TESTED: microSHIFT Advent Super Short

Words: Ryan Walsch
Photos: Jordan Riddle

Taiwanese drivetrain manufacturer MicroSHIFT have been producing durable, quality options for mountain bikers and road riders alike. More recent years have seen 1 x specific group sets, the Acolyte, Advent and Advent X and now the Advent Super Short for wheels down to 20inches. With many brands offering quality kids bikes with lower weights, suspension, disc brakes and big tyres, MicroSHIFT have designed a new 9 speed group set (cassette, derailleur and shifter) with increased ground clearance, bigger cassette range, increased durability and performance and better ergonomics than other group sets typically found on these bikes.

MicroSHIFT say Advent is “Designed to Survive” and it certainly looks robust and well-made with no slop in the parallelogram whatsoever which is something that plagues many derailleurs and does affect the quality of the shift.

There is nice attention to detail on the shifter too, a small silicon pad adorns the thumbs downshift lever paddle, a soft and welcomed addition to a shifter designed for small hands. The shifters paddles are much closer to the bar, with a crisp and far shorter lever throw (amount of movement required to engage the next gear) than the competition, 43% less throw in fact at a mere 20mm. Changing gears for kids can be a bit overwhelming, many kid’s bikes have a grip shift style shifter which can be really stiff and difficult for small hands with most grip shifters being large in diameter and not designed for smaller hands. This MicroSHIFT Advent shifter is designed specifically for small hands and sits neatly next to the major brake brands levers we tried it with, giving parents or mechanics room to set it up in an ergonomic position for the small rider.

In addition to a shifter that’s actually designed for smaller hands, the cassette range at 11-38 teeth is drastically bigger than all competition’s 9 speed drivetrain offerings, giving little riders lower gear ratios with a more even spread between the gears so they can keep on top of the gear and be less frustrated on the way up to their favorite trail. 

Installation

The Advent Super Short is compatible with most 20 inch bikes introducing no new standards to the industry. The only requirement is a HG freehub body (not a screw on multiple freewheel like some kid’s bikes). Fitment was very simple, the 11-38 tooth cassette went onto the HG freehub nice and snugly (some cheap cassettes are a bit loose) and the derailleur was easy to adjust with nice quality metric limit and B-tension screws.

On the Trail

As I couldn’t ride my 6 year old daughter’s 20 inch bike on the trail, I stuck to the carpark so I didn’t smash my knees into the stem. But I quizzed her after each ride we did, with some very open ended questions to see what she thought. We compared the MicroSHIFT Advent Super Short to an 1 x 8 speed grip shift setup on another kid’s bike and the SRAM 1 x 10 GX short cage setup that I had set her bike up with previously. 

She didn’t like the grip shift at all, finding it clunky and stiff. She frequently got shifting into an easier gear and a harder gear confused.

It was much easier to shift into an easier gear on the MicroSHIFT than on both other options as the shift is very light and she didn’t have to push the lever very far. She did find shifting into a harder gear a bit harder using the Advent as it requires the index finger to leave the brake lever and click it rather than the upward thumb shift of the SRAM but after a few rides she didn’t mention it again so this is probably a habit thing more than anything else.

Concerns

The group set has performed flawlessly throughout the test, a few tip overs and a straightened hanger later and there were no issues. To be picky, the clutch lever is a bit akward and something a parent would be helping with anyway. It might also get damaged as it’s on the outside on the derailleur body. The cable entry angle to the cable stop is a bit harsh in my opinion but it shifts very smoothly and has no signs of premature cable wear. Overall this is a very neat little derailleur with smooth shifting ramps on the cassette making it a huge upgrade for any 20 inch bike.

Our Take

A huge improvement on what kids bikes are normally equipped with, the range and lightness of the shift combined with the shifter’s ergonomics make this something all kid’s bikes should be equipped with stock. Bike brands, please stop fitting cheap grip shift style shifters and fit the Advent MicroSHIFT Super Short!

RRP: $269.95
From: KWTimports.com.au

Hits:

• Better gear range and ergonomics than most kid’s bikes have
• Clutch mechanism
• Light action

Misses:

• Nothing major