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Re: LTWOO eGR
Used my eGR for the Cheaha Challenge in Alabama this weekend. 100mi with lots of shifting because it was 9300ft of climbing. Shifted 2,323 times and spent an embarrassing number of hours on the bike (first time doing a century AND first time doing anything even remotely close to that much climbing), but the battery dropped 27% (from 100% to 73%). I'm officially no longer worried about battery life of this setup. Now to throw some real gravel riding at it, since this was all road riding...
May 21, 2024, 11:11:22 AM |
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Re: WheelTop EDS TX Full Wireless Groupset (Chinese SRAM)
Read somewhere else that SRAM lost their lawsuit against wheeltop and had some patents invalidated in china, meaning all chinese groupsets can be fully wireless from now on Not sure how trustworthy that is until a local or insider confirms but this seems huge May 22, 2024, 02:13:29 AM |
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VeloBuild VB-R-066 Disc 2023 Road Bike Build
I recently completed a new build based on the VeloBuild VB-R-066 2023 Disc endurance(ish) road bike frame and the L-TWOO eR9 electronic groupset. I've only ridden it for 30km, and so far, so good, but this is no long term ride review, instead I'll focus on the build. In short, it met my expectations. Let's start with the summary: Total weight of the built bike, including pedals, bottle cages, out-front mount for computer/light, seatpost mount for light/radar, and bike pump mount: 7.85 kg, or 17.3 lbs. Total cost for all components, including shipping, sales tax, etc was AUD 3347, which based on today's exchange rate is USD 2225 or EUR 2055. The frame is size S in a matte black finish. I'm sure I'll regret choosing a matte finish, but for now it looks great. The frame weighed 885 g, with all bolts and attachments removed. The uncut fork was 359 g, and the seatpost was 203 g (400 mm). I didn't order a handlebar from VeloBuild. The frame also came with thru axles, rear derailleur hanger, front derailleur mount (bolted on, not riveted), cable exit rubber gaskets for both electronic and mechanical shifting, expander plug, top cap, headset bearings, seatpost bung and cover, crank scuff plate, and a headset cover for using a non-integrated stem and handlebar. The headset ring and cover wasn't deep enough to reach the top bearing, which perhaps could be fixed with some headset spacers, but I used a Ritchey upper headset instead. The extra rear derailleur hanger I had ordered didn't come in the box, so I contacted Chris, and I got it in the mail a few weeks later. Frame and fork quality was ok - fine - about what I expected from VeloBuild after following this forum for some time. The frame had some sharp edges around the headtube and bottom bracket shell, but otherwise it was quite smooth. I noticed some pitting inside the fork steerer and in the lower bearing seat in the headtube, but that was all the pitting I could see. There was some paint overspray on both the brake caliper mounting holes, in particular on the fork - not a surprise. I faced these myself using an IceToolz "Shuriken" Disc Mount Facing Tool #E272 (https://www.icetoolz.eu/en/icetoolz-disc-mount-facing-tool-shuriken-e272/a9232) that I had ordered in advance. I didn't have a bolt with a nut that was long and thin enough for clamping the tool so I could face the rear caliper mounts, but I was able to solve it by using one of the long caliper mounting bolts and the L-TWOO adapter plate (see photo). I think the facing helped - aligning the calipers at the end to avoid brake rub was very straightforward. The lower entry point for the hydraulic brake hose on the fork required a little filing with a round file before I could push the hose through. Again, not a surprise, but a quick fix. I've never built a fully internally routed frame before, so I spent quite a bit of time pulling and pushing foam damper casing as far as I could into the downtube and chainstays. I even pulled the electronic power cables for the derailleurs through the foam damper casing in the chainstay and around the bottom bracket area. Enabling mechanics to use old gear cables to pull the hydraulic hoses through the frame and the foam damper casing is a great feature of the L-TWOO groupset. For the T47 bottom bracket, I installed a cheap Lingmai branded one from AliExpress with internal bearings for a 24mm crank spindle ("t47-24i"). I also ordered a ZTTO branded one as a backup, it was identical in both looks and weight (except the logo), so they're probably from the same factory. It threaded into the shell without any issue. I had an unused Elita One Carbon seatpost lying around, so I used that instead of the one supplied by VeloBuild. Both had a very snug fit in the seat tube, and I have had no slippage so far, using only carbon paste and torquing the bolt to 4 Nm. Installing the L-TWOO eR9 groupset went well, by following their user manual (https://oss.ltwoo.com/download/en/eRX_User-Manual_V2.6_EN.pdf), with a couple of exceptions - see below. The user manual refers to a "stability adjustment screw" at the back of the front derailleur, but my eR9 version didn't have this. Related to the front derailleur, I added a chain catcher for peace of mind, but so far I haven't had a dropped chain. I'm running the groupset as 2x11, with 50/34T chainrings and a 11-32T cassette. For chain sizing, I followed the Park Tool instructions (https://www.parktool.com/en-int/blog/repair-help/chain-length-sizing), which resulted in a slightly shorter chain than by following L-TWOO's method. I figured since there's no clutch, and the rear derailleur cage spring is weak according to some reports, it was better to make the chain shorter rather than longer, for improved tension. To reach the mounting bolt for the shifters, I folded both the front and the rear of the hoods, and inserted the ball-end of an Allen key from the front. Make sure you have a high quality Allen key for this! For bleeding the brakes, I followed the method in the manual of pushing mineral oil from the caliper to a funnel on the levers. I didn't do the extra step of opening the vent hole. However, after the first shake-down ride on a bumpy road, I did another quick lever bleed (funnel on the lever, brake pads left in the calipers, pump the levers). I got some more air bubbles out then, and I now have great brake feel from the levers. Components:
May 22, 2024, 08:12:25 AM |
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Re: LTWOO eGR
Has anyone considered building or has built a 1x road or light gravel bike (like 32c tires) using the eGR? It might be fun to build an lightweight climbing frame with the groupset. I did that, sorta. I put it in my gravel bike, but use it more on the road than on gravel and keep a wheelset dedicated to riding on the road with 32c GP5000 road tires. Frankly, it's just a stopgap until I build up a dedicated road bike and then this will likely be my dedicated gravel bike. I went with the eGR because it will fit nicely for that purpose, eventually, and right now was an easy, straightforward conversion. May 22, 2024, 03:09:47 PM |
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Re: Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!
I no longer have any cables on any of the bikes I ride other than my dropper post cable. Hydraulic brakes and Electric wireless shifting eliminated the need for those cute little plugs...
May 24, 2024, 02:56:18 PM |
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Re: LTWOO eGR
Ok, I said I'd be back with some info once I got it built. It's preliminary as I only have one ride on it so far, but you can read it here https://trbike.blogspot.com/2024/05/ltwoo-egr-results-writeup.html May 24, 2024, 08:38:35 PM |
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Re: Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!
How are you liking the Wheeltop for gravel? Are you okay not having a clutch? I'm not sure I want to chance going electronic on my gravel bike. If the groupset dies, I'm usually on more remote mountain trails. I am debating converting my other road bike also to electronic. Contrary to other user experiences, my ER9 has been working perfect. Though I wouldn't mind trying the Wheeltop groupset as well. Since my gravel bike is a 2 X 12, the old rear derailleur didn't have a clutch. The new EDS TX rear derailleur works the same as I am used to on a 2X set-up. To date, one of my 1 X 12 EDS OX rear derailleurs, the battery lasted over 5 days of very heavy shifting usage. (Approx 600 miles.) On my 2 X 12 EDS TX on my gravel bike, the longest ride to date has been 80 miles, and the battery dropped by about 10%. I suspect I can get 800+ miles, with lots of shifting and still have battery power left. One thing that bugs me a little on the TX rear derailleur is that the magnetic recharge contact and rubber sealing boot are on the back side of the battery. I have a difficult time trying to blindly get the charging cable to sit flush and charge the battery. I end up flipping the bike up in the air so I can look through the rear wheel spokes and get the charging cable aligned so it will charge the battery. (3 charges to date: Initial charge, One when the battery was down by 20% after initial set-up/shift trimming, and then one time when the battery was at 60% and I was going to ride 90+ miles, but this ride was cut short to 45 miles due to snow on the road.) May 24, 2024, 09:05:28 PM |
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Re: LTWOO eGR
What size chainring were you using with the 10-50t? Did you do any preventative measures against water ingress? I’ve been running a 32 but had previously tried 34 and 30 in the previous setup. All worked but the 32 was the “Goldilocks” size for me. I did use dialectric grease on the connectors. I’d didn’t see any other obvious places to protect. May 25, 2024, 10:51:17 AM |
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Re: LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets
eR9 issue and fix I had an issue with my L-TWOO eR9 groupset today that I later fixed. It was most likely user error, and I'm posting it here in case it could help someone else in the same situation. tl;dr Problem: The front derailleur wouldn't shift, but the rear derailleur shifted just fine. Fix: Ensure both derailleurs are firmly plugged into the battery, by unplugging them at the battery end, and firmly plugging them back in. Likely reason: Poor connection to the seatpost battery on the battery end, possibly caused by vibrations by being transported in a car. Other plausible reason: Dodgy batteries. Situation I was going for a ride in the morning, and I loaded my bike (https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,4952.0.html) in the boot (trunk for those of you in the US) of my sedan (saloon for those of you in the UK), lying on the side (NDS). The drive to the start of the ride took about 20 minutes. When I took my bike out of the car, the rear derailleur shifted just fine, but the front derailleur wouldn't budge. I tried the following:
The only response I got from the front derailleur was when I plugged the front derailleur cable back in. It was a buzz reminiscent of Trace Velo's issue (https://youtu.be/32UDzOrqK2I?t=78s). Other behaviour I noticed:
Other points of note:
At this point I thought the rear derailleur was toast (which apparently was Trace Velo's problem in the end), but I decided to do a short solo ride anyway, with the front stuck in the small chainring. After riding for about 50 meters, I tried to change to the large chainring, and it shifted! Actually, it over-shifted, because I had lost my position settings when I "Reset to factory settings". So I stopped, put the chain back on, and tried to shift down. No response. The rear still shifted just fine. I then proceeded to try many of the steps listed above one more time, but no luck. So I started riding again, and after another 50 meters of so, I could shift back to the small chainring. That was the last time the front derailleur shifted until I got back home, so put my rear derailleur position adjustments back as they were and did the ride in the small chainring. It was fairly hilly, so I could at least get up the hills! After I got back home, the front still wouldn't shift. At that point, I wanted to check the connections on the battery end. So I pulled out the seatpost carefully, as I wanted to see what state the connections were. But as I pulled the seatpost slowly and carefully up and out, both derailleur cables came loose from the battery case connectors. I then plugged both of the cables into the battery holder, and immediate success! I could shift up or down without issue as before, and the front derailleur firmware now showed the correct version. My main hypothesis is that I didn't plug the cables properly into the battery, and that the vibrations from being transported in a care shook them loose. Then when I started riding, the movement caused just enough of a connection to be established so I could shift. Assuming that's the cause, does anyone have suggestions for how to better secure the cables at the battery end? Another hypothesis is that the issue was caused by dodgy batteries in the battery holder. I don't have anything to support this hypothesis currently, apart from the fact that I'm using unbranded batteries from eBay (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/256250808223). They've been charging fine, and the reported charge hasn't dropped much with each ride. Regardless, I now have a branded set on order. I'll also keep this bike for shorter trips for the time being, and be ready to pull out the seatpost should the problem reappear. May 26, 2024, 08:19:35 AM |
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Re: Spcycle New Mold G056 Carbon Gravel Frame
Whoa, that weighs more than when I had my alloy gravel frameset! It's not super light by any means but most stock name brand gravel bikes are over this. What alloy bike did you have that was lighter ? I had a Trek Checkpoint that was 21 lbs. I think without any of the junk (bags, tools, spare tube, food, bottles, f & r lights, garmin, gopro etc) on there it's 18 lbs. I have a Colnago Master that is 18 lbs LOL You mention the Crux but where I live that bike is $10k - $15k. I have about $3500 into this with the SRAM wireless. I doubt the Crux would give me 4x as much fun. May 26, 2024, 12:33:12 PM |
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