LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets

[jonathanf2]

I was getting my ER9 groupset setup last night and I verified mine did not come with CR2032 batteries (bought from the LTwoo "Official" Choice Store). Though I had to do a quick Google search to find where the battery slot was on my shifters. I'm really impressed by the customizable options via the app. I got everything sync'ed up, so now I have to figure out which one of my road bikes will receive the conversion. Also I can see now see how water ingress can be an issue, I'm debating which sealing method would work best for me. I was thinking of just using rubber cement around the plug, because I don't see myself detaching the RD once installed.

[Pedaldancer]

I just noticed that Pandapodium put up this comment on their eRX listing

It looks like plenty of people are asking this question already to them.

Good that l ordered di2 last week 
..I was willingly to wait if the evolution of ERX would be better regarding the water ingress.. but my new frame arrived last week, no way that I would wait that long.  The summer is coming   
But: next bike build will come for sure and then  ERX is probably a solution.

[jonathanf2]

Today I sorted out my ER9 shifting. Unfortunately I picked the wrong bike frame to convert. I opted to use my TFSA (SL7 clone) frameset and despite having ports for Di2, the ER9 cable won't fit in the chainstay RD hole. So I had to route the cable externally. Also I tried running 52-36/11-34t and it's not that great. It shifts fine, but there's too much chain slack. I did try a shorter length chain while enabling gear protection, but you can still shift into big/big from small/big. I could potentially destroy the derailleur. I ended up sizing back down to 50-34 and kept the 11-34t. Chain length remained the same from my previous 50-34/11-32t combo.

So far I was able to properly fine tune shifting on my Goldix 12 speed 11-34t lightweight cassette. In fact the cassette shifts greats. I had some minor shift issues with the FD, though I was able to get it sorted. I installed an FD chain catcher for good measure (not needed on my Ultegra R8000 FD). Hopefully I'll be able to to get the bike up and running this weekend, and I'll report back.

Also I picked up a small packet of dielectric grease at the auto store. Just to verify, do I put it inside the connector port cable or just around the connector?

[Shinobi_77]

On the Chris Miller channel a first indication of the update ER9 group-set have been shared: September 204
quite looooong waiting time.

[zerstorer]

Today I sorted out my ER9 shifting. Unfortunately I picked the wrong bike frame to convert. I opted to use my TFSA (SL7 clone) frameset and despite having ports for Di2, the ER9 cable won't fit in the chainstay RD hole. So I had to route the cable externally. Also I tried running 52-36/11-34t and it's not that great. It shifts fine, but there's too much chain slack. I did try a shorter length chain while enabling gear protection, but you can still shift into big/big from small/big. I could potentially destroy the derailleur. I ended up sizing back down to 50-34 and kept the 11-34t. Chain length remained the same from my previous 50-34/11-32t combo.

So far I was able to properly fine tune shifting on my Goldix 12 speed 11-34t lightweight cassette. In fact the cassette shifts greats. I had some minor shift issues with the FD, though I was able to get it sorted. I installed an FD chain catcher for good measure (not needed on my Ultegra R8000 FD). Hopefully I'll be able to to get the bike up and running this weekend, and I'll report back.

Also I picked up a small packet of dielectric grease at the auto store. Just to verify, do I put it inside the connector port cable or just around the connector?

Just coat it outside the lip should be fine. What's important is that you ensure the cable is firmly plugged in. Personally I would prefer hot glue or liquid tape since that ensures a waterproof seal and yet is easily torn off when needed.

Chain catcher shouldn't be needed. Do note the FD limits are all adjusted in app.

[jonathanf2]

Just coat it outside the lip should be fine. What's important is that you ensure the cable is firmly plugged in. Personally I would prefer hot glue or liquid tape since that ensures a waterproof seal and yet is easily torn off when needed.

Chain catcher shouldn't be needed. Do note the FD limits are all adjusted in app.

I finished my bike rebuild last night and I opted to use rubber cement around the cable ports and then applied dielectric grease once it dried. I figure a glob of rubber cement should provide adequate adhesion that's easy to remove and the dielectric grease over that for moisture protection. So after installing the chain catcher, I was able to adequately tune the FD. I was too lazy to remove it though.

First impressions. Everything shifts excellent once setup. Though it was an all-day affair tuning the bike. I'm not sure it was any easier over setting up a cable mechanical bike. The software tuning app is amazing. I've never owned SRAM AXS or DI2, but gear protection and one touch shifting are awesome. I used a quality pair of batteries and battery life seems to be good so far.

On the not so bright side. I'm not fond of the puny RD springs LTwoo and Sensah tend to use. They work, but it's more confidence inspiring how Shimano uses an over engineered spring coil. Also my RD cage looks like it can only accommodate the same size jockey wheels provided. There's no wiggle room to tweak the size. Weight-wise, the ER9 isn't exactly less weight compared to mechanical Ultegra. I either broke even or maybe added a few grams to my bike.

[SirBikealot]

let me know how it goes with the customs. I was thinking about buying that set but am afraid of customs here in BE

the mailman rang a few minutes ago. Had to weigh everthing before i rememered to tell about the tax and so.
Price as declared was 83€ and i payed 19% VAT (15,77€) and a 6€ handling fee from DHL. So in total 21,72€ on top of the original price.

[rasch]

the mailman rang a few minutes ago. Had to weigh everthing before i rememered to tell about the tax and so.
Price as declared was 83€ and i payed 19% VAT (15,77€) and a 6€ handling fee from DHL. So in total 21,72€ on top of the original price.

Thanks!
Yes in Portugal would be much different as they'd want the real invoice.. In Belgium I dunno... still waiting. Anyway I got a full groupset 105 hydraulic for 190euro delivered which I think wasn't bad. Going mechanical for now eheh

[Serge_K]

I got a full groupset 105 hydraulic for 190euro delivered which I think wasn't bad. Going mechanical for now eheh

Second hand I guess?

[jonathanf2]

Yesterday I took the ER9 groupset on it's first ride doing a quick 40km and 600m of climbing. I took it up and down one of the worst road climbs in our city with lots of pot holes, dirt and loose rocks. My aim was to see if I could drop the chain while constantly shifting the ER9 using the whole gear range. The ride included flats, climbing and fast downhill descents. The ER9 worked amazingly well! Shifting was smooth, my cables stayed in-place, I never dropped the chain especially on the fast bumpy downhill and I was totally satisfied with the performance.

There were only a few issues I had when riding. I seemed to accidentally hit the left shift button inadvertently switching to the small chainring while descending in the drops. Also I didn't like that both left FD buttons functioned the same. I'd prefer to have one button dedicated to the small chainring and the other to the big chainring. Without auto trim, it's hard to hear if the chain is rubbing on the FD or not especially when listening to music. The LTwoo grips are a bit too narrow for my taste, I tend to prefer beefier grips. The LTwoo hydro brake calipers work fine, but they're definitely heavy, I might swap them out later on for some lightweight calipers.

Also I think 12 speed is worth switching over to if you plan on buying this groupset. I'm not sure if the smoothness of my ride was attributed to electronic shifting, the wider range cassette, a freshly waxed chain or all of the above? Either way I liked I was able to keep a similar cog range as my 11 speed 11-32t and get the added benefit of the 34t in the low gear.

In regards to gearing I think 50-34t is as big as you can go with an 11-34t cassette with the ER9 without compromising shift performance. It can shift 52-36t + 11-34t, but without a clutch or some sort of cage stiffness adjustment, it feels a bit sloppy. Regarding battery life with lots of shifting due to up and down terrain, I was at 84% from full charge after the ride. I think it'll be a good idea to buy an additional charging cable as backup and maybe bring a power bank if planning a century or more. Also I'm not sure how long the CR2032 batteries will last in the shifters? I think I'll have to pack a few batteries in my saddle bag and dedicated screwdriver moving forward.

Overall my first impressions of the ER9 is very positive. With tax and shipping the whole thing cost me $350 USD for the groupset and it seems the early production kinks have been ironed out (crossing fingers). Also the money saved going with the ER9 can be applied cutting weight elsewhere like a lightweight cassette (which I opted for) or lightweight brake calipers. I still think it's a good idea to have a firm grasp of tuning a mechanical groupset. I don't think I'd jump straight into electronic without knowing how to tune a mechanical bike.

[rasch]

Second hand I guess?

Yes yes forgot to mention that ahha. Still I think it was a nice deal as it includes all (ex disc rotors and crank)

Now just seeking wheels and frame to match it... So far divided between lcr017, ltk 268 or vb066.
Currently have a speedster 30 and I think it would be nice maybe to have sth racket though I'm not going young

[zerstorer]

There were only a few issues I had when riding. I seemed to accidentally hit the left shift button inadvertently switching to the small chainring while descending in the drops. Also I didn't like that both left FD buttons functioned the same. I'd prefer to have one button dedicated to the small chainring and the other to the big chainring. Without auto trim, it's hard to hear if the chain is rubbing on the FD or not especially when listening to music. The LTwoo grips are a bit too narrow for my taste, I tend to prefer beefier grips. The LTwoo hydro brake calipers work fine, but they're definitely heavy, I might swap them out later on for some lightweight calipers.

I think you have "one touch shift" enabled, that's why both shifter paddles work the same for the FD. The default config is one paddle for big, one for small.

Also agree that the hoods feel a little too small/thin for my hands. Prefer sensah ones which feel meatier.

[jonathanf2]

I think you have "one touch shift" enabled, that's why both shifter paddles work the same for the FD. The default config is one paddle for big, one for small.

Also agree that the hoods feel a little too small/thin for my hands. Prefer sensah ones which feel meatier.

I indeed had one touch shift activated! I turned that feature off. Also today I did some more fine tuning to the FD. Since I activated gear protection, I'm able to optimize my FD high and low gearing a bit more without worrying too much about big/big and small/small since those gears will be closed off. Also one little issue. I found when removing the wheel, the lower jockey wheel with chain rubs up the lower portion of the rear derailleur. Something to keep in mind.

[Sebastian]

Keep in mind that the gear protection feature will not entirely block the big/big or small/small combo. If you are on either end of the cassette and click the FD shifter buttons it will still make the shift despite gear protection. So you should at least have it set up so your chain won’t get too slack or is not too short, otherwise you might damage your RD.

[jonathanf2]

Keep in mind that the gear protection feature will not entirely block the big/big or small/small combo. If you are on either end of the cassette and click the FD shifter buttons it will still make the shift despite gear protection. So you should at least have it set up so your chain won’t get too slack or is not too short, otherwise you might damage your RD.

I found on the ER9 fine tuning the FD high/low limits somewhere between the "ideal" setting and how I would adjust it with gear protection OFF to be a good compromise. My low and high gear will run smoother using gear protection, but I'm still within tolerances if I accidentally go big/big or small/small. Also I found chain length remained the same with either a 50-34/11-34t or a 52-36/11-32t setup. Since this bike is mainly used as a climber, I opted for the lower gear 1st option.