LTWOO ER9 & ERX - Electronic groepsets

[hsaus]

I upgraded from 11 to 12 speed today on my eR9 equipped bike. By:

• Changing the cassette
• Changing the chain
• Adjusting the gears in the app

That's it! This is such an underrated feature of this groupset (and the Wheeltop one too).

Why go to 12 speed? I wanted to try the lightweight Goldix monoblock steel cassettes, as recommended by jonathanf2 on this forum. Those cassettes are available in both 11 and 12 speed, and I figured 12 > 11 

I can also confirm that 11-34T, with 50/34T at the front, is at the absolute limit of what the derailleur cage can handle, so max capacity of 39. And the chain length has to be spot on at that setup. One link more, and there's too much slack in small/small. One link less (which is what I did at first), and the chain runs nearly straight when passing through the jockey wheels. And my B tension screw has only a few millimeters of additional travel left.

[jonathanf2]

I upgraded from 11 to 12 speed today on my eR9 equipped bike. By:

• Changing the cassette
• Changing the chain
• Adjusting the gears in the app

That's it! This is such an underrated feature of this groupset (and the Wheeltop one too).

Why go to 12 speed? I wanted to try the lightweight Goldix monoblock steel cassettes, as recommended by jonathanf2 on this forum. Those cassettes are available in both 11 and 12 speed, and I figured 12 > 11 

I can also confirm that 11-34T, with 50/34T at the front, is at the absolute limit of what the derailleur cage can handle, so max capacity of 39. And the chain length has to be spot on at that setup. One link more, and there's too much slack in small/small. One link less (which is what I did at first), and the chain runs nearly straight when passing through the jockey wheels. And my B tension screw has only a few millimeters of additional travel left.

Your experience with the 11-34t matches up with my findings. The ER9/X doesn't have much leeway in terms of chain line. Same goes with running 52-36t, 11-32t seems to be largest cassette you can run with that chainring size. Which works out, because both bikes have the same length chains.

I was thinking of trying the Goldix 12 speed 11-32t cassette for my other ER9 setup with the 52-36t, but my current Ultegra 11-32t cassette is still in good condition. Also I find with 12 speed on the big ring, gear protection kicks in at 3rd gear. With 11 speed, gear protection kicks in at 2nd gear.

[SirBikealot]

just came bike from putting my bike on the turbo because of the shitty weather here.
As i have a 10 speed casette on the turbo i switched to 10 speed in the app and oh boy, all options below 10 speed are gone. App version 2.6.0
Can anyone confirm this?

[Sebastian]

Your experience with the 11-34t matches up with my findings. The ER9/X doesn't have much leeway in terms of chain line. Same goes with running 52-36t, 11-32t seems to be largest cassette you can run with that chainring size. Which works out, because both bikes have the same length chains.

I’m using 52/36 with an 11-34/12sp cassette. I got it set up so that the big/big combo is usable and the small/small combo is noisy but not completely slack. I’m never using any of these combos and the gear protection feature is keeping me from doing it as well. But it’s definitely pushing what the RD can do. And I suspect that the curve that the RD parallelogram makes is not ideal for this type of cassette. Hence my complaints that the shifting sensation is a bit underwhelming at times. It’s slightly rough and just doesn’t feel as refined as I’m used to. But it certainly doesn’t slow me down.

[jonathanf2]

I’m using 52/36 with an 11-34/12sp cassette. I got it set up so that the big/big combo is usable and the small/small combo is noisy but not completely slack. I’m never using any of these combos and the gear protection feature is keeping me from doing it as well. But it’s definitely pushing what the RD can do. And I suspect that the curve that the RD parallelogram makes is not ideal for this type of cassette. Hence my complaints that the shifting sensation is a bit underwhelming at times. It’s slightly rough and just doesn’t feel as refined as I’m used to. But it certainly doesn’t slow me down.

I tried that combo and while it worked with the appropriate chain length, the derailleur cage is too bouncy to handle it properly for the kind of terrain I ride in. You should consider either 52/36+11-32 or 50/34+11-34 to get optimal performance. Either combo works well enough I don't miss my Ultegra mechanical setup. Though I'm firmly in the 2x gravel camp and it seems none of the Chinese groupset makers want to dabble in that space.

[jonathanf2]

just came bike from putting my bike on the turbo because of the shitty weather here.
As i have a 10 speed casette on the turbo i switched to 10 speed in the app and oh boy, all options below 10 speed are gone. App version 2.6.0
Can anyone confirm this?

I'm on app ver. 2.6.1 and all cassette speed options are available.

FYI - If your smartphone isn't connected to the internet, the app can still access the groupset using the passcode (default 0-0-0). Someone asked what would happen if LTwoo went out of business and there are no updates or changes. At least if you have an older device with the app the groupset will be adjustable in the long term.

[rockerplates.de]

before the issues, we have installed a 11-36 cassette, 11 speed and it worked ok....

[Sebastian]

the derailleur cage is too bouncy to handle it properly

I have zero issues with a bouncing derailleur cage, despite riding cobbles and pretty bad roads at times. In fact, the cage tension is the highest I ever had on a non clutch RD. I think I dropped the chain once, since I'm running this groupset.

The issue is more with the upper pulley tracking the cassette closely. Obviously, you need to set it up so it clears the biggest cog. That means however that the upper pulley is further away than I would like it to be in the middle gears of the cassette. Hence, the shifting performance suffers slightly. It's a compromise and it doesn't feel ideal. It probably has to do with the RD's parallelogram curve. It's officially designed for a max cassette size of 11-32, after all.

[rockerplates.de]

Just a short upgrade on the LTWOO Story...

as they have had a booth on the Eurobike (not in the cheap china halls)  we have decided to give them a mystery visit.
We have asked about the er9 erx and the problems everybody could read online and the videos on youtube....They told me, the products work absolutely flawless and if any problems occur, customer service would step in.
After we have stated, that we have had trouble with er9 and that help has been ignored by customer service, they told me i never ever bought the products from the factory otherwise, they would have swapped immediately for free to help
and customer service is flawless. my products must have been bought at aliexpress and they are not capable of the service levels on aliexpress.
Funfact: when we ordred our first batch, we only did this, as the salesperson garantueed no aliexpress sales..(which started, when the shit hit the fan quality wise, so they could get some volume)

Well, the company i bought from is the same as shown on their name cards (factory)they gave me before..i have asked, if the company on their name card is the factury for sure...they confirmed...they seem to have installed a ltwoo europe outlet with a new sales guy. I did not shown them our invoices, which state that we have bought directly at the factory.
We just collected impressions and wanted to state it here...

[toxin]

Yeah not surprised. Should really get this info through to Joe, Trace, Nero guys. This should not stay contained to the couple 100 or so ppl who read this thread. Is there even an "official" channel for non-chinese buyers?

[rockerplates.de]

Well, the sales guy is officially working for jagwire europe according to linkedin.... no idea.....i am sure, he told me what ltwoo wanted him to tell customers....it is the usual chinese way of doing business...they have used the market for evolving the product fast and getting the product payed...doing that without r+d by customers, it is more expensive...of course they kind of destroyed the brand name...even joe at panda cycling does not sell the products...
they need to establish a new brand, buy a knockdown company and use this brand....who knows....

[neobiker]

Sometimes I wish I could browse the Chinese web and check what they are saying about LTWOO and the ER9/ERX group set. The sample size probably is much bigger there and we would get a more reliable overview ...

[toxin]

I have that same wish often

[Serge_K]

I have an outstanding claim for 3 er9 RDs. It's been back and forth for months at this point. They're making life impossible, ghosting, then moving the goal post, I've basically given up, I'm preserving my sanity that's worth more than a few hundred bucks.
It's impressive how shitty they are.

[rockerplates.de]

Sometimes I wish I could browse the Chinese web and check what they are saying about LTWOO and the ER9/ERX group set. The sample size probably is much bigger there and we would get a more reliable overview ...

well, if panda podium states, that his sales are very very low...the brand seems to have screwed up even in china.
once again, the domestic market explodes and their low budget groupsets work and sell pretty good.
The basically do not care about er9 or electronic group problems and feedback....
But i have seen many chinese companies visiting fairs, looking for the people who do not know about current situations and start doing business with them , seeing an opportunity.
currently, i have not even seen a ce certificate, which makes the products illegal to sell and import...
any distributor or seller would have to invest in this themselves.