FSA's new Wireless Electronic Groupset
#1
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FSA's new Wireless Electronic Groupset
Last edited by link0; 08-30-16 at 01:06 PM.
#4
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Interesting. I like the idea of wired front/rear combination. Seems like it simplifies the battery issues and still makes for a clean setup.
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FSA's new wireless electronic drivetrain: the K-Force WE - BikeRadar
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I definitely think eTap's shifter button solution is much cleaner though. Less is more.
For what little it's worth, I am an electrical engineer.
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More vaporware or actually available?
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In LBS's next Spring
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"FSA states that the complete weight of WE at 2,090g, that’s 120g heavier than eTap and 45g heavier than Dura-Ace Di2"
FSA's new wireless electronic drivetrain: the K-Force WE - BikeRadar
FSA's new wireless electronic drivetrain: the K-Force WE - BikeRadar
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Although I love eTap, I think FSA's approach makes a lot of sense. Combining the FD and RD reduces the number of batteries and transmitter/receivers by 1, at the cost one a short and direct wire btw the FD and RD.
I definitely think eTap's shifter button solution is much cleaner though. Less is more.
For what little it's worth, I am an electrical engineer.
I definitely think eTap's shifter button solution is much cleaner though. Less is more.
For what little it's worth, I am an electrical engineer.
Last edited by rpenmanparker; 08-31-16 at 09:16 AM.
#14
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eTap has the edge in my mind, not the least of which is due to the fact that it can be installed on pretty much any road bike frame, without the need for running internal battery and connection wires.
Comparing to Di2, if you have to run wires anyway, I don't see the running them from the shifters as being a massive extra burden, and Di2 has the advantage of being from Shimano, a known quantity.
So what's their edge here? I can only assume based on other FSA products, it's going to be price. The rocker switches are neat I guess.
Comparing to Di2, if you have to run wires anyway, I don't see the running them from the shifters as being a massive extra burden, and Di2 has the advantage of being from Shimano, a known quantity.
So what's their edge here? I can only assume based on other FSA products, it's going to be price. The rocker switches are neat I guess.
#15
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eTap wins hands down here.
I'm glad FSA has a full group now. Even if the rear DR is plastic...
I'm glad FSA has a full group now. Even if the rear DR is plastic...
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AKA a USA based company wanting to make things in the USA cannot...because foreign owned corporations with foreign production have the legal monopoly.
#18
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Because patents are a real problem. It is why ROTOR resorted to hydraulic shifting...because all the way of pulling a cable and the design of parallelogram ders are patented...which is really really funny, when you consider that ALL those patents are owned by foreign owned companies with offshored/outsourced production.
AKA a USA based company wanting to make things in the USA cannot...because foreign owned corporations with foreign production have the legal monopoly.
AKA a USA based company wanting to make things in the USA cannot...because foreign owned corporations with foreign production have the legal monopoly.
EDIT: it would appear that they are Taiwanese:
https://tmdb.eu/trademark/010372241/...ll-speed-ahead
Last edited by dr_lha; 08-31-16 at 11:06 AM.
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I was citing ROTOR which is American and legally left out in the cold via foreign-owned legally-sanctioned monopoly (by Shimano/Capmpag)....but the same idea applies to FSA. They have to engineer inelegant means to accomplish the same feat, because the good straightforward ways are patented already.
#20
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I was citing ROTOR which is American and legally left out in the cold via foreign-owned legally-sanctioned monopoly (by Shimano/Capmpag)....but the same idea applies to FSA. They have to engineer inelegant means to accomplish the same feat, because the good straightforward ways are patented already.
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Because patents are a real problem. It is why ROTOR resorted to hydraulic shifting...because all the way of pulling a cable and the design of parallelogram ders are patented...which is really really funny, when you consider that ALL those patents are owned by foreign owned companies with offshored/outsourced production.
AKA a USA based company wanting to make things in the USA cannot...because foreign owned corporations with foreign production have the legal monopoly.
AKA a USA based company wanting to make things in the USA cannot...because foreign owned corporations with foreign production have the legal monopoly.
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eTap has the edge in my mind, not the least of which is due to the fact that it can be installed on pretty much any road bike frame, without the need for running internal battery and connection wires.
Comparing to Di2, if you have to run wires anyway, I don't see the running them from the shifters as being a massive extra burden, and Di2 has the advantage of being from Shimano, a known quantity.
So what's their edge here? I can only assume based on other FSA products, it's going to be price. The rocker switches are neat I guess.
Comparing to Di2, if you have to run wires anyway, I don't see the running them from the shifters as being a massive extra burden, and Di2 has the advantage of being from Shimano, a known quantity.
So what's their edge here? I can only assume based on other FSA products, it's going to be price. The rocker switches are neat I guess.
#23
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I agree that eTap is better, of course, with money no object. But FSA's simpler system should make their groupset a less expensive alternative.
#24
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Does anyone actually go out of their way to buy FSA components? I always thought of them as the cheap part on a stock bike. I suppose if they get their OEM prices low enough, we might see some bikes with full FSA groupsets on them in bike shops soon.
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Other than their SL-K Light crankset, I have yet to see anything from FSA that's top notch quality; and I don't see their WE groupset changing that.
This thing is a mess: 2 type of batteries you have to worry about (2xCR2032 for the shifters and internal battery for the FR), wire between the FD and RD, non-intuitive rocker shifters (to get around patents), no weight reduction over existing systems (Di2 or eTap), etc.
This thing is a mess: 2 type of batteries you have to worry about (2xCR2032 for the shifters and internal battery for the FR), wire between the FD and RD, non-intuitive rocker shifters (to get around patents), no weight reduction over existing systems (Di2 or eTap), etc.