What's the general feeling towards ltwoo erx in spring 2024? I've been tempted to pull the trigger on a number of occasions but too many of the YT influencers saying it's not a finished product, has inherent problems etc ( maybe ltwoo aren't paying them enough to endorse). Aliexpress have a sale this week, never been a better time to buy however I value reliability over anything.
If you value reliability over ANYTHING, then buy Shimano.
YouTubers often receive early units and they serve as beta testers. Bad strategy? These YouTubers had the battery with tabs and not springs, which caused most of the concerns.
Your concern over shilling is also warranted. Anybody who has a discount code on anything has an interest in you spending more, mathematically. And so if you don't see a discount code on l-twoo, they don't stand to benefit, which is worse. If they don't make money from it but then users report problems, then they just shit themselves in the foot twice.
I'm very happy with my 5 er9, but I kind of want them to fail to see what happens. I enjoy the tinkering and the grind of making my own bike infinitely more than buying off the shelf pre packaged branded stuff. Shimano for me is a patent troll and SRAM is the worst assemble of engineers in recent bike history, so I will get out of my way to try alternatives.
I still use a Shimano group on an old bike. That stuff will never die. You probably should buy Shimano if your key concern is reliability. L-twoo electric groups didn't exist a year ago. Nobody can tell you how they age long term. They may age like fine wine, they may age like Lindsay Lohan. Do you want modern day Lindsay Lohan on your bike?