Wheeltop EDS GeX

[Scott1234]

Help with gearing?

I'm confused by Wheeltop saying minimum cog "10-11t". Does that mean 10t may have issues? Anyone with specific experience?

I'd like to get the additional occasional speed of 10t based on my browing of gear calculator. The 10t-45t shimano cassettes look good to me (even though I need microspline wheels), or there are 10-46t XD cassettes.

Better to be safe and stick with 11t?

[asarkany]

Help with gearing?

I'm confused by Wheeltop saying minimum cog "10-11t". Does that mean 10t may have issues? Anyone with specific experience?

I'd like to get the additional occasional speed of 10t based on my browing of gear calculator. The 10t-45t shimano cassettes look good to me (even though I need microspline wheels), or there are 10-46t XD cassettes.

Better to be safe and stick with 11t?

I asked a similar question from wheeltop and they said that 10-44, 10-45 is absolutely fine, they had compatibility issues on some frames with 10-52 but not with 11-52. So I guess it is more of a capacity thing on the extreme ends, but you should be good with 10-45 according to them.

[lidation]

I asked a similar question from wheeltop and they said that 10-44, 10-45 is absolutely fine, they had compatibility issues on some frames with 10-52 but not with 11-52. So I guess it is more of a capacity thing on the extreme ends, but you should be good with 10-45 according to them.

I asked them the same question a week ago and I just got their reply back saying that their GeX derailleur will work with XDR 12speed 10-44T cassette. They have no problem working with that 10-tooth cog.

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

On taobao the groupset with the current gen brakes is 2600 yuan which equals 330€. Using a shipping agent i could probably get it to germany for a lot less than 400€ making it a good deal. Does anybody know if it's possible to activate a unit that's sold on the chinese market with a european phone or if these units are region locked?

[lidation]

On taobao the groupset with the current gen brakes is 2600 yuan which equals 330€. Using a shipping agent i could probably get it to germany for a lot less than 400€ making it a good deal. Does anybody know if it's possible to activate a unit that's sold on the chinese market with a european phone or if these units are region locked?

Great find! I had no idea the price difference was so significant. 
In the US,, it is $599 including shipping - I just bought a set of GeX last week.  Out of curiosity, I also just checked the Chinesse Taobao site, and yeah you are right, they are selling it for RMB 2608, which is about $360 including shipping.  I had thought Trump's tariffs were only 10-20%.  This makes me seriously considering flying to China, stocking up on stuffs and bringing it all back. It might even cover the cost of the entire trip.

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

It really depends on the item and i‘d say 90% of the time it makes sense to just order via aliexpress. When buying on taobao and then shipping by yourself you literally get zero after sales support. But here in this case it would make sense. Paying <400€ vs 600€ and you replace something in case it breaks in the long run would most likely still be cheaper. And if nothing breaks you got an amazing deal.

I‘m really close to pulling the trigger on it to make my gravel bike electric but i‘m still not sure about possible region locks.

[lidation]

Does the Wheeltop GeX rear derailleur work with SRAM's flattop 12-speed chains? Anyone?

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

On taobao the groupset with the current gen brakes is 2600 yuan which equals 330€. Using a shipping agent i could probably get it to germany for a lot less than 400€ making it a good deal. Does anybody know if it's possible to activate a unit that's sold on the chinese market with a european phone or if these units are region locked?

In the name of science: I actually did it: I ordered the groupset from taobao to the warehouse of my shipping agent. So far i paid 2599 yuan + 3% international card fee so 2677 yuan which equals around 340€. There's usually also a 1,8% fee from my credit card to convert the yuan to euro. So the total price should come out to 2725 yuan which is 345€.

I will let you know about the shipping price from my shipping agent to germany. I'm pretty optimistic that it will come out to less than 400€ including import taxes etc.

For comparison: From wheeltop website it's 599€ and from aliexpress it's at least 470€ without any taxes paid, so at least 500€ probably more.

If everything goes right this is a good deal. If it doesn't work out like i imagine it might have been a really stupid idea. Wish me luck.

[waltini]

In the name of science: I actually did it: I ordered the groupset from taobao to the warehouse of my shipping agent. So far i paid 2599 yuan + 3% international card fee so 2677 yuan which equals around 340€. There's usually also a 1,8% fee from my credit card to convert the yuan to euro. So the total price should come out to 2725 yuan which is 345€.

I will let you know about the shipping price from my shipping agent to germany. I'm pretty optimistic that it will come out to less than 400€ including import taxes etc.

For comparison: From wheeltop website it's 599€ and from aliexpress it's at least 470€ without any taxes paid, so at least 500€ probably more.

If everything goes right this is a good deal. If it doesn't work out like i imagine it might have been a really stupid idea. Wish me luck.

Good luck! Report back as I've had it on my spreadsheet for my gravel build. No buy until you give us the good news 

[Scott1234]

In there any disadvantage to the long cage version, other than a bit of bulk?

I'm still torn on gearing. The 10-50t range with a 40t crank gives a great range, but I'm not sure about the 10t cog.

There's also a SRAM 12 spped, 11-44t available, bit narrower range mainly on the high end (11t), but the gaps are a bit smaller too, in the important flat ground 25-35km/h range.

Will the 10-50t be more fiddly and hard to calibrate? Any advice or thoughts? I'm a fairly fast rider but I do want to hang on to a low gear below 1:1 ratio for steep climbs. 40 front 44 back is about as high as I want there. 

[asarkany]

In there any disadvantage to the long cage version, other than a bit of bulk?

I'm still torn on gearing. The 10-50t range with a 40t crank gives a great range, but I'm not sure about the 10t cog.

There's also a SRAM 12 spped, 11-44t available, bit narrower range mainly on the high end (11t), but the gaps are a bit smaller too, in the important flat ground 25-35km/h range.

Will the 10-50t be more fiddly and hard to calibrate? Any advice or thoughts? I'm a fairly fast rider but I do want to hang on to a low gear below 1:1 ratio for steep climbs. 40 front 44 back is about as high as I want there.

According to wheeltop, no. I asked the same from them, and this was their answer: As long as the cassette size is within the 10-52t range, our product will be compatible and can be used without any issues.

[makl]

Are there any recommendations for braking discs which work well with the "new vrsion" GeX brakes?

[Jaypayne05]

Are there any recommendations for braking discs which work well with the "new vrsion" GeX brakes?

Any Shimano disc will do fine

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

First step is done, the groupset arrived at the warehouse of my shipping agent. Now i just need them to pack it and ship it to germany. I could theoretically ask them to get rid of the boxes to save some money on shipping but i think it would be safer to leave it as it is to ensure the parts arrive without any damages. Saving 20€ on shipping isn't worth destroying the groupset.

[Lotnik]

First step is done, the groupset arrived at the warehouse of my shipping agent. Now i just need them to pack it and ship it to germany. I could theoretically ask them to get rid of the boxes to save some money on shipping but i think it would be safer to leave it as it is to ensure the parts arrive without any damages. Saving 20€ on shipping isn't worth destroying the groupset.

I'm waiting for the results. Maybe I will do the same with import to Poland.