Better hold off on the Magene QED electronic groupset

[jonathanf2]

I don't have all the details yet, but my contact in China just sent me some news that a local cyclist died using the Magene QED groupset. After doing some independent tests, they found it was most likely due to design defect with the Magene shifters. The details I was given was that the cyclist was over 100kg, while using lightweight rotors, resin pads and was on a 5km downhill. They repeated the tests using the same rotors, brake pads and Magene calipers, but using Shimano shifters and it appears the Shimano shifters still worked at the high temp extremities. The fault lies with the Magene hydraulic brake shifter design.

The other news I heard is that Magene's groupset has been outselling LTwoo and Wheeltop combined. Not sure there will be a recall though. 

[Mario kart]

Im not sure how the shifters would be the part that fail  when the brakes get hot on a decent?

[jonathanf2]

Im not sure how the shifters would be the part that fail  when the brakes get hot on a decent?

My contact and I communicate using a translator, so things might get mistranslated. From what I gathered in our conversation, the fault lies with Magene. Apparently they already financially settled with the family of the deceased. Like I said, I don't have all the details and it seems to be big news over there with cyclists, because my contact blew up my chat inbox with this story.

[lidation]

Thanks for the heads up!

But..... a 220 lbs rider, resin pads, long descent. any resin pads will be soft and lose a big part of its braking power if the rider is not that experienced.

[jonathanf2]

Thanks for the heads up!

But..... a 220 lbs rider, resin pads, long descent. any resin pads will be soft and lose a big part of its braking power if the rider is not that experienced.

Yeah, that's a recipe for disaster. It's something Magene didn't anticipate for and it's put considerable heat on them. As my contact told me though, Shimano is huge over there, with SRAM taking a distant 2nd place (more popular for MTB). The rest of the domestic groupset brands have less than 3% marketshare from what I've been told.

[lidation]

Yeah, that's a recipe for disaster. It's something Magene didn't anticipate for and it's put considerable heat on them. As my contact told me though, Shimano is huge over there, with SRAM taking a distant 2nd place (more popular for MTB). The rest of the domestic groupset brands have less than 3% marketshare from what I've been told.

I was in Shenzhen, China for a business trip a month ago. It's one of the richest Chinese place. I rode a shared bike (single speeder) along their bike trails for half a day and had only spotted 3 Chinerbikes. Most people were riding the western brands like we do, Cervelo seemed to have a big following there and then Specialized and Trek. And I don't see any L-Twoo nor Wheeltops. Those 3 Chinerbikes I saw were all equipped with Shimano 105 mechanicals. 

[Blueberry]

Ug that's sad to hear. A lot of bike parts coming out of China don't seem to be designed for anyone over 100kg :/ Every time I hear someone ask what to get for a bigger rider, my brain goes "uhhhhhhhhh" and I come up blank. 100kg isn't even that big, especially if you're tall.

[SirBikealot]

I was in Shenzhen, China for a business trip a month ago. It's one of the richest Chinese place. I rode a shared bike (single speeder) along their bike trails for half a day and had only spotted 3 Chinerbikes. Most people were riding the western brands like we do, Cervelo seemed to have a big following there and then Specialized and Trek. And I don't see any L-Twoo nor Wheeltops. Those 3 Chinerbikes I saw were all equipped with Shimano 105 mechanicals.

But is this a good place for a comparison? It seems like going to Monaco and saying europeans mostly Hypercars and you rarely see a BMW or Audi. But when you do it's almost a M or RS.

[lidation]

But is this a good place for a comparison? It seems like going to Monaco and saying europeans mostly Hypercars and you rarely see a BMW or Audi. But when you do it's almost a M or RS.

sorry for the miscommunication. I was just sharing what I saw. Most people on this forum have never even been to China. 
Also, Shenzhen is not a small place and it's way way way larger than Monaco (population 40,000 people).  Shenzhen alone has 15 million people, almost a quarter of the entire country of France (68million).

[toxin]

Damn, new fear unlocked. Anyway It's looking increasingly likely that Magene may not be interested in bringing this to market outside of China anyway.

[jonathanf2]

Ug that's sad to hear. A lot of bike parts coming out of China don't seem to be designed for anyone over 100kg :/ Every time I hear someone ask what to get for a bigger rider, my brain goes "uhhhhhhhhh" and I come up blank. 100kg isn't even that big, especially if you're tall.

Yeah it's a major oversight from Magene, especially since they had a lot of domestic hype over their groupset. I have a buddy over 100kg or about about 250lbs, ex-college US football player. I told him, don't even bother looking at or considering any of my lightweight bike parts. He rides either titanium or steel bikes and doesn't even touch carbon. This a dude who bent his 1x gravel chainring due to his weight and power output!

[kbernstein]

Indepth video from Petr

[patliean1]

I am a weird human.

$600 Chinese frames in general don't really scare me. What does terrify me however are:

-Ultra light cheap frames
-Ultra light cheap saddles
-Ultra light cheap handlebars
-Ultra cheap Chinese wheels
-Chinese groupsets

Basically all the touch points on my bike builds I give priority to over the frame itself. Wheels, tires, cockpit, and especially groupset. Like I said...I'm weird.

[BeR]

I am a weird human.

$600 Chinese frames in general don't really scare me. What does terrify me however are:

-Ultra light cheap frames
-Ultra light cheap saddles
-Ultra light cheap handlebars
-Ultra cheap Chinese wheels
-Chinese groupsets

Basically all the touch points on my bike builds I give priority to over the frame itself. Wheels, tires, cockpit, and especially groupset. Like I said...I'm weird.

You forgot for "weird" :
-  Sold a SL8 for a Tavelo .

[jonathanf2]

Indepth video from Petr

I went back to read the messages from my Chinese contact, I guess the cyclist who crashed survived. I tend to skim the details!

My contact also said they tested other Chinese groupsets under the same extreme conditions as Magene's QED. All passed the stress test, though LTwoo's system started leaking mineral oil.