Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

Prev Next
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [kjmcawesome] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
kjmcawesome wrote:
spntrxi wrote:
The time I've had DI2.. I would have changed my shift cabling probably 3 times already.. not to mention time spent adjusting with cable stretch. Di2 has been 99% set and forget.... just charge battery.


I would say this is the biggest advantage of Di2 for me. Especially for bike that doesn't get used all the time. Battery charged? Pump tires. Good to go.

Ummm...wouldn't that be the same for mechanical cables as well...except you could cut out the worrying about a battery being charged? A bike that doesn't get used all the time isn't going to need the inners replaced, nor need adjustment.

BTW, if one is constantly needing to adjust for housing compression (aka "cable stretch"), you're doing it wrong ;-)

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Tom A.] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I have electronic on both road bikes, I'd never go back to mech. Being able to shift under load without issue is so nice.

Yeah, having a battery die on you mid-ride SUCKS but after it happens to you a few times you remember to occasionally check it.

Only issue I've had so far is a learning curve in regards to installation. But that would have happened with cables as well.
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Fatsanta92] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Fatsanta92 wrote:
I have electronic on both road bikes, I'd never go back to mech. Being able to shift under load without issue is so nice.

If you can't do that with a non-electronic setup, you're doing it wrong...

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Pmswanepoel] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
 
From a road bike perspective it is not worth the cost unless $1,500 is lunch money to you. I have ridden eTap, it is very cool, and I would definitely run it if not for the cost. But my Force22 setup is awesome and trouble free and I paid $600 for it. $900 is a lot for next to no increase in performance.
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [aarondb4] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
aarondb4 wrote:

From a road bike perspective it is not worth the cost unless $1,500 is lunch money to you. I have ridden eTap, it is very cool, and I would definitely run it if not for the cost. But my Force22 setup is awesome and trouble free and I paid $600 for it. $900 is a lot for next to no increase in performance.

I totally agree.

But then see how much money people pay for luxury features on cars that are barely even used, and Di2 / eTap is downright cheap!
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Pmswanepoel] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I went from a bike with 10 spd Force to 11 spd Ultegra 6870. I cannot say enough nice words about the electronic (as long as you aren't an idiot and remember to charge the battery every three months). I was coming off a shattered hand and physically couldn't grip the hood and shift at the same time. Furthermore, not having to replace cables with the amount I ride and deal with adjustments is amazing.

If you are purely wanting to go electronic just for the sake of going electronic, I would think about the 6870/the new 8050 as well. Working at a shop, I have only heard people praise eTap, but for a regular rider, that is a massive amount of money to pay for the novelty/simplicity of electronic shifting. Shimano may be worth the go in this case.
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Pmswanepoel] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Upgraded to eTap on my Ritchey Breakaway this spring and absolutely love it. The shifting is crisp and quick and, once set up, you can forget about needing to adjust the derailleurs ever again. This is an especially nice benefit with the Breakaway. (Also, in the special case of the Breakaway, there are no shifting cables to deal with when packing the bike.)

Having said that, the system is definitely a luxury. The previous DuraAce system on the bike worked fine until it finally starting showing too much wear. So if you've got the money to spare, I'd say go for it. But if you're on a budget and want to spend on priorities such as speed, look elsewhere.
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [iamuwere] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
iamuwere wrote:
lschaan wrote:
Extremely minor issue, but I generally keep my bike in my car all season, so needing to pull it out every now and then to charge is a minor inconvenience.


Charge from an inverter if your car doesn't have a 110 outlet already. I haven't tried running the Shimano charger from the USB port.

The eTap charger works fine from my USB in my car.

Just use a USB car adapter. Works fine.
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [lschaan] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
why not charge right in the car ?

You can't fix stupid ..
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [sathomasga] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
sathomasga wrote:
Upgraded to eTap on my Ritchey Breakaway this spring and absolutely love it. The shifting is crisp and quick and, once set up, you can forget about needing to adjust the derailleurs ever again. This is an especially nice benefit with the Breakaway. (Also, in the special case of the Breakaway, there are no shifting cables to deal with when packing the bike.)

Funny you say that. I was watching the video on assembly/disassembly of the Breakaway a couple days ago, and I thought "now THERE is a bike that really needs eTap!"

"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Pmswanepoel] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Pmswanepoel wrote:
I am torn. Really like the idea of electronic shifting, and want to go that route (thinking of going 'big' with eTap), but I am struggling with a) the cost premium and b) the 'there's more that can go wrong' argument -if that is even a valid argument. Also, it is not likely to make me faster, is it? More of a luxury spend? For my road bike. Tribike is new and came with mechanical Ultegra so not looking to change there (yet).

I have had SRAM Red 10spd on the road bike for a while and it is getting a bit wonky, hence I am looking at replacement.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Back in December I had all of these thoughts, as well as, suffering and fighting "new bike fever" for most of 2016. In January I decided to update my road bike frame as I do like it and it is still as good as any new road frames. So I took the plunge and bought the SRAM etap wifli so that I could change my gearing as well. I also bought a few other new things and at the end of it all I am very happy going this route and very glad to have kept this LOOK frame.

So far this group is working great and I did have the rear derailleur battery go dead on me a week ago (my error), but it was super easy to just swap the front battery to the back since I was on a route that I could stay in the large ring for the remainder of the course.

I have no other justifications for getting the group other than I just wanted to freshen up the SRAM red group. As mentioned before I also took the opportunity to change my gearing a little from a 50 / 34 11-28 to putting Praxis 52 / 36 rings and a 11-32 cassette. I have SRAM Red mech on the tri bike and typically use it on flattish to low rolling hill courses and do very little shifting so I am in no rush to upgrade that group. I probably would if I upgrade the Felt frame in a few years.

Summary: I like it and I am very glad I got it.

Not to do with anything important training wise, but here is a post ride analysis from WKO 4 using an electronic shifting chart and where I am most likely to camp out on gear use for one of my common routes.

Entire Workout Shifts
559

Entire Workout
Time in Chain Ring
Chain Ring h:m:s
52 2:14:02


Entire Workout
Time in Gear
Gear h:m:s
-- 0:02:28
52x11 0:11:12
52x12 0:13:14
52x13 0:07:47
52x14 0:14:47
52x16 0:16:46
52x18 0:17:50
52x20 0:20:28
52x22 0:12:51
52x25 0:07:24
52x28 0:05:23
52x32 0:06:20

Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Mister944] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Mister944 wrote:
why not charge right in the car ?

Because I'm an idiot : ) Looked into it yesterday after comments on this thread. Charges just fine from my vehicle.
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Pmswanepoel] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Pmswanepoel wrote:
I am torn. Really like the idea of electronic shifting, and want to go that route (thinking of going 'big' with eTap), but I am struggling with a) the cost premium and b) the 'there's more that can go wrong' argument -if that is even a valid argument. Also, it is not likely to make me faster, is it? More of a luxury spend? For my road bike. Tribike is new and came with mechanical Ultegra so not looking to change there (yet).

I have had SRAM Red 10spd on the road bike for a while and it is getting a bit wonky, hence I am looking at replacement.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thank you guys and gals. Saving those pennies..
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Fatsanta92] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Fatsanta92 wrote:
Yeah, having a battery die on you mid-ride SUCKS but after it happens to you a few times you remember to occasionally check it.

With eTap paired to a garmin, you get a warning on your head unit with plenty of time left. And if you can't handle that, keeping a spare battery in your seat bag will always get you home.


All that said, I got a "rear derailleur battery critical" message rolling to the start line of a flat crit this week. I swapped the front & rear batteries just in case.
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [lschaan] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
lschaan wrote:
So I'll be the lone naysayer. I have Ultrega DI2 on my roadbike. While I like it plenty, it certainly hasn't been the game changer for me that others here seem to experience. I shift roughly the same amount as I used to. Some of the shifts are maybe a touch smoother than mechanical would be, but for the most part I genuinely don't notice much of a difference. Extremely minor issue, but I generally keep my bike in my car all season, so needing to pull it out every now and then to charge is a minor inconvenience. If I had it to do again I probably would just save the $. As another poster commented, it's probably a bit more of a game changer on tri setups.

I find this to be so true. I have not purchased Di2 for my Tribike but am reluctant to spend $1400 just so I can shift a bit faster I don't race so all the more reasons it is hard to make the purchase.
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Pmswanepoel] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I didn't think much of putting electronic gears on my road bike as the advantages didn't seem there unlike a tri bike where you have two points to change gears. I put Etap on my road bike with blips on the tops for shifting, love it and will never go back to cable gears. Maybe just a luxury but hey it just is nicer to ride touching a button than pressing a lever and like the blips for long climbs.
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [logella] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
logella wrote:
Make no mistake about it. If you go electronic on your road bike you'll be upgrading your TT bike sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately for my bank account this is true. Did EPS on the road bike and then did ETap on the TT bike. I like both but it took days to install the EPS in my Venge. Any dipstick can install ETap in 30 minutes.

A wired drivetrain will seem about as good an idea as a wired computer or power meter in 5 years. I am not really a SRAM fan, but they caught both Campy and Shimano napping.

It is plausible that we will see an ETap Force group next year.
Quote Reply
Re: To go electronic or not (road bike) [Pmswanepoel] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I have been using Di2 Ultegra on a road bike I bought this year, a new Trek Domane. Previous was a Trek 1500 with Shimano 105, so in comparison I splashed the cash.

Unfortunately, I don't really notice any difference. I click, gear changes. Before I clicked, gear changed. With hindsight I'd have taken cheaper mechanical.

I never did any maintenance on the 1500, riding 1000s of kms from year 2007 - 2016.

My n+1 is it's massively overrated, I'd rather have spent the cash elsewhere.
Quote Reply

Prev Next