Comparisons of Pinion-drive models by an experienced rider and FIVE-time Priority Bicycles owner!
I may be the only Priority owner (outside of Ryan Van Duzer, as the designer and field-tester) to have direct experience with FIVE Priority bicycles covering FOUR different Priority models: P600, P600X, P600ADX, and TWO Continuum Onyx bikes. (This includes the “his and hers” Priority Continuum Onyx bikes for me and my wife.
In Part One of this review, I outlined my progression from the Priority 600 "All Road" to the Priority 600X "Adventure". Along the way, I modified the P600 from a commuter bike to a capable round-the-world touring bike capable of handling any paved or gravel road.
But then my goals shifted to more demanding trails that necessitated a bikepacking machine with more offroad capabilities - including a suspension fork. I sold my P600 to a tourist with plans to ride to Argentina! That opened space for my Priority 600X - which I equipped for loaded bikepacking adventures.
After more than 50 years of bicycle touring, I found my “dream” bikepacking rig!
And then, Ryan Van Duzer introduced me to the New and Improved Priority P600ADX…
I was VERY HAPPY with the performance of the ORIGINAL Priority 600X “Adventure”. The P600X has been proven over tens of thousands of cumulative miles on very demanding routes. Multiple owners have now ridden the GDMBR, Colorado Trail, Baja Divide, and numerous other bikepacking routes. Again, I was able to help a new rider with a used bike complete with tubeless tires, rear rack, and more that was ready to ride! I placed my order for the new Priority P600ADX.
Like everything, there is always room for small tweaks and incremental improvements. I give Priority a lot of credit for listening to its owners and then introducing the new P600ADX.
Priority Bicycles has not been content to rest on the laurels of the original P600X – the first production Pinion/Gates bikepacking model. Here is a list of the changes made to the NEW Priority P600ADX: (See also the previous article that details these changes.)
Priority redesigned the frame geometry. First, they shortened the seat tube and increased the angle of the top tube to lower the step-over height. The seat tube is also ready to run a control cable to add an optional dropper post.
To add stiffness to the frame, they added a gusset at the top of the seat tube and another larger reinforcement at the bottom at the Pinion mount.
The head tube angle was increased to add quickness in the turns.
There is now an Extra Small and Extra-Large size, in addition to Medium and Large. These four sizes are intended for riders from 5’3” to over 6’5”.
The frame still includes a kickstand, but the mount uses two stronger thru-bolts.
The suspension fork was upgraded with the Marzocchi Bomber Z2. This new fork has 100mm travel and offers a lightweight, smooth, and plush ride experience. There is one air chamber that allows you to adjust the sag for your weight and the rate of rebound. The fork has a lockout for riding pavement sections. The Marzocchi fork is built in the Fox factory, so maintenance and parts are accessible in most any bike shop that services Fox shocks.
Thru-axles are used on both hubs. The rear hub is now the wider boost spacing for maximum strength.
A stronger single-gear rear freehub was chosen that has double the pawl engagement for strength under load.
The wheels now use WTB KOM Trail rims, laced with 32 14g stainless spokes.
The P600ADX is supplied with lighter and faster WTB Ranger 29 x 2.4” tires. Both the rims and tires are tubeless compatible – but the 600ADX is supplied with inner tubes. (I recommend riding with these tubes at close to full pressure for at least 100 miles to make seating the tires easier in the tubeless conversion process. See also the related article on the tubeless tire conversion process – CLICK HERE.) Also note that there is ample frame clearance to run 2.6” tires, and maybe wider depending on the tread.
The P600ADX uses excellent Shimano TRP hydraulic disc brakes. The brake rotors are thicker for durability and more reliable stopping power. You will also note that the rear brake line now runs along the outside of the top tube instead of being routed internally. This just makes servicing much simpler.
The P600ADX still has plenty of frame mounts for bags and bottle cages. Priority now supplies the bike with wider flathead bolts to make installation of accessories faster than the original Allen head bolts.
The combination of these changes has increased the rider and gear weight rating to 300 pounds. The bike in the large frame size weighs 34 pounds. This is not a superlight road bike or racing MTB, but a bike that is designed to be durable and dependable over thousands and thousands of miles of loaded bikepacking on demanding terrain where breakdowns are simply unacceptable.
WOW – that’s a Baker’s Dozen of improvements on the new Priority P600ADX!
A few things didn’t change. The P600ADX still has the reliable, sealed, low maintenance Pinion C1.12 gearbox paired with the Gates carbon-fiber drive belt.
The Priority P600ADX still uses the same Gates 115t CDX drive belt. This belt has a central grove which meshes with a ridge on the crank and freehub sprockets and is designed to keep the belt from slipping off if your tension is too weak.
I can testify that this drive train is great – and it gets smoother the more miles you rack up! Shifting is instant if you simply pause for a split second – less than the count of ONE! Like a derailleur - if you relax the pressure on the pedals - you can shift while pedaling slowly.
The Pinion gearbox gives you the option to instantly shift across MULTIPLE gears.
I think this is one of the underrated advantages of the Pinion geared transmission. When I approach sharp, steep hills, I routinely downshift 2 or 3 gears. Likewise, as I crest a long uphill, I routinely upshift 2 or 3 gears. Likewise, if you need to stop at a traffic light or to catch your breath on the trail, you can downshift multiple gears to make restarting much easier.
You may have noticed that the Priority models all share the “600” model designation. Unlike the conventional freewheel, sprockets, and bike chain, the Pinion drive uses a series of central and planetary gears. This design – based on the Porsche transmission – has two main advantages. The first is the 636% gear range incorporated in the Pinion transmission.
What does a 636% gear range mean?
Simply, the easiest gear is more than 6 times lower than the highest gear. Put another way, each rotation of the crank in the highest gear (that is, #12 on the twist shifter) results in moving SIX times farther forward than in the lowest gear (that is, #1 on the twist shifter.) In comparison, the WIDEST range on mountain bikes with the largest possible rear freewheel is about 500%. In other words, you have a lower “low” and a higher “high” with the Pinion C1.12 gear drive, resulting in a 27% WIDER range!
Secondly, using a series of meshing gears (instead of sprockets and chain) allows the engineers to deliver 12 perfectly spaced, distinct. This is not possible with the design limitations of freewheel sprockets. (Want to see the INSIDE of the Pinion gear box? Click HERE!)
Note that the P600ADX is supplied with 32-tooth stainless Gates CDX sprockets front and rear. If you are familiar with “gear inches” (that is, distance/rotation), this results in a range of 16.1” to 97.5”. If you want a higher range for flat terrain, swapping to a smaller 30-tooth rear cog will increase the gear range from 17.2” to 104.4”. Conversely, for more power on a loaded bike in the mountains, swapping to a larger 34-tooth rear cog would lower the gear inch range from 15.2” to 91.8”. All this is possible with the stock Gates 115T belt. Any other gear combinations will require a different length belt. Consult the Gates Carbon Drive Calculator for more information.
The nearly indestructible Gates carbon fiber drive belt means that I no longer need to carry a chain tool, master links, chain lube, or a freewheel removal tool. BUT - I strongly recommend that you don't embark on a wilderness bikepacking trip without a SPARE drive belt! The belts weigh next to nothing and can be folded into a small ziplock bag. This is CHEAP insurance! Having a spare belt almost guarantees that you will never need it - which is great since the average bike shop won't have the right belt model in stock. Click HERE to order.
Finally, like all the Priority belt-drive bikes, the rear dropouts on the P600ADX provide for simple adjustment of the belt tension. If you ever need to replace the belt, the rear dropouts separate to enable the installation of the continuous belt. I HIGHLY recommend buying a spare belt to stash in your pack on extended bikepacking trips! Local bike shops will not usually have this belt in stock.
Speaking of bike shops, one related change is that Priority is slowly adding a few dealers. Priority and Pinion are also compiling a growing list of shops who are trained to service the internal gear box. For more information and current listings, check PriorityBicycles.com.
I just completed logging several hundred miles on the NEW and IMPROVED Priority 600ADX. I now feel that I have sufficient experience to provide this Priority P600ADX review and compare it to the original P600X.
These first rides include my first overnight #bikepacking adventure: the “Minocqua to Marshfield Gravel Grinder”. This route covered about 125 miles of bike trails, gravel forest and farm roads, including some rolling central Wisconsin paved town and county roads.
The ride was in late September and the forecast called for UNUSUALLY warm Fall weather in northern Wisconsin. After visiting my family for the weekend in Minocqua, WI, I took a gravel route home to Marshfield, WI. I left after noon on Sunday and biked from Minocqua to Tomahawk, Wisconsin on the Bearskin Trail, a reclaimed “rail trail” that is open for bikes in the summer and snowmobiles in the long Wisconsin Winters.
I continued into the Oneida County forest to Tripoli, WI for snacks and water resupply. Then I rode about 15 miles south into the Lincoln County Forest to camp for the night. I only needed a tarp as no rain was in the forecast and the overnight temperature was mild. I planned a no-cook menu for supper and breakfast - so no stove was packed. Just my sleeping pad, quilt, and some warm clothes for the morning riding.
Here are scenes from the Minocqua to Marshfield Gravel Grinder, bikepacking with the Priority 600ADX:
On Monday morning I continued south through miles of perfect gravel roads in the county forest. After crossing Hwy 64, the terrain opens to mixed farmlands. By noon I arrived in Athens, WI for more snacks, water, and Gatorade! Then it was a mix of gravel and paved county roads home to Marshfield. I arrived mid-afternoon, completing the 123-mile route.
The new Priority Bicycles 600ADX bikepacking machine was flawless.
I had packed lightly for this overnight trip, and the P600ADX was both stiff and responsive. I checked the tension of the carbon fiber Gates belt at each rest stop, but never touched it otherwise. Shifting the Pinion sealed transmission has become second nature (twist BACK for the lower gears and FORWARD for more speed!) You never miss a shift, and the process is fast and silent. The only noise you hear is the tire tread on the road surface. (If you hear a squeak, it's time to hose the dust off the Gates belt with a splash of WATER!)
I have now owned several Pinion-drive bikes and the new Priority 600ADX is the best!
As noted earlier, a few tweaks were made to the frame geometry to add stiffness, and I was impressed when I needed to stand to pedal up the longer hills. The new fork is also a noticeable improvement (You can see that I added water bottle cages to the forks – and a detailed article will follow that covers all of my modifications and accessories.)
Bikepacking is not a speed test, but depends on the bike being solid, comfortable, and efficient for hour after hour of loaded travel.
For this overnight trip, I only carried a light duffel on the handlebars (supported by a Lone Peak harness) and a stuff sack on the rear rack that contained my sleeping pad, quilt, and extra clothes. I outfitted the P600ADX with a modified rear rack, frame bag (with internal frame mounts), and "feed bags" on the handlebars.
Other than the gas station in Tripoli, I didn’t have a resupply option until Athens. In total I carried FOUR water bottles – two on the forks, one in the handlebar feed bag, and the fourth inside the frame bag in a cage on the down tube. I did carry a water filter, but the four bottles were exactly enough to see me through until my lunch stop.
After previously owning the original Priority 600X Adventure, I can testify to the improvements in the frame, components, fork, and wheels of the new P600ADX. The bombproof drivetrain combined with the easy rolling 29er wheels and tubeless tires makes the Priority 600ADX the new benchmark bikepacking machine!
Priority Bicycles has discontinued the original 600X. Given the the choice, would I buy the new P600ADX? What would I PAY for the upgrades? With all the improvements, I would expect to pay at least $500 MORE for the new Priority 600ADX.
But you don’t need to! Priority has refined what was the BEST bikepacking bike on the market and introduced the new P600ADX at the SAME price as the original.
You can’t beat that! You should also note that you can spend TWICE as much for comparable bikepacking rigs with the Pinion/Gates combo from custom bike builders.
Conclusion to this comparison and review of the Priority P600ADX:
I would happily ride around the world on my original Priority P600 “All Road”.
The Priority 600X Adventure set a new standard and WAS the dream bikepacking rig.
But the P600ADX is even BETTER! Bikepackers who insist on durability, comfort, and carrying capacity CANNOT beat the performance and value of the Priority 600ADX!
I will never go back to a derailleur, freewheel, and chain! I will gladly ride a Pinion-drive bike if it weighs a pound more to enjoy all the design, performance, and maintenance advantages.
My only problem is that when I am not bikepacking, I enjoy fast gravel riding, including some competitive grinders, limited road cycling, and the occasional ultralight bike tour. Now I need to buy the new Priority Gemini gravel bike with the Pinion C1.12i gear drive with ELECTRONIC shifting! Stay tuned…
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