RRP: £54.99
www.upgradebikes.co.uk

To be honest I hadn’t really heard of Microshift prior to them becoming a sponsor for The KMP. It must be a tough market with such giants as Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM but Microshift are carving out their own little niche of incredibly well made kit and very good prices. This review is just about their rear derailleur. I’m running a short cage version on the 9 speed Kinesis KM810 with a road block. I get a few confused faces when others see the set-up. Super tight ratios and a tiny mech on an MTB. One things I was worried about was running a road mech on an MTB but this White has handled the very worse in the shape of the 12hr Dusk Till Dawn 2010.

I’ve never seen mud like it and it trashed everyone’s bikes no matter what the price. It was my brakes that forced me to give up but not the drivetrain. Remarkably the White just kept on trucking through the most horrific conditions and after a wash back at base, was looking as good as new once again. Shifting flawlessly.

The derailleur really does have a quality feel about it and some lovely CNC machining work, especially the jockey wheels which allow the mud and filth to pass straight through with minimal clogging. Needless to say if it can handle this abuse on an MTB, Cross and Road bikes will handle this derailleur easily. I also love the high and low end screws not being screws at all but allen bolts. Details like that mean this is a well thought out bit of kit for the money. Recommended.