See likes

See likes given/taken


Posts you liked

Pages: [1]
Post info No. of Likes
How to run Di2 and a dropper post on a Flyxii FE-02 (and possibly other bikes) I like electronic shifting, but I don't like DOT fluid, which means I have to use Di2. On my road bike, it took all of 10 minutes to install 105 Di2, but on my gravel bike I very much like also having a dropper post, which makes installation of the battery a problem. My goal with this post is to describe how I solved this problem on my Flyxii FE-02 frame, but the process should work for many other frames.

You will need:
  • Internal cable routing tool and an old cable (or just 2x cable routing kits)
  • A frame with a headtube large enough that you can a fit Di2 battery in while tilting it into the downtube
  • Bubble wrap and tape
  • Zip ties, with a length approximately 2.5-3x the diameter of the downtube of whatever bike you're working on

The process
  • Drop out the fork and remove headset bearings. Remove all hoses/cables from the downtube to prevent the Di2 wires from getting snagged or tangled. Remove any cable routing guide near the bottom bracket; the holes this leaves will be valuable for cable routing.
  • Route the cable routing tool through the top or bottom of the headset, whichever direction is easiest to insert the battery from. If you have 2 cable routing tools, use one for the front and one for the rear; otherwise use the tool to route an old brake or shift cable from the headset through to the rear derailleur. If possible, route these under the bottom bracket.
  • Wrap the Di2 battery in 3-4 layers of bubble wrap and tape to keep it in place. I used silicon self-fusing tape but any durable tape should work. Wrap several zipties around the battery in different directions. I used 8 zipties, spaced a quarter turn apart (i.e. 2 pointing in each direction).
  • Attach the Di2 wires to the cable routing wires (I used a little strip of packing tape which worked fine) and the battery. Pull the wires down into the downtube - make sure to do this evenly, i.e. pull the front and rear wires the same amount. It should be pretty easy to do this up until the battery has to go in the downtube. Lever the battery into the downtube, putting a little spin on it to get the zipties in a sort of spiral pattern.
  • Pull the battery down the downtube - this should be pretty easy until the bottle cage rivnuts are encountered. Your rear (and maybe front) Di2 wire should be long enough to be pulled out the bottom bracket cable routing holes and a bit more force can be used to pull on those to get the battery down past the rivnuts. Eventually the battery should make its way down almost all the way to the bottom bracket.
  • Finish routing the Di2 wires and tape them to the frame. Shake the frame to make sure the battery is secure and doesn't make any noise. If it does, you can push out the battery back through the headtube with a long, thin dowel or some other tool. Take a light that fits in the headtube, shine it down the downtube, and look through the bottom bracket holes to make sure there's enough space to run a brake hose and dropper cable.
  • Route brake hose and dropper cable as normal. I found this easiest to do by using the aforementioned light in the headtube, and carefully pulling the magnetized end of the cable routing tool past the battery. Doing this blind wouldn't be fun. After they get past the battery, I recommend routing the brake hose below the bottom bracket and the dropper cable above it, but this is more frame-dependent than anything.


Things that don't work:
  • Fitting the battery down the seattube below the dropper. This is what I tried first, but the battery has to sit down far enough that it blocks the port for the front derailleur wire, so the battery has to be shifted to the side to make room. Unfortunately, this blocks the needed space for the dropper cable, and also fouls on the rivnuts for the seattube bottle cage and derailleur mount. I got my battery stuck in the seattube and had to route 4 brake cables through the bottom bracket, up through the seattube past the battery, and use the heads of the cables to pry it loose. 0/10, would not recommend.
  • Putting the battery in the downtube without zipties: there needs to be a lot of bubble wrap to prevent the battery from moving, but little enough bubble wrap to allow it to be inserted into the headtube and get past the bottle cage rivnuts. I don't think this is possible, and if it is, it's far more practical to use zipties. Just for fun, I tried it, and the battery got snagged on the rivnuts and I had to fashion a tool to yank out the battery. Again, not recommended.

January 06, 2024, 12:50:13 AM 		1
Centerlock rotor shims? Hi, wondering if anyone has found any CL rotor shims on AE? Thanks
January 21, 2024, 06:07:58 PM 		1
Re: Disconnecting hydraulic hoses You MAY be able to reuse barbs and olive if you can get it out and if you haven't tightened the olive too much but it's heavily recommended to cut and put new barb/olive as you likely lose some seal. This is why you are often advised to leave as much hose as possible in the bike. If crimped properly the olive shouldn't come off anyway
You can pick up a pack of olive/barb/hose kits for 4 bucks on ali, or for 30 at your LBS who will urge you not to get them from aliexpress as they might explode. The olives are universal afaik but the barbs and hoses are not, i think the standard Ltwoo uses is BH59, same as shimano road
You seal the open hoses with a toothpick
And yes both ends of the hose have a barb and an olive
May 14, 2024, 03:35:48 AM 		1
Re: WheelTop EDS TX Full Wireless Groupset (Chinese SRAM) I posted this on the Facebook EDS forum.  I had a concerning incident yesterday with my EDS TX hydraulic brakes.

Yesterday, on a gradual descent, coasting at around 25kph, (15mph) I was approaching an "S" curve on a trail that I ride numerous time per week.  I wanted to apply a small amount of braking power, so I pulled on the brakes to slow down just a little to make the first turn.  As I applied force to the levers, both levers "locked in place" at about 25% travel, and the hydraulic calipers did not brake on the rotors.   This quickly became an "Oh Shit" moment!  I pulled harder on the levers and they would not budge, and I was still accelerating into the turn.  I dove through the turn to the next short straight section, let go of the levers, then tried quickly pumping them, but they were still locking at about 25% travel.   Just as I was starting to panic, and my speed was now over 30kph (20mph), I pulled on the levers again and they worked normally, and I was able to slow down enough to make the next turn.   

Has anyone else experienced "locked brake levers"?   

This is very concerning and I don't have a clue why this happened.  Now I have doubts that these brakes will work all the time in the future, braking power that I take for granted for my safety and life.

I have a 160 mile ride that starts this Friday July 19th that starts at midnight, and I have concerns that I will be coasting down a long descent and the brakes will not work again.  I keep walking up to my bike and pull the brake levers to be sure they are still working....
July 17, 2024, 09:20:35 AM 		1
Re: Carbonda Gravel Carbon frame CFR707 I have had some issues with routing gear cables into the 707 and 1056. The plastic port near the bottom bracket seems to require routing half the housing down one way then half or so the other way (back up). I did manage hto drive in a housing all the way through but I'm not hugely impressed with the way the cable comes through to the rear mech. I have experienced poor shifts. I am thinking of removing my GRX 800 2x and trying an LTWoo eGR group.
July 18, 2024, 06:35:42 AM 		1