Di2 - reliability and maintenance?

bikeboff

Thinking of buying a new bike shortly, and keen to try it with a Di2 groupset. I'm not entirely sure though, as I worry a little about what happens if I'm cycling through rural France or rural Ireland and a gear cable snaps, or something jams in the mechanism etc.

My other concern is whether my LBS will be able to service it, and at what cost. I will ask them, of course, but I haven't done so yet.

Does anyone have experience of using Di2? I'm interested in its reliability and ease of maintenance, as these are the main stumbling blocks for me.

I understand that some riders question its value in view of the extra weight, but that isn't an issue for me. I'd love to have perfect shifting, especially as I'm useless at making adjustments 'on the go' to keep my gears running smoothly.

Any info much appreciated - thank you.

Rodrego Hernandez

Very reliable, easy to maintain, battery lasts ages.

That said, the difference between Di2 and well set up dura ace or record is not particularly huge.

If you are worried about failures n the middle of nowhere, get campag as it is easily fixable although failures are very rare with well set up gear these days.

Top tip - learn to maintain your kit and you won't have these worries.

FHKJ

Got Di2 on my Supersix. Admittedly it is my 'summer' bike, but I rode it for 3000m last year including loads of Sportives and the etape etc.

It was totally faultless. First Di2 sold by my LBS (they've since sold loads) and installed with ease. Never had any issues maintaining it, and the auto-setup is genuinely moron-proof.

Can't recommend it highly enough.

northpole

bikeboff

Maybe I've been lucky but I have used my dura-ace equipped bike for all purposes including daily commuting in London for over three years and I have not had to adjust anything or replace any cables. The same can't be said for cassettes and chains!
The electronic kit has great bling factor but I really don't see what advantages an extra £1k brings, particularly as it fails on the basic reason for spending extra on bike components - weight.

Peter

northpole

PS I should qualify my comments by acknowledging that some adjustments may have been made to cables when mechanics fitted replacement cassettes - I'm far to handless to do this myself!

Peter

Rodrego Hernandez

It really is great kit, try it for a while and then decide.

Gear changes are faultless, the front change and auto-trim is fantastic and the lack of cables is good aesthetically.

Have ridden dura ace, sram red, record and Di2 and would rate Di2 a fraction better than record based on the front mech performance, then dura ace mechanical then red.

It really is good, and that is before looking in to extra shifting positions made possible by Di2.

rocksteadyeddie

I have been using Di2 for a while now and am a total convert. Those who think it is no step up from DA or Super Record haven't ridden it over any distance. Whether it is worth the money of course is a more personal question.

I have had no reliability issues. No cables stretching of course. In the event you snapped a wire you'd need a knife and some tape to "get you home". If you snap a cable you need a new cable - and who carries them?

Battery lasts forever - min 1000 miles, but mine has lasted 3 times that. Issues with front and rear mech are likely to be more difficult but again are they any more or less likely, or any easier or more difficult to fix, than a problem with a mechanical mech? I don't know but doubt it.

If you can afford it buy it. You won't regret it.

Rodrego Hernandez

How on earth is the gap between charges is measured in miles is beyond me!

Howe many times do you change gear in a mile?

The pros manage an entire Grand Tour on 1 charge so it's a non issue as far as I am concerned.

jonmack

Check this review out http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum ... =5&t=70101

chaffordred

Had my Di2 for around Six months. Admittedly, I haven't done that many miles on it as I try to use it mainly for summer dry miles only, but the battery status indicator (battery is non shimano) is still showing (green) 100% charge and the whole groupset has never missed a beat.

Monty Dog

The guys I know who run it love it - just be wary of the cost of replacements - a new rear mech is £400+ so don't crash!

cougie

I've only played with it at expos. Great kit and if it was marginally more than DA I'd think about getting it. As it is - my DA stuff works flawlessly anyway and I cant remember the last time I needed to adjust it ?

Bikeboff - what gears are you using at the moment ?

bikeboff

Using Ultegra on my existing bike at the moment, and I have found on tours (14 days of 50-100 miles), my gears often start to play up a little.

lancejambo

if your thinking about di2 then how about this bike its designed for it very smooth if i didnt buy my madone 5 last year i would have pushed the budget alittle more for this.


http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2126

Scrumple

Most top end frames have Di2 versions now... nothing new.

dennisn

bikeboff wrote:

Thinking of buying a new bike shortly, and keen to try it with a Di2 groupset. I'm not entirely sure though, as I worry a little about what happens if I'm cycling through rural France or rural Ireland and a gear cable snaps, or something jams in the mechanism etc.

I'm questioning what "gear cable" could snap on Di2? There aren't any.

chaffordred

dennisn wrote:

bikeboff wrote:

Thinking of buying a new bike shortly, and keen to try it with a Di2 groupset. I'm not entirely sure though, as I worry a little about what happens if I'm cycling through rural France or rural Ireland and a gear cable snaps, or something jams in the mechanism etc.

I'm questioning what "gear cable" could snap on Di2? There aren't any.

Good point

Although I think he may mean the wire cables.

If you are running di2 internally, the only place I can see a potential snag would be at the rear mech, but even there I think it would disconnect from the connector before snapping.

As for something jamming in the mech, yes that could be a problem, but di2 does have crash protection where it splits into two sections to protect the motors and the whole rear mech move inwards on impact then re-syncs itself by continuing to cycle and shift a few times!

chaffordred

lancejambo wrote:

if your thinking about di2 then how about this bike its designed for it very smooth if i didnt buy my madone 5 last year i would have pushed the budget alittle more for this.


http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2126

I wonder where they put the battery on that?

I cant see it on anywhere on the frame, nor under the saddle. :?:

LangerDan

chaffordred wrote:

lancejambo wrote:

if your thinking about di2 then how about this bike its designed for it very smooth if i didnt buy my madone 5 last year i would have pushed the budget alittle more for this.


http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2126

I wonder where they put the battery on that?

I cant see it on anywhere on the frame, nor under the saddle. :?:

Under the LHS chainstay
http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=2143

jonmack

Nuggs

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

get campag as it is easily fixable.

As is Shimano. Or SRAM.

Rodrego Hernandez

Nuggs wrote:

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

get campag as it is easily fixable.

As is Shimano. Or SRAM.

SRAM might be user-servicable as it hasn't got a heap of coils and springs inside the levers but if a shimano STI level dies then good luck in stripping it down and repairing it!

Campag can be pretty much stripped down, fixed and then put back together, I am not sure if the same is true with shimano, haven't the experience with SRAM so don't know.

dennisn

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

Nuggs wrote:

Rodrego Hernandez wrote:

get campag as it is easily fixable.

As is Shimano. Or SRAM.

SRAM might be user-servicable as it hasn't got a heap of coils and springs inside the levers but if a shimano STI level dies then good luck in stripping it down and repairing it!

Campag can be pretty much stripped down, fixed and then put back together, I am not sure if the same is true with shimano, haven't the experience with SRAM so don't know.

You say get Campy because it's "easily fixable", then you say you're "not sure" about Shimano and "haven't the experience" with Sram?
FWIW I've had DA shifters for 6 or 7 years now and haven't had to do ANYTHING to them. You, however, seem to sound like you're fixing Campy on a regular basis or at least that's how it sounds?

Rodrego Hernandez

Not at all - sorry of it sounded like that.

I have ridden SRAM plenty of times but have not owned it for any period of time. However I have seen the levers dismantled so know that they have very few movable parts in them so am assuming that any problems with them would be obvious - I could be wrong though.

I have had shimano levers fail and there is no way to reassemble them but am prepared to be corrected.

I have ridden campagnolo for longer than any other brand and have been able to fix any problem - brakes left in a garage for years that have seized were easily stripped down and serviced, front mech cage replaced after breaking it. Levers stripped down and rebuilt after a crash.

Please don't read too much into this, I am not saying that Campagnolo is better or worse than any other brand, simply that it is possible to do more repairs and servicing with it that with shimano.

Why do people get so upset about comments about a manufacturer? Buy a top of the range groupset and it will work really well and probably won't fail. The OP was asking about problems happening when out on the road - I know which would probably be fixable by any old bike shop in the middle of nowhere.

tommy_salter

I purchased a brand new road bike with a Di2 system in early Sept 2012. I'd done a few test rides "around the block" before to check all way shifting as expected with no issues.

But on my first full ride after 4 miles on the crest of an uphill I clicked to change up from a middle sproket while pedaling - crunch! the deralleur caught the spokes and went around with the wheel snapping the deralleur hanger and breaking the jockey wheel cage. So bit of a mess - had to cary the bike from there.

Before that the gears changed perfectly and I really like the Di2 system, its quick and well engineered. So I'm obviously dissapointed - but I've had the whole bike replaced without any qibbles and I'm going to give the new bike and Di2 system another change. I'll report back if there's any news...

rolf_f

dennisn wrote:

You, however, seem to sound like you're fixing Campy on a regular basis or at least that's how it sounds?

No, what he said sounded nothing like that. There are two distinct issues here - one is the reliablity of Shimano vs Campagnolo. From my own experience of Campagnolo and Shimano (the latter on MTBs) plus what I hear on these forums, both are largely very reliable barring the odd design cockup. Whether one is better than the other is open to debate but there may not be much in it.

The other issue is repairability. As I've never had to have any kit repaired, all I base this on is forum info but my understanding is that Campagnolo equipment is designed to be serviceable (albeit at a cost) whereas Shimano is effectively disposable.

I'm surprised that you'd come to a different conclusion based on what is written here.

chaffordred wrote:

As for something jamming in the mech, yes that could be a problem, but di2 does have crash protection where it splits into two sections to protect the motors and the whole rear mech move inwards on impact then re-syncs itself by continuing to cycle and shift a few times!

After which it phones up for a service engineer to get itself repaired!