Wheeltop EDS GeX

[RiP]

Jumped on this offer as well, codes and Klarna payment got it down to 340€ and there should be 70€ cashback coming as well, so hopefully it'll turn out to be quite the bargain

Arrived just now, will hopefully get around to installing it (and a few other parts) until the weekend at the latest.

Quick notes on the listing itself, YMMV:
- the listing was stuck on "label created" for almost a week, then went from "we got it" to delivered within 24h
- shipped from France instead Poland
- I ordered the 7000 brakes, got the 7800 🤷

Well, same situation here regarding shipping and the brakes I got. Ordered the 7000 model, got the 7800 brake calipers! 

BTW, does anyone know the difference between the 7800 and 7800 plus/pro brake caliper models, apart from the obvious finish/body colour?

[RiP]

Well, I decided to look into the differences between both 7800 models of the Wheeltop brake calipers, and it seems the differences are the weight and finish (this being the most likely cause for the weight difference). As per info in a listing on Aliexpress:

- 7800 model:


- 7800 plus/pro:


Being just a 20g weight penalty on the regular 7800 model, I still prefer it to the newer model because of its black finish. The newer ones are simply too flashy for my taste...

[jonathanf2]

I just ordered and received Wheeltop GeX + spare battery, but now I'm thinking of returning it and getting another LTwoo EGR groupset instead. 318Bike Store on AliEx has the EGR groupset back at a reasonable price and as a Choice item. I have no complaints with EGR on one of my gravel bikes.

For those who have both, which one would you lean towards?

[jonathanf2]

Installed my Wheeltop GeX. It was pretty straight forward converting my mechanical GRX RD and hydraulic Ultegra shifters. I still need to test out the bike, but so far shifting seems precise and it looks very streamlined!

[jonathanf2]

Quick ride review of the GeX. The RD is great, but the shifters suck. The hoods are too shallow, the brake lever reach is too wide and the shift buttons need to be firmly pressed in order to shift. The app is okay, but I prefer the actual real time fine tune adjustments on the LTwoo app. Also race mode with WheelTop feels like the medium speed setting (on LTwoo). Performance is solid and the RD is definitely the best part. There was no need to adjust the tension screws, unlike the LTwoo eGR RD. Given the choice, I’d prefer to have eGR shifters paired to the GeX RD. Neither system is perfect, but if purchased on sale and at reduced price, I can live with the negatives! I’d rate the system a 7.5/10. Not perfect, but still gets the job done!

[Aero-X]

Installed my Wheeltop GeX. It was pretty straight forward converting my mechanical GRX RD and hydraulic Ultegra shifters. I still need to test out the bike, but so far shifting seems precise and it looks very streamlined!

Great build. Question. Do levers rattle when the riding surface gets rough?

[Aero-X]

Quick ride review of the GeX. The RD is great, but the shifters suck. The hoods are too shallow, the brake lever reach is too wide and the shift buttons need to be firmly pressed in order to shift. The app is okay, but I prefer the actual real time fine tune adjustments on the LTwoo app. Also race mode with WheelTop feels like the medium speed setting (on LTwoo). Performance is solid and the RD is definitely the best part. There was no need to adjust the tension screws, unlike the LTwoo eGR RD. Given the choice, I’d prefer to have eGR shifters paired to the GeX RD. Neither system is perfect, but if purchased on sale and at reduced price, I can live with the negatives! I’d rate the system a 7.5/10. Not perfect, but still gets the job done!

When you say hoods are shallow, what do you mean? The reach is a known issue by now. I have small hands with short fingers. This is going to be problematic for me. 

[jonathanf2]

When you say hoods are shallow, what do you mean? The reach is a known issue by now. I have small hands with short fingers. This is going to be problematic for me. 

The top of the hoods aren't very pronounced. You can adjust the hoods high on the bar to get better grip, but due to the short lever reach, it puts them even further out. It's a huge design flaw and knocks the whole groupset down a notch despite being a good system. Makes me want to pair some LTwoo eGR levers to the GeX RD!

[jonathanf2]

Great build. Question. Do levers rattle when the riding surface gets rough?

I didn’t notice any rattling. I just went cheap and opted for the alloy shift levers. I wonder if the rattling is more noticeable on the carbon levers?

[darario]

I didn’t notice any rattling. I just went cheap and opted for the alloy shift levers. I wonder if the rattling is more noticeable on the carbon levers?

Didn‘t notice any rattling on carbon levers, neither.

[Aero-X]

Great build. Question. Do levers rattle when the riding surface gets rough?

Has anyone actually paired L-Twoo eGR with Wheeltop GEX RD? L-Twoo eGR only goes up to 46T. I want mullet 50/52T in the back. Plus I hate to run the RD wire in the frame. L-Twoo eGR is almost a deal breaker for me up to this point.

[jonathanf2]

Has anyone actually paired L-Twoo eGR with Wheeltop GEX RD? L-Twoo eGR only goes up to 46T. I want mullet 50/52T in the back. Plus I hate to run the RD wire in the frame. L-Twoo eGR is almost a deal breaker for me up to this point.

The eGR can run 50t safely. I'm currently running eGR with a 9-50t cassette on my other gravel bike. LTwoo shifter are better designed with more pronounced hoods, better lever reach and easier to access mineral oil port. Though the simplicity of the GeX rear derailleur made installation far more smoother and faster. LTwoo's real-time gear fine-tuning is better implemented compared to Wheeltop's input random numbers and hope it works approach.

It's a bit of a toss up. If I had to choose one, I'd probably pick GeX for those less experienced with bike maintenance. Though if you have small hands, LTwoo shifters are far better designed and can be the deal breaker compared to Wheeltop's small shifters+long levers.

[Aero-X]

Got GeX last week. The levers and derailleur came paired already. Noticed two small screws under the backside of the levers. The upper smaller one appears to be 2mm. It has clockwise and counterclockwise arrows and Max 2MM(2NM?) label. What is this crew for? Is it for adjusting the lever reach? If so which direction is to reduce reach(bring the lever closer to the handlebar)? I think the torque label "NM" is misspelled as "MM"?

[ricchirock]

Got GeX last week. The levers and derailleur came paired already. Noticed two small screws under the backside of the levers. The upper smaller one appears to be 2mm. It has clockwise and counterclockwise arrows and Max 2MM(2NM?) label. What is this crew for? Is it for adjusting the lever reach? If so which direction is to reduce reach(bring the lever closer to the handlebar)? I think the torque label "NM" is misspelled as "MM"?

yes, it's for the reach adjustment... but more than to reduce it, it helps to increase it. Default setting it's already at min value, on my case at least

[Aero-X]

I tried Device Adjustment after the Wheeltop APP has already discovered my GEX system, but it asks "Please connect the device first". I think it's already connected. What's wrong here?