Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

forum
road.cc bike forum

eTap starry eyed surprise...

by yenrod
Mon, Aug 13, 2018 23:49
8

Back in January (2018) I bought eTap now it's great stuff and I'd recommend it to anyone...it's THE way of shifting gears.. ! tho never used di2 but for me the sram stuff appealed more..

Anyhow on with this heads-up..

So i've rode it quite a bit and the batteries last well.. Fitting was easy but taking your existing stuff off and fitting the eTap is a biggish job..but once done it's fine.. I noticed it's the exact incremental adjustments that get the shifting absolutely perfect !

So, about a month back it started to hesitate moving from (1st gear is the biggest cog on left for reference purposes) 4th to 3rd..and that was it, so I'd keep riding it as it was very slight..then it got more often then freezing a fair bit and getting stuck in a hard gear is quite a deal ok the front still worked but mostly I'll spin + 85rpm so going to 60rpm is big..

So I contacted chain reaction and they said send it on on warranty - this I was against as it'd mean taking it all off the bike..so I contacted sram in the US and they said contact the importer who're Zyrofisher and they recommended a local shop via a shop finder which are called Sram Service Centre's - they said 'Yes we'll look over it, tho it'll cost.. Now I thought, hold on, this gear set is in warranty and maybe the guy wasn't fully up to date on the policy so I took the 'bang' to send it back - all of it to CRC - cost me £30 and now I understand Zyrofisher have it.. CRC emailed me and told me that if it's at fault, they'll refund the postal charge for sending it to CRC.

Soo, eTap; it's great !

So I've spent more than a grand to effectively NOT use it...

BUT realise what I'm going thru/experiencing..as after service is fire in the UK.. ie once I had to contact Speedplay to have them send me some cleats as they failed yet the UK importers said NO or Stages in the US had to step in as the UK importers wouldn't play ball.. What is it about UK importers ?? in the cycle industry..

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

Add new comment

8 comments

Avatar
hughw | 5 years ago
0 likes

I once had a wheel sat in the distributor's warehouse for over 3 months waiting for a freehub replacement, and not so much as a sorry from Cycle Surgery when I did finally get the wheel back. So it could be much worse

Avatar
mc | 5 years ago
0 likes

There is nothing in UK law stopping you from sending items our of the EU for warranty, provided you fill in the correct forms, which is why few non-EU companies will let you deal direct. Don't fill in the correct form, and the recipient will get a customs bill (most will simply reject the delivery), and you'll also get a customs bill when the item is returned, as you likely won't have proof you sent it for a warranty repair.

 

As for UK distributors, they often leave a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to warranty.
The problem they often face, is unless the fault is known/common, or obvious (aka something obviously  broken), they can't guarantee the manufacturer will cover the warranty.
So in your case, where it's not obviously broken, they can't really make a decision, and they'd be taking on a big risk by simply replacing the part without permission from the manufacturer, which unfortunetly means you're left waiting for your bits to be sent to whoever can make a decision (and hope their not on holiday!).

 

Avatar
yenrod | 5 years ago
0 likes

 

Right the update on it is this:

 

As i feel it shouldnt take this long to reply to a warranty issue - i read somewhere some guy had a 24hr replacement for the rear gear which houses all the brain of the system as pointed out by amazon22 and ive a wahoo set-up like so and it's great for seeing the gear you're in if not the best situ. for glance the gear..

CRC has a standard warranty procedure to handle warranty issues i once sorted a garmin prob. out like so and they where fast.

I'd like to expand the matter i had with Stages, after emailing the US they sorted a new arrangment for their uk distributor to sort things faster as ive had 2 gone awry tho thats in at least 4yrs +..

I'd like to know why SRAM can't get a better situ. with Zyrofisher for faster turn around - Sram msg.d via Facebook that in the US the distributor can handle warranty's direct yet UK law doesnt allow this, not sure on Republic of Ireland trading laws on this.

Anyhow the nutshell of the issue is that its a Rear Derailleur problem, maybe they've had a bad batch ?? and are issueing a replacement - i didnt need to send the whole gearset, just the deraileur - so if thats the case why does the SRAM SERVICE CTR charge for handling the matter as i was informed by Zyrofisher on email, and replace on this 24hr turn-around i read about..or maybe it was in the US...

So, i'm basically waiting for the stuff back now...

Avatar
yenrod | 5 years ago
0 likes

 

Right the update on it is this:

 

As i feel it shouldnt take this long to reply to a warranty issue - i read somewhere some guy had a 24hr replacement for the rear gear which houses all the brain of the system as pointed out by amazon22 and ive a wahoo set-up like so and it's great for seeing the gear you're in if not the best situ. for glance the gear..

CRC has a standard warranty procedure to handle warranty issues i once sorted a garmin prob. out like so and they where fast.

I'd like to expand the matter i had with Stages, after emailing the US they sorted a new arrangment for their uk distributor to sort things faster as ive had 2 gone awry tho thats in at least 4yrs +..

I'd like to know why SRAM can't get a better situ. with Zyrofisher for faster turn around - Sram msg.d via Facebook that in the US the distributor can handle warranty's direct yet UK law doesnt allow this, not sure on Republic of Ireland trading laws on this.

Anyhow the nutshell of the issue is that its a Rear Derailleur problem, maybe they've had a bad batch ?? and are issueing a replacement - i didnt need to send the whole gearset i got just the deraileur - so if thats the case why does the SRAM SERVICE CTR charge for handling the matter as i was informed by Zyrofisher on email - seems stupid.

So, i'm basically waiting for the stuff back now...

Avatar
amazon22 | 5 years ago
1 like

The brain for the whole gubbins is in the rear mech - it's receiving and broadcasting instructions to the other components as well as changing gear. Talks nicely to my Wahoo as well - the visual gear indicator has become an essential for me know and I can get detailed info on gear use for a ride as well on the app.

Avatar
OrangeRidley | 5 years ago
1 like

I happen to sort of know Harry Tanfield of Canyon-Eisberg ( I  ride for his local club, where he still does some events) and the mechanic for Team Ribble and both have had issues with eTap. Harry has it on his Katusha edition TT rig and has had some issues; the Ribble guy reckoned that almost every guy in the team has had an issue with the rear mech - all dealt with on warranty but not what you want from a top-tier groupset. And apparently the front mech is a pig to set up too.

Do note though I'm just relaying information - I personally have never ridden it on account of being a poor u16 on mostly 105 5800.

Avatar
amazon22 | 5 years ago
0 likes

I'd be interetested to hear the outcome on this - your contract is always with the retailer and good on CRC for accepting that. I've run WiFli eTap HRD for 13 months and 4000 miles now without any isues at all (even with an 11-34 cassette). I did buy it from my LBS who built it onto a new frame for me, so any issues for me I would expect then to deal with. 

 

Avatar
Jimmy Ray Will | 5 years ago
2 likes

Its because we all buy our stuff from price shaggers on the internet. There is no margin left in the UK bike industry, so no one can afford to provide good service. 

You pays your money and you takes your choice hey? 

Latest Comments