BNB

I just finished (today) my new single gravel bike with etap and TRP Hy/Rd and I'm pleased with the setup so far. Long ride on Wed/Thurs and I will know better. Not sure how Spyre and Hy/Rd compare. Hoping the Hy/Rd won't "spring a leak" since it is cable actuated. If these calipers prove to be reliable I will put them on the tandem (that has etap wifli).

bwebel

I'm using the Spyres with Red mechanical levers and am quite happy with them. As with any cable disks, you want compressionless housing and I get good cables too. I also have Red hydraulics on a tandem and, while the lever action is a lighter touch, I'm rather ambivalent as to whether they are worth the bleeding hassle and the less forgiving failure mode if you overheat them.

geoffs

I've installed a few of the TRP Hy/Rd brakes and I've found them to work well although they can be a bit fiddle to set up sometimes. I have installed SRAM red levers with the Hy/Rd calipers on a Seven. I know I shouldn't use a disc as a drag brake but going down a steep pass a couple of weeks ago in the rain I didn't have any choice. The Hope v2 disc didn't even notice the abuse.
The friend who had the his brakes spring a leak was using TRP Hylex. The leak was the lever for the rear brake which was probably incorrectly installed.

geoffs

That's what I wanted to hear. Thanks for the info. Looks like the Mocha will be getting an upgrade. Now I just need to have a chat with Seven about a new frame:-)

NYC_Cyclist

Just a quick update. Sram wifli with roadlink, a 11-40 and a 48-32 is working well kinda. Although I am getting big ring chain drops into the crank. After having some really good mechanics take a look we have decided its just too much chain wrap. It hits he 32-40 gear without problem. But generally, shifting is kinda subpar for such a high end group. I am going to back off to an 11-36 and see if the shifting quality increases. That or try to lose more weight and go with a normal cassette.

BNB

quick update to say that sram etap has failure issues. while our tandem shifting has worked well overall, the etap on my single bike has failed. LBS says lots of etap failures coming into the shop. Their advice is to stick with Di2 for now. Hard to think about traveling with our tandem, overseas, with this dark cloud of potential failure. The failure, in my case, is a rear derailleur that won't shift (again, on my single bike).

jnbrown

I had that same problem on my single. Turned out I had the 13 and 14 tooth cogs reversed. Since they are small it is not that obvious when looking at the cassette.

mtseymour

Did your LBS have an explanation for the eTap failure? Did they observe a higher failure rate with eTap vs Di2 (11sp)?

Bad1

SRAMs tested Etap for hundreds of thousand miles before bringing it to the public, plus all the pro riders in the grand pelton usage the last 2/3 years. All manufacturers of bike components constantly have recalls. Sounds more like a witch hunt from a bias bike shop.

BNB

No explanation from the LBS; I'm sure they don't know why these are failing. Yes, they told me that etap returns are coming in "a lot" - this is a high volume shop as they also do large online sales - and they are telling their customers to go with Di2 for now. Di2 is solid at this point. I would really like to hear from sram what's going on. There are many posts about it on the internet and here's another on this forum:

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...-mid-ride.html

Personally, I absolutely love the shifting of etap. I don't want to go back to shimano's shifting style/pattern. I am going to stick with it for now. I took the RD off the tandem and put on my single so no tandeming until new derailleur arrives. : (

mtseymour

I don't think that it's "witch hunt" because rear derailleur failures have been discussed on various forums (eg. Weight Weenie).

Since the eTap derailleur combines transmitter, battery, and servo motor, there are more things to go wrong. The rear derailleur is exposed and more likely to be smacked than the front (eg. when a bike falls over, big bump). This may explain why front derailleur failures have not been mentioned.

BNB

Funny you should mention this. I'm ridiculously anal about my bikes. I went to bike mechanic school so that no bike shop mechanic would ever touch my bikes again. I told my LBS to be VERY careful with my bike. Next thing I know there a loud CRASH in the mechanic area. I said I hoped it wasn't MY bike. It was. That is the only fall or bump my bike has ever experienced and probably explains why the derailleur actually WORKED the next day.

Only one trip with this bike, by plane, and I removed the derailleur and boxed it with bubble wrap. Yup, a little anal. But so easy to do without cables/wires.

Sometimes you just gotta let go, I guess. Drink another beer. Remember it's just a bike, I tell myself. Ugghhhhh.

mtseymour

The rear hanger is replaceable for good reason. I knocked over my carbon mtn bike when I was moving another bike in my crowded garage. No harm done. I assume that Sram's 2-yr warranty should take care of the occasional eTap malfunction.

bmartinek

I just found this thread and am excited to figure out a Tandem for my GF and I'm looking at a Ritchey BreakAway Tandem and would love to do eTap as I have it on my other bikes. Just trying to figure the gearing now.

You mentioned that the Wifli with 52/34 works well. Are those FSA Tandem Cranks? Maybe a standard 52/36 and an 11-40 to help with chain wrap? Any other suggestions almost a year on from this? Much appreciated!

bmartinek

How is your Tandem working these days? What configuration are you running for cranks and gears?

I have eTap on my Ritchey Outback with 50/34 and an 11-32. Oddly I had the front derailleur fail bu SRAM got me new one in 3 days. Then I did Grinduro with it with no issues, not even a dropped chain the whole grueling ride.

act0fgod

Not who you originally asked but we put E-Tap on our tandem. It's definitely an improvement from our previous gearing. Much easier when packing and unpacking. We used to always have trouble with our full range of gears. The E-Tap isn't perfect but we are configured outside the recommended specs.

We are running 52-36 with an 11-40 shimano cassette. We can use the entire range crossed without slapping the chain on the 11 - 36 and without pulling the derailleur off on 52-40 (needed to buy a sram chain with 120 links). When shifting from the 36 up the the 52 we have to let up the pressure. Also shifting on the cassette from the 19 tooth down to the 21 tooth gives problems. The micro adjustment hasn't fixed it. I double shift down and single up. I also dislike charging the batteries and worry I'm going to run it dead so have bought an extra battery (range anxiety for the bike I guess).

I also love seeing my gears on my garmin.

bogriver

After nearly 6500 miles our eTap wifli equipped tandem shifts great and has been super reliable. We have had zero issues other than micro adjusting after a wheelset change from our standard aluminum wheels to our carbon set. This is perfectly normal and requires only about one to two clicks of the micro adjust. The chain wrap issue is just not a problem for us, as I have mentioned before, only the smallest three cogs are really not usable when in the 34 up front. I have it set up for a usable big big combo which we are most likely to use often. The 52-34 front combo was chosen to give us the best of both worlds with regards to flats performance and climbing. We have given almost nothing up when compared with our old triple set-up. The only caveat is some individuals do not like the bigger jumps between gears. We tend to feel that a tandem smooths these somewhat larger steps out because of the higher torque available from two riders. Our choice of cassette is the Shimano CS-M8000 XT 11-40 11 speed. Chain is a Sram PC-1170. We are also using a Wolf Tooth Roadlink. Yes, we are using the FSA SL-K crankset which is a triple set-up. This crank can be setup to be used as a double by utilizing the inner two ring mounts on the spider arms. It works very well. Pay close attention to chainline though, as this is the most common mistake when setting these up. It will cause dropped chains to the outside or inside. As I said, ours works great, and we will never go back to mechanical. Because we have a coupled bike, the wireless is a dream to assemble / disassemble and with NO adjustments required. Battery life has been very good also, getting about 600-700 miles. Battery and Gear indication on all the modern Garmins is a huge plus! Hope this helps.

bmartinek

Thanks much guys! I will probably remove the eTap Wifi off one of my bikes to use. You are correct it's hard to go back to Mechanical. Next up to figure out is the Wheels I am guessing to go 700C hopefully Tubeless. Still research to do...

bmartinek

Hey @bogriver , Iam working on details with the bike shop. Which Wheels/Hubs combination are you running with that? I am building this up for a Ritchey BreakAway Tandem which has a 135mm axle spacing. Making it difficult. So far it looks like I can get a 36H QR 11-Speed hub from Shimano. Before I go reinventing the wheelset, might as well check with you guys. Trying to get all the parts in sync.

Did you have to use special spacing bolts for the chainrings?

GuyRocket

Thanks to all of the responders for updates. I'm glad to hear of success. Etap is a planned upgrade for our Calfee.

bogriver

We are running a Spinergy Z-Lite Tandem wheelset with 142x12mm thru axle hubs and disc brakes. I believe these hubs are made by Hadley and specifically for tandems as they utilize a titanium free hub. Tandems are notoriously hard on both hubs and wheels..and everything in the drive-train for that matter! Make sure whatever wheelset you choose is tandem rated. I am sure some may argue different, but a non tandem rated wheelset will not last long... IMO.
As for chainring bolts, this depends on the crankset you choose as well as the type of chainrings, nothing special though.

bmartinek

Thanks @bogriver, I am jealous of your Through axles, I like them on my Outback. I was on the phone with Shimano and it looks like we'll be on an 36H XT hub and they seemed to think that would be fine. Our team should weigh in about 320, 310 if I keep hitting Zwift for the month. I'll post my set up for it as well.

bmartinek

Hey Tandem Wifli Folks!

I've ordered our new tandem frame! A Ritchey Switchback, very excited. In the process of ordering all the parts now, but the bike shop I am working with is still trying to figure the crank setup. If soemone could post some pictures of their FSA cranks and possibly their derailuer mounting that would be a huge help. Thanks in advance!!!

paulf99223

I've been looking to switch to Etap on our Santana Beyond. A few questions:
1. Has anyone done right side drive on this set up with either a Chain or a Gates belt on the outside where the large chain ring would have been?
2. The Santana fork will not accept a disc brake, Anyone done TRP HY/Rd rear, caliper front? What did you get for Brifters?
thanks

Bad1