Crux 2021

[toronto-rider]

Sourced the parts from all over the world, as I wanted just GRX shifters and no calipers, as I was planning to get the new 12-speed Ultegra calipers, as supposed there is more space between the calipers compared to the older generation.
That took some time, as no one was willing to sell me just 12-speed calipers, I could buy a complete group, but not individual parts locally.
Got a store to contact Shimano USA and they had them in stock and got them fairly easy.

How do you like the GRX shifter/Ultegra Caliper combo? I've heard some reports that the lever engages a bit too close to the bar with the new calipers on older levers.

Can you clarify, what you mean by "engages a bit too close to the bar" what bar are you referring to, the handle bar?

Yes, the handlebar. Ie, the bite point for the brakes is too far into the lever travel. Have you found this to be the case on your setup?

No not at all, why I was going with the Ultegra calipers as apposed to the GRX ones, is I read that there is a little more space in the new design, but, once I spoke to Shimano at an event I was at this weekend, the calipers are the almost identical. You only get that benfit by using the new 12 speed shifters and calipers.

[Greg0rE]

Finally got this one built 2022 54cm Crux Pro in 54cm. 16.80 lb with cages, pedals and Wahoo front mount
Frame- Crux pro 54cm painted
Stem- S Works 110mm
Bars- Enve AR 40cm
Seatpost- Enve 25mm setback
Saddle- Pro Stealth Carbon curved 140mm
Shifters- SRAM Froce AXS with wireless blips on tops
Tape- Zipp Service Course CX
Brake Calipers- SRAM Red flat mount
Crankset- SRAM Red 170mm with 44 tooth ring and Quarq
Rear Derailleur- SRAM Eagle XX1
Cassette- SRAM Eagle XX1 10-50
Chain- XX1
Pedals- HT M1 with titanium spindles
Wheels- Farsports 30mm hooked, not holes, 25mm internal. DT 180 hubs, Sapim X-Ray spokes.
Tires- Donnelley MSO WC 700x40 tubeless
Cages King titanium with One-up pump bracket
Wahoo mount- Amazon out front type. $15

How are you finding the mullet setup on it? I am debating going the same way with an oval ring on my 56cm 2022 S-Works frame.

Unsure what crankset to go with as the Red one does not leave much chainring choice with it's 107BCD

[renoracing]

I'll toss my hat in the ring... I was able to source a frameset for this colorway, which meant that I wasn't obligated to buy the Sram build and swap it out for my GRX Di2 setup. I was a little leery of the warnings from Specialized regarding the crank/chainring compatability, but even with my P2Max spider, the EC90 Cranks and 48/31 chainrings clear just fine, and shift great. Tire clearance isn't impacted at all, as the derailleur never gets inboard of the chainstay. The build was really easy, as is to be expected with Specialized, regarding their tolerances and finish quality.

Thrilled with the pretty effortless weight of 7.9kg/17.48lbs as shown with a rather heavy 11-36 cassette, and some old 105 pedals...

[alui]

Another chainline question. Just built up a 54 cm frame with GRX 800 1X 40T crank and XT 11-42 cassette. I installed the 1.8mm spacer on the freehub. Chain falls down cassettee when back pedalling in larger cogs becuase of the angled chain line. Bike is otherwise setup properly. Will reducing the chain line fix this? How much reduction in chain line? Should I use chain ring spacers or a different chain ring with a different offset? I didn't check to see if this happened on the stock SRAM Rival crank which has a narrower offset.

[fa63]

Here is my '22 Crux; I used the Ratio Technology kit to convert it to 1x13 using an Ekar cassette. Works great!

Shown here with 700x50c Gravelking SK tires; weighs 19 lbs.

[rjich]

V cool 13 SPD mod. May I ask where you procured the Reynolds freehubs for AR wheels? I've had problems trying to find an xdr let alone campg

[fa63]

V cool 13 SPD mod. May I ask where you procured the Reynolds freehubs for AR wheels? I've had problems trying to find an xdr let alone campg

I called Hayes (who now own Reynolds) and ordered from them directly. I do work at a bike shop though. That said, any shop should be able to do the same for you (US-based shops at least).

[rjich]

Thanks for the info!

[stlrider]

Finally got my hands on a frame and built it up last week. I ordered a 10r frame the day they announced the bike, and my December 2021 delivery date turned into no delivery date turned into July 2023 delivery.

Few weeks ago I found an S-Works Frameset in my size, so I cancelled my theoretical 10r frame and bought it. Manufacturing date of August 2021, so the shop I got this from has been sitting on it for awhile. Wasn't sure how I'd feel about the paint, but I love it in person. If I was gonna go S-Works, I wanted the all black with the big annoying white S-Works logo on the downtube.






7.97kg / 17.59 lbs as pictured and I wasn't even trying to weight weenie it (GRX is heavy after all)

61cm S-Works frameset, full set of spacers.
Included alpinist seatpost
44cm Roval Terra bars
90mm S-Works stem
GRX 2x di2 group
Power2Max NG Eco Gravel 46/31 power meter paired to Praxis Zayante Carbon Crank.
SRAM Red 11/32 cassette
Terra CLX Wheels
Pirelli Cinturato H tires (514g ea )
Power Expert saddle (bad luck w/ carbon shells offroad in the past)

I was gonna try the Rotor Aldhu Carbon crank since it's mildly lighter, but their BB doesn't come w/ an inner sleeve, and I didn't want to run the risk of my di2 cables or brake hose contacting the spindle and rubbing.

Various weights:

Wheelset: 1320 grams -- 730 rear, 590 front
Frame: 915 grams (w/ rear mech hanger & 6 bottle cage bolts)
Fork: 392 grams -- after cutting for my size & 35mm spacers
Seatpost: 152 grams
Small parts -- Front mech hanger & grommets: 20 grams
Headset -- Upper and lower bearings, 35mm of spacers, top cap, conical spacer, compression plug: 83 grams
Thru-axles: 51 grams

For comparison's sake, I have...

61cm 2022 Diverge 9r, GRX 2x, wheels that are 100g heavier -- 9.43kg / 20.79 lbs
61cm 2022 S-Works Aethos, Ultegra 8070, Roval CLX 50 -- 7.1 kg / 15.65 lbs
61cm 2021 10r Tarmac, Ultegra 8070, CL50 -- 7.93kg / 17.5 lbs

Absolutely in love with this bike. It's probably my favorite bike I've ever ridden.

The night shots here were the evening I bulit it -- UPS dropped off my final part at 9 PM and I finished the bike, meant to take it around the block but before I knew it I was 5 miles from home and didn't want to stop riding it.

[graveyardKOM]

SRAM told me the wide front derailleur only works with the 43/30 chainrings. Anybody made it work with bigger rings?

I had asked them about using the 46/33 Red chainrings with wide bottom bracket, wide front derailleur and a wide Force spindle (so one Force wide crank arm and one regular Red crank arm) and they basically said it wouldn’t work because of the chainrings.

[dzl]

I am using the Force wide front derailleur with 46/33 chainrings and wide Force spindle. It works fine. My Crux is 52cm.
Based on Force's reputation for chain drops, I did throw on a chain keeper prior to riding this set up, which has saved the chain from dropping on downshifts maybe 2 times in 1000 miles (those miles are split between road and gravel usage). I attribute those instances to the Force group in general, not on the wide set up in particular. So I would not hesitate to recommend it.

BTW, the wide bottom bracket is just the standard BB with a different configuration of spacers. Since my bike came with the 1x set up, I just bought the additional spacers per the user's manual (2.5mm non-drive side and 5.5 mm drive side, IIRC).

[yinzerniner]

SRAM told me the wide front derailleur only works with the 43/30 chainrings. Anybody made it work with bigger rings?

I had asked them about using the 46/33 Red chainrings with wide bottom bracket, wide front derailleur and a wide Force spindle (so one Force wide crank arm and one regular Red crank arm) and they basically said it wouldn’t work because of the chainrings.

SRAM is usually pretty bad at explaining their own compatability if it interferes with selling more product.
The wide FD is dependant on the chain line in relation to the chainrings, which are controlled by the spindle width/length.
The "Wide" spindle Force crankarm with 46/33 rings should work fine as long as your FD hanger/mount has the up/down flexibility to account for the chainring size. With the wide crankarm you'll be pushing the 46/33 rings 2.5mm out from the BB center, and the FD will need to mount a little higher than normal to clear

I am using the Force wide front derailleur with 46/33 chainrings and wide Force spindle. It works fine. My Crux is 52cm.
Based on Force's reputation for chain drops, I did throw on a chain keeper prior to riding this set up, which has saved the chain from dropping on downshifts maybe 2 times in 1000 miles (those miles are split between road and gravel usage). I attribute those instances to the Force group in general, not on the wide set up in particular. So I would not hesitate to recommend it.

BTW, the wide bottom bracket is just the standard BB with a different configuration of spacers. Since my bike came with the 1x set up, I just bought the additional spacers per the user's manual (2.5mm non-drive side and 5.5 mm drive side, IIRC).

Yeah the BB of the Crux is a 68mm wide standard BSA config. The easier solution for the OP above would just be to source the regular FD and stick with a regular width spindle, unless they have tire clearance or pedal q factor issues. The 46/33 rings seem to just have enough chainstay clearance in a 2x config with the Crux.

[graveyardKOM]

Thank you @dzl, I had seen your posts but were unsure if you had used on the road yet after getting wide spindle.

@yinzerniner, I am trying to get the extra tire clearance for 45 or even 48mm.

It’s a bit expensive though to buy a new front derailleur and wide crankset when I could just use my current setup (swapping from Allied Allroad) and deal with 42mm limited tire clearance. I’ve also considered getting 650b wheel set for days when I want more tire. But I do enjoy the 45mm Pirelli Cinturato and 48mm Oracle Ridge setups I have used on my Diverge which I plan to sell.

I think I will try the wide setup as I want to keep the Crux for long time and not be limited.

[dzl]

SRAM told me the wide front derailleur only works with the 43/30 chainrings. Anybody made it work with bigger rings?

I had asked them about using the 46/33 Red chainrings with wide bottom bracket, wide front derailleur and a wide Force spindle (so one Force wide crank arm and one regular Red crank arm) and they basically said it wouldn’t work because of the chainrings.

SRAM is usually pretty bad at explaining their own compatability if it interferes with selling more product.
The wide FD is dependant on the chain line in relation to the chainrings, which are controlled by the spindle width/length.
The "Wide" spindle Force crankarm with 46/33 rings should work fine as long as your FD hanger/mount has the up/down flexibility to account for the chainring size. With the wide crankarm you'll be pushing the 46/33 rings 2.5mm out from the BB center, and the FD will need to mount a little higher than normal to clear

I am using the Force wide front derailleur with 46/33 chainrings and wide Force spindle. It works fine. My Crux is 52cm.
Based on Force's reputation for chain drops, I did throw on a chain keeper prior to riding this set up, which has saved the chain from dropping on downshifts maybe 2 times in 1000 miles (those miles are split between road and gravel usage). I attribute those instances to the Force group in general, not on the wide set up in particular. So I would not hesitate to recommend it.

BTW, the wide bottom bracket is just the standard BB with a different configuration of spacers. Since my bike came with the 1x set up, I just bought the additional spacers per the user's manual (2.5mm non-drive side and 5.5 mm drive side, IIRC).

Yeah the BB of the Crux is a 68mm wide standard BSA config. The easier solution for the OP above would just be to source the regular FD and stick with a regular width spindle, unless they have tire clearance or pedal q factor issues. The 46/33 rings seem to just have enough chainstay clearance in a 2x config with the Crux.

I initially started my build with the regular width spindle. For me, using Force 2X 46/33 rings, the issue was not tire clearance to the FD AXS battery. There was more than enough clearance for 40mm+ tires.

The issue was clearance between the inner chainring bolts and the drive-side chain stay. There was ~1mm of clearance, which IMO was too close for comfort as I would be riding the Crux on both road and gravel. IIRC, Red 2X rings don't have the chainring bolt issue as the rings are one unit.

FYI, the WIDE FD will work fine with regular width cranksets, if you want to start there and see if that config works for you. There is more than enough adjustment in the WIDE FD to deal with the 2.5mm differential between regular and wide cranksets.

[OnTheRivet]

Finally got my hands on a frame and built it up last week. I ordered a 10r frame the day they announced the bike, and my December 2021 delivery date turned into no delivery date turned into July 2023 delivery.

Few weeks ago I found an S-Works Frameset in my size, so I cancelled my theoretical 10r frame and bought it. Manufacturing date of August 2021, so the shop I got this from has been sitting on it for awhile. Wasn't sure how I'd feel about the paint, but I love it in person. If I was gonna go S-Works, I wanted the all black with the big annoying white S-Works logo on the downtube.






7.97kg / 17.59 lbs as pictured and I wasn't even trying to weight weenie it (GRX is heavy after all)

61cm S-Works frameset, full set of spacers.
Included alpinist seatpost
44cm Roval Terra bars
90mm S-Works stem
GRX 2x di2 group
Power2Max NG Eco Gravel 46/31 power meter paired to Praxis Zayante Carbon Crank.
SRAM Red 11/32 cassette
Terra CLX Wheels
Pirelli Cinturato H tires (514g ea )
Power Expert saddle (bad luck w/ carbon shells offroad in the past)

I was gonna try the Rotor Aldhu Carbon crank since it's mildly lighter, but their BB doesn't come w/ an inner sleeve, and I didn't want to run the risk of my di2 cables or brake hose contacting the spindle and rubbing.

Various weights:

Wheelset: 1320 grams -- 730 rear, 590 front
Frame: 915 grams (w/ rear mech hanger & 6 bottle cage bolts)
Fork: 392 grams -- after cutting for my size & 35mm spacers
Seatpost: 152 grams
Small parts -- Front mech hanger & grommets: 20 grams
Headset -- Upper and lower bearings, 35mm of spacers, top cap, conical spacer, compression plug: 83 grams
Thru-axles: 51 grams

For comparison's sake, I have...

61cm 2022 Diverge 9r, GRX 2x, wheels that are 100g heavier -- 9.43kg / 20.79 lbs
61cm 2022 S-Works Aethos, Ultegra 8070, Roval CLX 50 -- 7.1 kg / 15.65 lbs
61cm 2021 10r Tarmac, Ultegra 8070, CL50 -- 7.93kg / 17.5 lbs

Absolutely in love with this bike. It's probably my favorite bike I've ever ridden.

The night shots here were the evening I bulit it -- UPS dropped off my final part at 9 PM and I finished the bike, meant to take it around the block but before I knew it I was 5 miles from home and didn't want to stop riding it.

Curious about the Red cassette. My friend tried one on his 11 speed Dura Ace a few years ago and said it shifted terrible in the smaller gears, after reading about people on here who had used them I tried in one on my 8070 (Ultegra) bike and had the exact same issues he had (I've wrenched on bike/worked in shops for 35 years) and could not get it to shift cleanly.