GRX Crankset Questions
 

Has anyone used a GRX crankset ? if so what is your opinions. I just purchased a new 105 11 speed group that was removed from another bike and I am going to use it to upgrade my Ridley and want to replace the FSA gossamer which has a lot of finish wear on the crank arms . The GRX 2x11 crankset is in 46/30 and seems to be priced right , but ideally I would like a bit of an upgrade from the gossamer not just a different crank.


Thanks

I've got one on order, but it hasn't shown up yet. But I can clarify that the chainrings are 48-31, not 46-30.

I look forward to your review however the version I am looking at is the GRX FC-RX600 2x11 46/30 as 48/31 is a bit too much pavement in the big ring especially since I am not planning on racing , right now there does not seem to be a huge amount of options in 46/30 ... I may end up going a different route but since Shimano is actually offering that combination I thought it would be worth looking at. I would actually be 100% OK with a 44 / 30 or a 40 / 30 .

Oh, you're right. I forgot that there are a few GRX cranksets.

I think a crankset like this is a great idea for those of us who want lower gears, don't need super-high gears, and want cassettes without such large gaps.

Let's hope this stuff hits the market soon. My understanding is that most of the production, right now, is going on new 2020 bikes -- not shipping as individual parts and groupsets to consumers like us.

Universal has the 46/30 crankset in stock , I’m looking at options, but the price point and the gearing combo is very attractive to me . I don’t need the lightest stuff the weight reduction of the crank want add up to my being faster . I have too many other limiting factors that would ride and gain it offered .

I just posted a report of upgrading my 105 R7000 crankset and FD to GRX 600 46/30 in the Bicycle Mechanics sub-forum. So far things are working well, but I've only put about 5 miles on the bike so far. There replacement and setup process are pretty straightforward. I like the new gearing so far and seem to be using the big ring now as my primary chainring. I got my parts from BikeTiresDirect in Portland.

Did you have a compatibly issue with the front Derailleur or were you using the GRX front Derailleur for another reason ?

Thanks !

I didn't even try to use my 105 FD with the GRX crankset to see if it would work. I figured the chainline change (the GRX crank moves the chainline outward 2.5mm) is why Shimano isn't listing compatibility with non-GRX front derailleurs.

The GRX crankset is offset to the outside, compared to other Shimano cranks. For that reason, you have to use the GRX front derailleur. It is offset to match the crankset.

Ok thanks for the replies so effectively I need the crank and the front Derailleur if I want to make that swap work ..

noted

How about picking up a used (clean arms) Sram Force 22 crankset (removable spider model) and combining that with a North Shore Billet 104/64bcd spider? (they mate together).
You could then get some rings to suit like the TA Specialites Chinook, for example in a 40 or 42t Outer ring, and your 30t (or smaller) Inner.

I'm running Chinook 10/11sp 40/26 with 12-27 but on the Easton crank with RaceFace spider.

FYI, some people report that they are using GRX cranksets with various Shimano road front derailleurs. It may not have been necessary to change the FD (although obviously it didn't hurt).

I just set up my gravel bike with FC-RX600-1 with a 42T CS-M8000 cassette, loving it so far, first 1x for me. Upgrading from Sora level components, the clean shifting and quiet drivetrain are amazing.
I've been asking myself though, is the crank the same as the FC-RX600-11 (i.e. 2x) crank? It looks like there are holes for another chain ring at 80 bcd.
Could I buy replacement chainrings for the FD-600-11 and pop them on my crank (obviously along with a derailleur)? I can't seem to find the 30t, 80bcd chainring. I also don't know if it'd be compatible, chainline etc.

What do you guys think?

The EV doc seems to show the crank arms being identical, with only the outer ring being different, while the inner 30t ring is the same.
https://si.shimano.com/#/en/EV/FC-RX600

You could also probably use the GRX crank as a cheap replacement for a road crank, and use 3mm to 3.5mm of spacers to move the chainline from 46.9mm to 43.5mm.

Also, if you use extra long bolts for the outer chainring, you could probably attach your own lasercut bashguard to the outside with a few spacers and a short chainring nut.

This worked in my case. I wanted to keep my current (Di2 Ultegra) front derailleur, because with Di2, I would be forced to replace both front and rear, which would have been cost-prohibitive.

The other thing is I have a clamp-on front derailleur, which might give more options for adjustment compared to a braze-on mount. I did have to crank the H-limit screw almost all the way for it to work.

I think the main issue would have been with 5800/6800/9000 mechanical long arm FDs with the limits pushed out. Depending on the clearance between the seattube and FD mount and the rear tire the arm could hit the tire. Since you are running Di2 that likely isn't going to be an issue but shimano is pretty conservative in general with these compatibility recs

I recently installed a GRX 48/31 crankset on my new Aspero. I previously had Absolute Black 48/32 oval rings combined with 11-34 on my Carbonda 505 and really liked that setup as it allows plenty of range for road riding and gravel. Unfortunately, because the AB rings sit 2.5mm further in compared to stock, they would not work on the Cervelo. I had no choice but to stick with Ultegra 50/34 OEM rings or go with something else, so I chose the 48/31 GRX. The GRX rings sit 2.5mm further out compared to Ultegra/105 and fit perfectly on the Aspero. I was able to use my 105 FD. Hopefully AB will release oval rings for the GRX cranks soon.

Another option for sub compact crank not mentioned is Easton 47/32 which is less expensive than the GRX. I ordered a GRX800 crank for a build I'll start on next week, will have GRX front and rear DRs and probably Ultegra 8020 shifters and brakes.

My GRX crank was $150 (before a discount was applied). A quick Googling showed the Easton for $149.99.

The White Industries crank I took off was about $150,000,000.00.

The GRX 800 is MSRP $225 which is what I was using for comparison.

The Easton rings cost $150 and the arms cost $120. right? I looked at that a year ago and haven't looked elsewhere besides their site so it may be cheaper and I dont know.

I saw them somewhere, rings and arms for 129, but not sure where. Niner is using the set up on their 2020 RLT9 instead of the GRX cranks, so I'm sure they are getting them for less than the GRX.

That would be an insanely low price if it was foer a new crank.

FC-RX600 is around $70-90