Wheeltop EDS GeX

[trcycling]

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've been using mine with a 10-50 and an 11-50 (different wheelsets) both 11s. I don't notice any difference, both are fine. I suspect they wrote it that way to try to be clear that a SRAM 10 or Shimano 11 are both fine

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

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.

The groupset is packed and shipped out now. The whole shipping, packaging etc. comes out to 47€. In addition to the 345€ i've paid so far i am at 392€ for the whole groupset. I could have optimized a little further by not shipping the whole packaging etc. but i didn't want the groupset to get damaged in transit.

[asarkany]

The groupset is packed and shipped out now. The whole shipping, packaging etc. comes out to 47€. In addition to the 345€ i've paid so far i am at 392€ for the whole groupset. I could have optimized a little further by not shipping the whole packaging etc. but i didn't want the groupset to get damaged in transit.

I guess import taxes depend on luck and not included in this price, right? I bought mine on aliexpress, that after coupons(there is almost always a sale going on, now you can get it for 447 usd which is 409 eur)was 460$ which is 421 eur. A little bit more I guess, but thats fine(whether I will get taxes or not I don't know, the package is in europe but I have not received it yet). In my opinion 500 euros should be the price of the gex from the official store, otherwise as a new build it doesn't make sense to go with the gex for 600 euros when you can get an apex xplr groupset with a chain and cassette for 700 euros from bike-discount.de

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

I guess import taxes depend on luck and not included in this price, right? I bought mine on aliexpress, that after coupons(there is almost always a sale going on, now you can get it for 447 usd which is 409 eur)was 460$ which is 421 eur. A little bit more I guess, but thats fine(whether I will get taxes or not I don't know, the package is in europe but I have not received it yet). In my opinion 500 euros should be the price of the gex from the official store, otherwise as a new build it doesn't make sense to go with the gex for 600 euros when you can get an apex xplr groupset with a chain and cassette for 700 euros from bike-discount.de

I am using a tariffless shipping line where the import taxes are prepaid, they are included in the shipping price i mentioned. So the 392€ should be the final price. If that turns out to be wrong i will update it here but i used this shipping line for other things before and never had to pay any taxes when it was delivered.

[asarkany]

I am using a tariffless shipping line where the import taxes are prepaid, they are included in the shipping price i mentioned. So the 392€ should be the final price. If that turns out to be wrong i will update it here but i used this shipping line for other things before and never had to pay any taxes when it was delivered.

That actually sounds really good!

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

I guess import taxes depend on luck and not included in this price, right? I bought mine on aliexpress, that after coupons(there is almost always a sale going on, now you can get it for 447 usd which is 409 eur)was 460$ which is 421 eur. A little bit more I guess, but thats fine(whether I will get taxes or not I don't know, the package is in europe but I have not received it yet). In my opinion 500 euros should be the price of the gex from the official store, otherwise as a new build it doesn't make sense to go with the gex for 600 euros when you can get an apex xplr groupset with a chain and cassette for 700 euros from bike-discount.de

I agree 100%. At a pricepoint of 500€ it would be a way better alternative for those who don’t want to buy directly from china. But since they sell directly in europe they have to offer 14 day returns, warranty etc. All these rights that are good for the customer means added costs for the manufacturer leading to a higher price. I think we are still early when it comes to chinese electronic groupsets. With magene who already proved that they are pretty reliable entering the markets things are going to get interesting.

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

The groupset arrived today, as expected no additional fees to pay so 392€ is the final price. There is in fact no region lock or anything like that so pairing the groupset to the phone was no issue. Installation was pretty straightforward. The only negative are the rubber hoods that are hard to pull making it a little difficult to reach the clamp screw. The brake hoses were pre filled and i took care to not spill any oil when installing. This way i managed to not have to bleed them myself. They brake perfectly just like that. For the shifting i just did the initial setup and some b-screw adjustments and it shifts really well. Haven’t even looked into fine tuning the single gears as it just works. I will probably have a look at it to make it 100% perfect but it doesn’t seem to be necessary right now. I did a first ride and yeah - it just works. There‘s really not much more to say. I expected a really tricky and annoying setup but nope.

For those also having the magene pes p505 here‘s an interesting information: the charger of the derailleur and the charger of the magene seem to be the same interface. I haven’t compared them directly and didn’t try it out but they look very similar. Would be pretty convenient if you are travelling for example and have to carry only one cable.

[Niegan]

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.

Do you have any advice to buy on Taobao, which agent to use ?

I think I will do the same and get the Gex from there, I missed spring sale.

[Tilmanstoa5ty]

Do you have any advice to buy on Taobao, which agent to use ?

I think I will do the same and get the Gex from there, I missed spring sale.

I used cssbuy and the YDJ-DHL shipping line. Please only do this if you have some kind of experience on how to do this. If you don't know how to use a shipping agent and how to buy stuff on taobao i wouldn't start with a >300€ item

[Lero970]

I used cssbuy and the YDJ-DHL shipping line. Please only do this if you have some kind of experience on how to do this. If you don't know how to use a shipping agent and how to buy stuff on taobao i wouldn't start with a >300€ item

Thank you for sharing your experience. I have several colleagues who frequently travel to China. My idea was to order the Wheeltop groupset via Taobao and have them either bring it back in their luggage or ship it to me. I looked into it and found that goods valued up to €430 can be brought into the EU without customs duties. This seems like the easiest and most cost-effective way to get the Wheeltop groupset. I just need to figure out how Taobao works – perhaps a Chinese colleague can help me place the order.

[eeney]

Do you have any advice to buy on Taobao, which agent to use ?

I would use Lunfeng, this is basically the same company. Lunfeng in China is 'Wheeltop' to the rest of the world, not sure if it's just a different name or the parent company.

Going via Lunfeng I got great help and assistance, they also linked me up with their Wechat support who have been great.

I'm fairly new to Taobao, but I've found their shipping rates to be super cheap.  I've just bought a powerful fan for indoor cycling which I had shipped via sea,  takes a while but cheap for large/heavy items and nice to have the option