LTWOO eRX Groupset: Shifters and Brakes

Nowadays, most mid and high end road bikes are equipped with hydraulic brakes as well as electronic shifting. The most common component brands are Shimano with Di2, and SRAM with AXS. Campagnolo has EPS, but it is rarely found because it is so expensive.

There are a few brands which are trying to carve out a slice of the market share for themselves, and one of them is LTWOO. They have been making flat handlebar mechanical shifters for a few years, and now they have decided to release a groupset with electronic shifting and hydraulic braking. This is quite impressive as there are many technical challenges with this kind of system.

As always, I'm curious and decided to order a set for myself to check it out.

LTWOO eRX groupset, with all the components inside this big box.

Nice packaging! Using recyclable pulp tray as well, unlike SRAM's rear derailleur or cassette packaging.

This LTWOO groupset is not a complete groupset, as it does not include the crankset, cassette or chain. It is designed as a 2x12 speed groupset, so you need to find your own 12 speed crankset, cassette and chain. 

One side of the shifter weighs 224 grams, which is heavier than Shimano Ultegra R8170 at 192 grams per side.

The Dura-Ace R9270 shifters are even lighter at 176 grams. Different price point though.

Shifters have a tall hood, and a design very similar to the Campagnolo Ekar shifters.

Connecting bolt already fixed onto the shifter.

The ergonomics of the shifters are very important, as you will be holding on to it nearly all the time. It has to be comfortable to hold, feel secure, and allow you to operate the brakes and shifting easily.

Let's compare the LTWOO eRX shifter with the Shimano Dura-Ace R9270 shifter side by side.

LTWOO shifter has an outline that is similar to Campagnolo and SRAM shifters. However, it has 2 separate shifting buttons like Shimano.

LTWOO shifter has a kinked brake lever to offset the finger contact point outwards, while the Dura-Ace/Ultegra shifters use a 10 degree tilt instead. The hole on the LTWOO brake lever is for reach adjustment.

LTWOO rubber hood has a texture that is similar to SRAM. The difference in shape and size does not look like much, but you can feel the difference when gripping the shifters.

Rear view, with the hose connection located at a similar place.

Comparing the two shift buttons on the brake lever.

Shimano brake lever is almost entirely straight, and also has bigger shift buttons.

This partial groupset also comes with hydraulic brake calipers, let's see if it has anything special.

These brake calipers look to be of the Post Mount type, and not Flat Mount.

The groupset includes some adapters, which are confusing, as they look different from what I usually see.

Luckily I managed to find the assembly manual which makes everything clearer.

The brake calipers look like Post Mount, but they are not. They are neither Flat Mount nor Post Mount! The hole to hole pitch is 70 mm, which is Flat Mount, but you can't mount them directly onto the fork. In the manual above you can see that an adapter is required regardless of rotor size.

Starting with the front caliper, you will need either the 140 or 160 mm adapter, to mount these LTWOO brake calipers to a Flat Mount fork. It is unique because you need to mount the front brake caliper to the Flat Mount of the fork, using a Post Mount style of adapter and bolts. This is completely different to how Shimano Flat Mount is done, where the bolts are threaded into the brake caliper itself.

As for the rear, it looks like a combination of Post Mount and Flat Mount. The brake caliper has to be mounted to the adapter, Post Mount style. Then, the brake caliper + adapter is assembled to the bike using Flat Mount style.

Lots of long and short bolts are provided to cater for different rotor sizes, adapters, and frame dimensions.

Unique brake pad design, with those curved fins.

Plain rear side, nothing to see here.

Do you like this style of brake pad fins? I wonder about the compatibility to other brake pads.

Front caliper with hose and hydraulic oil weighs 167 grams. A bit heavy as it does not include the adapter yet.

Weight of rear brake caliper with hydraulic oil, without adapters.

There is a small insert at the end of the hydraulic hose, which allows you to use an inner cable cast head to pull the hose through during internal routing. Same as what I saw on the Campagnolo Ekar.

Includes its own Connecting Inserts and Olives, as well as Connecting Bolts. Not sure whether the olives are similar to those from another brand though.

Mineral oil is included!

The LTWOO eRX shifters look OK to me, but the brake calipers are a bit weird due to the adapter design. In the next post, let's take a look at the front and rear derailleurs.