Acolyte - Why It's Better Than You Thought 

Guys, I'm starting to worry about you. You're doing the things Right, usually the industry doesn't like that...anyways, I am a big fan of these videos.

I've been using Acolyte for a couple months now on my 90s Diamond Back that I adapted to a commuter with more comfortable bars and tires for street use,. I have to say, I'm in love with it. I'm not super fussy about my cadence, and on the flat I mostly stay in the 40/18 ratio. Other upsides that you didn't mention is that 8 speed chains are some of the cheapest and/or strongest out there, and the wider space between the cogs forgives slight derailleur hanger misalignment, making it a super robust system even when abused!

I don't know what they put in the water, but it is working. Please keep doing what you are doing, a lot of us love it, and appreciate the shake up of the big two's ecosystem. It shows you really know your audience, and can deliver on what a lot of mountain bikers really want.

Finally! Microshift seems like a company that really understood the community and make senses the most of it!

Love what you are doing!

Thanks a lot mister microshift,i really like your groupset and i like their price even more

I got to know this brand because this very drivetrain came in my Sirrus X and it's pretty good.... it lead to look into you as a company and gotta say I'm becoming a supporter. When the times comes to upgrade that drivetrain, I'm gonna go with MicroSHIFT.

Installed the acolyte 12-46 on the wifes old 26" trek, works great. Only issue I ran into was having to swap out square taper BB from a 124.5mm to 113mm to fix the chainline. Still have 1.5 mm clearance between chainring and chainstay 😅

About to get an EBike - costs quite a dime really, with microSHIFT on it - and I was a little skeptical. After this, though, I'm feeling a buildup of confidence. Thanks for having us in mind. Just resist the urge to take that cheque when Shimano or SRAM come knocking. We all know how this could go 😁

My advent 9 speed trail shifter feels in use almost the same as my xt shifter on my other bike. It has really positive engagement and you can shift down 4 gears at a time. Every time I hop on my cheap built winter and loaner bike I don't miss anything from the other bike in terms of drivetrain performance. Keep up the amazing work!

Actually pretty impressed with the Advent/Acolyte lines... have assembled 2 bikes with the Acolyte (spring clutch/12-46T) for my niece and nephew with great success... they've been riding them as often as possible and beyond chain maintenance and checking cable stretch have been working great. Built up a "fitness" bike for a friend of mine with a non-clutched (11-42) Advent 9, he's put ~2500 miles on it with only chain maintenance and that bike is now been commandeered by his son, who I think has put an addtionall 500+ miles on it. I have a clutched Advent nine (11-46T) on my beater MTB that I take camping and travel with... not too many miles, but has been totally reliable with minimal maintenance even being exposed to the grit/grime/crud from being dragged around on the bike carrier at the back of my truck....I'm thinking of updating other family and friends bikes with the 8 or 9 speeds so they can go to a 1x systems, that are reliable, but won't break the bank.

I have stuck with 8 and 9 speed over the years and am very modest about the parts i use. I still use mechanical brakes on all my bikes. I have not used a clutch derailluer yet but could see the acolyte being used on my ebike, Emtb, commuter and even DH bike.

Continue to be impressed with acolyte and how well it just works!

Great down to earth marketing!👍👍👍

I built mine up on a Triban RC100 ... Getting the shifter on to a drop bar was... messy to say the least... it would be great if the next shifter could come with a hinge. Otherwise love it. I put about 4000km-s on it in the last year. It is due for a tune-up, but it brought me up hills, often with a gross load of 110kg, with a 38 tooth chain-ring it was good enough so i rarely feel the need to reach for my arguably nicer other bike. And for next year i plan to build a touring bike If i can build a 2x8 with this, that would be perfect. ;)

I put the acolyte on my sons college bike. After test riding it, I realized how great it was. I was trying to keep this a secret.

I have Acolyte on my alt-bar gravel bike. 12-46 cassette with a 44 tooth front chainring. It works extremely well. The only issue to nitpick is the limited range, I guess. However I have never hit a climb where I really felt like I needed more than the 46 yet. The fact is, for a gravel bike, you usually get a 42 anyway and dirt roads don't really get that steep. I picked a 44 tooth chainring to make up for the lack 11 tooth cassette, but when in the tallest gear, I feel like I am pushing my legs to their limit anyway. So, really, I have not seen the 12-46 range as a real problem. I paid $88.00 for the cassette, derailleur, and shifter plus a $9.00 chain, all from REI . If this is the way you all are going to do business, you have a customer for life!

I have an acolyte on my ebike and it’s great. Love microshift.

I love Acolyte! It's a bombproof and reliable drivetrain. My only gripe with it is that the Quick Trigger Pro still uses push/pull vs. push/push levers. That's honestly the biggest barrier stopping me from putting it more of my bikes.

I was running a 9 speed Microshift Advent groupset on my BBSHD powered Ebike until I recently destroyed the derailleur on a rock. I've decided to "downgrade" to the Acolyte groupset for 3 reasons of which he mentioned. 1. I don't need 9 speeds on a motor that pushes 1850 watts. 2. 8 speed chains are thicker and last longer before stretching. 3. If I destroy another derailleur it'll be cheaper to replace. Acolyte for the win!!

There is a specific group of riders that actually does not like to have 50 different gears. I have Advent on my bike, but I think this one would be ok too. I rarely use the hardest gear anyway. But the range is there, I can climb anything like spiderman

I have now got Advent X on my Gravel Bike including the road style Advent X shifters, Have installed an Advent X system to my dad's bike replacing the clumsy Tourney junk that came as standard and have even bought a spare advent X groupset if I ever do a future mtb build. That's how impressed I have been with the Microshift groupsets, and I am coming from riding XT on my old MTB. As an enthusiast rider, I just don't need the few slight performance benefits I get from the big increase in cost for XT and I benefit much more from the replaceability, affordability, and repairability of Advent X. I am absolutely sold on Microshift. Keep going, guys. Listen to what the people want from their bikes and not the big three marketing department.

Im definitely gonna have to try Acolyte out soon, i love the two AdventX and the MarvoLT that i have. Can Acolyte be ran with a 2x or 3x setup?

Can the acolyte drive train system be used in a 3x8 setup or would I need to change to a 1x8 setup?

Will the Acolyte derailleur talk to your 8 speed road shifter? I have them on my 3x8 and it would be pretty awesome to get that 12-46 cassette and derailleur on there.

Will this Acolyte rear derailleur work with an Advent 8 speed trigger shifter? Do they use the same cable pull ratios?

I love your drivetrains! I have an Advent myself. Would love to see you take that quality and price relation to other components like bars and cranks.

Can i use these on MV's and folding bikes?

I have the Super Short version with 11-28 Sram cassette on my “do it all” freeride bike. It’s killer 😄

Thanx. What size 1x chainring do I want to get for a 12-46 cassette? Thanx again

I was thinking of using a smaller range such as 11-38t cassette. Has anyone tried using other cassettes than the Microshift?

I've seen some guys replacing their AdventX v1 for the Acolyte. I'm using the legacy XLE11 and would prefer the Acolyte, but it is expensive here in Brazil (I don't know why). Why don't you guys use the same SpringLock system for AdventX?

Do you offer any thing like match maker or ispec to attach it to the brake clamps? That would make it even more attractive

Everything i love about Microshift i one video

So I'm over 400lbs, and building a steel frame bike up. I wanted a 8 speed system for the extra durability factor. Went full Acolyte so we will see how it holds up.

Acolyte user also for my GT Avalanche. From philippines..

Do I need a dork disk to replace the 11-32 on my kids and wife’s bike with this? If so where do you find those?

Hey my freind, is the 8 speed acolyte cassette compatible with a sram 8 speed rear derailleur?

I need to change most of my drivetrain, rear cassette, chain, front chain rings. I'd seriously consider microSHIFT for a 2x10 or 2x11 drivetrain as an upgrade/replacement for my Alivio 3x9, but I haven't had much luck finding anything from microSHIFT. So my options are Deore XT 2x11, Deore 5120 in 2x10 / 2x11 or wait for Shimano Cues to hit the shops.

I do bike builds for friends. Having a project keeps me out of trouble. The last such build used Advent 9-speed on a campus commuter. I will have to give Acolyte a try on an upcoming build. This bike will be for a young mother who will be riding a paved rail trail with her daughter. Acolyte should be more than enough.

Can the super short version be run with 2x?

Can you still shift with clutch engaged?

Can I ride up steep hills with this 1x8?

So why doesn't microSHIFT make a 1x8 drop-bar shifter for an Acolyte derailleur (RD-M5185M specifically) to use on a microSHIFT 12-42T cassette?

Cool product, good marketing

if it works well it's good, that simple.

Please new vídeos for e-bikes and Cargo Bikes or Cargo e-bikes. 8 And 9 Speed Durability of the components🤘🏻

Expensive mean extra time workin to get it. Cheap mean extra time for fun. Fun time is priceless.

Make a video of it going through all the gears😂

Definitely super value for the American market but they're competing against Aliexpress parts and those are "cheaper".

Adventx is epic but my acolyte is not up to par.

Have 2 sets of Acolyte, 1 set of Advent, 2 sets of AdventX. All performing well and as advertised. Please bring on an 11 (or 12) speed.

It's not cheap, it's inexpensive, which has different connotations in the real world. Cheap is used as both inexpensive and of lesser quality. These are not cheap, but they are extremely inexpensive.

not at all a good sign when the like dislike ratio is disabled by the channel. guess im spending that extra money on a shimano or sram.