LTWOO RX hydro sets

[jonathanf2]

Do the LTWOO hydro shifters work with Shimano calipers? Would make “upgrading” a little simpler for the electronic set. They could sell just the necessary electronic bits (shifters, derailleurs, battery) and use the rest (cranks, calipers, chain) from your existing group.

Should work, but I don't want to deal with the LTwoo stuff again. I think I'll stick to either Shimano or Sensah for the budget stuff, they feel better designed in my opinion. Also the LTwoo R9 hydro shifters have a really annoying way of inserting the shift cabling, a lot of unnecessary convoluted design choices. The big annoyance was just accessing the clamping bolt, the rubber hoods are so difficult to move out of the way, you need a 5mm hex wrench with a rounded bit head just to access the clamp bolt properly. Plus for some weird reason even after clamping one of the shifters, it wouldn't properly secure. My left shifter would still wiggle even with a bit of tape between the clamp and bar. I'm thinking they probably would fit better on alloy bars instead. The right shifter and indexing the RD was alright, but all my problems were with the left shifter and FD adjustments. Maybe my left shifter is faulty, I'm not sure.

The only positive thing I can say is the LTwoo hydro brake calipers are actually pretty good with ample spacing with the brake pads. I think I'll salvage those and pair them up with some hydraulic Shimano shifters down the road.

[00Garza]

Yikes. Just got my replacement GR9 shifter today and hoping for a less stressful experience.

[abedfo]

Just out of interest/if anyone is crazy to do it long term....

I have installed the l-twoo gr9 rear derailleur with sensah grx shifters and it works fine.

Setting it up reminds me how much i dislike the sensah shifters, the lever throw is faaaaaaar too long on them for my small hands. I find it so long its really difficult to get it shift accurately in the stand and get it indexed perfectly. Im looking forward to installing the rest of the l-twoo groupset and comparing. 

Another thing i like about the l-twoo derailleur is that it looks like a premium product and the silver accents match my chrome frame perfectly. 

[jonathanf2]

Just out of interest/if anyone is crazy to do it long term....

I have installed the l-twoo gr9 rear derailleur with sensah grx shifters and it works fine.

Setting it up reminds me how much i dislike the sensah shifters, the lever throw is faaaaaaar too long on them for my small hands. I find it so long its really difficult to get it shift accurately in the stand and get it indexed perfectly. Im looking forward to installing the rest of the l-twoo groupset and comparing. 

Another thing i like about the l-twoo derailleur is that it looks like a premium product and the silver accents match my chrome frame perfectly.

I'm running Sensah Team Pro shifters which are the Shimano compatible and shifter throw is similar to my 105 5800 shifters. Though my Shimano GRX shifters seem to be a bit more concise when shifting.

[jonathanf2]

I'm planning to give my LTwoo R9 hydro shifters another try, especially since I received a pair of ZRace XG brake calipers that are surprisingly small/light. Even with the heavier hydro shifters, I should be within 100g of my older mechanical 105 shifters+Juin Tech calipers combined weight. I think for vastly improved braking, 100g is worth the weight penalty.

I opted to swap my drop bars with another a set of Alpha Pasca drops (from AliEx/Amazon) that have separate cable/hose holes for the shifters/brakes. I think my other drop bars were giving the LTwoo front FD shift cable issues on the cable pull. All cables exit through two spacious holes by the stem. The bars come in sub 200g and still feel quite stiff. I also swapped my shift wires to thicker Shimano spec wires, which I find just have better pull and feel with Shimano derailleurs. I find the supplied LTwoo shift cable wires too thin and easier to fray for my liking.

[cestmoi]

Nice one. I'm getting on fine with mine, so far. As you say, a little heavier than 105 but in my book not that far out. Best of luck!

[dsveddy]

I'm planning to give my LTwoo R9 hydro shifters another try, especially since I received a pair of ZRace XG brake calipers that are surprisingly small/light.

Make sure to set the olive as close to the barb as possible on these. They have a design flaw where the hose blocks one of outboard oil port if the hose is sticking out at all.

[jonathanf2]

Make sure to set the olive as close to the barb as possible on these. They have a design flaw where the hose blocks one of outboard oil port if the hose is sticking out at all.

Is this flaw a major issue? Also in regards to bleeding, do you have to bleed these calipers from the levers? My GRX brake calipers can be bled directly. I'm trying to get these setup this week.

[jonathanf2]

I finally finished my LTwoo R9 hydro install. This was a totally pain in the a**. Everything was going smoothly until I found out the rear brake hose had a slight leak. Mineral oil was leaking from inside my frame! I had to remove the hose and luckily I had a spare laying around. This time around I was able to get shifting to work properly and I'm running both Shimano front and rear derailleurs with the LTwoo shifters. I'm just glad to be done with it!

I find everything I buy from AliExpress to be a headache, I don't know why I still bother to buy stuff from there! Lol

FYI - I forgot to mention I actually dropped weight on my bike in this configuration. The XG calipers and removal of brake cables probably cut a few grams.

[carbonazza]

... until I found out the rear brake hose had a slight leak. Mineral oil was leaking from inside my frame!...

Was the hose damaged by friction/cut or was it a factory defect?

[planet_sammy]

I finally finished my LTwoo R9 hydro install. This was a totally pain in the a**. Everything was going smoothly until I found out the rear brake hose had a slight leak. Mineral oil was leaking from inside my frame! I had to remove the hose and luckily I had a spare laying around. This time around I was able to get shifting to work properly and I'm running both Shimano front and rear derailleurs with the LTwoo shifters. I'm just glad to be done with it!

I find everything I buy from AliExpress to be a headache, I don't know why I still bother to buy stuff from there! Lol

FYI - I forgot to mention I actually dropped weight on my bike in this configuration. The XG calipers and removal of brake cables probably cut a few grams.

What kind of protection is that on the shifter (looks like a red finger cap) and where did you get it from?

[jonathanf2]

Was the hose damaged by friction/cut or was it a factory defect?

I think the hose was bent while routing it through the frame by the bottom bracket shell. I must have shoved it in a bit too hard. Saying that, the provided hoses are a lot more fragile compared to the Shimano hoses I use on my GRX equipped gravel bike.

[jonathanf2]

What kind of protection is that on the shifter (looks like a red finger cap) and where did you get it from?

These little rubber end caps are awesome. They protect the shifters and drop bar ends from falls.

https://aliexpress.us/item/3256803606384539.html

[jonathanf2]

I took the new setup out for a 32 mile ride. First I need to readjust my bike fit due to the change of drop bars, so I have a shorter stem on order. Regarding the LTwoo shifters, they seem to shift decently, the right shifter seems a tad jumpy for the RD, but it could just be the new shift cables settling in. Also the left shifter works well, but I find the trim settings to be pretty useless. On the positive side I don't seem to need the trim when in the gearing extremities. I'm not sure if it has something to do with using an Ultegra R8000 RD vs using the LTwoo R9 FD? In regards to braking, I still need to dial the caliper alignment properly. The ZRace XG hydro calipers I'm using have very little leeway for my Shimano Ice rotors. Also I still need to tweak the lever tension. It's a bit of balancing act, because the more tension you put in the lever, also affect the pad spacing of the calipers it seems. Lastly I'm not sure I like the Campy style upshift levers, on hard climbs I like to fully grip my hoods, but these upshift levers are in the way and forces me to 1 finger wrap the brake lever. Lastly I had my bike leaning up against a fence and the wind blew my bike down. Since the brake lever position is in a fixed position, I can definitely see how they can snap off. Luckily there was no damage using the alloy version, but I can see how the carbon version could break.

So far the pros of the conversion were a significant drop in weight (I went from 7.2kg to about 7.03kg) and better braking performance which seems most noticeable on fast descents allowing me to late brake into a corner, though I still need to dial in the modulation of the brakes. The cons for me are awkward grip with the upshift lever in my way, the potential for damage of the brake levers and the extremely finicky nature of the levers. They're just not user friendly to install/adjust. Compared to my GRX levers on my gravel bike, it's night and day when it comes to ease of installation, durability and actual use. Also if I was in no rush, I'd wait for Sensah to release their hydraulic drop shifters. My Sensah Team Pro shifters on my other road bike feel very close to my older 105 5800 shifters. If you got the money though, just invest in Shimano shifters and derailleurs, you'll save yourself so much headache!

[jonathanf2]

Has anyone done a thorough comparison between the LTwoo and the ZRace XG hydraulic calipers? I'm finding the ZRace calipers to have very tight pad clearance. They remind me of Shimano hydraulic calipers in that regards. Because of the tight clearance, I'm having to ease off a bit with the right lever adjustment screw. My left lever feels perfect though.