New electronic gravel groupsets: Wheeltop GeX and LTWOO eGR

So, there has been a fair amount of chatter in the last year+ about the new electronic shifting gravel groupsets from China.  LTWOO got to market first with the eGR and you can read my writeup of installing that here. But more recently Wheeltop came out with their equivalent GeX system (Installation writeup here). Initial pricing on both was almost too good to pass up as an experiment and I did so. Current pricing is still quite competitive vs even the lowest end electronic shifting from SRAM or Shimano but not the 'no brainer' it was at first.

Highlights of these systems:

Both 'groupsets' are really just 1x mini groups. They both include:

• Rear Derailleur
• Brifters
• Brake calipers
• Charge cable (use your own USB brick)

For a full groupset, you will still need to provide:

• Crankset/chainrings (1x only with GeX and eGR. Both have road 2x options)
• Chain
• Cassette options:
• Wheeltop GeX 3-14 cogs, 10-52 teeth
• LTWOO eGR 10-12 cogs, 11-46 teeth officially. However, I've run it with a 10-50 successfully without modification. The newer shipping RD cages seem a bit longer and may support up to 50t but there is no official documentation on this and some people are still getting the original length cage.
• The rest of the bike 

Both systems are wireless from the shift control to the derailleur. But they handle power and batteries differently. 

• The Wheeltop GeX uses an integrated battery attached to the derailleur. This makes for a tidy solution. But, note that it is not field swappable (like SRAM AXS). It allegedly can be replaced by the user but it is a process with many screws etc. Based on my ~500 mi so far, the battery drains predictably and seems to be good for well over 250 miles (I'm extrapolating as I haven't run it flat since that would leave me stranded)

• The LTWOO eGR system uses a 'Di2-style' battery that you can stash in your seatpost. This does require running a wire from the battery to the rear derailleur. When I used it on the Cutthroat, I had to mount it externally and run the wire outside too. Not pretty but it works.
  In theory, the battery is bigger and thus longer-lasting. I'm not sure that it is in reality. I've found myself low enough to want to charge ~200 miles. But that's hard to validate. 
• I'm pretty sure that standby drain is more than trivial. So time+miles is a bigger factor than with AXS or GeX. In other words, you end up with 200 mi and/or a month but if you just rode a lot of miles quickly, you might get 400 miles. 
• Also, most people seem to order the kit like I did without the actual battery cells. This saves a lot of money because of the restrictions of shipping the LiOn batteries by air from China. But it also means that the battery cells you source may not have the same performance characteristics as the ones LTWOO calibrated their software on. Thus the status indicators may simply be wrong.

Regarding battery status reporting, the experience isn't great on either. The reporting via Garmin is broken. They both throw alerts that the battery is 'critical', always.  There is no accurate derailleur battery status visible on the head unit. It can run out mid-ride with no obvious warning. (the blinking light may have happened but it's back there at the derailleur and I don't see it casually. On the LTWOO, it appears that the behavior is to always get a 'critical battery' alert when starting riding which has no meaning. But when a 'critical battery' alert appears while riding, pay attention as it seems to be correct.

My advice and practice is to use the app to check status regularly. The app status seems to be reasonably accurate on both. But be warned not to rely on the % state of charge to deplete linearly, particularly on the LTWO. I think this is a result of the varying cells and varying use patterns. I've taken to charging when it gets down to the 20-30% range or before any meaningful event. By comparison, I've found my SRAM AXS reporting to be quite reliable, so this isn't a e-shifting thing in general.

The shifter batteries may be correct as they show status. But I haven't run it down yet to know if it will warn me correctly. The shifter batteries are said to last more than a year, though.

Specific notes:

• Cassette compatibility
• Wheeltop legit supports 51t cassettes. 
• LTWOO does not officially, capping out at 46t. That said, I was running it on a 10-50t and it works. It is clearly suboptimal in that it is well stretched on the 50t and it needs a fair amount of B screw to provide sufficient clearance for the big jump at the last cog. The movement angle would otherwise intersect the side of the big cog before it pulled down enough. GeX just works. If you don't want/need more than 46t, this point is moot. 
• See "Update for LTWOO eGR" below for what appears to be an undocumented change
• Setup 
• It is less fiddly on LTWOO. It basically just works after indexing on the middle cog. But you can microtune if needed. 
• Wheeltop setup might work straight out of box, but my experience and most I've read seem to need some cog by cog tuning. The UI for doing this sucks. Arbitrary numbers and you won't get any response until you go up and down a gear. LTWOO fine tuning moves immediately so you can see the results. But in the end it does work.
• This brings up the issue of documentation BTW. The LTWOO docs are ok. Fairly clear and readable. The Wheeltop docs are terrible. Bad translation of what I suspect isn't particularly good in the first place. This applies to the app as well. Proper names aren't used for the parts and the descriptions can be a decoding mystery. Expect to spend some time with interpretation.
• Shifter/brake feel: Operationally, I think they are pretty much the same while braking. Firm, well-connected feel with plenty of leverage. However, I think the feel of the hoods of the GeX is better. A bit wider and more comfy. I find the LTWOO more like old-school narrow brake hoods. But in your hands it might feel different. Neither is bad. The hoods are much easier to work with on the eGR, flexible and easy to move aside for bolts. The GeX ones are tough. Both are fine to the hands in operation. No idea of longevity.
• Brake calipers: I never used the LTWOO ones because they are strangely mounted. Kinda like flat mount but with different spacing requiring an included adapter. This is basically ok on a flat mount setup but non-adaptable to the post mount I tried to use it on first. The good news is the system plays nicely with ordinary Shimano calipers. I didn't use them either on the second frame I moved it to which DID have flat mount because I didn't like the look of the adapters and I had the Wheeltop calipers available since I just left the Shimanos mounted when I put the Wheeltop on that bike. (I mounted eGR to bike one, replaced with GeX and mounted eGR to bike 2)
• The magnetic charging connector on the LTWOO is... meh. It does not stick on well so it's easy to walk away and come back to find it didn't stay connected. You learn to adapt but... It is also fully exposed, and upward facing so it invites dirt. Clean before charging. The Wheeltop one is a bit more 'sticky' and has a cover (that some have reported coming off easily)
• Control Configurability: This is a big one for me. 
• eGR shifts like Di2 and only that way. Two paddles on one side. Little one for easier, big one for harder. You can configure it to use the (otherwise unused) pair of paddles on the other side but you cannot change the way they work.
• GeX let's you configure the three paddles (one left two right) how you want. I have them set up SRAM-style with one side up and the other side down on the big paddles. But I do have the right little one as a backup for the left one which means that my brain-finger memory can come from SRAM or LTWOO/Di2 and just work. This is great. 
• The limitation really is 'just software'. LTWOO, come on and offer the flexibility. I suspect LTWOO is overly concerned about lawsuits. I've read that the strange caliper mount is also to avoid conflict with Shimano.

Conclusion

Net, net, either will work. They are both great value for decent gear. But in exchange for a good price, you are taking risks around early version of gear and lack of local support. Do NOT buy either if you don't work on your own bike or have a very friendly mechanic. 

I would make a decision on these things:

1. Do you want more than 46t cassette? Then Wheeltop. No need to mess around with out of spec function. This is complicated by the undocumented LTWOO support to 50ish that seems to be current product.
2. Do you have the ability to route 'Di2-style' wiring on your frame? If not, Wheeltop. (I ran the LTWOO on the first bike externally because of this issue. Again doable, but a hack)
3. Do you want a bit more svelte rear derailleur instead of a big old honker back there? LTWOO since it doesn't carry a battery
4. Do you care about the control configuration? If not, do either. If you like Di2 type, do either. If you like SRAM type or something else, do Wheeltop 
5. Price. They are both in the same ballpark at this point (I bought both of mine on intro discounts). But each goes on sale regularly. Choose accordingly.
6. Cassette 'speed' support is probably not an issue for most builds. Both systems support common configs of 10-12 speed. Wheeltop added some buzz with supporting non-existent/future 14-speed setups and can support down to three-speed (Ever seen a cassette for that?). That's cool, but unless you're doing something really unique, it probably doesn't matter.
7. Purchasing process: LTWOO is available in the USA only via Aliexpress and they don't really have an 'official' factory store. Wheeltop has an official Wheeltop.us site and is responsive in communications. In practice it doesn't make that much of a difference. "80 Designer Store" on Aliexpress seems to be the biggest outlet for LTWOO and they provided excellent warranty support when my RD started to refuse to accept the charge.
8. Reliability: It is really too early to offer a strong opinion. I'm actively riding both with about 1500 mi over more than a year on the LTWOO and 500 mi in a half year on the Wheeltop at the time of writing.
• LTWOO: Two issues. 
• The big one was that the system started to be near impossible to charge. Even with cleaning the contacts and carefully placing the connector, it would simply fail to take a charge most of the time (BTW use a 'normal' charging brick not a PD one. The cable adapter seems to get confused with PD signalling). The reseller was responsive and offered a warranty replacement that was shipped quickly. No issue with the new one at this time AND it came with the longer cage, so it works better for me.
• The right (active) shift buttons have become 'sticky'. The big and small one interfere with each other a bit and sometimes the big one stays depressed somewhat. This has not become a functional problem as the switch actuation is still correct and they unstick easily. But it does concern me. Fortunately, if the worst happened on a ride, I could use the app to just use the other side.
• Wheeltop: No issues so far
9. Tip: Order a second charge cord with your order. Not only does it mean that you can keep one at home and another in your go-kit, but since you're unlikely to find someone else on a ride who has one, you will not be able to borrow one as a backup.

I hope this helps.

Update for LTWOO eGR

In late March of 2025, I contacted the retailer about the problem I'd been having getting a reliable connection with the eGR charging cable. It would take dozens of tries to get a connection that would complete. They were great and immediately offered a warranty replacement. 

But, they only had the version that supported 10-50t cassettes, would that be ok? Uh... yes please. That would be great. I looked everywhere for any mention of an eGR configuration that supports 10-50t officially and found none. So I waited for the new rear derailleur to arrive (it only took a week). When it arrived, it looked exactly the same. The app reported it as the same. But when measured, the cage was 90mm c2c where the older one was 82mm. Hmmmm.

So, as I installed it, it became quite clear that it handles the large cassette better than the old one. I didn't have to extend the B-screw just to clear the biggest cogs. In fact it ended up barely needing any tension. Based on initial impressions, the shifting across the cassette seems crisper even into the biggest cogs. This is great news and I look forward to road testing it. I'll update here with results and any links I may eventually find.

Note: The new version has the same behavior of not even remotely aligning to the center cog straight out of the box (reported 1st geat lined up on cog 5). If you know this (and you now do), it is not a problem at all. Just immediately start adjusting it via the master calibration setting. Once there, the rest just works.