eTap Craziness..

[yenrod]

Back in January (2018) I bought eTap now it's great stuff and I'd recommend it to anyone...it's THE way of shifting gears.. ! tho never used di2 but for me the sram stuff appealed more..

Anyhow on with this heads-up..

I've rode it quite a bit and the batteries last well.. Fitting was easy but taking your existing stuff off and fitting the eTap is a biggish job..but once done it's fine.. I noticed it's the exact incremental adjustments that get the shifting absolutely perfect !

About a month back it started to hesitate moving from (1st gear is the biggest cog on left for reference purposes) 4th to 3rd..and that was it, so I'd keep riding it as it was very slight..then it got more often then freezing a fair bit and getting stuck in a hard gear is quite a deal ok the front still worked but mostly I'll spin + 85rpm so going to 60rpm is big..

I contacted Chain Reaction and they said send it on on warranty - this I was against as it's beeni taking our all off the bike..so I contacted sram in the US and they said contact the importer who're Zyrofisher and they recommended a local shop via a shop finder which are called Sram Service Centre's - they said 'Yes we'll look over it, tho it'll cost.. Now I thought, hold on, this gear set is in warranty and maybe the guy wasn't fully up to date on the policy so I took the 'bang' to send it back - all of it to CRC - cost me £30 and now I understand Zyrofisher have it.. CRC emailed me and told me that if it's at fault, they'll refund the postal charge for sending it to CRC.

eTap; it's great !

BUT realise what I'm going thru/experiencing..

[[XAP]Bob]

They’re sprockets, not cogs...

As with all such things - a cable would have done quite well... you gain is some area, and lose in anither (generally the wallet and reliability)

[Brucey]

just to put it into context, one of my chums runs Apex 10s and it is about five years and 20000 km old. It is just starting to wear out now, so needs new pulleys and (its first) new cable set. Obviously it has been through several chains and a few cassettes too, in that time. I think that the RD cable has been popped out of its slotted guides and fettled a few times but that is it.

I'm not sure that there is much to be gained if that is a typical experience with traditional mechanical gears.

cheers

[[XAP]Bob]

I'm not sure that there is much to be gained if that is a typical experience with traditional mechanical gears.

There are a number of accessibility gains to be had, but otherwise I agree that the benefits are likely to be slim at best.

[NetworkMan]

After a lifetime working with computers and and computer networks I've always found the relative simplicity of bikes one of the things that make working on them so appealing. Can't you actually connect Di2 to some smartphone app. or other? Sigh.... Groan ....

[scottg]

They’re sprockets, not cogs...

As with all such things - a cable would have done quite well... you gain is some area, and lose in another (generally the wallet and reliability)

Cables wear out, then there is housing too. And you need some gubbins to move the cable.
Way too complicated and expensive, this is better.

[Brucey]

After a lifetime working with computers and and computer networks I've always found the relative simplicity of bikes one of the things that make working on them so appealing. Can't you actually connect Di2 to some smartphone app. or other? Sigh.... Groan ....

I can't begin to tell you how much I loathe computers. In theory I should have three that work, but right now I have one that barely functions. Another (six months in from a refurb) has (I think) a flakey SSD and won't even boot any more, and the third (which is brand new and has had less than 12 hours use) has developed a pointer fault (no arrow cursor movment at all). I can't even erase my personal data from it before taking it back from whence it came.

In total I think I have wasted about 24 hours in the last 36 trying to fix them. Even when they are 'working' it is a rare day when they work without any anomalies.

I feel like piing the lot in a heap and smashing them to bits. If bicycles were that much trouble I certainly would not bother with them. The idea of making my bike dependant on the same sort of technology is not at all appealing.

cheers

[Bmblbzzz]

That all seems irrelevant. The real point here is not cable v electronic, it concerns customer service.

[Mick F]

They’re sprockets, not cogs...

So are chainrings.

I'm happy to carry on calling a rear sprocket, a cog.
It's a nice word and simple and short.

[NetworkMan]

They’re sprockets, not cogs...

So are chainrings.

I'm happy to carry on calling a rear sprocket, a cog.
It's a nice word and simple and short.

Just looked at the OED. Seems both sprocket and cog can both apply to both front and back things with 'projections on the rim.'
When Mrs. NM refers to the ones on the front as cogs I wince but it seems I'm wrong to do that!

[NetworkMan]

After a lifetime working with computers and and computer networks I've always found the relative simplicity of bikes one of the things that make working on them so appealing. Can't you actually connect Di2 to some smartphone app. or other? Sigh.... Groan ....

I can't begin to tell you how much I loathe computers. In theory I should have three that work, but right now I have one that barely functions. Another (six months in from a refurb) has (I think) a flakey SSD and won't even boot any more, and the third (which is brand new and has had less than 12 hours use) has developed a pointer fault (no arrow cursor movment at all). I can't even erase my personal data from it before taking it back from whence it came.

In total I think I have wasted about 24 hours in the last 36 trying to fix them. Even when they are 'working' it is a rare day when they work without any anomalies.

I feel like piing the lot in a heap and smashing them to bits. If bicycles were that much trouble I certainly would not bother with them. The idea of making my bike dependant on the same sort of technology is not at all appealing.

cheers

But you are from a science/engineering background and are able to diagnose an SSD fault using a systems engineering approach. I feel really sorry for all the people who can't do that. People think that computers are simple because on a good day they are easy to use. In fact they are one of the most complex things ever invented by man, the software always has faults in it and always will; it is just too complex for it to be any other way.

[brumster]

I recall a guy doing LEJOG ( supported ) popped into LBS - His Etap system had stopped working - LBS contacted Sramtech to discuss the fault who said " Yes, Known fault - send the parts back for warranty " - Fortunately the cyclist in question had a spare bike with his support crew.

[[XAP]Bob]

They’re sprockets, not cogs...

So are chainrings.

I'm happy to carry on calling a rear sprocket, a cog.
It's a nice word and simple and short.

Just looked at the OED. Seems both sprocket and cog can both apply to both front and back things with 'projections on the rim.'
When Mrs. NM refers to the ones on the front as cogs I wince but it seems I'm wrong to do that!

A cog engages another cog, or bar. A sprocket engages a chain, belt or tape.

Also from the OED...
It’s not just the shape (although the shape of the teeth in a cog would be different), it’s the manner in which they are used that determines what they are.

Cog is a nice short word, but that doesn’t mean I call the bike a cog.

[NetworkMan]

So are chainrings.

I'm happy to carry on calling a rear sprocket, a cog.
It's a nice word and simple and short.

Just looked at the OED. Seems both sprocket and cog can both apply to both front and back things with 'projections on the rim.'
When Mrs. NM refers to the ones on the front as cogs I wince but it seems I'm wrong to do that!

A cog engages another cog, or bar. A sprocket engages a chain, belt or tape.

Also from the OED...
It’s not just the shape (although the shape of the teeth in a cog would be different), it’s the manner in which they are used that determines what they are.

Cog is a nice short word, but that doesn’t mean I call the bike a cog.

Yup, don't know how I missed that. Sprocket is clearly a better match for both front and back things. OED says sprocket and cog are synonyms but only roughly so it seems.

[Cugel]

After a lifetime working with computers and and computer networks I've always found the relative simplicity of bikes one of the things that make working on them so appealing. Can't you actually connect Di2 to some smartphone app. or other? Sigh.... Groan ....

I can't begin to tell you how much I loathe computers. In theory I should have three that work, but right now I have one that barely functions. Another (six months in from a refurb) has (I think) a flakey SSD and won't even boot any more, and the third (which is brand new and has had less than 12 hours use) has developed a pointer fault (no arrow cursor movment at all). I can't even erase my personal data from it before taking it back from whence it came.

In total I think I have wasted about 24 hours in the last 36 trying to fix them. Even when they are 'working' it is a rare day when they work without any anomalies.

I feel like piing the lot in a heap and smashing them to bits. If bicycles were that much trouble I certainly would not bother with them. The idea of making my bike dependant on the same sort of technology is not at all appealing.

cheers

But you are from a science/engineering background and are able to diagnose an SSD fault using a systems engineering approach. I feel really sorry for all the people who can't do that. People think that computers are simple because on a good day they are easy to use. In fact they are one of the most complex things ever invented by man, the software always has faults in it and always will; it is just too complex for it to be any other way.

As you imply, anyone wishing to use a very complex construct will do better at it if they make an effort to understand the necessary maintenance and fixing procedures of the commonly-encountered problems. Such problems are inevitable with such highly complex things.

The alternative is to do without them in your personal life, as far as possible. Personally I find no potential advantage in electronic gears over their mechanical counterparts that would outweigh the personal effort I would need to make to understand and maintain the electronicals. I feel the same about mobile phones and so don't have one. Or a Garmin; or a power meter; or a ..........

I do have a computer - a large and complex desktop with all sorts of peripherals, software et al. I find it extremely useful for all sorts of things, so I learnt enough to keep it working properly; and to diagnose/fix faults. It's now 7 years old and works just as well if not better than when I first bought it, via occasional hardware & software changes and my routine tweaks, cleans and general tinkers with both the physical and the metaphysical innards.

If one gets a duff computer, the first thing to do is to understand if it's just badly configured or if it has an inherent fault that makes it unfit for purpose. If it's the latter, one should (as well as getting it replaced) consider one's process for choosing it in the first place. I rarely get a duff item of any sort as I'm very careful about what I buy. This begins with an automatic scepticism about adverts, sales talk, fashion and glittery-glamour coatings of every kind.

Perhaps Brucey has not heard, though, of caveat emptor?

Cugel