Electronic shifting or no electronic shifting? Calling all cycling oppos

"CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)" (ccpbb) 05/01/2016 at 21:55 • Filed to: bikelopnik

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I’m selling the Bianchi and possibly my Focus mtb to fund a more bulletproof road bike. I’m going to upgrading my road bike to either 105 components OR an mix of Ultegra Di2 and 105 componentry. What does Oppo think? (Di2 is electronic shifting where it uses motorized actuators instead of cables..look it up. It’s really awesome)

Bourbon&JellyBeans > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 05/01/2016 at 22:14

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I do wish that I could guide you, but judging by the fact that I had to Google both “Felt Z70" and “Ultegra Di2" in order to comprehend your question, I couldn’t possibly be any help.

smobgirl > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 05/01/2016 at 22:28

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Folks I know who have it LOVE it. It seems designed to take quite a bit of abuse, too.

I’d be terrified, but I break electronic thinks by looking at them. I’m seriously about a step away from Amish here.

Ssfancyfresh > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 05/01/2016 at 22:31

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Love electronic shifting. Works great. Easy to setup / adjust. Works all the time.

tromoly > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 05/01/2016 at 22:35

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My brother set up his Trek CX bike as a 1x10 and has the Di2 set so tapping the right shifter shifts up and tapping the left shifter shifts down, pretty neat set-up. He seems to like the Di2 system, so go for it if you’d like.

Gone > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 05/01/2016 at 22:43

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Get 11spd Ultegra Di2 f/r derailleurs/shifters and then 105 11spd crank/cassette. I have the old school Dura Ace 7970 (so old!) on my Felt B10 TT and it is the bees knees. Half, IMs, 100 mile rainy centuries, etc - no probs. Battery goes for about 15-2000mi between charges. If you let the chain stretch too far, it tends to piss off the front derailleur (in my case), but normal replacement prevents that.

If you’ve got the funds, do it. My roadie is mechanical Ulterga (also old gray 6600) and I spent awhile getting the cable tension spot on. It’s pretty damn fast action, but it’s no Di2.

Old Red Wagon > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 05/01/2016 at 22:45

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I personally have never tried out electronic shifters. I’ve always been a SRAM guy as I hate how much throw shimano shifting has. I like that one lever does both up and down shifting as well opposed to the brifter setup shimano uses. I have full Force components on my BMC currently.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Gone 05/01/2016 at 22:48

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I’m planning to do the Ultegra Di2/105 comb0. I’ve messed around with cable tension a bit too much while in the shop...so I’d like to not punish myself on that with my own road bike. I’m planning to go through dealer pricing channels with this..so my wallet does not struggle so much

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Old Red Wagon 05/01/2016 at 22:50

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I’m not the biggest fan of SRAM but I’d like to stick with Shimano since I mainly work on Shimano stuff versus SRAM...I am jealous on the rebuildable qualities of SRAM stuff but eTap is a bit too expensive for me..

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > smobgirl 05/01/2016 at 22:52

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I’m planning to make my road bike to work in all weather conditions, so that’s why I’m planning to go with Di2 so mud/gunk doesn’t screw with the 10 dollar 11 speed “polymer coated” cables I would have to get..

smobgirl > tromoly 05/01/2016 at 22:57

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That is a pretty cool idea.

Gone > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 05/01/2016 at 22:57

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It’s so cheap then. Markup is stout on parts (and necessary I know) - so I’m jealous, haha. There’s no reason to not get Di2 then. I love it and will never do mechanical again.

TheRealBicycleBuck > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 05/01/2016 at 23:46

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The real question is your purpose for the bike. Planning on racing? If not, don’t waste the cash. 105 are solid components that will last many years. My cyclocross/road bike is still running 105 components from the early ‘90s. Although I’m not putting on major miles any more, they served for many years under the abuse of daily commuting.

The electronic shifting gear isn’t necessary if you aren’t racing and need the speed/accuracy of split-second shifting. It’s also something you will need to remember to charge - made harder since it doesn’t need to be rejuiced daily.

Take all that with a grain of salt - I’m so old school that I’m running moustache bars with barcons.....

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/02/2016 at 00:58

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The real purpose is Utmost reliability and keeping the maintenance levels low. I don’t really want to deal with stretched cables, sticky housing, or yearly recablings that easily get quite expensive. Plus the 105 stuff back then is a lot better than the stuff now, which is berriden with planned deprication.

TheRealBicycleBuck > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 05/02/2016 at 06:55

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“Utmost reliability” and “low maintenance” are rarely found when there are electronics involved. I rarely have problems with cables and housings and I’m certainly not changing them annually. The trick is to avoid using the wrong lubricants and to keep things dry.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/02/2016 at 14:15

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I’d wouldnt want my housing/cable dry, but I’d either put on some of the special lube Shimano offers or use some dumondetech to keep them lubed.

From what I’ve heard, Di2 is still more reliable a lot of the stuff I’ve seen. It’s decently future proof with (mostly) rebuild able things.