Electronic gear-shifting system. Is it worth it?
Have started this forum per our dashbord exchange below. Your thoughts?
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November 13
Juan Vergara Any forum in the haus regarding Electronic gear-shifting system? Curious if (1) the pros are using it? (2) is it worth the investment fo AG? - John WithrowIt's worth creating a thread in the Gear Forum. I recently got a Di2 TT bike and am totally convinced now. It's kind of like a Smartphone or a Navigation system in your car, you never really think you need it until you have it, then you think you can't live without it...12:10 PM Today
- Bob McCallumI have had Di2 for over a year and a half. Love it! I agree with John - a forum post in the Gear section is probably a good idea.12:14 PM Today
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Jeff Braaten bought one in May 2011.R ecommend you send him an e-mail and ask him how it has worked out.
helmet...check,
sun glasses...check,
enough liquids for the ride...check,
nutrition...check,
cycling shoes...check,
butt cream...check,
air in tires...check,
appropriate dress for weather...check,
computer charged up...check,
workout loaded in computer...check,
tire change kit...check,
schedule worked out so that I don't forget something important...check,
Di2 battery, oh yea. Did I put that on the charger? Is it ready to go?
I know it's a cool deal, and I know I would love it, but I just can't make myself do it--yet.
If its only the battery issue holding you back it is truly a non-issue.
The other massive advantage for a TT Bike is that you can shift from the aero bars or the horns near the brakes. This allows for really fast shifting without the need to move your hands around.
I know that both Andy Potts and Craig Alexander use Di2... but they are sponsored by Shimano. Di2 is great for fast descents where you might want to shift while on the hoods, as Dino mentioned, and according to Potts is a lifesaver in cold races where you can barely move you hands to shift. Which could be nice if you live in the north or race in bad conditions.
But once you have it. You will always want it. Its that good.
I ran my battery out on a RR this summer and learned my lesson. The battery lasts thousounds of shifts. Month's. Other than that it just works.
Jeez...you mean you don't have electronic hand and feet warmers?....next you guys will want something to pedal for ya'...there is no doubt that TriGeeks are just gadget heads with a fitness addiction
Next I want the "Draft Dodger" IR-Nano Camera to mount on the head tube. That will show me distance to the wheel in front of me as a 'heads-up-display' on my helmet visor.....
Ahhhh, who am I kidding - I'm just jealous cause I can't affort the DI2 system myself.... boo hoo...... :-(
My first priority is a power meter so i shouldn't even be entertaining a Di2 setup, but hey! it doesn't cost anything to dream!
With that being said, where do you typically mount the battery, or does it depend on the bike? I know some of the newer TT bikes have Di2 compatabiity built in, but if that's not the case what are the mounting options? Thanks!
My apologies in advance if this constitutes a thread hijack!
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22478-smartphone-gives-bikes-an-automatic-gearbox.html
@Mark - Many bikes today will have a Di2 frame version. For example, my Colnago frame comes in both Di2 (super clean) and standard with places for conventional cable routing. You can also have your bike retro fit. Caffee Designs has a Di2 retro fit where there drill holes and route things for a really clean set up. To retro fit a bike without going the Calfee route usually means zip tying on the battery or using a mount that is tried into the down tube water bottle lugs.
You can also get really fancy. A friend of mine has a custom battery stashed in her TT Bike's seat tube!
Seat tube is AWESOME!
Here is how my Campy EPS mounts. This is an aftermarket mount from Campy. The mount that comes in the EPS box is designed to take advantage of the down tube bottle lugs. The key is that this frame has lugs under the bottom bracket and there is also a slot for the wires to come out. That is what qualifies as a Di2/EPS frame. In this system, the battery is also the brain. Each button and both deraileurs have wires that run the battery/brain.
This has been an occasional problem in the pro peloton. Say you're in a breakaway with four others. Guys are starting to get itchy. 12 km to go, someone at the back of of the group jumps on it. You need to downshift in a microsecond. You push the vutton, stomp on the pedlas, and almost crash the bike, as it didnt shift. I saw this happen, cant recall if it was the Vuelta or Olympics.
I got Di2 shifting a couple months ago on my TT bike. I Really like it! Especially for a TT bike. I really noticed it in my training when say I come up to a red light, I can move my hands straight to the bull horns and slow down under control while breaking and also downshifting. It also allows me to upshift as I'm accelerating out from the stop but still on the horns. It also allows me to shift while climbing. and finally I do find myself shifting a lot more while riding on the aerobars because it's just so simple.
Another nice benefit is the "auto-trim" function. When you are going through your gears on the cassette it makes micro-adjustments to the front deraileur such that the alignment is better. This helps with some of the cross-chaining that happens on a standard mechanical setup when your chain actually rubs your front deraileur when say you are in the big chainring in the front and the biggest gear in the back. With a Di2 setup it will move the FD out of the way a bit as you go through the gears.
Also shifting is very fast and very crisp. It's nice to always have perfect shifts and also be able to shift under load either while climbing or accelerating.
I like it so much I was trying to figure out if I would convert my road bike even though I almost never ride my road bike.
In my opinion the single limiter is price and that has already come down a bit and will continue to come down even more in the years to come. I charged my battery once in 2.5 months. I purposely let it run out before I charged it because I wanted to see what would happen. It first stops the FD from working and I had at least a couple hours of RD use to make it home before I charged the battery. Not ideal, but not catastrophic either. Could it breakdown during a race? Sure... But probably have a higher probability of breaking a Deraileur cable on a standard mechanical setup (was it JT Thompson or Tucker that had that happen at CDA in 2011?).
http://members.endurancenation.us/Training/TrainingForums/tabid/101/aft/9842/Default.aspx
Pros:
Cons:
I was fortunate enough to have a childhood best friend who owns a huge bike shop. I got my bike at cost and the Di2 gruppo has a hefty mark-up. I couldn't pass up a Trek Speed Concept 9.9 Project One with Di2 for under $7000. Retail was close to $10K.
@Bob .... A crazy thought .... you might want to ask your buddy if he does not want to offer a SPECIAL deal to your EN team mates .... It looks as though there is potential for a BIG package deal here!!!!