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Travis and Josh are back today with their third and final report from the 2023 Sea Otter Classic. Continue reading below for another installment of interesting bikes, products, and people from the show, in addition to a mega gallery of images from the three days of sun, fog, rides, and wild times at Laguna Seca Raceway. Did they save the best for last? Read on to find out!
We reviewed the Box Components MTB drivetrain a while back on the Desert Tan Stinner Tunnel Hardtail. It was a breath of fresh air, seeing a BMX company jump into the MTB componentry business. Well, Box has been busy since 2017 when we first reviewed their products. Just announced for 2020 is the new Prime 9 groupsets, offering a 11-50t gear range (X-Wide) in three price tiers with a 9 speed shifting mech. At the top of the line is Box One (in orange) Prime 9, the lightest of the offerings, made from carbon and with an MSRP of $627. Box Two (in red) Prime 9 is aluminum and costs a mere $270. From there, Box Three (in blue) Prime 9 is only $195. All three include a rear derailleur, cassette, shifter, and chain. The cassettes utilize the Shimano 9, 10, 11 freehub, so you don’t have to chase down a specialty driver.
This is huge news, for those looking to build up an affordable bikepacking, touring, townie, or MTB. Box’s shifting mechanism takes a little bit to get used to, but works. In our review period, I grew accustomed to it quickly, and at that price point, it’s worth it.
Box is currently accepting pre-orders now, with a December 2019 delivery, so head over to Box Components get on board.
When I first heard the news that Box Components had branched over from BMX racing products to mountain bike componentry, I was eager to get some hands-on experience with their shifter, derailleur, and big-range cassette. A few weeks later, the Box rep visited Golden Saddle Cyclery and I was able to see it. Albeit not on a bike, so when Stinner Frameworks offered to build a review bike for me, built with Box, for NAHBS, I was stoked. I love riding and reviewing hardtails and since Stinner is one of the local builders in the Los Angeles area, I like helping him out when I can, particularly when it comes to mountain bike design. Aaron Stinner had been working on their Tunnel hardtail design over the past year. Previous versions popped up here on the site and with some feedback, he had finally moved closer to nailing down the official Stinner Frameworks hardtail. The team had two bikes on display at NAHBS this year, Kyle’s Grateful Shred 27.5+ and this Fuck Yeah Desert Tan 27.5″. I was excited to try it out, but I was also looking forward to putting miles in on Box Component and Magura’s latest offerings.
