LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets

[jonathanf2]

So far I'm quite pleased with my ER9 groupset. I've been riding it back-to-back with my mechanical Ultegra bike and they're both good in their own ways. In my opinion, it's similar to driving an auto assist car versus a manual transmission. I find installing the ER9 easier than mechanical, but it's faster to tune mechanical once installed. Though I wish there were RD cage options with the ER9/X. The one thing I like with the OSPW Ceramic Speed knock-off I'm using on the Ultegra bike is the 4 levels of spring tension. For someone like me who climbs and descend rough California fire roads the added tension keeps the chain from bouncing without having to use a clutch RD. LTwoo's looser cage tension and smaller spring are a bit bouncy on rougher roads.

[Sebastian]

So far I'm quite pleased with my ER9 groupset. I've been riding it back-to-back with my mechanical Ultegra bike and they're both good in their own ways. In my opinion, it's similar to driving an auto assist car versus a manual transmission. I find installing the ER9 easier than mechanical, but it's faster to tune mechanical once installed. Though I wish there were RD cage options with the ER9/X. The one thing I like with the OSPW Ceramic Speed knock-off I'm using on the Ultegra bike is the 4 levels of spring tension. For someone like me who climbs and descend rough California fire roads the added tension keeps the chain from bouncing without having to use a clutch RD. LTwoo's looser cage tension and smaller spring are a bit bouncy on rougher roads.

Really? My er9 RD has the highest spring tension I ever had on a 2x derailleur without a clutch mechanism. I get virtually no chain slap from it but the FD has to work quite a bit to make the front shift smoothly as a result. I wonder if it's different to yours. My Campy Record 12sp RD is a lot looser in comparison and I do get more chain slap on it.

[pecampbe]

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?

So the ER9 can be set up with 12 speed? I always see it advertised as an 11 speed groupset.

[raisinberry777]

So the ER9 can be set up with 12 speed? I always see it advertised as an 11 speed groupset.

Yes - you select the number of speeds in the app when setting up - it supports at least 10/11/12 (maybe more?).

[Fleckinger]

Yes - you select the number of speeds in the app when setting up - it supports at least 10/11/12 (maybe more?).

Luke TraceVelo in last video mention that after software update - it supports from 7 to 13 speed.

[jonathanf2]

Really? My er9 RD has the highest spring tension I ever had on a 2x derailleur without a clutch mechanism. I get virtually no chain slap from it but the FD has to work quite a bit to make the front shift smoothly as a result. I wonder if it's different to yours. My Campy Record 12sp RD is a lot looser in comparison and I do get more chain slap on it.

The main reason I run this Ceramic Speed knock-off OSPW (I'm not paying $500 USD for the real one) on my mechanical Shimano RD is for the 4 spring tension levels. It has 2 more spring coil holes more than the stock RD cage. I also have an Ultegra RX800 clutch RD on my gravel bike and I'd be fine with no clutch if Shimano had just pre-drilled additional holes into the cage, that way I could run the highest tension with no chain bounce. Plus I'm not too concerned about making a Shimano FD work, bar none Shimano makes the best FDs on the market. They just work!

If anything the ER9 is probably closer to stock Shimano cage tension. I already stress tested the ER9 on a really rough downhill descent and the chain was fine. It's just more personal preference for the way I ride.

[Serge_K]

The main reason I run this Ceramic Speed knock-off OSPW (I'm not paying $500 USD for the real one) on my mechanical Shimano RD is for the 4 spring tension levels. It has 2 more spring coil holes more than the stock RD cage.
If anything the ER9 is probably closer to stock Shimano cage tension. I already stress tested the ER9 on a really rough downhill descent and the chain was fine. It's just more personal preference for the way I ride.

That's interesting. can you please link to your OSPW? On the er9, if you run 11-34 (native) or 11-36 (with a small cage extender), in small small, there's a lot of chain slack. Mind you, the app has "gear protection" that prevents that, plus you shouldn't cross chain, but if the OSPW acts as some de facto clutch, it becomes a lot less useless as an upgrade, at which point i'm curious to try. And I agree w you, i'm not paying 500$ for that farce.
It then becomes a question of whether there's an OSPW option for the er9/x.

[Sebastian]

If anyone knows of an OSPW option that fits er9/erx, then I'd be interested as well. I'm happy to admit that for me it's mainly for the sake of vanity.  More adjustability in spring tension is a welcomed side effect, however.

[jonathanf2]

That's interesting. can you please link to your OSPW? On the er9, if you run 11-34 (native) or 11-36 (with a small cage extender), in small small, there's a lot of chain slack. Mind you, the app has "gear protection" that prevents that, plus you shouldn't cross chain, but if the OSPW acts as some de facto clutch, it becomes a lot less useless as an upgrade, at which point i'm curious to try. And I agree w you, i'm not paying 500$ for that farce.
It then becomes a question of whether there's an OSPW option for the er9/x.

I found with the ER9 50-34/11-34t is the biggest cassette I could run with minimal chain slack. Chain length remained the same from my previous 11-32t when I was running mechanical and I can still safely clear big/big if I go there by accident. Though I'm wondering if there's some sort of Shimano patent for removable derailleur cages? I wonder why LTwoo and Sensah insist on non-removable cages?

Here's the link to that OSPW:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806117049941.html

If you look closely at the photos you can see the 4 tension hole adjustments.

One more thought: I find gear protection an acceptable trade-off on the ER9/X because I feel small/small is where you'll most likely drop a chain. I also plan on keeping my chain catcher as an added bit of insurance.

[Avalius]

Here's the link to that OSPW:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806117049941.html

If you look closely at the photos you can see the 4 tension hole adjustments.

One more thought: I find gear protection an acceptable trade-off on the ER9/X because I feel small/small is where you'll most likely drop a chain. I also plan on keeping my chain catcher as an added bit of insurance.

Avoid these cages at all costs. Broke two of these, last one on a cobble section in a race. Pure garbage! Consider yourself warned

[jonathanf2]

Avoid these cages at all costs. Broke two of these, last one on a cobble section in a race. Pure garbage! Consider yourself warned

I've been riding these on some of the roughest urban Los Angeles roads with no issues. I don't ride my road bikes in the rain, only use immersive waxed chains and they work fine. If you crashed, it probably would have happened to the real Ceramic Speed OSPW. It's getting to the point people keep saying everything is junk on AliExpress, but for some weird reason all the junk seems to work for me with proper care and maintenance.

I'm starting to think on the same lines as @Serge_K that most problems people have on here are due to user error/negligence.

[TidyDinosaur]

I've been riding these on some of the roughest urban Los Angeles roads with no issues. I don't ride my road bikes in the rain, only use immersive waxed chains and they work fine. If you crashed, it probably would have happened to the real Ceramic Speed OSPW. It's getting to the point people keep saying everything is junk on AliExpress, but for some weird reason all the junk seems to work for me with proper care and maitenance.

I'm starting to think on the same lines as @Serge_K that most problems people have on here are due to user error/negligence.

I don't know, I have also seen some bad reviews of those cages you link to. I must admit I had been thinking about ordering one, but the chances of damage if it snaps is just too high for me... You could end up with a damaged frame and a ruined wheel if it snaps and you chain rips off the derailleur...

[jonathanf2]

I don't know, I have also seen some bad reviews of those cages you link to. I must admit I had been thinking about ordering one, but the chances of damage if it snaps is just too high for me... You could end up with a damaged frame and a ruined wheel if it snaps and you chain rips off the derailleur...

My bikes should have exploded 10 times over with all the questionable parts I'm using from AliExpress. With weather heating up in my area, I'm more worried about running over a rattlesnake and having that rip off my derailleur. I've already accidentally run over 3 snakes alone this year on my bikes! 

[Benbenben]

Weird thing I have noticed. When I tried to fit the chain to the bike after installing the er9, I noticed that the chain was not sitting right on the lower pulley. I suspected that the person who assembled the RD mixed up lower & upper pulley. I switched them and it it's all good now.

But, when searching pictures of the groupset after just by curiosity, I found pictures of both configurations.

Does anyone have an explanation to that?

[coffeebreak]

My ER9 shipped immediately but hit a snag. The package has been returned back to sender. I have never seen this happening before and I order a LOT. Bad news?

Update on this. Aliexpress finally refunded the money today even though package went back on March 29th. Has anyone had any luck with customer service to re-apply coupon?