Is this budget electronic groupset a Shimano and SRAM killer? L-Twoo of China launches new semi-wireless eRX groupset

Chinese groupset manufacturer L-Twoo is not new to the game, but the release of the new electronic eRX road groupset is a first from the brand and certainly comes at an affordable price point. 

The new road-specific eRX groupset resembles the Shimano 105 Di2 groupset a lot aesthetically, but also in terms of function. The system is semi-wireless, meaning that the shifters are operated with a coin battery, but there is a seat-tube battery that is connected to the front and rear derailleurs with a wire. 

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The rear derailleur is the brains of the system, communicating with the shifters and the front derailleur via Bluetooth. L-Twoo says it only takes 22 milliseconds for the command from the shifter to travel to the rear derailleur, and while it’s hard to envision in practice, we can just take its word on the speed of the system for now.  

The front derailleur also has an auto-trim function which should micro-adjust the derailleur cage to avoid rubbing the chain if you’re cross-chaining.

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In terms of connectivity, L-Twoo has a mobile app available to fine-tune the shifting and update the firmware of the eRX system. 

L-Twoo eRX - shifters and gearing

The levers are carbon fibre for the eRX model, but there will be an eR9 model available later with more affordable alloy levers. There are two buttons on the levers, one for shifting down and the other for up - again, bearing very similar looks to Shimano’s shifters. 

At the front, you get a standard compact gear ratio with 50-34 chainrings, and at the back, you’ve got a 12-speed 11-32 cassette. 

L-Twoo eRX - pricing and weight

The total weight of the L-Twoo eRX groupset is claimed to be 1,300 grams, which puts it close to Shimano 105 Di2 which weighs about 1,320g. This weight includes the shifters, front and rear derailleurs, battery, cables and brakes.

And the price? The aluminium eR9 model should retail for about 500$, and the eRX should be about 650$ according to L-Twoo. We know that L-Twoo doesn’t currently offer full groupsets, so you need to source the 12-speed cassette and chain from another manufacturer, but there should be no compatibility issues. We're unsure whether a crankset is included in the price, and even though the picture on L-Twoo's website includes brakes, it's unclear whether you will have to purchase the hydraulic brakes separately. If you do, they set you back between 150 - 260$. 

Unlike L-Twoo’s other drivetrain products, the new eRX groupset doesn’t show up on the brand’s AliExpress site at the moment, so we can’t confirm if and when they’ll show up there - and we can’t confirm availability quite yet. However, L-Twoo told us, “We currently do not have a partner distributor in the UK, but quite a few UK customers buy directly from us.”

It's hard to put together a complete price for the new eRX, but if we assume that the groupset retails for 650$ (~£530), the difference to the Shimano 105 Di2 groupset that retails for £1,730 is potentially huge, even if you have to add your own crankset, cassette and chain.

Although there is not much to go off yet, you can check L-Twoo's website for more details. 

And let us know in the comments what you think of this new groupset!