Can a fully wireless, electronic groupset be this cheap and good? Wheeltop EDS TX
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- Does this cheap, electronic, fully wireless groupset spell the end for Shimano Di2 and SRAM eTap?
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Really well-done video Mr. Treadway, a master class in bike mechanics 101. And I say this still friction shifting both my bikes. Have fun on the Dynamo, looking forward to hearing how this set works out for you. Thanks again. That auto-trim front derailleur feature really impressed me.
Thanks so much, Richard, really appreciate your kind words. It’s a cracking groupset and have really enjoyed using it so far. 👌🏻
it comes apart OK , and WORKS WITH EVERYTHING I may have to get this for Christmas so many upgrades ,
I can definitely recommend it so far, Charlotte. I’ve done a few rides on it now and it’s worked perfectly. 👌🏻
I’ve been looking at this as a replacement for my 105 mechanical, but the Wheeltop EDS FB page is full of complaints - not exactly reassuring. Think I’m going to go 105 Di2 or SRAM Rival - more money but hopefully less trouble. If it works I’d definitely go for it, but sadly I’ve seen too many reports of issues - seems like early adopters are being used as beta testers. Good luck with it!
Interesting to hear. What issues have you read about?
Obviously early days for me so far, but all seems to be working perfectly currently. 👌🏻
It’s weird to me that many influencers are talking about this group as a cheap alternative because it’s not cheap. It’s only like a few hundred $ less than 105 di2. I understand a few hundred is no small amount, but when compared to a $1,000 purchase, it’s not too bad. 20-30% more cost to pay for a brand that will back its products, has a warranty and is known to bike shops around the world. Seems worth it to me to pay the little bit extra.
Great video Pete, always informative. Really hope all goes well for your ride at the weekend.
Thanks Terry, really glad you found it useful. The Dunwich ride was awesome too. The video will be out this weekend. 👌🏻
Great video Pete, defo want one of these group sets (rim brake) for my second bike… it’s all about the funds… thanks again for a great video
Cheers Alistair. Yeh, the fact you can get this as rim brake is a great move by Wheeltop. It opens electronic shifting up for so many more people.
Really glad you found it interesting. 👌🏻
Wheeltop must have shipped loads of these group sets for free to RUclipsrs it’s been on most cycling channels recently.. interested to see what you honestly think but I’ll stick Campagnolo chorus 11 speed mechanical 😊❤ Pete
They appear to have been on a serious marketing drive, Pete, that’s for sure. However, I’m not going to complain as I’m seriously impressed with it so far.
I used it for the first time riding the 112 mile Dunwich Dynamo last weekend and, aside from a very brief gear skipping issue that I was able to sort quickly through the app while I was moving, it didn’t miss a beat.
Doesn’t sound like I’m going to convince you to give up Campag anytime soon though. 😂
@@petertreadwayno ❤ campy.
@@petertreadway what if your phones battery were flat.. hmm I’m on the fence really I am interested in honest opinions.. I read a few people seem to say the social media sites are loaded with complaints.. I guess mechanical just works and you only need a little experience to tune it or replace cables etc.. I do love Campagnolo though the build quality and the way it works is excellent for me.. Pete 👍👍🚴🏻
@@n22pdf once you’ve set the gears up after the first ride or two, then it’s unlikely you’ll have any further issues so, for me at least, a dead phone battery would only spell disaster when trying to buy cake! 😂
I’ll definitely keep you guys updated on it though, as I’m keen to see how it works out long term. 👌🏻
@@petertreadway nice one dude.. look forward to your future reviews.. yeah I’ve had that happen at the cafe lol and had to blag a coffee of friends 🤣🤣 I now carry a quad lock magnetic battery on longer rides 😂 Pete
Fitted mine, been out on a couple of rides a couple gears at the back need fine tuning but all good, 1 thing I upgraded was the brake pads to ebc sintered ,better stopping in the wet .glad it wasn’t just me that had issues pairing..👍
Interesting to hear about the brake pads, David. I’ve only ridden it in dry weather so far, so I’ll have to see but that’s useful to know. Cheers.
And yes, the pairing was… strange! 😂
well done, mate. I appreciate the way you explained the pairing.
No problem, I’m glad you found it useful. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. 👌🏻
Been waiting to see if you did a review on this groupset. It's something I'm thinking about getting in the future, since the upgrade can be done over time (can use it with my existing 8 speed components initially). Looking forward to hearing your thoughts after using it. Good luck with the dynamo 😁
Cheers Alex, I took this on the Dynamo last weekend and it worked perfectly. I needed to fettle one of the gears when I first started riding it but it was all done in the app while on the move.
No messing around with high/low limit screws, or barrel adjusters and no dirty hands either. It was a dream! 😂
Great video, as always, just something to point out though. The endcaps the hoses have attached, have an opening you can thread a brake cable through and use that to pull the hoses through the frame.
Thanks very much, really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment.
Unfortunately though, these hoses didn’t have that little eyelet end to them. They just had a screw on blank fitted to the end. I found those eyelets really useful when fitting the L-TWOO groupset to my son’s gravel bike recently though. Hopefully Wheeltop adopt the same thing soon. 👌🏻
@@petertreadway oh, wow! I was under the impression that those came with the same type of plug as L-Twoo’s. Those make pulling the hoses through so much easier, a shame WT didn’t use them too. Happy riding any ways!
As a recent convert to cycling these technological innovations are bonkers to me. Really looking forward to hearing how they go. I also rode the Dynamo this year (first time, 5 punctures, finally rolled to the beach at 10am) so looking forward to hearing how you went there too!
Honestly, most 'innovations' are beneficial to Pros and then just marketed at us amateurs to keep the money coming in. In fact, lots of people will argue that many of the newer inventions over the last few years have been forced upon the pros, simply to encourage the masses to buy them!
As such, if you have the money for top of the range, all singing and dancing kit, then have at it, but otherwise you won't be too disadvantaged by sticking with tried and tested mechanical shifting and rim brakes.
As for puncturing 5 times... Damn, that sucks! I had a puncture I thought I;d fixed but found it had deflated again when I tried to leave the next stop!
How old are your tyres though? If you've had them a while, the rubber might be wearing thin, making it easier for anything to push through it in to your tube. Could be the root of your problems!
@@petertreadway I suspected that was the case re new tech! As for the tyres, they were only 400km or so old, but the rear completely failed. A tenner went inside it, as did various other bits and bobs, and it got me to within 5 miles of the beach from where I finally had to get a lift. Close enough for me to claim a completed Dynamo though! Lesson learned: don't cheap out on tyres...
I've got Sram Apex wirless on my Camino, and i love it. Honestly, I dont think I'll go back to mechanical again. Had 105 mechanical before this.
Yeh, I think I’m spoilt now, as the mechanical GRX set I’ve just put on my new gravel build isn’t doing it for me! 😬
10:50 I love the lift music.
Bit of comic relief (although my mechanical skills are enough of a joke ordinarily! 😂)
Have a thumbs up! I love Shenzhen clicky things, BUT, the eR9 that I favour has been a bit hit and miss recently, and the v2 versions have not been quick in coming. I loved the idea of the EDS but it's perilously close to 105 Di2 in price which puts me off... (and it's nice to see grandad is catered for with rim brake options so he can stay in the 1980s)
God bless old grandad! 😂
Yeh, the 105 Di2 price dropping so far has definitely encroached on to Wheeltop’s territory but this is still, so far at least, a solid option. I’ve really enjoyed using it.
I’d still be keen to try the L-TWOO offering, but as you say, the v2 seems to be taking a while!
Lookin at this as I just bought 2 sets of LTwoo disc,all my other 8 bikes are rim brakes & LTwoo dont have rim option yet,so far work great so maybe Ill try Wheeltop
I’ve been really impressed with it so far. I’ve only ridden around 120 miles on it it though, but I haven’t found any major faults just yet.
It would be smart on Wheeltop's part to maintain a database of cassette and crankset specs/dimensions so that you can simply select the ones you are using and the app automatically calibrate itself
That’s a good point, Stacy. I’ll feed that back to them. 👌🏻
Great idea but every bikes derailleur hanger is different so adjustments will still need to be made
@@mornic616 This is why UDH is so great, once it spreads some more.
- enjoy it Peter lad, you'll not regret it 👌
Cheers Lee. All working great so far and I’m very happy with it. 👌🏻
I've had this groupset for 1 month and it's been absolutely fine so far.
I see and hear lots of negative comments but at present other than the fath that comes with micro adjusting the changes it's been really good. Maybe I'm just lucky?
My one hope is that they change the shifter covers as the rubber is far to tough!
So interestingly, I found the hoods really difficult to pull back but didn’t mention it, as I’d previously struggled with my 105 shifter hoods BUT just yesterday I was fitting GRX shifters to a new gravel bike build and they pulled back so easily! 🤦🏻♂️
I have seen people talking about sliding a zip tie under the hood, then using that to fold them back. Not tried that yet, but seems like it would work.
As for the group itself, I agree. I had to do a one time bit of fettling in the app the first time I rode it but otherwise, it’s been perfect. 👌🏻
@@petertreadway thanks for the suggestions of a zip tip, I hadn't heard/thought of that. I might give it a go next weekend and bleed the brakes 🫡
I've seen this product a lot of cycling RUclipsr and it seems okay but personally from working in the cycling industry your best bet is to get either older 11speed Shimano di2 disc or rim or get a bike on sale with di2/etap just for that after care ans servicing work
I do take your point Reece, and I guess only time will tell if Wheeltop can build up a solid reputation through making worthy products, but for the price and for now, everything is working as it should on this groupset, so I definitely wouldn’t discount it out of hand. 👌🏻
Thank you
You are, as ever, very welcome. 😉
Also, I LOATHE those magnetic charging connectors. I'm a courier, and I use those little magnetic charging cables with a button in the bottom of my iPorn work handset and there are FOREVER breaking and wearing out the centre contact. The chances of finding another charging cable for one of these systems is going to be a headache. I bought five charging cables for my L-Twoo group set for this reason. Something to bear in mind...
Useful info, Sam, cheers. So far I’ve not had an issue with them but only time will tell. 👌🏻
05:59 it looks solid, like well built but not weighty.
Yeh, it feels really well made and solid. 👌🏻
Hi Peter, huge thank you for the honest reviews. I currently ride with a sram red 1x setup, so I'd like to know if anyone has ever used this groupset with only the rear d for 1x setup?
I'm not personally aware of anyone doing that, Nick, however you definitely could. The rear derailleur will take up to a 36t cassette at the back, so you could still have a fairly wide range of gears if you decided to use it on a 1x setup.
That would certainly be cheaper than fully upgrading to a SRAM Red etap system!
Thanks very much for the tip.
Oh sorry, forgot to mention. I'm currently using a red 22 mech setup, therefore I'm keen to give electronic groupsets a try.
You should have just pushed a shifter cable thru the brake cable housing before you pulled it out and use the end of the shifter cable to guide the new brake line.
I have done that previously when installing the L-TWOO groupset on my son’s gravel bike but sadly, the Wheeltop hoses don’t have those metal eyelets on the end, to attach the cable. 👎🏻
@@petertreadwayEDS brake line comes with the attachment for the cable install, I not sure why yours don't have one.
Great video as usual Peter but I'm unsure whether I would spend six hundred on something that adds unnecessary complexity and potential unreliability to an already well-functioning system. On the other hand: I still think that gear selection regressed with the demise of the bar-end shifter so what do I know?.
What do any of us know, to be honest, Ronald! 🤣
I take your point though. Although, my old 105 mechanical shifters and cable actuated disc brakes weren't without issue either, so an upgrade to hydraulics has been a definite game changer.
I might do a build with bar end shifters at some point though.... I like the sound of that! 👌
I have a rim brake road bike with Shimano 105. So, I guess for electronic shifting, what are other options for this case?
From one of the comments on this video, I believe SRAM do a recent electronic rim brake version but for you specifically, that would require you changing your entire groupset, which is not ideal. So far as I'm aware, Shimano don't make a rim brake Di2 kit.
This wheeltop kit should make a decent upgrade for your setup then. 👌
@petertreadway Thank you very much. However, my groupset needs to be changed, so I can try to evaluate the price again. However, SRAM is still very expensive, right? Or is there a cheaper version? I am not sure.
@@MK-Turtles The SRAM version is the SRAM FORCE ETAP AXS 2X RIM BRAKE GROUPSET. It looks to be around £1000 but I can't seem to find it in stock anywhere currently.
That's the only electronic rim brake groupset I know of.
What about the weight of the cables and housing on the old gearing?
I reckon that would have been a significant weight, due to using the Jagwire compressionless housings for the brakes.
Completely forgot to weight those though. 🤦🏻♂️
Wheeltop seem to be sending this to every youtuber. Too many teething problems. Will wait for version 2
What issues have you seen with this, Dan?
Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but I took this on a 112 mile ride last weekend and, aside from some brief fettling of one of the gears in the app, it worked perfectly.
Interested to hear what you’ve seen though. 👌🏻
Well, it was a good try. Maybe some day they'll invent something that rivals Shimano 600 tricolor. 😏
Showing your age there, mike! 🤣
Cheers for taking the time to watch and comment. 💪
Budget? Just without the 'idiot tax'
I wouldn’t call it that. Some people’s appetite for untested stuff is just lower than mine. 😂
Biking is so expensive these days, we need a quality low cost solution.
Absolutely. I’m on board with anything that lowers the price of entry in to cycling. 👌🏻
Hahahaha, Use the shimano hose, if it’s mineral oil it should be fine, Wasted so much time. But hey, try removing the hoses from the caliper and hoods. Probably same olives too. 😅😅
My brakes were cable actuated before this, so sadly it all had to be ripped out and replaced.
14:20 - sorry, this video has got me captivated! The original eRX/eR9 had autotrim, but I believe it's a Shimano patent (I know, I know...) and they were forced to remove it in a firmware update. I'd be curious to know if Wheeltop also get their 🍑 smacked or not in the not too distant future...?
Ooooh, interesting! I’ll have to keep an ear out for that botty spanking! 😂
The auto trim is definitely a great feature though, so I can see why Shimano want to keep it all to themselves. 👌🏻
@@petertreadway it's pretty poor to be honest; I mean, when you swap from mechanical to electronic, suddenly things become possible that weren't before. It's such a simple operation too. To have it patented and keep it to yourself whilst you similarly strangle the market makes me persevere with the Wuhan Wheely Thangs. I really don't know which was to go with my next build though. I want V2, but Di2 is so p*ss poorly implemented and clunky with cables and junction boxes everywhere that it puts me off.
@samgraham4168 yeh, if I had to part with my own herd earned cash for an electronic system, I think I’d go down the etap route currently. I like the idea of fully wireless and removable batteries. It’s just the price I struggle with, which is why I like this system as a great half way house. 👌🏻
@@petertreadway etap is the ideal; batteries that can swap back to front, so even if you do f'up, you can at least have SOME gears; and fully wireless is just a no brainer. I just can't bring myself to do it though...
I dont think it's "cheap" given you dont get chain, cassette, cranks etc. when viewed like that it actually seems quite expensive to me
But not if you’re using it to upgrade a current mechanical group. Buying a more established Shimano or SRAM offering means buying components you already have.
Plus, this is pretty much the only option for electronic shifting if you want to run run brakes. More choice can never be a bad thing. 👌🏻
@@petertreadway disagree, I run previous gen force etap axs 12 speed with rim brakes no issue. Everyone seems to forget there was a rim version !
@@unklesannjay let me rephrase ‘pretty much the only new option if you want to run rim brakes’ 👌🏻
I had this groupset, successfully sold this low quality stuff. Do not recommend
What did you not like about it? Seems to be working just fine for me currently.
@@petertreadway 1. Wet weather can destroy derailleurs, there is no sealing near batteries and electric chips.
2. Shifters will loudly rattle after some usage
3. Incorrect charge indication in app. It can slowly go from 100 to 40% and then quickly show 10%
You probably had the old version the seals have been dealt with. Rattling and battery I don't know about.
@@andrewmurgatroyd9214 good to hear that, my eds tx was installed on Twitter R15pro complete bike