Chinertown
Chinese Carbon Road Bikes => Cyclocross Frames, Wheels & Components => Topic started by: 00Garza on December 09, 2024, 11:31:48 AM
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Curious to see what everyones thoughts are now that both are out in the wild.
Whether you have direct experience or not, which one would you choose for a new build and why?
Ltwoo eGR doesn't seem to have the water ingress issues eRX has, and I haven't heard of many failures.
Wheeltop has loads of influencer reviews that speak pretty highly of it.
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I vote LTwoo EGR only because I've already rode the s**t out of my two ER9 groupsets and have been able to troubleshoot all my own problems. Also I've been able to compare the EGR and ER9 components, the EGR definitely has a deeper and more secure battery cable RD port. It probably does a better job sealing moisture out. The LTwoo app while limited on features, does a good job fine tuning the derailleur in real-time. I can adjust the chain line in the middle of ride. Just buy from a reputable dealer like the 80 Design Store. Compared to the other LTwoo vendors, they've been very forthcoming in terms of customer support and have been quick to ship replacement parts.
I'm sure the Wheeltop GEX is good and I'd probably be fine with that as well. The next best option is a mechanical GRX RD + Garbaruk cage. Best bang-for-buck mechanical setup if you can get good 11-12 speed shifters.
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My eGR has been fantastic so far.
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Going to be personal choice, probably based on gut feel. I don't think many will have tested both, and won't have for some time.
I went for Wheeltop based on a few things, which may or may not be accurate or correct... but my own twisted logic:
- Mixed reviews on Ltwoo support - I so far I have contacted Wheeltop twice and they were helpful, but most helpful via WeChat, which in itself is a bit of a pain if you don't speak Chinese
- Adjustability and choice of multi-geared options. I intend to run two Wheelsets, one 11 and the other 12 speed
- Battery located on the derailleur, very minor difference and hardly an advantage now it isn't easily swappable
- I was also able to find Wheeltop on Taobao direct from the parent company which saved some money
I have only used Wheeltop, and it's my first ever electronic groupset, so although happy I don't have anything to compare against, so not in a position to say 'how good' it is.
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I have both. I need to ride the Wheeltop more but will come back after a few hundred kms.
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I got the wheeltop because cable routing on my steel frame wasn't adequate for wires and internal battery. If the frame had proper cable routing I would have chosen ltwoo, wired over wireless all the time. Wires are only an issue for first install, then you get slightly faster response and noticeably better battery life.
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I've actually run both on the same bike (glutton for trouble ;) )
I've got a season on the LTWOO eGR (since Spring) and two rides on the Wheeltop eGR so I can't yet have a definitive comparison. But here are the things I've noticed so far:
- The Wheeltop officially supports 51t cassettes. The LTWOO does not. Both do work through at least 50t though. But I immediately noticed the better consistency across the cassette with the Wheeltop not being pushed so far. I think it's the relatively high B Screw setting to clear that makes the 'slope' of motion across the cassette less than optimal. I don't have enough miles on the Wheeltop yet (100km) to rule on how well the shifting remains good. But it feels good right away. (after trimming each cog, see below) Advantage: Wheeltop
- The LTWOO cassette setup is simpler. It has a primary adjustment that SHOULD take care of indexing the mech to the cassette. Then there is a micro-adjust function per cog to trim if there are issues. That basically worked for me. It was operational the first try and only needed a bit of adjustment. The Wheeltop required nearly every cog to be adjusted away from the default setting even after doing the initial calibration. Advantage LTWOO
- Flexibility: Wheeltop basically will support anything it can mount to. LTWOO supports several mainstream configurations. (Small) Advantage: Wheeltop
- Wheeltop is truly wireless shifting. LTWOO is Di2 style with an internal battery and wires to run. It's not a big deal if your frame is set up for it and/or you don't have a dropper post. My setup didn't meet those criteria and I had to get creative with mounting and routing the battery (Sealed in heat-shrink tubing and mounted beside the bottle cage) and wires (under silicone tape) externally. That does work but it's not pretty. I had hoped the larger batteries would at least result in a longer charge cycle life. But it came in about the same as my SRAM AXS setup. Fine, but not the advantage the larger pack SHOULD bring. Yes I purchased reputable batteries to spec. Advantage Wheeltop
- A season of not being careful about water and no issues on the LTWOO. I did put dielectric grease in the plug fittings as a safety measure. And I don't blast the mech with pressurized water. But I did ride in the rain repeatedly and across streams. (no immersion) and regularly wash the bike. Wheeltop no data yet. Advantage: Inconclusive
- App: LTWOO is much better. Wheeltop English translation is garbage. (If you're reading this Wheeltop, reach out. I'm happy to translate it with you) Functionally it's ok. So far not buggy. Mandatory account creation and default binding of HW to that account are questionable decisions in my mind. But in theory that should make for less value to thieves and maybe settings backup (I don't think it does that yet). I'm tired of needing cloud-based accounts just to use hardware. I'm in the mobile device business and have end of lifed cloud services for products which killed them. That's not good. Advantage: LTWOO
- Longevity: This one I only have data on LTWOO. The right shifter (the only one that does work the way I was able to set it up) developed a sticky big paddle in less than 6 months. It catches behind the small paddle. Not a dealbreaker since it doesn't prevent functionality, but it's concerning. Otherwise it seems fine. Advantage: Undetermined
- Shifter setup options: Wheeltop wins hands down. They ship with a dual-paddle right and single-paddle left shifter. You can configure each paddle to do whatever you want. If you like the Di2 setup for rear cassette only, you're good. One side does it all. If you prefer the SRAM setup like I do, set the left side for one way and the right main the other way with a bonus use of the little paddle and you're good. Or do something you like. The only missed trick is that they don't seem to support the ANT+ function to control a head unit etc like the latest from both Big S companies, which would be awesome. LTWOO only lets you pick left or right (and maybe reverse the paddles on one side?) You can't use both sides at once despite the fact they shipped symmetrical (mirrored) controls. I've contacted them about it and was told they didn't think they could do it due to patent issues. Yeah, that's not doing it for me. Advantage: Wheeltop
- Price: Seems to be a wash now. When I bought each, the eGR was cheaper but now they seem to be about the same
- 2x option: LTWOO already supports adding a FD. I'm not clear if the RD complains. Wheeltop says that should be coming but not yet. In both cases the shifters have the hardware
- Brake calipers: Advantage Wheeltop Conventional flat mount calipers. They happen not to work with my setup but they would on a newer version of my frame/fork. The LTWOO calipers use an (included) adapter plate for even the most straightforward of installation (NO native fit). I ended up running Shimano RS-785 post mounts with both groupsets and that worked well in both cases.
What does all that mean? I say it means they both appear to be on their way to being good value solutions for electronic shifting with different tradeoffs. Look at your interests and configuration
I've actually already written up my experience with the LTWOO eGR here: https://trbike.blogspot.com/2024/05/ltwoo-egr-results-writeup.html
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Oh, I forgot one. The LTWOO system does NOT communicate battery status correctly to a Garmin head unit. I get a 'critically low' alert every ride even when the battery is fine and reports fine in the app. Sadly to disable that alert, I'd have to disconnect them and I don't want that.
I haven't fully vetted the Wheeltop connection. Gear position indicator seems to work correctly but I'm not sure if the GarminIQ app is needed to enable that or not. Haven't seen an low battery alert yet.
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Great input! Thanks!
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Oh, I forgot one. The LTWOO system does NOT communicate battery status correctly to a Garmin head unit. I get a 'critically low' alert every ride even when the battery is fine and reports fine in the app. Sadly to disable that alert, I'd have to disconnect them and I don't want that.
I haven't fully vetted the Wheeltop connection. Gear position indicator seems to work correctly but I'm not sure if the GarminIQ app is needed to enable that or not. Haven't seen an low battery alert yet.
Thanks for all the insights, really helpful!
Does the Wheel top groupset integrate with Garmin fully? Any issues with anything else when connected with a Garmin head unit?
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The LTWOO system does NOT communicate battery status correctly to a Garmin head unit. I get a 'critically low' alert every ride even when the battery is fine and reports fine in the app.
Not a biggie, my Garmin does the same thing with my SRAM force group.