eTap pricing

dyrlac

The best (worst) thing about mandatory time off the bike is the extra time you have to shop for/convince yourself you need n+1. Increasingly sure that I want eTap for my next geared road bike, but in the absence of any compelling off the peg deals, I'll probably build it up myself. Looks to be widely available these days, but has anyone seen the groupset (ex cranks/calipers) for less than £1000?

StillGoing

Dyrlac wrote:

The best (worst) thing about mandatory time off the bike is the extra time you have to shop for/convince yourself you need n+1. Increasingly sure that I want eTap for my next geared road bike, but in the absence of any compelling off the peg deals, I'll probably build it up myself. Looks to be widely available these days, but has anyone seen the groupset (ex cranks/calipers) for less than £1000?

No the cheapest I've seen is £1,135. It's a trick looking thing, but, is it really worth it? I looked at selling a bike to buy it for my main bike, but a mechanical groupset has nothing wrong with it and a spare bike is more useful than eTap for me.

rickeverett

I would get the lighter standard version. Don't think it's worth it yet. Is there actually any difference????? How much quicker can a shift be?

turbotommy

Maybe the moderators should sticky a thread dedicated to electronic shifting so everyone can bleat about it in one place?

Or maybe a more general thread for people who seem obsessed with telling others their own perceptions of worth and value.

Garry H

TurboTommy wrote:

Or maybe a more general thread for people who seem obsessed with telling others their own perceptions of worth and value.

What's the point of that? We've got on perfectly fine without one for all this time.

DeVlaeminck

Yeah wouldn't work because we wouldn't know which thread to post in about perceptions of worth and value of electronic shifting, could go in either. Plus I'm not sure about the worth and value of too many stickys.

dyrlac

Especially as I didn't ask whether it was worth it, but whether anyone who keeps an eye on these things has noticed any pricing trends that would indicate that I'm likely to see a price lower than the £1,038.40 I can get from wiggle today (or can make an informed prediction/or, for that matter, would like to engage in idle speculation). :roll:

Midlands Grimpeur

I doubt at the moment you are likely to see a price below £1000 any time soon for a few reasons:

- etap entered the market at a lower than the competition price anyway (vs Dura ace and super record eps i mean) so dealers are going to be keen to exploit the recommended retail (with limited discount) for a while yet.
- Newness! As supply still seems fairly limited and demand is there, I doubt that for many dealers there is a massive imperative to discount too much at the moment.
- current price of competition upgrades. Shimano and campag are around £1100 and £1500 for the electronic upgrade kits, as shops tend to keep prices in line across all the major brands, in order to get etap below £1000 they would have to reduce the cost of the others which seems unlikely.

If you are keen to get it now and the £1038 price tag is doable, perhaps take the risk. Long term (next 12-18 months) you could see the technology trickle down to other Sram groups starting with Force which could bring the cost of red down. On the other hand they could further refine red etap which may keep the prices fairly static (unlikely to increase as they have established a price point now).

Sorry for the long winded response (you did say informed prediction ). Also factor in that all the above may be completely wrong and next week wiggle could be offering it for £950!

meesterbond

There's also the really poor exchange rate to consider... If anything we'll start to see prices rise rather than fall. I don't think you'll see any Merlin style 35% off deals on eTap in the near future. I guess it depends how price sensitive the purchase is and how desperately you need it.

As above, the technology will trickle down eventually, although I reckon a disc / hydro version of Red eTap will come before we see eTap Force.

BTW - if you do happen to see any great deals then let me know - I've already got the road version on one bike and would love to add the Aero one to my TT bike.

joenobody

meesterbond wrote:

I reckon a disc / hydro version of Red eTap will come before we see eTap Force.

There's a disc (hydro I think) Tarmac eTap Red just been announced...

FatTed

I have eTap, and whilst it is completely pointless, I really like it.

sungod

using any loyalty discount you've got and/or special offer codes for things like newsletter sign-up that some sites offer is the best way to buy at the moment

pre-brexit buying from eu sites could be cheaper, but not any more, as above it's possible prices will rise as distributors will be buying in usd and the pound is unlikely to recover anytime soon, if the bank of england cuts rates it'll fall even further

if you want etap and can afford it, get it now and forget about future discounts/upgrades, life's too short

fwiw i got a kit in march (wiggle 1038), after a few months i'm still enjoying it

awiseman

I got it this week for £1,044 from Radial Cycles. It's out of stock now but they might honour the price as they have a 10% offer on at the moment but it finishes on Sunday.

FatTed

Does anyone know where to buy spare batteries and charger from?

sungod

wiggle has them

isotonik

go electric and go eps you wont look back, forget about di2 and sram fodder.