Microshift Sword review: a solid gravel groupset performer without upgrade potential

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Microshift Sword is a new 10-speed gravel groupset with a clutched rear derailleur, offered in both 1x and 2x flavours. 

I’ve found the 1x10 variant of Sword I’ve tested to be a solid performer, with comfortable lever ergonomics and generally reliable shifting. 

However, there are some quirks, primarily the fact you're locked into using mechanical disc brakes, the upshift lever is notably small and there's no future upgrade potential. 

A little about Microshift Sword

Officially launched in July 2023, Microshift Sword proved quite the disruptive release from the Taiwanese brand, which has lurked in the shadows of Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo. 

On release, Microshift said it developed Sword as an affordable, completely cable-actuated gravel groupset because, it claimed, no other brand offered this solution. 

The 1x10 option sees the use of a wide-ranging 11-48t cassette, with an 11-38t model specced for the 2x variant. 

By comparison, Shimano GRX400 is 10-speed but uses hydraulic disc brakes and retails for £850. SRAM Apex Eagle is more expensive at £1,035 / $971, but it’s 12-speed. 

Note that Microshift Sword isn’t a complete groupset, though, because it doesn’t have complementing brakes, bottom bracket or a chain, whereas its more expensive competitors do. 

Although uptake on complete bikes hasn’t been as wide as expected yet, Microshift told BikeRadar it envisages the groupset being specced on sub-$1,200 complete bikes. 

With that covered off, let's dive into my experiences.

Microshift Sword setup 

I installed my test groupset onto a Marin Headlands, a familiar frameset to me. 

For reference, I paired the groupset with a set of Paul Klamper brakes, a KMC X10 chain and a Shimano Dura-Ace BSA threaded bottom bracket (a lower-specced bottom bracket is unlikely to make a discernible difference to performance). 

I used Jagwire Road Pro gear and brake cables. 

In all but one aspect, setup was as straightforward as any other mechanical groupset. 

I appreciated the Shimano-style crankset, which uses two 5mm pinch bolts and an 8mm torque cap to secure everything in place. These are much easier to work on than cranks with a single 8mm hex bolt, where you sometimes have to heave with all your might to undo it. 

The rear derailleur was easy to adjust and less involved than some SRAM rear derailleurs and Campagnolo Ekar, which are very sensitive to correct B-gap tension. 

The area where Sword falters is if you’re using a dropper post with its respective dropper lever. 

Like Shimano GRX, functionality is built into the redundant gear lever. Unlike GRX though, Sword has in-built cable tension adjustment. While this may seem like an advantage to Sword, the way in which you set the correct tension is very finicky. 

There’s a 2mm hex set screw on the inside of the remote lever, which you need to tighten until it comes to a stop with the cable installed. Once the cable is connected to the dropper post, according to its setup instructions, you can then adjust the cable tension. 

Doing this is a two-part process. There’s a 3mm hex set screw on the underside of the lever and when you turn the bolt to add tension, the lever begins to engage in its throw. You then back off the aforementioned 2mm set screw so the lever can go back to its original position. 

This is more laborious over Shimano GRX, where you simply need to rely on an inline barrel adjuster. 

Microshift Sword drivetrain performance

I’ve been testing Microshift Sword since December 2023, taking it through one of the bleakest UK winters I can remember. 

There was no shortage of filthy slop, with many of the trails fully saturated. I also tested the groupset in a bikepacking scenario on 100 miles of the King Alfred’s Way, a ride so grim that I had to wade through standing water up to my knees on four occasions. 

Overall, the groupset performed well, with the shifting quick and precise. The chain unshipped from the chainring twice, but I consider that to be par for the course because any drivetrain can tolerate only so much mud.

Let’s take a look at the performance of each of the components in turn. 

Microshift Sword shifters 

The shifters are perhaps Sword’s most significant component, with a radically different appearance compared to Microshift levers of old. The new shifters are reminiscent of a Shimano GRX-815 Di2 lever, albeit less angular. 

With the exception of Microshift Centos, Sword is the first time the gear cable has been routed underneath the bar tape. This is to be expected in 2024, though – a shifter with a gear cable sprouting out of it is an archaic design. 

The Sword shifters look vastly more premium and don’t serve as a constant visual reminder that you’re riding a cheaper groupset. 

The shifters can be purchased as a pair, of course, or separately. The left shifter is available in a 1x or 2x option and the dropper-post variant I tested. The inclusion of a dropper post lever is a plus because it avoids having to run an unsightly ancillary lever. 

Microshift says it designed the shifters specifically to pair with flared gravel bike handlebars and you can adjust the brake lever’s reach via a 3mm hex key. You also need to adjust the gear lever’s reach so it contacts the back of the brake lever – this is done with a small 1.5mm hex key located at the top of the paddle underneath the shifter body. 

The shifters use the same cable-pull ratio as Advent X, making them inter-compatible. They are not compatible with Shimano groupsets, though, unlike old Microshift groupsets. 

They also pull slightly more brake cable than a standard cable-actuated lever, which Microshift says results in increased braking power. 

I liked the shifter ergonomics, with the smaller design achieved by not having to house a hydraulic reservoir. I couldn’t really detect the claimed increased braking power because it relies on mechanical disc brakes (which are less powerful than hydraulics), but more on that later. 

There’s texturing on the hoods for enhanced grip and the lever body has a gradually rounded outer edge that’s claimed to reduce pressure points. I found the texturing more forgiving than the harder material found on SRAM’s eTap AXS levers and the ridge more comfortable to grasp than Shimano GRX 600. 

However, the hood is not as tacky as Campagnolo Ekar or SRAM’s 1-series mechanical levers. 

To change gear on the cassette, there is a longer paddle to downshift into an easier gear, while the smaller paddle serves to upshift into a harder gear. 

You can downshift up to three gears at a time, but you can only ever upshift by one. 

That’s in-line with the competition, although you can downshift up to four gears on Campagnolo Ekar. 

In reality, you can force the Sword shifter to shift up four gears by holding the lever, but as soon as you release it, the rear derailleur drops you back into the third cog. I found this annoying to start with, especially if that fourth shift happened to put me onto the largest 48t cog. I eventually got used to this quirk. 

Microshift explained to me: “every shift has a little bit of overshift, which means the cable pulls the derailleur past the index point, helping the shifting to move faster."

The rubber on the lever paddles is a nice touch, offering a grippy yet comfortable place to change gear. 

While the long downshift paddle was pleasing to use, I was less impressed by the small nubbin-like upshift lever. In my earlier testing, I’d sometimes hit the upshift lever accidentally because it protrudes out further compared to the downshift lever. 

When out of the saddle and needing to dump down a gear, a larger interface would be more user-friendly.

Dropper post actuation

I experienced some issues with the dropper lever’s performance in testing. I found I had to adjust the dropper post cable tension every two to three rides, sometimes mid-way through a ride. 

The issue had both myself and our workshop manager scratching our heads – the cabling was routed correctly and the dropper post hadn’t caused me an issue when I originally tested it with a Shimano GRX 600 groupset.  

I ultimately resorted to changing both the outer and inner cables, which resolved the issue.

Bearing in mind I had changed the inner cable twice before changing both the inner and outer, this leads me to believe the outer cable routing may have been the cause of the issue – perhaps it was kinked somewhere. 

However, the outer had been reused from when the bike wore a Shimano GRX 600 groupset and I hadn’t experienced any dropper post actuation issues then. 

In short, I believe there is more margin for error with the Sword shifter’s in-built adjustability of the cable tension compared to a Shimano GRX option. 

Mechanical disc brakes only 

A real fly in the ointment with Sword is there's no hydraulic lever option. 

Hydraulic brakes offer significantly more power, modulation and require less maintenance because you don’t need to keep on top of the cable tension (albeit they periodically require bleeding, which some find a more involved process than replacing a cable). 

Microshift says there won’t be a hydraulic option coming “for a very long time”, which will limit the appeal for many riders. If you want to upgrade, it means replacing the entire groupset. 

Microshift Sword crankset 

The Sword crankset is offered in single and double-ring options and uses a 24mm spindle (the same as Shimano), ensuring good bottom bracket compatibility. 

The single chainring uses a narrow-wide profile for improved chain retention. 1x cranksets use a 50mm chainline, whereas 2x are 47mm. 

The 1x variant is offered in 40 or 42t chainring sizes with 165, 170, 172.5 and 175mm crank lengths. The 2x crankset is offered in 48/31 and 46/29t chainrings in identical crank lengths. 

I tested the 42t in a 172.5mm length and although the crankset looks rather industrial, it’s functional and does the job. 

The fact the cranks use the same 100/80mm asymmetric BCD (bolt circle diameter) as Shimano means you can swap easily between cranksets or use third-party rings.  

I was disappointed, though, to see the black finish on the chainring teeth degrade after less than 900km. In my experience, I’ve found black finishes on various Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo chainrings to show less wear. 

Microshift Sword rear derailleur 

Like the shifters, the Sword rear derailleur is visually distinct from older Microshift options. It features a clutch with an integrated switch, reminiscent of Campagnolo Ekar. 

Switching the clutch off when you remove the wheel relieves the chain tension slightly but not as much as on a Shimano or SRAM clutched rear derailleur. 

Microshift has included an ‘orbital barrel adjuster’, which can pivot up to 15 degrees, potentially smoothing out tight cable runs – the brand claims this is an industry first. 

This is a cool detail for the mechanic in me and shows Microshift has done its homework. Fortunately, the gear cable routing on the Headlands is well-considered so I didn’t need to rely upon it. 

Note if you go for a mullet setup or pair an Advent X rear derailleur with the Sword shifters, you’ll need to install an inline barrel adjuster. 

The 1x long-cage rear derailleur has a maximum capacity of 48 teeth, with 2x topping out at 38 teeth. If you are converting between the two, you can buy an aftermarket replacement cage – you simply need to undo the three 2mm hex bolts to swap the cages around.  

There were two occasions in testing where I removed the jockey wheels to clean them after particularly muddy rides – this was no harder than any other brands' systems. 

The only flaw to note was there was noticeable play in the low limit screw, although this didn’t affect its function in testing.

At $80, a replacement derailleur isn’t overly expensive if you accidentally trash it on the trails (in-line with a Shimano GRX 400 10-speed rear derailleur’s £64.99 RRP) and, overall, it feels well-made. 

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Microshift Sword cassette

The cassette offers evenly spaced gear jumps with the four available cassette options. That’s a good thing, in the context that Sword is only 10-speed and the groupset is trying to cover a near-identical range to its competitors, which tend to be 12- or 13-speed. 

1x drivetrains use the brand’s 11-48t Advent X cassette, whereas 2x drivetrains use a Sword-specific 11-38t cassette with a satin nickel finish. 

The brand’s H-series cassette is a more cost-effective option at $44.99 and uses steel cogs. The $69.99 G-series cassette steps up to an aluminium spider and largest cog to save weight – both are compatible with Sword. 

Microshift says the four cassette options are made to be “as durable as possible”. Despite this, I found the black finish on my cassette wore off, so it looks quite tatty now. 

On the plus side, I think Microshift has nailed the jumps between each gear, considering there are only 10 of them. 

I rarely found I was jumping oversized gaps between gears, which can often be the case with a wider spread and limited speeds. The 48t was enough to get me up the steepest of climbs, even with the bike fully loaded, paired with the 42t chainring. 

Of course, Shimano GRX tops Microshift with a 51t largest cog and SRAM trumps them both with a 52t on its Eagle cassette variants. SRAM’s XPLR gravel-oriented cassettes top out at 44t and Campagnolo Ekar GT matches Sword with a 48t cog. 

It’s a positive that Microshift has designed the cassette around a Shimano / SRAM HG freehub body. This is what most riders are most likely to have and ensures compatibility with almost all wheelsets. 

Although there isn’t a dedicated chain, Microshift says most 10-speed chains will work well, endorsing KMC’s X10 (which is what I used). 

To give you an idea of durability, the chain showed as 0.5 per cent worn on my chain checker at the 1,000km mark. That’s about par for the course compared to Shimano and SRAM in my experience, considering the challenging winter conditions, but not as durable as Campagnolo Ekar. 

Microshift Sword weight 

A groupset at this level is never going to be ‘light’, but I can’t say the weight was that noticeable. 

The most obvious area is undoubtedly the crankset, which is heavy at 816g, the best part of 100g over the 721g claimed weight of a Shimano GRX820 model and 717g of a SRAM Apex AXS crankset. 

The rear derailleur is only 7g heavier than the claimed weight of a Shimano GRX 400 option and the shifters are lighter too, by 61g, but remember Microshift doesn’t need to engineer a hydraulic reservoir into them. 

Microshift Sword pricing and value 

It’s difficult to definitively judge Microshift Sword’s value compared to its competitors given it isn’t a complete groupset. That said, on paper, it seems like decent value. 

The components in the 1x spec I tested tally up to $419.95. 

The Paul Klamper brakes I paired them with are expensive at £262.99 / $244.50 a caliper, but TRP Spyre calipers would be $79.99 each (for example) and the KMC X10 chain is £23.99 / $25. A bottom bracket will probably set you back in the region of £30 to £60. 

So all in, a more realistic full groupset using Sword components is going to cost in the region of £600. 

That’s certainly cheaper than Shimano GRX 400, which retails for £850. The extra £250 does, however, buy you hydraulic disc brakes. 

SRAM doesn’t have a direct 10-speed competitor; its 12-speed Apex Eagle is its ‘entry-level’ gravel groupset at £1,035 / $971. 

All things considered, Microshift has priced Sword correctly when you compare recommended retail prices, but real-world pricing is almost always different. 

Microshift Sword bottom line 

Microshift Sword is ultimately a solid gravel groupset that mostly delivers on its promise of competitive gear ratios and up-to-date lever ergonomics. 

Although there are some quirks, on the whole the shifting is reliable, and only outfoxed by the very toughest conditions (like others). 

The components are all well-made for the asking price, although it’s a shame the black finish wore off the cassette and chainrings so quickly. 

Is Microshift Sword a viable alternative compared to its rivals? In short, yes, provided you’re content to use mechanical disc brakes and don’t see yourself wanting to upgrade in the long-term. 

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