Box Prime 9 is a 9-speed cassette for the 12-speed generation

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Box Component’s new Prime 9 cassette offers the range of a 12-speed but improved chain line.

Box Components often releases drivetrain components that are a little different from what the rest of the industry has been doing. It’s first mountain bike drivetrain featured a unique shifter activation which got a lot of media attention when announced, but we’ve not heard much from them recently, and officially we still haven’t.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0oBHI0ARQM/
Seth leaked it!

This news comes in the form of an Instagram post from YouTube influencer and DiamondBack rider Seth of Seth’s Bike Hacks fame. Over on his personal Instagram account, Seth has posted photos of a new cassette from Box named the Prime 9, and it just so happens that Box hasn’t officially released or listed it yet.

The Prime 9 is a unibody cassette made from tool steel and boasts an 11-50t range of gears I.E a massive ring for difficult climbs, a tiny one for all-out speed and plenty in the middle for everything in between.

Why would you want a 9-speed cassette instead of 12-speed? Well, the shorter body of the Prime 9 removes the aggressive chain line associated with an 11 or 12-speed model, plus you’re able to use a thicker and stronger 9-speed chain too.

From the post, it looks like the Prime 9 is designed to work with a regular 11 or 12 speed rear mech and shifter, but it is possible a dedicated Box 9-speed shifter will be released at some point in the future too.

So far the only news from Box about the Prime 9 is the following teaser video and at the time of writing the cassette isn’t listed anywhere so we don’t know when it will go on sale or how much it will cost.

The Box Prime 9 teaser video.

Still, this is a very interesting move and we’re very tempted to give the Box Prime 9 a test. How about you?

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Andi is a gadget guru and mountain biker who has lived and ridden bikes in China and Spain before settling down in the Peak District to become Singletrack's social media expert. He is definitely more big travel fun than XC sufferer but his bike collection does include some rare hardtails - He's a collector and curator as well as a rider. Theory and practice in perfect balance with his inner chi, or something. As well as living life based on what he last read in a fortune cookie Andi likes nothing better than riding big travel bikes.

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