Cycling UK Forum

[youtube] https://youtu.be/ecazF5sK3G8[/youtube]


Oh my Good god!

All that electronic cabling!

How waterproof is it all?!
Dirt ingress?
Moisture retention, then water damage?

….Or is it solid state reliable hardware for bicycles now?!


Good video though - Nice to see how things work

[youtube]https://youtu.be/PiyCEXY2SM4[/youtube]


Is this guy right?

Bent rear derailleur - means a replacement for the whole Di2 unit!?!? (£xxxxx)

Or even taking this further, eventual worn jockey wheels etc - does that means a replacement for the whole Di2 unit!?!? (£xxxxx)

Be good hear your thoughts!


I’ll look into further, when I get more time

Best wishes
Martin

[youtube] https://youtu.be/I6T28JoS_B8[/youtube]

[youtube] https://youtu.be/MkvMxxxU6qs[/youtube]

[youtube] https://youtu.be/AEWoKLbO1SA[/youtube]


Quite exciting times

Di2 coming to regular joes?!

Will be expensive - yes - but wow, something to research and dream about about again!

Your thoughts?!

My thoughts…that’s 3 Di2 topic titles in 9 minutes. Enough please
p.s. I’ve zero interest in Di2 another damned battery to keep charged. It’s surely the work of the devil

Hi all,

I think I’ve got the answer to the rear derailer cage.

Had a look at my 105 mechanical bike, the cages held onto the rear derailleur, looks like By an Allen Key screw.

So not a complete replacement for that at least!

Best wishes
Martin

Paulatic wrote: ↑26 Jun 2022, 10:15am My thoughts…that’s 3 Di2 topic titles in 9 minutes. Enough please
p.s. I’ve zero interest in Di2 another damned battery to keep charged. It’s surely the work of the devil

Solar powered electronic shifting has to be the way ahead, no?

Dingdong wrote: ↑26 Jun 2022, 5:03pm

Paulatic wrote: ↑26 Jun 2022, 10:15am My thoughts…that’s 3 Di2 topic titles in 9 minutes. Enough please
p.s. I’ve zero interest in Di2 another damned battery to keep charged. It’s surely the work of the devil

Solar powered electronic shifting has to be the way ahead, no?

Whilst solar power is a bit of a risk in cloudy spots about Grated Britain, another alternative - a small Di2 dynamo in a hub, crankset or cassette - might mean that charging a Di2 battery never need be a concern. After all, those batteries last a long time per charge so that teeny dynamo could easily keep up with even the most twitchy-fingered of gear changers.

This dynamo would naturally increase the price, of course. Still, if one is prepared to shell out for Di2 stuff at all, such matters as price become neither here nor there! What matters is having the poser/boasting labels. Yes.

Having recently acquired a Di2 festooned biccyle (it was 42% off in a sale) I now spend time worrying about the cost of Di2 spares, mysterious electronic glitched that might occur 50 mile from home and so forth. So I might as well have a battery-charging dynamo to worry about as well, as it won't increase the worry, will it? (Will it)?

Cugel, a victim of consumer-lust (it can't be my fault, an advert made me do it).

PS I once had a solar-powered bike computer by Cateye that required the thing to be kept in a sunny window all day long if it was to work. I often forgot to put it back on the bike.

Dingdong wrote: ↑26 Jun 2022, 5:03pm

Paulatic wrote: ↑26 Jun 2022, 10:15am My thoughts…that’s 3 Di2 topic titles in 9 minutes. Enough please
p.s. I’ve zero interest in Di2 another damned battery to keep charged. It’s surely the work of the devil

Solar powered electronic shifting has to be the way ahead, no?

Some might think so. Is the solar panel heavier than a cable?

Cugel wrote: ↑26 Jun 2022, 6:08pm a small Di2 dynamo in a hub, crankset or cassette

If the UCI had determined that Di2 represented outside assistance (I do like to tease users about that) then Shimano and the like would probably have developed some very efficient, lightweight and reliable charging mechanisms by now that we might all have benefited from.

I have never seen why I am supposed to want electronic shifting. What is the advantage for me? My cable shifting systems work fine and I can maintain them to keep them that way. I have never noticed pushing a lever being any effort. And anything with a battery needs monitoring for charge level, especially if you have a long ride coming up. Why would I want to introduce yet another battery into my life when I have nothing to gain from doing that? Except a bit more lightness in the wallet department. What am I missing?

pwa wrote: ↑27 Jun 2022, 4:45am What am I missing?

Progress, mostly...

Dingdong wrote: ↑27 Jun 2022, 5:16am

pwa wrote: ↑27 Jun 2022, 4:45am What am I missing?

Progress, mostly...

There are two types of progress. There is the type that takes you somewhere better and solves problems, and there is the type that is just an excuse for folk to sell you something you don't need. At the moment I am thinking electronic shifting is the latter, so I don't want it. Just as I don't want an electronic tin opener to replace my very effective manual tin opener. To shell out serious money I would have to desire the new thing, and I don't. It doesn't fire my imagination.

What is the problem with cable shifting that you hope to lose by moving over to electronic shifting? Have you had a lot of trouble with indexing?

pwa wrote: ↑27 Jun 2022, 5:37am What is the problem with cable shifting that you hope to lose by moving over to electronic shifting? Have you had a lot of trouble with indexing?

There isn't "a problem" with cable shifting per se. It's been pretty well refined over many iterations and the current generation of mechanical shifting is really very good.

Electronic is better though. More precise and quicker shifting, unlimited options for cable runs without having to worry about bending, internal cable routing and maintenance, complete tunability and customisation (you can adjust speed of shifts, number of cogs to move up/down, it'll do semi-automatic shifting if you want it to, you can programme which levers for which shifts, add in additional shifters (bar top or sprint shifters for example). And it has a crash mode which automatically moves the rear mech inwards and disconnects the motor in the event of a crash, you're actually less likely to break the rear mech in an incident.

You never need to replace cables or worry about dirt or water ingress. It needs an occasional charge in the same way that you plug in lights, Garmin, phone etc without it being a problem. For most average users (ie recreational riders), it'll do a month between charges easily.

I wouldn't say it's an essential part of riding a bike by any means - mechanical shifting works fine - but certainly at the performance end it's almost essential now (in the same way that when STI was introduced, it rendered downtube or bar end shifting obsolete almost overnight; the performance increase was that measurable) and there are many other uses for it; one particular area of benefit is people with less hand movement, reach and strength (kids, older people, some disabled people with hand or arm issues) who find it vastly easier to use customised Di2 buttons to control shifting.

If you ever get a chance to look at the bikes of para-athletes (Dame Sarah Storey being a prime example) you'll see the incredible customisation that Di2 can do which is not possible on a mechanical set-up.

Completely agree, the degree of customisable options is vast, rapidly growing and the Sram option looks certain to have a battery-less variant in its next iteration which is due to drop this summer

Cables are a pita, wireless systems are incredibly rugged. I took an SRAM system to Thailand last year and ran it through a week of deluges of very heavy rain. Perfect shifting every time.

Like every other 'advance', when the price point comes down to 105 level, everyone, even the haters will go out and buy it. See disc brakes/led lighting/tubeless/clip in pedals.

Be grateful, for ten years early adopters have paid the high prices for development of the kit you now take for granted. Exactly the same with electronic gearing. Coming to just about every bike sold in two years time. It'll be an industry standard.

Can't hold back the tides with just a gurn!

Hiya,

Many thanks for the time taken giving the detailed feedback, much appreciated
Can I pick your brain on the below:

rareposter wrote: ↑27 Jun 2022, 6:35am You never need to replace cables or worry about dirt or water ingress.

This is indeed one of my concerns.
How waterproof are those connectors etc. in real life?
I faintly recall water ingress problems reported with early Di2 systems

rareposter wrote: ↑27 Jun 2022, 6:35am And it has a crash mode which automatically moves the rear mech inwards and disconnects the motor in the event of a crash, you're actually less likely to break the rear mech in an incident.

Wow!
Can I check - the system detects a crash - and auto disconnects?
What about false jolts - E.g. if one bunny hops off a high pavement etc.?!
How does one reset the system - if all disconnected?!


Many thanks for all the insights!
Best wishes
Martin