I saw my first eTap bike over the weekend and I wasn't super impressed.

I have Di2 so I am a little biased, but I thought the derailleurs looked a bulky with the batteries, but looks don't matter.

There were blips on the inside of the aero bars and base bars with the bar tape wrapped around them. I thought they looked bulky and out of place.

The owner said that it's nice to be able to put them exactly where you want them, but personally I think Shimano's use specific parts work, and look better.

SRAM does have new "bar end" buttons that look to be an improvement.

Are you upgrading from Red 22? and just replacing the derailleurs and shifters? Or do you have SRAM on other bikes.

Having commonality among multiple bikes is awesome, or if you really want to save a few bucks upgrading, go with eTap, otherwise, sell the Red 22 group and get Di2.

.

I figured since I have the Red 22 already the etap would be a bit cheaper than DI2, and I was also thinking that the Red 22 is a better group set, am i wrong in my presumptions? Maybe I should think more about the DI2.

SRAM vs. Shimano (vs. Campy) is a personal choice. SRAM is lighter, Shimano front shifting is better, Campy has more "soul".

Try to get your hands on a couple bikes with both and see how they feel. I think Di2 is just more "finished".

On my road bike, I have UDi2, and on my Shiv, eTap. On my UDi2, I have my junction mounted on the underside of the stem, and on my Shiv, the blip box is mounted on top of the stem for accessibility, so really not much difference. The blip box is just slightly larger, but you can adjust the fine trim if you needed to with it facing you (I haven't touched it since it was setup).

For differences, it really does come down to personal preference. The UDi2 feels a little smoother when it shifts and is a little quieter, but I can't always tell when it actually does the shift. On my eTap, it feels like a faster shift to me, and it shifts with more authority. Hard to explain, but a lot like the differences between their mechanical groupsets. The SRAM isn't quite as quiet, but you know it got the job done.

I have my blips mounted in the blip grips on the aerobar, and under the bar tape by the brakes. When I had them mounted under the tape on the aerobars, I didn't have it in quite the right position, and the bar tape made it harder to push. Completely resolved using the blip grips, and that's essentially like the UDi2 mounts. I like the idea of the new eTap Clicks, but haven't tried them yet.

Yes, the batteries are exposed and you can see them, but weight is weight. They have to go somewhere. It's also easier to remove to charge rather than bringing a laptop near your bike to charge the UDi2.

You aren't going to go wrong either way, just need to try both of them to see what you like better. I like riding with the eTap better

Hello Cmoss04 and All,

In keeping with KISS .......................



I have eTap on my new P5 and I use the Blip Box (only) mounted on my thumb ...... shifting with my forefinger.

I left the blips and wires in the box the eTap came in.

When I shift 'the method is always at my finger tip' ... no matter where my arm or hand is located.

Still experimenting with it located there .... but so far it is easy, light, and comfy.

I am also going to test putting the eTap Blip Box on my forefinger and shifting with my thumb.


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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

Yes I like the SRAM especially since thats what on my bike already but my only concern in the where to place the box at. I'm not sure there is good spot it will fit on my IA3. I'm wondering if it will work work inside the frame under the storage box.

A friend just set up her ia10 with eTap.
3 options in blip box location.
1) if you have extra bar extension sticking out behind the clamp you can put a qtr turn mount there.
2) felt is, why some point releasing a stem cap with a qtr turn mount built in, per super dave
3) I have a stem cap 3d printed file I can point you at in Shapeways if you want to try it... I haven't tested the qtr turn mount (but it a reuse of someone elses). I know the stem cap works

Oh, and it cannot go inside the frame, per felt and sram. This is mentioned in the felt ia frd thread

Good info dcohen, thanks. My IA 3 has the integrated aero bars so there's really not much of a stem or stem cap to play around with. But you have gave me some ideas and now I know I can't go inside. Thanks again for the feedback

SRAM does not forbid internal mounting. I'm not sure if there is anything special about IA that would not allow internal mounting but I have always had my blipbox internal on my Shiv and never missed a shift. SRAM's blipbox user manual has a section (page 20) on internal mounting: https://sram-cdn-pull-zone-gsdesign.netdna-ssl.com/...lips_user_manual.pdf

K.
I was just going with what SuperDave from felt had said.
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/?post=5832472#p5832472

I have the 2015 IA3 and I added eTap to it. I love it!

We have done our best to hide the wires coming out of the aerobars and then they all feed into the calpack itself where I've stashed the blip box. It's fairly clean and shifts fine.

I would like to see where felt is mounting the blip box on the IA1. I would have thought you could put a quick turn on the bridge between the aerobars but I am in a fairly low position so no bridge.

If it's helpful I can attach pic, let me know.

Great info. I would love to see your setup. Do you still have room for gel packs in your cal box? I'm thinking of putting mine on that bridge because I use the cal box for my gels. Thanks again.

I will second that, i just road race and shifting feel/speed is very important. I used sram red for the last 4 years and decided to go electronic. The Etap is extremely simple, but the shifting speed cannot be changed and i could not shift with one hand, that was a deal breaker. It felt sluggish to me coming from sram red 22 ( which is still faster than DI2 set to fast). From a TT standpoint i think it would be phenomenal, no internal wiring, easy to replace a battery at the last minute, and the blip box is not that hard to stow away somewhere. Do i think it is worth the price premium over Di2? No i don't and that is coming from a long time Sram fanboy.

If you are like me and love Sram i use the best of both worlds. Sram chain, cassette, quarq, brakes, red 22 chainrings, and then Di2 for the rest.

Here you go! As you can see you'll still have a fair amount of room in the calpack. It keeps the blip easy to access if you need to and largely hidden from sight if you don't :-)

Ah yes, that's pretty nice. I could still stick a few gel packs in there. Thanks for the help once again

The cover on the base bar has a blip-box 1/4 turn mount option that comes on the IA1 with eTap. Just buy this $20 part.

-SD

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https://www.kickstarter.com/...bike-for-the-new-era

Thanks SD....do you have a site I can go get this off of?

Google failed me this morning. Try the same place you bought the bike perhaps?

-SD

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https://www.kickstarter.com/...bike-for-the-new-era

Is this it?
http://www.feltb2b.com/...cap-1-4-turn-9000456