DI2 or Mechanical for new bike?
Hey folks, looking at purchasing a new bike and deciding between DI2 and Mechanical? I've read a bunch online where most people say the DI2 is a nice (really nice 😛) to have but not necessary. I live in South Florida (flat riding) and I also lean towards flat races 95% of the time so I'm generally in one gear and moving. Also of the mindset if I'm purchasing a new bike, why not add DI2. I'm just not sure. Any feedback would be great!
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Road or tri bike?
For me, adding di2 to my road bike was cool, but not a necessity. For a tri bike, as many have said before, di2 is a game changer - and I agree! My favorite part, being able to shift both rings in any position, in aero or on the bullhorns, is amazing!
Plus, I think that most newer (esp high-end) bikes will be moving to di2, so you're better off moving with the trend instead of behind it. I've got 11 spd di2 on almost all of my bikes now, and they're already coming out with 12 and even 13 spd gruppos. Crazy!
Hey Maurice, I live in Tampa and have 4 bikes with various set-ups. I was a late comer (aka - resister) to electronic shifting so I thought I would comment. My top bike choice for a flat coastal Florida race is my 2010 Giant Advanced Trinity with mechanical shifting. It's an old 10 speed bike, but a few years ago I removed the front derailleur and small chain ring on the crank. So now it is a 1 x 10 drive. For flat courses, I typically find one gear and maybe shift up or down one from that in the back except for a bridge. Electronic shifting for these courses would be a complete waste of money.
However, I travel a lot outside of Florida and the U.S., and race some really hilly courses. My race bike for that is my 2012 BMC TM01. It has a compact crank to help with the climbing. It came with 10 speed mechanical but in 2018 I had it rebuilt with 11 speed SRAM etap. The advantage is that I shift more often and earlier than I did with mechanical. So you have to really assess your race schedule (now and in the future) to decide if electronic is worth the money if you really don't race many hills.
Re Di2 vs Etap. I have two road bikes, one mechanical and one with Di2. I've had zero issues with the electronic shifting between Shimano and Sram. They are simply different ways to skin the same cat. I chose Sram wireless for my race bike and carry an extra battery pack (very small) in my kit just in case one died for some reason in a long course triathlon.
@Scott Alexander thanks for your response. This is for a tri bike.
@paulhough thanks! This will be my only bike(Tri) for the time being so it will be my training and racing bike. I gravitate towards flat races. I don’t foresee signing up for any hilly races...I can barely do flat races 🤣🤣.
I have mechanical on my road and Di2 on TT bike. I really like the smoothness of the Di2 and the swooshy sound of the shifting. What I don’t like is making sure it is charged and the time it died on me when I was 40 miles from home. It also dies faster when in the super cold garage in the winter. I just had to be a lot more vigilant about charging. Plus, somehow my derailleur wire has become loose and I have to stop and put it back in so I can shift.
I was thinking about getting a new TT bike and mulling over whether to go back to mechanical. I probably won’t bc I do really like it. Just gotta pay attention to that charging.
Di2 or Etap, regardless of where you ride, for every undulation of the surface or windspeed, you will be inclined to change gears more frequently instead of just pushing for a short bit when you have electronic shifting.. shifting is effortless, smooth and more minute in the changes you will make. this is why it IS a game changer, you will ride MUCH steadier power with E-shifting.
Agree with the above, especially being able to shift while sitting up is a big benefit. Also, you'll have this bike for many years and if you get mechanical now, you'll just upgrade to Di2 or ETAP in a year or two. It will be less expensive to get it with a new bike than upgrading later.
Also, if you're looking at a Ventum check out @John Withrow new ride.
For TT bike definitely electronic. Case closed.
By the way IM Wisconsin is very hilly and you will be changing gears all the time. Just saying.
🤣😂
I run SRAM ETAP, and have never looked back....
@maurice matthews
I have Di2 on TT and road is mechanical. I love the Di2!! It actually promotes shifting. Triathletes are accused by roadies of being lazy shifters.
Don't let where you live dictate your decision. You're going to be a triathlete for a long time and will eventually get the urge to try new venues.
Love Di2 on all bikes. Like Paul, I said "i don't need it"...until I got it. I will never go back. Really like it on TT bike.
The convenience of setup and disassembly of etap beats everything else. To my mind.
If you are buying a complete bike go Di2 or eTap. Lots of good bikes available with an electronic group set. It is more expensive I think to upgrade later. That being said I recently refurbished my 2005 Giant TCR Advanced -- (Vintage Jan Ullrich frame) upgraded it to 11 speed and went with Ultegra 8000 mechanical because it was much cheaper (that and the bike is not really set up for Di2).
Dissenting view: for the purpose of the Best Possible Race Outcomes, I would say electronic, but only if there was no opportunity cost. If going electronic instead of regular meant sacrificing any of the following: a sleeved & proven-fast trisuit, an aero helmet, a disk cover on the rear, an aero front wheel, fast tires, fast tubes, an optimzed chain, or a great tt position achieved through a competent bike fitter ... then yes. But it's the more marginal of marginal gains.
Need vs. Want are 2 different things. IMHO electronic shifting is something you definitely want and worth the price.
@Dave Tallo how important do you think your list is (disc rear wheel, aero helmet, tubes and tires) for those of us who spend very little time north of 20mph in an IM? Would this change where you ranked electronic shifting among that list?
@Sid Wavrin - for the purposes of best possible races outcomes, these items are just as important, whether the racer is 15 or 25 mph. In fact ... the longer the athlete is riding, the more actual time these items save. So you could say “more.”
Electronic shifting does not save time over mechanical shifting (regardless of whether the rider is faster or slower).
The value of electronic shifting to the overall race time of a triathlete is less quantifiable than the items @Dave Tallo lists - which I fully endorse and use. But the ability to maintain proper position thru shifting on the aerobars is real. Also, the value of more frequent shifting as the course terrain changes is probably also real. Finally, the reduction of mental stres from the feeling of having an automatic instead of a manual ttansmission may help in long races when mental fatigue on the run can sometimes cause losses of many minutes because one gives up and walks when still capable of running.
@Sid Wavrin - generally, aero improvements / resistance improvements have a larger contribution for people that are in the course longer... so (made up example) if you save 90"/hour for 5hrs, or 7:30 off your bike time, you may save 80"/hr for 6.5hrs, or 8:40 off your bike time
@Sid Wavrin Separately - I wholeheartedly endorse electronic shifting. As a relatively new cyclist (7 years), I lacked a ton fo the fundamental skills, understanding of how to manage courses, etc. that more experienced cyclist take for granted. I was constantly putting myself "behind" by shifting too late, not shifting enough, etc. Also - maybe embarrassing to say - but I actually got sore wrists/hands when I tried to shift more. Especially on the TT bike on long rides. when I switched to Di2, my cycling definitely improved. I was suddenly able to start riding with much lower VI because I was using the shifting to "tune" my power rather than trying to do it all with cadence. Everyone has really good points here. I personally would never want to switch back to manual on a road / TT bike (haven't tried electronic on mountain bike yet).
@maurice matthews ... electronic vs mechanical for Tri Bike 100% ... I'm an eTap guy, but for sure you should test both etap and di2 ... good luck!