crujones#33 wrote:
soobrex1 wrote:
Do you have Di2 on your bike? Do you have it on any bike?
I have it on my cross bike and TT bike and I absolutely WILL NEVER go back. I thought it was awesome that I could drop three gears at once with the Vision Metron shifters on my old TT bike, then I broke a shifter mid race and was left in the small ring when I needed the big ring. Then during a slow cadence climb in another race, I needed to drop a gear. While pulling the shifter, I snapped the rear derailleur hanger and sucked the derailleur into the spokes. Ended my day.
Di2 shifts regardless of load and is always crisp. It's faster in and out of corners and is a huge step in efficiency on hills. You are also completely ignoring the benefits of being able to shift both in the aerobars and on the basebar.
But of course, you know best. *rolleyes*
P.S. I built a Raleigh RXC Pro and S Works Transition with Di2 on each bike for less than $3.5k total (including frames).
No reason for you to roll your eyes, I do know best on this particular matter. I don't argue that Di2 is a nice luxury, but it is entirely unnecessary in order to be competitive. A decent set of deep dish race wheels on the other hand are essential for turning out fast bike splits and competitive races. I see plenty of pros and age groupers alike who take podiums without Di2. Think of all the SRAM riders. I have never seen someone take a podium or even be competitive without race wheels. (I'm sure someone is now going to jump on and tell a story about some race they were at one time where some guy they know had a friend whose cousin one time won a race on a set of Shimano R501s.) The original poster asked if he should go with a Felt B2 with Di2 or a Felt B14 and buy nice race wheels. If you have to choose one or the other, it's a no brainer. Not everyone can afford both.
1. OP is talking about a 2015 model - B2 with Di2 is $3699 while B14 doesn't even come with Shimano branded shifters for $1999. OP has enough money to buy the B14 with race wheels AND a power meter. OP is not poor.
2. You never answered my question as to whether or not you have Di2. I'm presuming you don't and thus you're arguing a known known (mech) against a known unknown (Di2). Without knowing both, your advice (any anyone else's in the same boat) shouldn't have the same amount of pull.
3. Plenty of guys are taking podiums without Di2; I would never argue against that. Who is to say they don't have other electronic tech (power meter) that is assisting them?
Personally, my belief is that the best bet is for the OP to buy a year or two old frameset and have the shop build it with Di2 for less than a new bike. He could pick up a used deep section wheelset or even new Planet X wheels on the cheap and have a much better package than an off the shelf 2015 B2 or B14 + race wheels. You want to talk about no brainer? There it is.
Also, read this with respect to aero gains:
http://cyclingtips.com.au/...ime-trial-equipment/ An aero helmet can net the user 67 seconds of gain, but what happens if that user looks down at his front wheel a lot? He introduces more drag and can actually end up with a slower time than a normal helmet. This probably part of why we start to see some aero helmets with clipped tails.