Shimano

GRX FC-RX810 Crankset

Off-road miles come with more vigorous demands than sticking to the tarmac, and as such it's unreasonable to assume featherweight road components are suited for the demands of gravel riding. Shimano saw to it that you don't have to choose between mountain or road setups this year with its launch of the GRX groupset, and the GRX FC-RX810 Crankset provides Ultegra-level stiffness, with gravel-minded gearing.

Shimano has the technical expertise and manufacturing prowess to create industry-leading shifting and stiffness to weight for the rings and crank arms, respectively. The latter property is owed to Shimano's Hollowtech II arm construction, a heavily guarded secret. Where other manufacturers drill the arms to reduce weight or create two sides and clam-shell them together, Shimano is able to forge the arms and still keep them hollow. As with the Shimano 8100 series, Shimano adds some width to the XR810's arms and orients the spider to more efficiently transfer energy during important power phases throughout the pedal stroke. The asymmetric spider and chainring spacing allows Shimano to put two chainring bolts close to the wider arms, further adding rigidity to the rings for better shifting and power transfer.