Di2 longevity

Andymaxy

Having decided to go electronic for the next bike, I got a simple question to you guys who are already riding them: how well do they last? Obviously mechanical system needs new cables adjustment, etc. the cassette, chainring, and chain would wear out regardless of the system. But being electronic, how reliable are the shifters and derailleaurs. Have anyone had to replace them just from everyday use(not crashing)?

Also, dure ace di2, ultegra di2, or red etap?

bikes`n`guns

4 yrs in, no issues yet with the electronics.

`Part from the battery running out once !

Andymaxy

Bikes`n`guns wrote:

4 yrs in, no issues yet with the electronics.

`Part from the battery running out once !

That sounds cool, do u mind if I ask what model do you use.

MiddleRinger

A few years and 1000's of miles commuting (including UK winter) on Ultegra Di2. Not one hiccup.

bikes`n`guns

10 speed Ultegra Di2 for me. The first version.

joey54321

11 speed Ultegra and been using for 2+ years including periods of heavy racing in the best that British spring and summer can give. No issues what so ever, barely even have to charge the battery it seems.

phil485

2.5 years of 11 spd Ultegra di2.
No issues including a number of overseas trips on planes. Summer and winter.

Not run the battery dead on the road yet but come close once.

okgo

I think coming up to 3 years or so on the 6770 Ultegra 11 spd. No issues since a dodgy battery in the very early days.

ryan_w-2

Three years on 9070 and never had a single issue.

schlepcycling

I have original 10 speed Di2 on my winter bike, I trickled it down from my best bike when I upgraded to 11 speed Di2 in early 2014. So 6+ years no issues on the 10 speed and 3+ years on the 11 speed and no issues

964cup

I have original 10-speed Dura Ace di2 on my TT bike. I bought it in 2013; it's from 2011 and was well-used when I got it. Still has the best shift quality of all my (many) bikes, which include 9150 and eTap as well as mechanical Super Record. No multishift, and no configurability, but also no issues whatsoever. This kit lasts.

dodgy

5 years on a Rose with Di2 and absolutely no issues at all.

BUT

For at least the last 3 years replacement parts for this system are not available, you can't buy them anywhere. That happened when my bike was about 2.5 years old.

If I was to damage the rear derailleur for example, I'd be looking at replacing the entire groupset.

It's because of this that I'm seriously contemplating going mechanical when I replace the Rose.

Andymaxy

So so far it seems like that 99.9% of the people have no problems with shimano di2. That's a great thing to hear before buying, I understand that it can be different for everyone, but it's great to hear that you guys have no problems. Thank you all for sharing your experience .

mfin

Andymaxy wrote:

So so far it seems like that 99.9% of the people have no problems with shimano di2. That's a great thing to hear before buying, I understand that it can be different for everyone, but it's great to hear that you guys have no problems. Thank you all for sharing your experience .

Cool. The 10 replies you had let you establish the failure rate and which of the current models to go for. Well done.

philbar72

had mine since Feb 2014 -6870 works perfectly, has been great. never ever run out of juice either.

Maglia_Rosa

mfin wrote:

Andymaxy wrote:

So so far it seems like that 99.9% of the people have no problems with shimano di2. That's a great thing to hear before buying, I understand that it can be different for everyone, but it's great to hear that you guys have no problems. Thank you all for sharing your experience .

Cool. The 10 replies you had let you establish the failure rate and which of the current models to go for. Well done.

Why the EDITED comment pal? I’m looking at Di2 for my next bike so also found these responses reassuring.

gimpl

Maglia_Rosa wrote:

mfin wrote:

Andymaxy wrote:

So so far it seems like that 99.9% of the people have no problems with shimano di2. That's a great thing to hear before buying, I understand that it can be different for everyone, but it's great to hear that you guys have no problems. Thank you all for sharing your experience .

Cool. The 10 replies you had let you establish the failure rate and which of the current models to go for. Well done.

Why the comment pal? I’m looking at Di2 for my next bike so also found these responses reassuring.

Some people are tools - you get quite a few of them on here :roll: Please try to ignore and move on.

Anyway - I've also have 6870 di2 and it's the dogs - FACT ! (puts on helmet and waits for the village idiots to turn up )

Also to anyone thinking about it I would thoroughly recommend the climbing switch - I really miss it when I switch over bikes around this time of year.

imposter2.0

Maglia_Rosa wrote:

mfin wrote:

Andymaxy wrote:

So so far it seems like that 99.9% of the people have no problems with shimano di2. That's a great thing to hear before buying, I understand that it can be different for everyone, but it's great to hear that you guys have no problems. Thank you all for sharing your experience .

Cool. The 10 replies you had let you establish the failure rate and which of the current models to go for. Well done.

Why the comment pal? I’m looking at Di2 for my next bike so also found these responses reassuring.

I think he's just suggesting that 10 responses (out of what you would have to assume would be many thousands of users) might not necessarily be a representative sample. It might, it might not.

It's a bit unfair to abuse him simply for pointing that out.

okgo

Well its better than asking nobody isn't it

imposter2.0

okgo wrote:

Well its better than asking nobody isn't it

Is it?

okgo

Why do product reviews exist on anything if not?

I'd feel more assured reading through this post.

kingpinsam

Most people will never ride it enough to wear it out, but it's not invincible.

I certainly like to abuse my main bike; it rarely gets cleaned. With 6870, the first 10,000 miles were trouble free, but since then I've had 2 front mechs and 2 batteries fail, and the rear mech has been shifting badly for a few months now, it's now up to about 22,000 miles in all conditions.

I ride it without mudguards, so it's the salty winter roads that knackers the front mechs. One of the batteries died after plugging it into a wall charger instead of the laptop. The other one just gradually held less and less charge. The rear mech is doing surprisingly well considering it is scratched up from a crash. The limit screws have seized and the pivots have started to get stiff, but you'd expect the same from a fully mechanical system under the same abuse.

edit - I will add that's mostly riding in London, so I probably do a lot more front shifts stopping for lights than the equivalent mileage out in the countryside which is probably another contributing factor.

My "good" bike also with 6870 has had no problems but that's only done 4,000 miles in decent weather.

okgo

I can also give full endorsement of "I certainly like to abuse my main bike" - it really is a heap.

kingpinsam

okgo wrote:

I can also give full endorsement of "I certainly like to abuse my main bike" - it really is a heap.

I will sell it on ebay one day to some poor unsuspecting victim

okgo

kingpinsam wrote:

okgo wrote:

I can also give full endorsement of "I certainly like to abuse my main bike" - it really is a heap.

I will sell it on ebay one day to some poor unsuspecting victim

Blood on your hands....

mfin

Imposter wrote:

I think he's just suggesting that 10 responses (out of what you would have to assume would be many thousands of users) might not necessarily be a representative sample. It might, it might not.

It's a bit unfair to abuse him simply for pointing that out.

Exactly. There's hardly going to be many responses, and there haven't been, so there's absolutely no conclusions that can be drawn and never will be. At best, you're better off searching on google for failures on a specific make and model.

Nobody has even highlighted regularly occurring issues with particular models. A few people saying that they've had absolutely no problem means nothing at all, and I am not saying there's significant issues either.

dodgy

mfin wrote:

Imposter wrote:

I think he's just suggesting that 10 responses (out of what you would have to assume would be many thousands of users) might not necessarily be a representative sample. It might, it might not.

It's a bit unfair to abuse him simply for pointing that out.

Exactly. There's hardly going to be many responses, and there haven't been, so there's absolutely no conclusions that can be drawn and never will be. At best, you're better off searching on google for failures on a specific make and model.

Nobody has even highlighted regularly occurring issues with particular models. A few people saying that they've had absolutely no problem means nothing at all, and I am not saying there's significant issues either.

Not to blow my own trumpet, but I think I at least brought up a legitimate point about Di2.

Are you going to wade into every thread where someone asks for viewpoints on something they're about to buy to tell them 'well done'?

Andymaxy

This is not going where I wanted it to...

robbo2011

if ultimate longevity is the main consideration, electronic groupsets are unlikely to last as long as mechanical ones simply because it is unlikely that there will be spares available for a long enough time. Look at the non availability of first generation Di2 parts as an example.

You'll be able to cobble together bits for mechanical groupsets for many, many years to come.

That said, I reckon that you should be able to keep electronic groupsets running for 5 or so years after purchase, which for many is long enough until the next new shiny thing is on the market.

meanredspider

mfin wrote:

Exactly. There's hardly going to be many responses, and there haven't been, so there's absolutely no conclusions that can be drawn and never will be. At best, you're better off searching on google for failures on a specific make and model.

Nobody has even highlighted regularly occurring issues with particular models. A few people saying that they've had absolutely no problem means nothing at all, and I am not saying there's significant issues either.

You’re confusing in-service reliability with what the OP really wants: longevity. With longevity, every bit of data is of use. If, like me, you have an early Ultegra Di2 that’s been running almost 7 years, you know that the system can run for 7 years (ie that there are no components in that system that have a finite life of less than 7 years). That has NOTHING to do with statistics - it’s just a fact. Every other bit of data from the 10 or so people that have posted add to that picture and that’s where it becomes a bit more “statistical” - though, with reliability, Weibull distribution rules and that’s not even “proper” stats. In fact our biggest problem here is that we don’t really have anybody that has had a component “wear out” (the right hand end of the bathtub).

There’s no doubt that a few people have early life failures - especially batteries - but those components will be covered by warranty/consumer rights. Others (fewer than I’d expected) have had accidental failures from crashes and the like. There aren’t many people that have had anything wear out which I believe is the OP’s question. My systems are 7 years, 4 years and 2 years old (all Ultegra of the current spec when they were bought) none of which has worn out (no in-service issues either just FYI).

On another point on spares. I can still buy batteries for my oldest systems. If an RD or FD fails, I DON’T need to change the entire groupset (as suggested earlier in the thread) but I will need to convert to 11sp (I have a converter for my Volagi wheel) - but the shifters and the battery don’t need changing. That said, my entire system has taken far more abuse than most road bikes will ever see over those 7 years.

eddiefiola

i've had Ultegra di2 since 2012, no issues until a couple of months ago and the rear derailleur gave out, had to replace with the new 11 speed but because i hadnt upgraded the firmware i didnt need to replace the FD.