetrains.

Taroroot

· #3 · Oct 29, 2021

uphiller said:
Hi everyone,
I am going to build up my first new bike in a long time and am torn about which drivetrain to use. I ride trail- nothing extreme.
I was wondering what everyone's opinions are about Advent X vs the latest 12 speed drivetrains from the big guys.
-SRAM XD and Shimano Microspline cassette bodies are the future. The Hyperglide used on older hubs, and Advent X, probably is going to be around for a long time- right?
-Some people complain that the jumps between gears in 12 speed (Shimano or SRAM) are so small that you end up double shifting a lot. Sounds right, but am not sure myself.
-Some people complain that 12 speed (Shimano and SRAM) comes out of adjustment easily and that you spend a fair amount of time twiddling barrel adjusters to get things right again. Again, sounds right, but am not sure myself.
-Reviews say that Shimano's 12 speed Hyperglide Plus stuff has much better shifting into a higher gear under load than non-Hyperglide stuff. Never tried, but can't say, and am skeptical of marketing stuff and professional reviews. Can anyone speak to the shifting under load of M7100/ M8100 stuff?
-SRAM has a reputation for poor build quality. Not sure if that's jsut SX and NX, or if it even is true of GX.
-Advent X is light and cheap, but I saw a review on YouTube where somebody with normal use bent a tooth on the cassette, and had weird clicking noises. Bikeradar also says that the shifter feels slightly vague, cheap and slow compared to Shimano and SRAM. Not sure what to believe on these points.
In reality, I probably can't go wrong, but still want to make the best choice possible. So anyone's thoughts and comparisons informed by personal experience are greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

About the only time ive had to fiddle with barrel adjusters on my 12spd shimano is when hanger gets bent. Which isnt really the best fix. Im pretty much Shimano, but a rental i had a couple years back had SRAM and it was ok. Did Not like the SRam brakes, but shifting was ok.

Grinchy8

· #4 · Oct 29, 2021

I’ve put on two Acolyte, an advent 9, and a adventx this year. They all shifted fine and had no complaints. I like the wide range cassette with Acolyte the best (it’s cheaper but heavier than x). The adventx is better overall, but 2x as much as acolyte. Advent9 just pick x or acolyte.
Range is fine on all of them. I’m not someone who cares very much as long as there is a gear near what I want. I guess the 10 spd is a little better in this regard.
The shifters all work as good as the xt and deore shifters I’ve used before.

chiefsilverback

· #5 · Oct 30, 2021

I put Advent X on my gravel bike this year, using the matching brifters and it's pretty much flawless. I do push it to the limit because most of the time I run it with a 42T chainring so getting it dialed in is a pain, but when I swapped to a 34T for a bikepacking trip it was perfect.

I also put it on one of my kids' bikes last year and it works great there.

Hardtail Party on YouTube swears by Advent X as a simple, reliable drivetrain option.

jrhone

· #6 · Oct 30, 2021

I had a advent 1x9 and reviews say the 10 speed advent x is identical with an extra gear. Its like the ford truck of drivetrains. Works. Not the smoothest. Not the fastest. Not the lightest. Not the prettiest. But dependable. I replaced it with a Box One 1x11. Better in every way but more money. Lighter, better shifting, better gear range. New bike has Shimano 1x12 Deore. Best of those three by far. Zero adjustments so far in 850 miles. Yes the Shimano allows you to shift under load. No you cant with the advent or Box. I dont find that i am doubles shifting at all. If it were me, get the Deore 6100 system. The 7100/8100/9100 systems dont provide much more performance at all. You are paying for lighter weight. Its all compatible with slx/xt/xtr. so when things wear out then upgrade if you need. To me its not even close. Never used SRAM but have read the lower priced systems dont perform as well as the higher end systems.

NordieBoy

· #7 · Oct 30, 2021

jrhone said:
I had a advent 1x9 and reviews say the 10 speed advent x is identical with an extra gear. Its like the ford truck of drivetrains. Works. Not the smoothest. Not the fastest. Not the lightest. Not the prettiest. But dependable.

AdventX is lighter than XT.

Reactions: 2

jrhone

· #8 · Oct 30, 2021

NordieBoy said:
AdventX is lighter than XT.

yup that was about the advent 1x9 that i had. Advent X 10 speed is lighter than xt 12 speed by 25g.

749800

· #9 · Oct 30, 2021

My (adult) kid went from 12-speed GX to 12-speed XT/SLX and then finally to AventX 10 speed. He considers it to be superior to either of the 12-speed options. (The SRAM GX Eagle derailleurs, in particular, were too fragile for the way he rides.)

749800

· #10 · Oct 30, 2021

jrhone said:
I had a advent 1x9 and reviews say the 10 speed advent x is identical with an extra gear. Its like the ford truck of drivetrains. Works. Not the smoothest. Not the fastest. Not the lightest. Not the prettiest. But dependable. I replaced it with a Box One 1x11. Better in every way but more money. Lighter, better shifting, better gear range. New bike has Shimano 1x12 Deore. Best of those three by far. Zero adjustments so far in 850 miles. Yes the Shimano allows you to shift under load. No you cant with the advent or Box. I dont find that i am doubles shifting at all. If it were me, get the Deore 6100 system. The 7100/8100/9100 systems dont provide much more performance at all. You are paying for lighter weight. Its all compatible with slx/xt/xtr. so when things wear out then upgrade if you need. To me its not even close. Never used SRAM but have read the lower priced systems dont perform as well as the higher end systems.

We have the Advent 9, The Advent X, and a Box One 1x11, on three different bikes, so it isn't a completely controlled experiment, but we found Advent X works the best of the three, with Box One a close second (on an otherwise SLX 11-speed drive-train). My wife has the Advent 9, and she is a bit annoyed with how it behaves while shifting.

(The Box One also worked better as a 12-speed [sic] derailleur than SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed.)

jrhone

· #11 · Oct 30, 2021

www.bikeradar.com

Microshift Advent X drivetrain review

Taking on the drivetrain titans, Microshift hopes to wow with a compelling price

www.bikeradar.com

Thats a good overview..the reviewer also compares it the Sram NX and Deore 6100. He puts it ahead of the NX and behind the Deore 6100. Downside to him was the shift feel.

If 10 speed is ok with you...hard to beat the Advent X.

Brad In A Van

· #12 · Oct 30, 2021

I’ve been running Advent X on my Wednesday since it was new. Some things I’ve noticed: I don’t double shift nearly as much, it’s easy to install and set up, adjustments don’t have to be as precise as 12 speed stuff, if you run an 11 speed chain the clicking sounds go away, there’s only been a couple times where I wished I had an “in between” gear that would be on a 12 speed.

I love the simplicity of it and the price is right. My girlfriend’s bike got converted to 1x and an Acolyte group. And I’ll be putting Advent X on my Straggler when the Sram pieces need replaced.

jrhone

· #13 · Oct 30, 2021

For me its not the in between gears, its the 2 on the ends. I climb in the 51 often and on fast runs will hit the 10 gear as well.

uphiller

Discussion Starter · #14 · Oct 30, 2021

p1nhead said:
Don't know anything about Advent X - but the part about "featuring zero new standards" got me right in the feels... https://www.microshift.com/news/advent-x/

Box also has their Prime 9 groups which are a wide-range 9 speed option, that also look pretty compelling. https://boxcomponents.com/collections/prime-9

I definitely like the concept, but I don't have any experience at all with these alternative drivetrains.

I like the idea of no new standards, but the reality is that at some point the sort of new standard (XD driver) and the very new standard (Microspline) will both be commonplace and Hyperglide cassette bodies will get hard to find. Also, Microshift talks about new standards... and their shifter and derailleur don't play with other drivetrain companies' stuff... Still- I find Advent X to be compelling offer in terms of price and weight. Remaining concern: longevity.

loranbriggs

· #15 · 4 mo ago

I have the Sram SX and Sram Apex 1 on two different bikes. You're right about the 12 speed requiring double shifting quite frequently, rarely do I need only one gear away when the terrain shifts, I often need two or three gears away. This happens way less frequently on my 11 speed Apex 1 (on another bike). Also the SX is hot garbage when it comes to alignment, so I can confidently recommend you avoiding the SX, hopefully the higher end Sram isn't as bad. I'm Advent X curious myself and considering an upgrade to it. Mostly for the easy of adjustment and less shifting I hope to get out of the 10 speed, the weight savings is an added bonus and fair price.

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