Shimano GRX finally gets shorter cranks and bigger rings

Bike show season is upon us, and Shimano has announced a few small but worthwhile updates.

The Japanese manufacturer has built a reputation for being rather conservative when it comes to meeting emerging trends. Until now, its gravel-focused GRX range had forced riders seeking shorter cranks or larger chainrings to turn to alternative brands. Today, Shmano partially fills that gap. And yes, it’s about damn time.

In addition to new crank choices, Shimano also announced a new 2x11 option in its CUES range for budget road and all-road bikes.

Let’s take a quick look.

GRX crank things

As recently covered in a comparison review between SRAM Force XPLR E1 and  Shimano’s new GRX Di2 1x, one negative to Shimano’s offering is its incredibly limited range of crank lengths and chainring sizes.

Review: Shimano GRX Di2 1x versus SRAM Force XPLR E1Battle of the latest 1x electronic gravel groupsets.Escape CollectiveDave Rome

Its upper-tier RX820 crank was previously only available in 170, 172.5, and 175 mm lengths. If you wanted a 165 mm length, you’d need to step down to the cheaper and heavier RX610 crank. And if you wanted a 160 mm crank, well, you’d be looking at more expensive options from Rotor, Praxis, Cybrei, Appleman, Easton, or similar.

Finally, Shimano has corrected this. You can now get the RX820-level cranks in 160 and 165 mm options, in addition to the pre-existing longer lengths.

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