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SRAM Red eTap Battery

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

SRAM Red eTap Battery

Old 09-23-19, 02:17 PM
  #1  
rickbyb
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SRAM Red eTap Battery

I've been riding with SRAM Red eTap for a year now and am sold on electronic shifting. I chose eTap over Di2 for its cleaner look; that is, no electronic cabling and no junction box / battery under the stem.

I do like the shifting performance, particularly on the cassette. I find that I shift more and, as a result, tend to maintain a more constant power output. And, when coming to a stoplight / sign, shifting to the largest cassette gear is easy, simply hold the shifter lever for multiple shifts.

Keeping the batteries charged is not a hassle. Typically, after a ride, placing the bike on my work stand, I shift rear, then front, watching the LEDs on the derailleurs and shifting levers. Then, charge if other than green.

However, here is my gripe. The mounting tabs on both derailleur batteries have broken off. For a picture, go here

https://www.amazon.com/SRAM-eTap-Bat...dp/B0186OPWJA/

and look at the reviews. One of the gents uploaded three images.

Contacting SRAM is uesless. The batteries are EXPENSIVE!

I have resorted to securing the batteries with a zip-tie loop.

Oh well.
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Old 09-23-19, 02:46 PM
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Knock on wood (knock, knock), but I've never had a problem with those tabs....been riding eTAP for about two years and close to 15K miles. Those miles are all on the road so maybe if I was riding on unpaved trails I'd have had some problems.

As a suggestion, a third charged battery is nice to have in the event you neglect your after-ride routine and end up finding you have a low battery prior to your next ride. Yeah you can always swap batteries mid-ride but if you're on a hill climbing route, you're kind of screwed since you're going to need both front/rear derailleurs powered.
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Old 09-23-19, 02:58 PM
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Broken battery tabs on eTap have been a gripe reported since eTap hit consumers IIRC.
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Old 09-23-19, 03:12 PM
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Once I get that 3D printer, I'm going to make replacement SRAM Red pulley wheels and eTap battery casings. Just pop the expensive stuff -- battery or bearing -- into my improved SRAM plastic, and you'll be flying happy.

I'll make them out of recycled carbon fiber that otherwise (I just learned from a link Grant Peterson emailed) gets dumped in the ocean. Should be just strong enough.
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Old 09-23-19, 03:14 PM
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Originally Posted by rickbyb
I've been riding with SRAM Red eTap for a year now and am sold on electronic shifting. I chose eTap over Di2 for its cleaner look; that is, no electronic cabling and no junction box / battery under the stem.

I do like the shifting performance, particularly on the cassette. I find that I shift more and, as a result, tend to maintain a more constant power output. And, when coming to a stoplight / sign, shifting to the largest cassette gear is easy, simply hold the shifter lever for multiple shifts.

Keeping the batteries charged is not a hassle. Typically, after a ride, placing the bike on my work stand, I shift rear, then front, watching the LEDs on the derailleurs and shifting levers. Then, charge if other than green.

However, here is my gripe. The mounting tabs on both derailleur batteries have broken off. For a picture, go here

https://www.amazon.com/SRAM-eTap-Bat...dp/B0186OPWJA/

and look at the reviews. One of the gents uploaded three images.

Contacting SRAM is uesless. The batteries are EXPENSIVE!

I have resorted to securing the batteries with a zip-tie loop.

Oh well.
Would you say it's a manufacturer defect or just a part that was poorly engineered? It has probably been reported to SRAM already. It's sad to hear that such expensive components end up failing.

Zip tie is definitively the way to go to avoid losing batteries. DI2 does not have such issue. Oh well, pros and Cons for each of them...
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Old 09-23-19, 03:15 PM
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I've been lucky so far also (Red eTap)... hopefully SRAM will modify the battery manufacturing such to improve that tab strength.
I use it on the road only so probably a factor.
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Old 09-23-19, 03:52 PM
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I have 23,000 miles on my eTap and this year I bought new batteries since the old ones only last 500 miles.

Never broke the tab.

Maybe I'm just lucky.

Last edited by GlennR; 09-23-19 at 07:49 PM.
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Old 09-23-19, 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by ljsense
I'll make them out of recycled carbon fiber that otherwise (I just learned from a link Grant Peterson emailed) gets dumped in the ocean. Should be just strong enough.
Funny you mention that. I did a quick search on another cycling site and there's a mega thread about those battery tabs with some not having any problems and others going through batteries like crazy. One of the guys has a similar idea to yours where he's shaved off some off the plastic from the battery casing and layered carbon fiber on top of it along with a carbon fiber battery tab to make it one cohesive battery. Basically the entire lower part of the battery including the tab is comprised of several layers of carbon fiber.
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Old 09-24-19, 06:06 AM
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Originally Posted by GlennR
I have 23,000 miles on my eTap and this year I bought new batteries since the old ones only last 500 miles.

Never broke the tab.

Maybe I'm just lucky.
How often do you shift on an average basis? I believe I get close to 1000 miles with my DI2 on a full charge. Would get a lot more if I wasn't riding mostly in the mountains.
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Old 09-24-19, 06:36 AM
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Originally Posted by GlennR
I have 23,000 miles on my eTap and this year I bought new batteries since the old ones only last 500 miles.

Never broke the tab.

Maybe I'm just lucky.
Originally Posted by eduskator
How often do you shift on an average basis? I believe I get close to 1000 miles with my DI2 on a full charge. Would get a lot more if I wasn't riding mostly in the mountains.
I've not done accurate miles measurement between charges with mine (eTap), but I'm sure I'm getting well over 500 miles between charges. It's very hilly where I ride, (road only on the eTap bike) I'd guess I'm fairly average in the amount of shifting.
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Old 09-24-19, 06:53 AM
  #11  
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Originally Posted by eduskator
How often do you shift on an average basis? I believe I get close to 1000 miles with my DI2 on a full charge. Would get a lot more if I wasn't riding mostly in the mountains.
Originally Posted by rayooo
I've not done accurate miles measurement between charges with mine (eTap), but I'm sure I'm getting well over 500 miles between charges. It's very hilly where I ride, (road only on the eTap bike) I'd guess I'm fairly average in the amount of shifting.
I was getting around 500 on my 4 year old batteries, the new ones last over 800+.
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Old 09-24-19, 06:34 PM
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Originally Posted by GlennR
I have 23,000 miles on my eTap and this year I bought new batteries since the old ones only last 500 miles.

Never broke the tab.

Maybe I'm just lucky.
Did you mean 500 miles or 5,000 miles? I have the same batteries and am approaching the 5,000 mile mark. No replacements yet.
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Old 09-24-19, 06:35 PM
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Nevermind. Long day......Got it.
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Old 09-24-19, 06:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Ald1
Did you mean 500 miles or 5,000 miles? I have the same batteries and am approaching the 5,000 mile mark. No replacements yet.
500 per charge.
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Old 09-24-19, 11:52 PM
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I’ve been riding etap for over 3 years now (~20k miles) and no problems with the tab on the battery breaking. Strange issue... never had a battery go dead on me, either, but I have extras and rotate through them. The CR2032’s in the shifters also seem to last a long time, too. I’ve only replaced them once so far.
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Old 09-25-19, 06:16 AM
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Might also be related to where the bicycle is ridden. IE, mountain biking would most likely result into more failures than road cycling?

This is one of the reason why I went with DI2 instead (the first one was the price lol). Yes it's wired, but you barely see it & you have less batteries. I just plug mine 1x/month regardless of how much I rode (I never do more than 150-200kms/week anyways).
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Old 09-25-19, 04:02 PM
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I just had my first charging of SRAM Red eTap from a bike I just bought a few weeks ago. My other bike has an Ultegra Di2 so I was a little surprised when my Wahoo gave me the low battery warning for the rear derailleur. When I checked battery status on the Roam, the FD was "Good" but the RD was "Critical". Since I was about 20 miles from home, I decided to swap the batteries around. Upon re-checking, both the RD and FD were listed as Good. I found that interesting. When I got home, I switched the batteries again and it read "Good/Critical" again. So clearly there is logic in the way the SRAM system reports battery life, knowing that you switch the FD much less than you shift the RD, and so a low/critical battery on the RD still registers as good when it's on the FD.

I do enjoy wireless shifting (and the clean look on the bike) but I also enjoy the longer life (and slightly smoother shifting) of the Di2. First world problems. It's a good time to be a cyclist.
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Old 09-25-19, 07:35 PM
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I use the LEDs on the derailleurs. They seem to be more accurate.

It's quite possible that it's head units that are the problem.

Also did you fully charge the batteries when you got the bike?
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Old 09-26-19, 05:50 AM
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Originally Posted by CarloM
I just had my first charging of SRAM Red eTap from a bike I just bought a few weeks ago. My other bike has an Ultegra Di2 so I was a little surprised when my Wahoo gave me the low battery warning for the rear derailleur. When I checked battery status on the Roam, the FD was "Good" but the RD was "Critical". Since I was about 20 miles from home, I decided to swap the batteries around. Upon re-checking, both the RD and FD were listed as Good. I found that interesting. When I got home, I switched the batteries again and it read "Good/Critical" again. So clearly there is logic in the way the SRAM system reports battery life, knowing that you switch the FD much less than you shift the RD, and so a low/critical battery on the RD still registers as good when it's on the FD.

I do enjoy wireless shifting (and the clean look on the bike) but I also enjoy the longer life (and slightly smoother shifting) of the Di2. First world problems. It's a good time to be a cyclist.
At least you get to have the luxury of switching batteries if you end up ''single speeded''! I like the fact that the FD will stop working before the RD on the DI2. It gives you at least 1) a warning and 2) a few more miles to get to a place or shift to lowest gears. I also believe that the wireless unit show you the battery life (which is a little easier than looking at the side of the junction box).
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Old 09-26-19, 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by GlennR
I use the LEDs on the derailleurs. They seem to be more accurate.

It's quite possible that it's head units that are the problem.

Also did you fully charge the batteries when you got the bike?
I don't think anything is necessarily a problem, it just surprised me that the battery ran out much more quickly than Di2, which apparently is the standard case when you look at anticipated battery life for both systems.

I did not fully charge the batteries, since it was a clearance they were essentially dead because they'd been sitting in a warehouse for nearly 2 years. The shop took about an hour to set up the bike so they put the batteries in some chargers and that's what I rode with. It's been my primary ride for those 2+ weeks so I'd say I got maybe 300 miles out of it.

I did fully charge both now, so we'll see what kind of life I get on this second charge.

Originally Posted by eduskator
At least you get to have the luxury of switching batteries if you end up ''single speeded''! I like the fact that the FD will stop working before the RD on the DI2. It gives you at least 1) a warning and 2) a few more miles to get to a place or shift to lowest gears. I also believe that the wireless unit show you the battery life (which is a little easier than looking at the side of the junction box).
Good point about using the LEDs vs. relying on the Wahoo to warn me...because apparently it doesn't warn until "critical" battery life remaining is reached.

But as you say, it's a good that I can switch batteries vs. ending up single-speeded. It's good to know on my next ride that I get the warning, I can literally just swap batteries and pretty much make it back to wherever I need to go.
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Old 09-26-19, 07:56 PM
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Used eTap since 2016 and I have not replaced my batteries. However, both tabs on my batteries have broken off but put them back using super glue.
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