SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure

Mar 13, 17 8:58

Post #1 of 67 (22198 views)

So yesterday I had my first bad eTap experience in the eight months that I have run the system and it happened in the worst possible time. We were at the Tour of Corsicana this weekend and yesterday was the final stage, the road race. I was sitting in first in the GC after the time trial and crit. We are ten miles into the road race when my rear derailleur just flat out stops shifting. The bad thing about it was that I was now stuck in the twenty-three cog and we are on a tailwind section with fifteen mile per hour winds. I was spinning nearly 135 rpms just trying to hold on to the tail end of the pack after being able to comfortably control the attacks for the couple of miles. I started trying to figure out what the issue was on the fly. I check the FD and it is working just fine. So I think something could be up with the battery on the RD, although it was fully charged the night before after the crit so shouldn't be the issue. I'll go ahead and say that since having eTap I have not crashed or impacted the RD in any way so far. So I can only take so much of spinning at such a high rpm with the attacks that are coming from the field. I decide to stop and swap the batteries thinking that I should be able to get back on the group if this fixes the issue, but nothing changes. Still have no RD but the FD is working just fine. At this point the field is gone and so are my chances at the overall GC. When I finally make it back to the parking lot I start messing with things and when I hit the button on the RD it flashes orange and will not pair with the rest of the system. I get home that night and still orange lights. This morning I finally get green lights and what seems to be a successful pairing, but when I hit the shifters the RD still has no movement and the FD is still perfect.

The question I have for you guys is have you ever had or heard of someone having this kind of issue with this system? I have contacted SRAM this morning but have yet to hear back from them yet. Just thought I would test the waters here as well.

So scared of breaking it that you won't let it bend.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [GingerAvenger] [ In reply to ]

Mar 13, 17 9:46

Post #2 of 67 (22160 views)

No idea since I just started using etap so I am very interested to hear from you or others about this issue. I found a similar discussion elsewhere using a Google search, but no real answers. Appears that he was sent a new rear derailleur so the discussion stopped.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [GingerAvenger] [ In reply to ]

Mar 13, 17 13:02

Post #3 of 67 (22060 views)

I'm very interested in what SRAM says. I just bought an Etap group, but I haven't installed it yet - total worst case scenario for you! This is the kind of shit I was worried about when I was deciding to purchase it or not.

Please update the thread when you get a response. At least your form sounds good for the early season!

_______________________________________________

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [Bonesbrigade] [ In reply to ]

Mar 13, 17 15:59

Post #4 of 67 (21955 views)

Bonesbrigade wrote:

I'm very interested in what SRAM says. I just bought an Etap group, but I haven't installed it yet - total worst case scenario for you! This is the kind of shit I was worried about when I was deciding to purchase it or not.

Please update the thread when you get a response. At least your form sounds good for the early season!

I am also curious to hear any follow-up, as there are now two E-tap equipped road bikes in our garage.

That being said, this same thing could happen to anybody with any drivetrain. For example, I was on a group ride with a well known triathlete and at the bottom of the hill the Di2 system on his bike just essentially died. Battery was charged (verified by plugging into someone else's system), cables were hooked up, etc. First issue this athlete ever had with Di2. He then rode 6 hours in his biggest gear...at 22mph.

Or, a poorly maintained RD cable could snap in the shifter. There goes your RD.

Last edited by: James Haycraft: Mar 13, 17 16:00

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [GingerAvenger] [ In reply to ]

Mar 13, 17 16:24

Post #5 of 67 (21924 views)

GingerAvenger wrote:

I was sitting in first in the GC after the time trial and crit. We are ten miles into the road race when my rear derailleur just flat out stops shifting.

3 replies and not one back-door brag comment? Slowtwitch, you are slipping.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [BrianB] [ In reply to ]

Mar 13, 17 21:13

Post #6 of 67 (21836 views)

Really? The guy just had to drop out of a multi-stage race sitting in first place because his eTap system failed, and you want to bust his balls about bragging??? If that isn't a relevant detail, I don't know what is.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [James Haycraft] [ In reply to ]

Mar 14, 17 6:11

Post #7 of 67 (21720 views)

James Haycraft wrote:

(Anecdotes about electronic systems failing deleted)
Or, a poorly maintained RD cable could snap in the shifter. There goes your RD.

Except that's the thing, with reasonable maintenance a cable shifting system has a vanishingly low rate of failure. I change my cables once a year and my housing every 2-3 years and in 30 years of riding I've never had a shifting failure. Every now and then the shifts get a bit slow so I turn the adjustment barrel a couple of clicks, BFD. Pretty much every complete failure I've seen or heard of in recent years has been electronic shifting.

I've been considering the switch for a little while but the costs are still really high and I have no interest in paying a lot of money for reduced reliability.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [James Haycraft] [ In reply to ]

Mar 14, 17 8:11

Post #8 of 67 (21636 views)

James Haycraft wrote:

That being said, this same thing could happen to anybody with any drivetrain.

With mechanical shifting, this type of failure is very, very, very rare.

Probably about 100x more rare than various electronic shifting failures.

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [tttiltheend] [ In reply to ]

Mar 14, 17 8:23

Post #9 of 67 (21617 views)

tttiltheend wrote:

James Haycraft wrote:

(Anecdotes about electronic systems failing deleted)
Or, a poorly maintained RD cable could snap in the shifter. There goes your RD.

I've been considering the switch for a little while but the costs are still really high and I have no interest in paying a lot of money for reduced reliability.

+1

These days everyone's too busy wailing about the prospect of disc-brakes to notice that their last supposed "upgrade" is actually a downgrade pushed on them by the manufacturers; the irony. Electronic shifting the perfect example of a solution looking for a problem.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [awenborn] [ In reply to ]

Mar 14, 17 8:47

Post #10 of 67 (21590 views)

I've been on electronic shifting, both Di2 and eTap, for years. I've got, without hyperbole, over 40k miles on various groups. It's awesome. For myriad reasons, all of which have been documented time and again. Are there exceptions sometimes? Of course, but the better performance and less frequent adjustment far outweigh them in my experience

As long as we are making up statistics, I will add that probably 100 times more people agree with me than the critics in this thread.

And then I will point out that almost no UCI pros or teams still use mechanical drivetrains. But they just ride whatever the sponsors force them to run, right? Like disc brakes. (But then I use those too...)

Last edited by: HLS2k6: Mar 14, 17 8:48

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]

Mar 14, 17 9:00

Post #11 of 67 (21575 views)

DarkSpeedWorks wrote:

James Haycraft wrote:

That being said, this same thing could happen to anybody with any drivetrain.

With mechanical shifting, this type of failure is very, very, very rare.

Probably about 100x more rare than various electronic shifting failures.

Uhh, where did you pull that stat from?

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]

Mar 14, 17 9:41

Post #12 of 67 (21533 views)

I don't think you'd say that if you have a DA9000 right shifter

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [durk onion] [ In reply to ]

Mar 14, 17 10:43

Post #13 of 67 (21476 views)

or previous gen either

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]

Mar 14, 17 15:55

Post #14 of 67 (21382 views)

DarkSpeedWorks wrote:

James Haycraft wrote:

That being said, this same thing could happen to anybody with any drivetrain.

With mechanical shifting, this type of failure is very, very, very rare.

Probably about 100x more rare than various electronic shifting failures.

I had the internals of a SRAM Red 22 front Brifter fail on the first lap of a hilly RR about a year and a half ago. A four mile loop that basically went up and then down on an ovalish course. The front derailleur was maybe 2 years old and had not been abused. I DNF'd.

I also had the rear Brifter fail on me at a later date.

I also had the rear derailleur come apart while cruising through town. Literally, come apart, the jockey wheel assembly broke off of the main derailleur body. Again a SRAM Red 22, less than 2 years old.

Shit happens with mechanical parts and electrical parts sometimes.

Kevin

http://kevinmetcalfe.dreamhosters.com
My Strava

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [GingerAvenger] [ In reply to ]

Mar 14, 17 16:12

Post #15 of 67 (21364 views)

GingerAvenger wrote:

The question I have for you guys is have you ever had or heard of someone having this kind of issue with this system? I have contacted SRAM this morning but have yet to hear back from them yet. Just thought I would test the waters here as well.

Your best bet will be to go through a shop that deals with SRAM quite a bit, especially one that has experience with eTap. If you need a new RD, you'll get one much quicker. SRAM will steer you this route anyway.

And as far as eTap, I know SRAM has a bad rep for first releases, but crap can go wrong with anything...mechanical or electronic. Drive me crazy at times, but as someone who likes to troubleshoot, I don't usually mind too much...:)

"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [awenborn] [ In reply to ]

Mar 14, 17 16:33

Post #16 of 67 (21345 views)

awenborn wrote:

+1

These days everyone's too busy wailing about the prospect of disc-brakes to notice that their last supposed "upgrade" is actually a downgrade pushed on them by the manufacturers; the irony. Electronic shifting the perfect example of a solution looking for a problem.

-1

I love my eTap to death. Effort, speed, maintenance, and tuning process all improved vs. my old DA 7900. In road racing I *love* being able to rapidly dump gears with just one tiny motion of a single finger.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [chrisgrigsby] [ In reply to ]

Mar 15, 17 17:02

Post #17 of 67 (21143 views)

chrisgrigsby wrote:

Really? The guy just had to drop out of a multi-stage race sitting in first place because his eTap system failed, and you want to bust his balls about bragging???

Now *there's* the Slowtwitch we know and love :-)

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [GingerAvenger] [ In reply to ]

May 2, 17 6:21

Post #18 of 67 (20632 views)

I had exactly the same problem this past weekend, doing a tour and riding a long stage in pouring rain.
The symptoms were exactly the same.
Now I have no working eTap Rear Derailleur
Sent it to the SRAM agent, so now we wait and see.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [GingerAvenger] [ In reply to ]

May 2, 17 6:33

Post #19 of 67 (20603 views)

After one full year on eTap I haven't had your issue, but I have had the tabs on five batteries fail. It's a known issue at SRAM.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [MrB] [ In reply to ]

May 2, 17 6:46

Post #20 of 67 (20576 views)

MrB wrote:

After one full year on eTap I haven't had your issue, but I have had the tabs on five batteries fail. It's a known issue at SRAM.

Out of curiosity, what exactly is a battery tab, and how did the tab fail?

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [MrB] [ In reply to ]

May 2, 17 7:00

Post #21 of 67 (20548 views)

It's a small plastic protrusion on the battery that helps to secure it to the derailleur. SRAM has been good about replacing them at no cost.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [BrianB] [ In reply to ]

May 2, 17 8:14

Post #22 of 67 (20477 views)

BrianB wrote:

GingerAvenger wrote:

I was sitting in first in the GC after the time trial and crit. We are ten miles into the road race when my rear derailleur just flat out stops shifting.

3 replies and not one back-door brag comment? Slowtwitch, you are slipping.

"If not for that damned eTap, he couldah been a contendah!"

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [GingerAvenger] [ In reply to ]

Aug 5, 17 11:13

Post #23 of 67 (19686 views)

Any update on this issue? My rear derailleur just gave out and I can't figure out what is wrong. System is paired, lights blink, and batteries fully charge but rear derailleur does not move when I shift.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [maw262] [ In reply to ]

Aug 6, 17 5:47

Post #24 of 67 (19519 views)

Interested to hear what is going on....following.

Re: SRAM eTap Rear Derailluer Failure [maw262] [ In reply to ]

Aug 9, 17 1:26

Post #25 of 67 (19223 views)

Never did find out what was the issue. I did want to find out about it, as the engineer in me was curious, but SRAM would not spill the beans. My thought is that it was likely a servo failure. The derailleur was successfully paired and the shift indicator light would indicate a shift but the derailleur would just not move. I was given a warranty replacement and sent on my merry way.

Last edited by: GingerAvenger: Aug 9, 17 1:30

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