I've worked a 2 different shops that feel the same way. Neither shop stocks SRAM equipped road bikes, and special orders pay full retail.

SRAM usually is pretty easy to deal with, but it's a hassle to need warranty replacements. I wouldn't say that it's a huge problem, but it's a pain in the ass. When people spend $8000+ on a bike, they usually get pretty upset when it won't work right.

I have personally seen 6 eTap "sleeping derailleurs" issues, and none of the owners were on cycling forums. The framebuilder I work for bought 3 eTap groupsets for bikes going to NAHBS 2015, and all 3 have been replaced under warranty..

I would be pissed if I spent thousands on a bike and my luxury groupset didn't work. It's not unreasonable to be a little over the top given the circumstances. I'm not saying that to jump on the bash SRAM bandwagon, problems crop up and sometimes they get by QA, I'm saying it's a fair reaction.

Thanks for the reality check. My LBS (in CA) wasn't happy about having to deal with this.

The internet is not science and we really have no idea what percentage of these derailleurs are failing. Most people are not on bike forums; or they don't post. The failure for me is now 2/3 (66%). 3 of 4 if you include my tandem buddy (75%) who is far too busy to be on a bicycle forum. I don't personally know anyone else with etap. It's a bummer because I really do like the shifting a lot and I don't want to go to Di2. Sram etap shifting makes more sense to me.

What I really want is for sram to come forward with what the issue is; they surely know but so far are not talking to the public as far as I know.

It's ridiculous to have to include a spare derailleur as part of my bike repair kit but that's exactly what I will be doing for my next cycling adventure (600 mile trip) along with the tools needed to make the swap. Too bad about our tandem - no derailleur for it.

Especially given SRAM's pricing shenanigans. No one is getting eTap "cheap" or on "sale". You have to buy it in your regional price market and pay MAP=MSRP.

Yeah. Screw SRAM for trying to help shops turn a profit.

It is helping LBSes oh so much...selling maybe one SRAM groupset....a year? I'll give it to you--my LBS is very happy and in profit having sold and installed 1 eTap groupset in their entire...20 year history.

It isn't putting more money into SRAM's pockets. SRAM makes the same amount, no matter how much the shop charges.

How many groupsets were they selling, when SRAM let UK shops sell them dirt cheap?

Well... I bought eTap when my (not-so-)LBS had a special promo: Buy a complete eTap group and get the installation free.

Now maybe they really did just throw away the 2-4 hours (?) of labor they would have normally billed for this job just to make the sale...but from what I know of retail operations, it's way more likely that there was a limited-time DFI discount or a yearend VIR available from SRAM that allowed my shop to absorb that loss without actually becoming unprofitable.

More like an hour. Fifteen minutes to strip off the old gear, twenty-five to fit and tune the new, twenty for bar tape.

Wireless makes it a piece of piss.

Isn't that a pail of piss at most?

-Bandera

I'm a mechanical idiot and I installed it in an evening and it worked flawlessly.

Any chance that Shimano will introduce wireless electronic shifting in the near future, i.e., in the next couple of years? Off-road Di2 has never caught on, particularly since front derailleurs are becoming increasingly uncommon. It's hard to believe they'd stick with wired; I'd have to believe they're working very hard to introduce their own wireless electronic system in the near future.

I doubt very much whether Shimano will go full wireless and uglify its derailers with batteries. They just might go the FSA route and use wireless shifters to the battery.

You could have a nice doubly alliterative piece if you froze it.

I’d be surprised if Shimano wasn’t working on something wireless, but i’d be shocked if they released something as glitchy as eTap.

If you've had this many problems with SRAM, it's time to call it a total loss. Request a refund outright and strip all of that junk off your bike. Get something that actually works, even if it requires a significantly larger time investment on the front end: Di2.

I never respond positively to hard sales pitches, ever. Respect yourself enough to say enough is enough.

I had a mech bike I wanted to convert to electronic shifting after I built up a new bike with Di2. Etap was really the only choice because Shimano's solution if the bike isn't set up for internal routing isn't pretty. I was surprised to find out I really, really liked eTap even though I'd been a Di2 fanboy. Now, I'm looking for a reason to swap out the Di2 for eTap on that bike too. Zero problems, it shifts super smooth and since it's my travel bike, the lack of wires or cables makes packing it super easy.

J.

Not so easy to do. My bike was not drilled for wiring or cables. And get my money back? Don't think I haven't tried. Not an option. Maybe small claims? But who do I take to court should I want to attempt that stressful option; the bike shop? Sram? It's not the bike shop's fault that etap is failing. They are now warning people to stay away from it and go with Di2.

The "high pressure" was not to buy etap but rather to buy from my LBS because they are my club's sponsor. I don't know that the result would have been any different with another shop regarding getting a refund.

Etap is a dream when it works. Hard to describe that sinking feeling you get when you press that lever and nothing happens. I hope you don't ever experience it. Good luck.

Yikes, well I'm glad I couldn't afford the eTap and went with Di2 on the bike I just ordered.

that's the choice I'd make today. my hubby loves his Di2 and he didn't want to learn a new shifting pattern (post stroke challenges).

My rear eTap had the intermittent "sleeping" issue. LBS & SRAM warrantied the item easy peasy. They had my bike for about 2 hrs. while I went and did some errands. New RD works flawlessly so far.

I will gladly take the wires over two extra batteries or is it four?