Di2/mechanical hypothetical question

homers_double

In here for reasons to remain fairly secret...

If you "could" have Di2 over a mechanical set up, would you and why? At this stage price is not the issue.

I have used Di2 but only once on a long ride, I did like it but was making several unecessary shifts getting used to the paddles so can't rely on my own long term test but I am wondering if the additional saving of Di2 would fund the extras, bar, stem, wheels, saddle etc.

Other bits to consider:-

"It" will have disc brakes so there is no point discussing it.

I'm not really interested in a £500+ wheelset as I'm a fairly heavy rider so wouldn't want to risk mashing them.

I suppose the question is, if you were building a long term bike would you consider using Di2 over mechanical and is Dura Ace worth the upgrade over Ultegra?

Could consider hanging it all on something like this which does say Di2 ready (but not specific):-



Input welcome...

chris_bass

I think you should go for Di2, those upgrades you mention with thwe savings are all things you can upgrade over time so no real need to get them straight away whereas switch from mechanical to Di2 in the future would be much harder/more costly.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you though. I'm not really looking to buy soon but for the next bike (let's faced it there will be one!) i'm torn between mechanical and electronic. I do like the fact that i know how mechanical works but i'm assuming Di2 is magic? no chance of me being able to repair it should I need to.

Flâneur

bit of an off piste Tuesday thread.

Sram Red22, something different for me,cheaper, looks good, light weight and means i can eat another cake.

I like di2 but i've never had a problem i couldnt fix with mechanical so the auto trim is OTT. i like really sensitive touches but it means my mates can just stroke the paddle n get a reaction. censored annoying.

I suppose if i took weight out I prob would get ultegra di2 just for the trigger buttons.

homers_double

It is a bit random, I'm just poking about to see if it's justifiable.

A new bike is on it's way in the near future (a girls holiday has seen to that) and I have a slush fund of my own to top it up but a phone call earlier today has just added an interesting twist to it all

veronese68

Possibly, but just in a new toy kind of fashion. I'm far from convinced of it though. It's safe to dis di2 in the road forums now the nutter that got violent if anyone said they had once had a problem with it got banned for being completely insane.

BikeRadarAdmin

This is a bizarre Tuesday thread...

HD why is this here?!

tim_wand

I m in the same boat. in a position were next bike is being considered. However I believe SRAM Wireless is a game changer and I m going to hold out until it comes down to Rival level, or see how Shimano responds.

It all seems a bit emperors clothes at the moment. Been riding mechanical Ultegra for years from Exage to current 6800 and cant really fault it, also if I mash a rear mech I don't mind forking out £50-£100, but £400 plus for an electronic or wireless gruppo one will sting some.

Matthewfalle

No to Di2 over mechanical - used both and Di2 didn't exactly set my pants on fire

Yes to D/A over Ultegra

Yes to Red over D/A

kingstonian

I went for Di2, and went for Ultegra over DA. Happy with my decision, wouldn't go back to mechanical.

slowmart

Fwiw my 2p

I've ridden with Di2 for the last three winters, it's never missed a beat, the battery charging is straightforward and a complete charge is around 30 minutes. One bike has proved sufficient to ride through the seasons although this last winter my bike has taken a hammering due to the mileage. Compared to my mates who ride mechanical it's maintenance free with no moving cables which I can't say the same for my mates bikes and their narrative around sticking cables.

My next bike is disc but doesn't have Di2. I'd rather have discs, lighter wheels , better braking and gorgeous lines. is Di2 better than mechanical? No. Is it less maintenance, yes.

Ultegra equipped. Anything else is overkill unless you like bling and there's nowt wrong with that.

Shimano over SRAM, friends have run SRAM and most have had issues with reliability over the winter. Less robust and made to a price point rather than a specification. IMHO.



The perfect winter bike is disc and Di2 equipped but that comes at a price as the moving parts are less and the braking is superior. The question is more running that set up and wear on tear on a bike through winter and the associated cost with that approach.

meanredspider

Well you only need to look at my bike line-up below to see what I think.

If you're going hydraulic disc, then Di2 is much neater in the brifters.

I've had zero issues with Di2 ever (and it's 5 years of continuous use). It's a blissful experience and going back to mechanical feels agricultural. I want to ride my bike without thinking about my bike.

I can't personally see why eTap is a "game-changer" - you do away with a couple of wires. I love new stuff but I don't see what it offers over Di2 and I think they missed a trick with the gear changing set-up - it's almost as if they went backwards. Just my personal opinions.

So, I'd go with Ultegra Di2 with hydro discs - as I have on my Jamis.

tim_wand

meanredspider wrote:

Well you only need to look at my bike line-up below to see what I think.

If you're going hydraulic disc, then Di2 is much neater in the brifters.

I've had zero issues with Di2 ever (and it's 5 years of continuous use). It's a blissful experience and going back to mechanical feels agricultural. I want to ride my bike without thinking about my bike.

I can't personally see why eTap is a "game-changer" - you do away with a couple of wires. I love new stuff but I don't see what it offers over Di2 and I think they missed a trick with the gear changing set-up - it's almost as if they went backwards. Just my personal opinions.

So, I'd go with Ultegra Di2 with hydro discs - as I have on my Jamis.

From what I ve seen ( Only on show bikes ) Sram Wireless set up and integration is were it scores for me.

I know a lot of frames are now DI2 compatable, but the thing with Sram Wireless is it will never be frame specific and therefore IMO more adapatable.

Again the cost of Individual Mechs if you trash one ( some gits always half wheeling me ) is scary.

meanredspider

Set-up is a one-off and incredibly easy with Di2 - much easier than mechanical. Only the Volagi wasn't Di2 ready and, honestly, it's really hard to tell. There will be instances where having no wires is cleaner but I'm not personally not too bothered. I tend to be a function over form person.

Flâneur

I think when wireless becomes truly wireless (don't ask me how with the brakes) I won't be fussed by it as a user, fun to see the tech mind

peterbob

I hope sram's used a secure wireless transmission protocol, people had enough trouble with lights interfering with speedometers, unpredictable gear change could be dangerous.

Poitr

peterbob wrote:

I hope sram's used a secure wireless transmission protocol, people had enough trouble with lights interfering with speedometers, unpredictable gear change could be dangerous.

Not just unpredictable gear change. How about remotely dropping someone's chain to the small ring just as the sprint starts. :twisted:

slowmart

Poitr wrote:

peterbob wrote:

I hope sram's used a secure wireless transmission protocol, people had enough trouble with lights interfering with speedometers, unpredictable gear change could be dangerous.

Not just unpredictable gear change. How about remotely dropping someone's chain to the small ring just as the sprint starts. :twisted:

Or more effectivelys and more easily done. Just block the frequency to stop any gear changes.

ex-pat scot

Matthewfalle wrote:

No to Di2 over mechanical - used both and Di2 didn't exactly set my pants on fire

Yes to D/A over Ultegra

Yes to Red over D/A

Amen. To all of that.

CiB

Veronese68 wrote:

Possibly, but just in a new toy kind of fashion. I'm far from convinced of it though. It's safe to dis di2 in the road forums now the nutter that got violent if anyone said they had once had a problem with it got banned for being completely insane.

Insane doesn't begin to cover it. It was me he had a go at, amongst others. It's hardly new though, been around for at least 6 years now.

The issues I had were eventually found to be due to poor connectivity, we think. Never did know for sure as the dealer then the importer had it for a while and it came back resolved but with a couple of things having been replaced in the final fix so the exact problem was never identified. That said, it's now done two winters without issue, after doing two winters before it started playing up. To me, it's back to what it first was - a brilliant system that just works, consistently & reliably.

The arguments for electronic all stack up - it's easy to install & set up, is largely maintenance free beyond the obvious, indexing is so easy even on the go, gear changes under load are flawless, every gear change is bang on and quick, the auto-trim is a dream and is the one thing I miss most on the other bike, and battery life isn't an issue. The one other thing that does stand out to me is the amount of movement needed to change gear when going back to mechanical (Ultegra) - it feels massive, having to push the lever that far after a getting used to what's effectively a mouse click to change. Any more? The newer s/w allows you to change how the levers work so you can have left for up & right for down if you want, any combination. We've all seen the practical joke where it's set up so that all levers change up, leaving the bike in the biggest gear and no way back.

I love it, I've always said that the next bike will definitely have Di2 but integrated this time not with wires down the frame etc, but the wireless version is tempting me. The issues I had were [probably] due to connection problems. Wireless removes that from the equation. I wouldn't go back to mechanical - the spare bike has it and it feels like a step backwards tbh.

veronese68

CiB wrote:

Insane doesn't begin to cover it. It was me he had a go at, amongst others.

It was mainly you I was thinking of. The way he had a go at you even though you kept saying you were a fan of it in spite of the issues you'd had. Very odd to say the least.

meanredspider

I think believing wireless will resolve connection problems is a tad optimistic. Anybody that's used Ant+ or BT is highly likely to have experienced connection and/or interference issues. There's nothing that makes me believe that eTap won't experience something similar. But I'm totally with you on the benefits of electronic shifting and just how agricultural mechanical shifting feels.

homers_double

Might I ask who "he" was?

veronese68

Brailsford Bad as I recall. To say he was evangelical about di2 would be an understatement. If anyone doubted it, questioned it or said they'd had a problem with it he would go ballistic. I think he even got to the point of threatening violence at one point.

Flâneur

shame he left, could have entertained me today.

homers_double

I could do a jig.

veronese68

That would probably be more entertaining.

neilr4

Matthewfalle wrote:

No to Di2 over mechanical - used both and Di2 didn't exactly set my pants on fire

Yes to D/A over Ultegra

Yes to Red over D/A

I'm with you all the way up until your last statement..... I went down the electronic/mechanical route, Ultegra Di2 or DA mech ended up on DA mech! Hey c'mon, it's DA right?

Tried SRAM Force, didn't float my boat but why Red over DA? I'm intrigued :?: