Author Topic: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets  (Read 75122 times)

kenderu

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #435 on: February 22, 2024, 11:38:50 AM »
It happens to the best of us! I now carry the USB charger cable with a USB C to A converter, so I can quickly top up just enough to get me home/anywhere to stop and charge using only my phone. Both the cable and USB converter are so compact I can easily shove them in my saddle bag.

This is genius.  I went out without charging the groupset after a few months off the bike, and it was fine for the first 40km until the cafe, close to the cafe the FD and RD were getting slow on shifting (FD wouldnt shift the whole way, RD would take 2-3 presses to react), I set the gears to a manageable gear and then everything died on the way back.  Would've saved me if I did this.

I did see that I had 4% battery life left before I left so it was my fault.

boxof13

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #436 on: February 22, 2024, 12:59:32 PM »
This is genius.  I went out without charging the groupset after a few months off the bike, and it was fine for the first 40km until the cafe, close to the cafe the FD and RD were getting slow on shifting (FD wouldnt shift the whole way, RD would take 2-3 presses to react), I set the gears to a manageable gear and then everything died on the way back.  Would've saved me if I did this.

I did see that I had 4% battery life left before I left so it was my fault.

Honestly, this is some of the few small things that keeps me from going away from eR9/eRX. For comparison, Shimano's charging cable is bulkier and probably takes much more space in my saddle bag if I want to do the same strategy.

All the flexibility that comes with LTWOO are so user friendly, from the variable 10-12 speed, user replaceable battery, individual gear indexing, air vent for bleeding, great app for on-the-fly adjustments. I know Shimano/SRAM may already have most, if not all of these, but considering I can get eR9 for a fraction of the price (they are now even much cheaper compared to launch price and I got my second eR9 for $380 after tax), I am now a happy user. I am hoping the second and third generation of eR9/eRX would solve all the issues users are currently having. By then, I would not hesitate to recommend the groupset to others.

It's actually somewhat impressive that they managed to do all these in their first generation product, while avoiding all the patent minefield left by Shimano/SRAM.
« Last Edit: February 22, 2024, 01:09:39 PM by boxof13 »

Serge_K

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #437 on: February 22, 2024, 01:25:01 PM »
It happens to the best of us! I now carry the USB charger cable with a USB C to A converter, so I can quickly top up just enough to get me home/anywhere to stop and charge using only my phone. Both the cable and USB converter are so compact I can easily shove them in my saddle bag.

Wait, whaaaat? I got to try this. I was thinking of maybe carrying a small battery pack, but if the phone can charge it, then F*** yeah Matt Damon!
Thank you!

boxof13

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #438 on: February 22, 2024, 01:32:34 PM »
Wait, whaaaat? I got to try this. I was thinking of maybe carrying a small battery pack, but if the phone can charge it, then F*** yeah Matt Damon!
Thank you!

Yep! Worked for me the other day. You probably want to make sure you enable USB OTG setting in whatever phone you are using. Though I bet most phones these days come with OTG enabled by default.

Sebastian

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #439 on: February 22, 2024, 01:51:28 PM »
I too bought aftermarket batteries because I purchased the groupset without them. I am now at roughly 9000 shifts according to the app (although I'm not sure if this has been reset somewhere along the way when doing firmware updates). I've clocked around 1700km on this groupset and I've just charged it for the second time like 100km ago. So I think it's roughly on par with Sram AXS groups when it comes to batter life.

What is slightly annoying is that while the battery level is correctly displayed in the app, I still get a low battery level warning every time the groupset connects to my Wahoo when starting a ride. It's a bug that apparently still hasn't been fixed. Unless one of you guys knows something I don't?

kenderu

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #440 on: February 22, 2024, 11:23:14 PM »
I too bought aftermarket batteries because I purchased the groupset without them. I am now at roughly 9000 shifts according to the app (although I'm not sure if this has been reset somewhere along the way when doing firmware updates). I've clocked around 1700km on this groupset and I've just charged it for the second time like 100km ago. So I think it's roughly on par with Sram AXS groups when it comes to batter life.

What is slightly annoying is that while the battery level is correctly displayed in the app, I still get a low battery level warning every time the groupset connects to my Wahoo when starting a ride. It's a bug that apparently still hasn't been fixed. Unless one of you guys knows something I don't?

I've got the same issue on my Garmin.  Shows up as low battery but the battery indicator is correct when I put it on my screen.  What size battery did you get? I find I can only get about 300-400km before needing to recharge, I have 2x1000mah 14500 batteries in mine.

zerstorer

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #441 on: February 23, 2024, 01:12:26 AM »
Vapcell f12 works well for me. You would want something that is high capacity and low self discharge.

Sebastian

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #442 on: February 23, 2024, 01:26:53 AM »
I got 2x800mAh units for around 13EUR which according to the shop are slightly more premium quality. They’re from a company called PATONA. Not on e of those generic blue ones. But what do I know? All I can say is they’re working well for me. Also, whenever I did charge my groupset, it still had 16-20% of battery capacity left. So I probably could have gone further.

erickr

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #443 on: February 23, 2024, 03:47:54 PM »
Honestly, this is some of the few small things that keeps me from going away from eR9/eRX. For comparison, Shimano's charging cable is bulkier and probably takes much more space in my saddle bag if I want to do the same strategy.

All the flexibility that comes with LTWOO are so user friendly, from the variable 10-12 speed, user replaceable battery, individual gear indexing, air vent for bleeding, great app for on-the-fly adjustments. I know Shimano/SRAM may already have most, if not all of these, but considering I can get eR9 for a fraction of the price (they are now even much cheaper compared to launch price and I got my second eR9 for $380 after tax), I am now a happy user. I am hoping the second and third generation of eR9/eRX would solve all the issues users are currently having. By then, I would not hesitate to recommend the groupset to others.

It's actually somewhat impressive that they managed to do all these in their first generation product, while avoiding all the patent minefield left by Shimano/SRAM.

where are you getting the er9 for $380?

boxof13

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #444 on: February 23, 2024, 04:16:31 PM »
where are you getting the er9 for $380?

It was a few months ago when AliExpress and 80 Designer Store both had coupon discounts. It was too tempting to miss, so I decided to buy the set for another bike I plan to build for my wife. Nowadays, you can find eR9 for ~ $400 during discount days, which happens quite frequently it seems. Early this month, it was selling for $400.

raisinberry777

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #445 on: February 23, 2024, 08:28:21 PM »
It was a few months ago when AliExpress and 80 Designer Store both had coupon discounts. It was too tempting to miss, so I decided to buy the set for another bike I plan to build for my wife. Nowadays, you can find eR9 for ~ $400 during discount days, which happens quite frequently it seems. Early this month, it was selling for $400.

Best I've seen is $400 during one of those discount days, and then using an AliExpress $50 off $350 code (which happens once every few months), so $350 pre-tax.

jcr

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #446 on: February 24, 2024, 08:47:27 PM »
Not really worth a vid, IMO. I pulled the plug, applied silicone grease in the slot where the plug sits and put it back in. It takes literally less than a minute. I washed the bike thoroughly yesterday and did spray water onto the RD and the plug deliberately. No issues. You could probably even use silicone sealant for a more permanent solution. The flakes everywhere on the pic are just little pieces of wax from the chain.

Still debating about getting this groupset but concern about the water proofing. So the silicone grease goes inside the connectors?

I was thinking of applying silcone gasket maker on the outside of the connector instead in inside https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/black-gasket-makers/permatex-ultra-black-rtv-silicone-gasket-maker-3-35-oz/

Sebastian

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #447 on: February 25, 2024, 05:46:00 AM »
Still debating about getting this groupset but concern about the water proofing. So the silicone grease goes inside the connectors?

I was thinking of applying silcone gasket maker on the outside of the connector instead in inside https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/black-gasket-makers/permatex-ultra-black-rtv-silicone-gasket-maker-3-35-oz/

You don't want to put it inside the plug or get it on the connector pins. It's really only there to fill the space between the plug and the socket to keep water from getting in there. So you put it round the outside of the plug and then you plug it in and wipe of the excess and you're done.
Like I said, I believe you only need to do it on the RD. Since the socket is upside down on the FD the chance of water ingress is practically zero.

jcr

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #448 on: February 25, 2024, 02:45:51 PM »
so it sounds more like a tolerance issue with the connectors. It doesn't look like the Shimano e-tubes have a seal on them at least not easily seen in pictures.

electrolux

Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
« Reply #449 on: February 25, 2024, 02:55:24 PM »
etube take quite a bit of force to connect, especially the new SD300 on 12S stuff.