MicroShift Marvo XE Derailleur and Shifter Review

May 11, 2011 at 11:59
by Mike Levy  


MicroSHIFT Marvo XE


What it is: You are forgiven if this is the first that you've heard of MicroSHIFT, especially considering that it would be an understatement to say that SRAM and Shimano have the lions share of the drivetrain market. But it's always good to keep an open mind, right? MicroSHIFT may not have the product spread that the two big players can brag about, but they do offer the sharp looking, Shimano compatible 9 speed Marvo XE rear derailleur tested here, along with a matching front derailleur and 9 speed shifter set. While Marvo XE parts do not have the flash of their competitors high-end offerings, it is important to keep in mind that they are not aimed to compete with the XTR or XX ranges, but are lined up against SRAM and Shimano's mid-range X5 and Deore offerings. The Marvo XE rear derailleur weighs in at 235 grams (233 g claimed) and retails for $75 CAD, the shifter set sells for $90 CAD and the front derailleur (not tested) goes for $50 CAD.


photo
With a competitive retail price of $75 CAD, the Marvo XE rear derailleur is aimed at SRAM's X5 and Shimano's Deore range.

Marvo XE rear derailleur details:

- 9 speed
- Long and short cage options
- Weight: 235 grams (233 claimed)
- Compatible with 9 speed Shimano running gear
- Colors: black, anodized red or gold ($15 CAD upcharge)
- MSRP $75 CAD


The details: The first thing that you'll notice about the 235 gram Marvo XE rear derailleur once it's in your hands is how solid it looks and feels. Granted, there are no carbon bits (you won't find that on anyone's similarly priced rear derailleurs), but what the XE lacks in flash it looks to make up for in function. The long cage - 133mm from the pivot to the very bottom, slightly longer than Shimano's or SRAM's long options - uses a rather thick outer plate that appears to be ready for any rock or root infested trail out there. Torx hardware is used to hold the cage and the non-sealed pulley wheels in place, as opposed to easily stripped, small hex head screws, with the upper pulley's screw threaded in from the backside to make it easier to reach. The parallelogram's pivot pins are pressed into place and the unit is not rebuildable. The derailleur's cable anchor bolt is in the traditional position at the bottom of the parallelogram which will make it more vulnerable to damage, although the anchor tab is quite beefy. The limit screws are clearly marked and thread directly into the body instead of easy to strip, but also easy to replace, plastic inserts as found on some other derailleurs. They are also inset into the aluminum so as to be protected from damage. You won't find a barrel adjuster on the rear of the derailleur, leaving all of the adjustment to the shifter. Both the cage and parallelogram springs feel quite stiff. The 9 speed Marvo XE rear derailleur is compatible with any 9 speed Shimano shifter, as well as any make of 9 speed cassette or chain.

MicroSHIFT's Marvo XE shifters are simple, if rather large, units that include a built-in, non-removable gear indicator. While the bar clamp itself is quite thin the gear indicator takes up about three times the space. The shifter paddles are both thumb operated, with the low paddle being aluminum and the smaller, upper paddle made from plastic. The low shift paddle can move through three gears in a single push, the high paddle is one gear at a time. Cable changes are facilitated by pulling out a rubber plug. Our Marvo XE test gear was setup on a single ring, 1 x 9 system, so I only put time on the 123 gram, 9 speed rear shifter.


photo
The Marvo XE rear derailleur is a sturdy unit that looks like it can take some abuse.


Performance: Installation was very straightforward - if you've ever installed a Shimano derailleur or shifter you'll be able to handle this one as well. The shifter came with a cable already in place, but I threaded a new one through to see how easy it was and found that it is as simple as on any other shifter out there. I did have major trouble trying to get the shifter into a usable position on my handlebar - the gear indicator prevented me from putting it anywhere that would even be remotely ergonomic. After trying to get it into an accessible position, both inboard and outboard of the the brake perch, as well as trying to fit it with both Avid and Shimano levers, I gave up and settled on a spot that was as good as I could find, although still terrible.

Just as one would hope, the Marvo XE shifter goes through the gears when either paddle is pushed, although the feel isn't quite as positive as its competition. The blame for this falls straight onto the cheap feeling shifter. Besides being so ergonomically incorrect that I actually had to slide my hand inboard by a full inch in order to reach it, it feels quite vague - the "ka-chung" lets you know that the shift has happened, but the shifter has an imprecise touch that leaves a lot to be desired. The dual thumb paddles are also arranged is such a way that the upper paddle (used to shift to a high gear) is difficult to hit even when I managed to get my hand in the right position. The internals of the shifter are also exposed to the elements each time the lower shift paddle is pushed. I'll admit that I didn't have any reliability issues with the shifter during the test, but I'm willing to bet that having it open like that is less than ideal in the long run.

If it sounds like I'm taking the Marvo XE shifters to task, it is because I am. They really are terrible, but the good news here is that not only can the rear derailleur (as well as the front derailleur that isn't tested in this review) be operated with any of Shimano's 9 speed shifters, it actually proved to be more than up to the challenge by surviving plenty of abuse and neglect while bolted to the back of my Trek Remedy test bike. It is free to swing up and hit the chainstay, and therefore it isn't nearly as quiet as a SRAM or newer Shadow equipped Shimano derailleur, but the Marvo XE unit confirmed that it is as sturdy as it looks, despite a few nasty drive side crashes and snagging it on the odd rock or tree. Even a wet and muddy Winter season, including excessive post-ride hose downs, couldn't foul up its pivots either, and they remained as tight as when new. The recessed limit screws meant that no amount of dragging the derailleur through the rocks would render them unworkable, and once limit adjustments were made they seemed to not need any further attention - there was no screw migration over time on the XE. The odd cable tension adjustment was required, less so than that of a full SRAM setup and about on par with a Shimano system, but nothing out of line.

The Marvo XE rear derailleur and shifter were paired with a 9 speed Shimano chain and cassette, and while the speed of gear changes was nothing to brag about (the action is certainly slower than current top end 10 speed offerings, but that's to be expected), it wasn't terrible either. If you haven't spent time on a new 10 speed system from either of the two big players you'll have nothing to complain about when using the XE running gear.


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The Marvo XE shifter is practically useless. Not only does it require quite a bit of pressure on the thumb paddle to shift, it doesn't mate well with either Shimano or Avid brake perches - it was nearly impossible to reach the paddles without moving your hand from where you would normally have it. The culprit is its non-removable gear indicator window.


Pinkbike's take: Would I recommend MicroSHIFT's 9 speed Marvo XE system? Certainly not the shifters - they are easily one of the worst products that I've spent time on - but the rear derailleur does stand out in my mind as being a solid and dependable unit that may be a good, inexpensive option for abusive riders who are on a budget.

Check out the MicroSHIFT website to see their entire lineup.

Author Info:
mikelevy avatar

Member since Oct 18, 2005
2,032 articles

32 Comments
  • 26 0
 Shifters sound amazing then.
  • 11 13
 SRAM for the win
  • 2 0
 No offense, but every time i see microshift in m bike shop i have a laugh. alsmot as bad as enzo shifters (garbage wal-mart brand). At least they are compatible with shimano, otherwise i dont think anyone would buy them. Would be good for those people that are constantly destroying derailleurs though because it seems like a pretty solid set-up for the money.
  • 8 1
 Lol you could get an x-9 for that price but your paying for the quality of an x-5 Razz
  • 3 1
 microshift mechs are aorund £25 right? not £80
dont think thats the marvo though but similar
so no, not x9 price

havent microshift been around since 1999?
  • 2 0
 That's refreshingly honest Mike ... and its one of the few products you can point to when people talk about how lucky you are to have all this fine gear to test.... blurgh
  • 2 0
 Why is the long cage length given but not the SHORT LENGTH?
  • 1 0
 strange thing that a company called Microshift (pertaining to small things) have very large products........

i was honestly hoping to read something very positive.
  • 11 0
 I can't believe my eyes , a Pink Bike review with a negative review ! what ever next
  • 2 0
 Haha I was just thinking the same thing. It's nice to read something that isn't gushing with praise for once. It actually lends some credibility to what I'm reading instead of making me think the reviews are tainted. Thanks for your honesty guys! Keep the good reviews coming!
  • 6 0
 I also like the price of that derailieur because that`s what they are: wear and tear products. And for non-racing guys like me it`s more about the ratio of price/amount of fun before it breaks down or i rip it away than weight/fun times.

Bad thing about shifters is that they can`t be placed closer to handlebars because of that gear indicator. Maybe if it would be a little narrower and placed above the clamp you could move the shifter closer to handlebars or place it between brake and handlebar, so that you don`t ave to move your hand while shifting gears.

Maybe next generation will evolve it that direction or maybe i`m just full of shit.
  • 1 0
 I agree, they made the same mistake and makes it impossible to place the shifter on the other side of the brake lever.
  • 1 1
 [Edit] Redundant post.
  • 7 0
 i have this shifter and what i did was hack saw the gear indicator window off and its fine
  • 10 1
 not really what you want to do when buying a new product though
  • 2 0
 For the money, actual RETAIL walk into an LBS money, not "I hope I can find it mail-order on clearout from another country money", the derailleurs are good value. A Deore RD retails for about the same as that Marvo XE unit, and weighs a couple ounces more. Its also lighter than SLX derailleurs for that matter, while far cheaper. I'd use them if I had some.
  • 3 0
 It may be lighter and cheaper than the SLX derailleur, but the SLX still benefits from being of the Shadow design, a system that I far prefer to the original Shimano and Suntour derailleur design for aggressive riding.
  • 1 0
 Does anyone even look at gear indicators?

Anyone?
  • 2 0
 ^^ Posted in the wrong place, but I do love Shadow.
  • 1 0
 fair enough if the deraillieur itself is good, but i just don't see any proper advantage for the customer to buy this over one of sram or shimano's offerings. the deore and x-5 aren't bad at all when set up properly, and you know they'll work with everything else you;ve got.
  • 1 2
 I can vouch for deore but the x-5 rear mech is a load of crap. Went through two in the space of 2 months. You're right though, they do work good when set up properly but they just can't handle abuse well.
  • 2 0
 wow- shifter got a proper pounding then tehe... but the mech looks smart indeed...
  • 1 0
 One of my friends is on a team sponsored by them. She took it off straight away as its pure shit. Why bother market a shifter thats clearly dreadful?
  • 1 0
 how can she ascertain that its shit without riding it extensively?
  • 3 0
 The fact that you can't even set it up on your bars sort of defeats the object of having a shifter surely?
  • 3 0
 found my new shifter boys
  • 1 0
 I'm amazed that they didn't have to pay Shimano for what is essentially a blatant ripoff of the overall design of the XTR rear derailleur.
  • 3 0
 Because Shimano would first have to admit they ripped off Suntour yet again for that to happen. The whole shadow derailleur concept, shimano ripped the idea from Suntour who had derailleurs like that five years ago, not to mention the mounting the derailleur to someplace other than the hanger (as they did with the first saint/hone derailleurs) again is something they stole from a suntour derailleur design from the mid-90s. Back then suntour had a derailleur for hybrids which clamped to the chainstay ahead of the dropout/hanger, so that if for example, you knocked your bike over while it was parked, the derailleur was safely tucked out of the way and wasn't the first thing to smack the ground, bending the hanger out of alignment in the process.
  • 1 0
 I'm just loving the atherton pro bars on the shifter pic. Haha nerd'y' haha
  • 2 0
 I like options.
  • 1 0
 that gear window looks like it could snap right off, problem fixed!
  • 1 0
 wow...the same old thing







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