L-Twoo eRX Impressions: a genuine Shimano rival?

First impressions with a potentially big threat to Shimano's dominance in the cycling world, the Chinese L-TWOO eRX electronic groupset which is now available on a bike for the first time, thanks to UK brand Handsling
Is the price right though?
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[@davidkendall4588]

Even if L-TWOO doesn't perform quite as well as Shimano, its presence in the market is a huge boon for consumers. Anything that increases competition and drives down prices is welcome.

[@matt_acton-varian]

Crankset looks like a Rotor copy. The L-Twoo groupset can be programmed for ten and eleven speed too, so if you are running 10 or 11 speed mechanical disc brakes you can get this mini groupset and get electronic shifting. Let's not forget Shimano have decades of R&D data, these guys have made some componentry for other brands but only recently started their own products. They will not be as refined but they seem likely functional.

[@yangyu9990]

There's also the slightly cheaper eR9 groupset from LTwoo. (21% cheaper) Which just replaces the carbon parts on the eRX groupset with aluminium resulting in a total weight gain of 55grams. With the current prices of the 105 di2 being significantly higher than that even accounting for cost of crank, chain, cassette, It's a fairly easy upgrade to justify for people like myself making the jump from mechanical to electric shifting. If LTwoo can partner with established chinese brands like Winspace, Elves and ICAN to name a few, I'd certainly see them making a dent in the market for new bikes as well in the future.

[@ricksantana1016]

Agreed, although within the big box retailers…

[@rob-c.]

Plus if you are wanting to upgrade a mechanical shifting bike to electronic, you already have the crank, chainrings, cassette and chain.

[@urouroniwa]

At that price point for a full bike, you're talking about a 10% discount for taking the risk on a relatively unknown producer. I think that's too narrow. However, I think that L-TWOO needs to stick to that kind of price point because more than making sales, they need to gain credibility. If they compromised too much on performance, it would be hard to recover. I think their price is fair for the product they are making. They probably need to play the long game and accept this engineering as a bit of a loss leader. 10 years from now, it may very well pay dividends. If people start to think of them as a quality producer, they will probably do very well at the lower end of the market, where the price reduction for a group set may be more noticeable.

[@quintennn]

I think the ltwoo groupset makes most sense as a groupset separately. 600 is indeed not the crazy discount on a bike, but this shows how little the groupset matters on a full bike price. For 600 - 800 £ for the whole groupset, it makes a lot of sense for people looking to upgrade their current bike from mechanical 105, tiagra or even ultegra. I think that's where they'll get most of their customers not on complete bikes. However the fact that complete bikes are starting to appear with ltwoo shows that there is trust in the groupset which is great for general adoption.

[@ricksantana1016]

Hence: Ltwoo may be suited for the box box retailers and the budget conscious beginning cyclist…

[@adambrickley1119]

Not much risk if you are buying a bike built up from a western firm.

[@richiejames928]

I like that fact they are disrupting the market and bringing a little excitement to an otherwise incredibly boring world of groupsets adding an extra cog every few years. what I don’t like is the fact they release products without enough development and let the early adopters do all the testing…for free. they then employ the fixes very quickly and send out newer versions as replacements. this is a very snidely way to operate.

[@johnp8092]

I waited til the latest version came out and bit the bullet and bought the eRX groupset. The app is good. It lets you find time each individual gear. It worked well for the first ride. The second and subsequent rides the rear shifting required more than one tap of the shifters, both up and down the cassette. After about the 8th ride the rear derailleur died. Front derailleur is ok so there is power and signal coming from the rear. The rear has completely lost its position in time and space. The app can’t help. I’ve tried resetting, calibrating and firmware was up to date. It’s all over the place now. Very disappointing and frustrating. I’m currently speaking to the seller to see what LTwoo can do for me. Stay tuned.

[@Fernando-qj6lm]

Hola compañero, lograste arreglar el problema?

[@zhuyufan1186]

😂 Ltwoo stuff works, I have two sets of their original rim brake R9 and after adjustment they perform flawlessly. The r9 hydraulic groupset is not installed on my new frame but it will be pretty soon. I think all the complainers here are not targeting the most severe problem for Ltwoo products are: lack of detailed installation manual which Shimano has on their website , ready to be viewed by everyone. And no crank, cassette and chain combination recommended or produced by themselves. The lack of mechanical parts in their groupset means either you do the trail and error bit yourself or you search ohter people's build and see what they are using. Both of which cost time and even unnecessary money.

[@alexandreballveebert]

I believe we need to support new companies. With that in mind, I bought the LTWOO eRX mini groupset for a new bike building. More competition = more innovation and lower premium prrices. So far I’m really impressed with the quality of it. It is not flawless, but for sure is a bargain if compared with shimano or SRAM offerings.

[@chriss6971]

I'd try them if they came with a bike for sure.

[@johnnycab8986]

These companies just reverse engineer and steal the R and D work of companies like Shimano. They should not be praised. Down the line this will lead to Shimano cutting corners and becoming worse trying to compete against a company that just parasites off them.

[@gabrielfong]

Did you got the wireless groupset as well?

[@festerofest4374]

Not enough price savings for me to consider..... I worry about long-term durability and service/support compared to Shimano.

[@rockman1942]

support from Shimano? Nah

[@jevgeniardassov]

Problem is, when you throw a good chainset and a casette in to the groupset you add 300 usd plus the main kit 680 usd it becomes extremely close to SRAM Rival that you can find with a discount (I’ve seen price as low 1020 usd). And that makes it a hard sell. Not because it is not on par, it probably is. But in the real world for now, Brand Name does count for more.

[@M.F.Hafizhan]

105 crankset + casette should cost less than 200 USD, no? Like yeah, 105s are not the fanciest, but anyone contemplating buying ltwoo probably isn't looking for the fanciest

[@youarevictoria4981]

Got the eR9, unbelievable value for updating an older bike to electronic.

[@sebastianm2381]

How long have you had it? How many km have you done? Any issues? I've got it on order and I'm worried about the multiple failures that other KZbinrs have documented with erX.

[@youarevictoria4981]

@@sebastianm2381 For about 1,200km in 4 weeks. I have only plugged it in the one time and there have not been any problems yet. The front mech seems to be the question and I have barely used it, maybe 4 times per ride.

[@touzenjodan]

I believe that if you purchase such devices from overseas, there will be legal problems with radio waves, but are the regulations in each country lax?

[@norsangkelsang7939]

bought it early.... for the money, I have no complaints. Considering Ultegra Di2 disc shifters cost the same as the whole L-TWOO group.

[@paulappleyard5832]

That handsling looks like a supersix evo. NICE

[@ricksantana1016]

Spot on! It does!

[@wx2999]

It's a Chinese open-mould frame, called "GR029". I ride one, its nice. I fit 48mm Rene Herse (aka Compass) tires. Costs about $600 with fork included.

[@RyonBeachner]

So, I’m kind of split on this one. Part of me, is impressed and happy to see that there’s some disruption to be seen in the future. On the other hand… Ltwoo doesn’t make a cassette or chainrings, which are kind of what dictates the smoothness of the shifting. I can’t be impressed by a company who has merely built an electronic servo that moves a derailleur the correct distance. The brakes aren’t spongy? Well… I would hope not if they have been bled? It’s a hydraulic brake, and it wouldn’t take much more than a donor groupset and a set of calipers to faithfully reproduce the performance of any competitors offering. The ergonomics, seem to be original, and if they’re good, they deserve to be applauded. I think what will really determine the success or failure of the product will be durability, customer support and consistency in manufacturing.

[@MrHANSMER]

03:54 - Rotor 😉

[@martinhotan8946]

This will really start to get interesting once the medium and large size bike brands start to oem that stuff. After all it is rather tempting to be able to have the frame and all parts sourced in one spot and have it assembled there too - or am I missing something here ??

[@ricksantana1016]

I see your point…

[@danstenis660]

Would like to see eGX groupset being mass produced to bring the price down even further.

[@LosihoTTT]

Unlike the so-called "Big 3", this brand still makes shifters for rim brakes - big win as far as i'm concerned.

[@dennisdefelice8909]

I think the pricing and quality is good for the product, but equally import might be the availability to bike builders. With the strangle hold Shimano and others have on the industry this might free up bike builders to actually get there bikes to market quicker. Ps. I’ve been waiting for my new bike all summer.

[@IanCoveny]

If you’re thinking of L-Twoo, I cannot strongly enough recommend against it. I have two group sets, the RX and the GR9, and they’ve been a disaster. Unfortunately, I don’t have the platform that Trace/GC/Panda has, so L-Twoo just dgaf about my issues, and I’ve been stuck having to replace both with Shimano/SRAM. All-in, I’m out 2x what I would’ve been just going mainstream in the first place.

[@Avalius1987]

What's going on with your groupsets? No issues here

[@TBat0431]

A great idea and shows the quality of the product

[@BikeLife154]

Shimano have nothing to worry about!

[@mickchaganis6607]

If I was buying a brand new fully build bike, I'd pay the extra £600 for Shimano, if I was building from scratch it would probably be L twoo....... but maybe the 3rd generation, let you guys deal with broken levers and the likes.

[@iancanuckistan2244]

The chainrings look similar to Full Speed Ahead aside from carbon fiber spider and crank arms on the FSA.

[@MercuryDIY]

Would like to see the price a bit lower to justify the choice between shimano after service/warranty etc

[@seanbarman]

I think Ltwoo should have released a rim brake version as many rim brake users would upgrade as its not to expensive, but if upgrading to disc would just buy a new bike

[@JJ-yh1iw]

Yoeleo Canada offers this groupset on their bikes in mechanical and electronic

[@igglebert3261]

How about a full review of the CEXEvo? Thanks 😎

[@edmundhodgson2572]

Nice bike. Dunno if I could use a 52 ring with those tyres!

[@seenstee]

And thoughts on the App???

[@Mr4xl]

$600 difference seemed not enough to sway the consumer from shimano

[@renelc30]

Does the derailleur have a clutch to prevent chain from slapping around?

[@cyclingthematrix]

No, next question?

[@ricksantana1016]

😂

[@SaschaRissling]

As of today an entire 105 di2 group excluding rotors goes under 1000€ in germany. While i'd love to have the erx, I'd rather spend the 300€ more on the shimano one.

[@abhimawa1]

It’s a classic ‘anti mainstream’ philosophy. I went to SRAM X-9 and SRAM X-0 years back, to return back to Shimano eventually. It’s never sexy to use mainstream brand, but the reason Shimano can dominate the market is something unwritten in the brochure, that is durability & mature design. Think Toyota, DT Swiss etc.

[@cypriano8763]

you already know what a guy with a silca set allen keys is gonna say about a non bougie groupset

[@seenstee]

And thoughts on charging method???

[@jimthebikeguy]

Yes it needs to be cheaper, and having to supply a crankset and cassette makes it less viable.

[@TheOkinawaBoy]

Is this Chinese Groupset Better Than Shimano Di2? Of course, not

[@rob-c.]

But it’s half the price so it depends if you are taking ‘per £’

[@razorree]

dura-ace di2 IS A SCAM ! 150 eur for a battery??? 2 cells for less than 10e (top of the line Samsung for example), a bit of electronics and plastic case ....

[@JibbaJabber]

Rotor?

[@wrcompositi]

I don't need or want electronic and hydraulic, so I'm hoping microShift will be brave enough to fill the niche of 12-speed/mechanical/cable brake road drivetrain. I know Sensah and Ltwoo have already had the niche covered with Empire and RX, but their shifting ergonomics are not my liking, I prefer separate and easy-to reach paddles. Maybe microShift has something new up the sleeves since they've just introduced the new form of drop bar shifters aimed for gravel bikes (Sword). I think the best scenario is microShift only develops shifters from 10 to 12 speed which are fully compatible with Shimano's derailleurs, thus saves the cost of making their own derailleurs.

[@GravelRacer1]

I'll wait for the SRAM gravel groupset knockoff

[@niklaskristensson2231]

Nice!

[@hxllxman]

Ltwoo need to make a rim brake version!!! Shimano and sram no longer on that market ....

[@leeharding8306]

Buying Shimano over this cheap knockoff will be the best £600 you’ve ever spent 🤔 it looks a bit like a pre production product with poor finishing and materials. Once it’s a full group set and it’s sorted out it’s short comings it will be interesting to see how things come along.

[@abedfo88]

Since the ltwoo is currently £400 on ali i think youd be mad to spend £1300 on di2.

[@chris1275cc]

That's BS, the price is closer to £500 and you are compairing an upgrade "mini" groupset with limited functionality to a full group from a reputable brand, hardly fair. Especially when on Ali' you can get a FULL Di2 105 for under £900 and the mini/upgrade set for around £700.

[@abedfo88]

@@chris1275cc disagree.

[@yowamushiguy9423]

DZE BLUETOOTH DEWISE IS CONNECTED UH SUCCSESSFULLAY

[@dmlopezleon]

Se parecen a las bielas ROTOR

[@huunguyen7669]

chinese, huh. Just wait until 3rd gen, at least

[@lazlo2511]

Nice Rotor….. oh wait it’s a clone, they could have given it a different name? All ending with X, good to have competition for the S&S.front runners. I remember the days of Mavic Suntour Shitmano Campag….all had incredible products at various price points.

[@lawrenceyeung2678]

Please stop promoting a very obvious copycat. They even copied GRX to ERX.

[@abedfo88]

Behave. Ltwoo is a big enough company to not infringe patents. They even patched out their auto trim function because of the shimano patent.

[@sullysullster8217]

I will not get chinese cycling products.I realise they make a lot of frames but im not into putting my life at risk from shoddy manufacturing.

[@sixy69]

Pity the whole bike is overpriced.

[@jamesmoros1274]

Astronomical prices for a bicycle, especially one made in China with all the questionable sources for labour. Greedy industry and one that will suffer in years to come.

[@johntrussell7228]

Shimano has become irrelevant. SRAM has them beat in literally every way across the board. Better road groups, better gravel and mtb.

[@tamasvarga67]

Says who?

[@zhuyufan1186]

Also the look, at least Sram is willing to change their crankset design more often and still makes them in color other than black.

[@tamasvarga67]

@@zhuyufan1186 Yeah color rides better than black 😄

[@johnnycab8986]

Sram electronic shifts worse/slower and weighs more than equivalent Shimano.

[@Ivan-oh6ug]

You must be a newbie 😂 Absolute nonsense, Shimano still the best engineered bike component manufacturer for everyone if you like that sort of thing. Take it from a bike mechanic, Sram high end still doesn't shift as well as Shimano who have been doing it right for years. And Shimano better at lower end. Sram nx and sx is junk in the MTB market. And last but not least CUES looks to be excellent and will see Shimano dominate here.