Di2 is nice but it wont make you faster.
There are other wheels less expensive than Enve that are just as fast.

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A false humanity is used to impose its opposite, by people whose cruelty is equalled only by their arrogance

I have a 2013 P5 (bought at year end with a nice discount). I went with SRAM Red and use HED Jet6/9 wheelset. Love the bike and setup.

Save money and don't buy the ENVEs. Get a set of HED Jets and with the money saved you can get Di2

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Am I right in thinking that a pair of mavic cosmic carbone SLE wheels on a P5 is a daft idea ?

I got my P5 with Dura Ace 9000 mechanical and got a 1080 front and Zipp disc wheels. Glad with my choice...

P5 with di2 and flo wheels.

/thread

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blog

I was told by my LBS not to consider mechanical dura ace as the cable routing is a nightmare, loads of sharp angles and generally not very good. That's what has put me off ?

Your LBS says it's a nightmare because it's quite tedious to work on any bike that has internally routed cables. Not because it's hard, it just requires some patience and paying attention to detail. It probably takes them twice as long to put the bike together out of the box than any non super bike. If you are decent wrench (or even just want to learn), I wouldn't let your LBS steer you away from mechanical. If you want a set it and forget it, get di2. With the super bikes, you do have pay more attention to cable and housing lengths.

When buying my trek SC, I went back and forth between mechanical and di2. I didn't need di2 and the price of mechanical over di2 was enticing. But I'm a techie person and I like having the latest and greatest. I knew it would drive me crazy later if I went with mechanical so I went with di2 and couldn't be happier. I wasn't expecting to like or need the bull horn shifters as much as I do. So I'm glad I went with di2.

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flash bike, flash group set, shit wheels

I wouldn't go as far as shit wheels but yes they aren't zipps.

OP is obviously trying to save some money for decent race wheels. IMO, flo's are decent wheels and you can't beat the price.

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blog

Thank you. I feel it has to be di2, gonna keep this bike for many years and will always regret not getting it.

As its di2 gonna have to go for the p3.

The other thing to think about is whether to get the mechanical for now and upgrade later? I had this debate buying my P5 last month. I went mechanical purely on price. I was stretching myself buying the bike and couldn't afford the extra.

Don't know about the states, but here in the UK they wanted an extra £1000 for di2. A brief search and I think I can get it myself for about £700. It's actually cheaper to put it on myself.

Bear in mind that once you've brought a P3 frame that is much harder to change than the groupset! Like me, you will have this bike for years. For me, I wanted the P5 even though I know I would have been 99% as quick on a P3. I may treat myself to di2 in time for the races this summer, but mechanical works fantastically for now.

Thanks iron mike I am in the U.K. too. You make an interesting point. Does it shift well. No issues ?

We're talking about mechanical Dura Ace. It shifts like a dream. Absolutely no problems at all. I'm pretty sure Cervelo would have been more than slated by now in the press etc had they built a bike that sort of worked for 5 grand. It's not as if electronic is foolproof anyway. A good friend of mine DNF'd a recent Ironman that he'd travelled half way around the world for because he hit a pothole and it sent the electronics mental - the Derailleur went into crash saver mode or whatever it is it does. He couldn't reset it mid race for some reason and was stuck in the top cog with only the front derailleur working. Race over.

With the P5, you wouldn't need to buy the brakes as you get them on the frame, and I have a SRM crank, so for me I don't need a DA crank. That means, if I want to go electronic in the future, I only need the front and rear derailleurs and the shifter buttons, and of course the wiring and battery. As I said, shopping around I think it comes to about £700 or so. I'm in two minds as to whether it is worth it. It is whiz bang and flashy of course, but it's not a necessity.

Just back from a 2 hour blast on the P5 now and it really does pick up incredible speed in a straight line. I'm in a far more aggressive position than on my old bike too which will help matters. I think the biggest issue I am having currently is how narrow the Adura bars are - they really tuck you in tight, which given that I am a broad shouldered bloke is going to take some getting used to.

That's wrong. It's not even difficult to route the P5 for mechanical shifting.

I hate seeing stories like this because it just suggests a lack of education on the part of the shop to this consumer. This would have been very easy to fix. Maybe 1-3 minutes depending on location of junction box.

I have had the shifting cable snap also, game over.

If I get a new bike, no question it will be Di2. Time for some fun.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Absolutely. The point is that neither system is 100% fool proof, whether it be user error such as not charging the battery, or something like a cable snapping etc. The point I am making is that I don't think that reliability is a reason not to buy either system. Both are going to be 99% reliable, and if it's not your day it's not your day. If money were no object, I would have gone electric on the P5. I like the idea of the shifters on the bars for changing gear whilst climbing hills as opposed to having to reach to the end of the tri bars all the time you want to change up. I may well get this sorted for my races in the summer as mentioned, but my point to the original poster is that I think he can do it himself, or pay his LBS to do it cheaper than buying it at the same time as the bike. This may not be 100% true if he needs the crank as well as that would add the extra £300 or so, but for me it is cheaper to do it after purchase.

I think if the choice is P3 electronic versus P5 mechanical, I would get the P5 mechanical as you can upgrade the components in the years to come when you have the cash, but you are stuck with the frame, well unless you buy a new one of course!

I have just the opposite thoughts. As Dev posted, he got a P3 since it was easier to work on. Between those 2 choices, I would go with the P3 with Di2. The difference in speed, if any, is minor.
I want some fun factor.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

There is a difference. It may or may not be minor. A P3 w/ Di2 is a much "messier" system than a P5 with mechanical.

How much time in a 40K bike leg?

I am already having a hard time thinking about spending 5 to 10K to save a minute or 2 from my existing bike times.

Messier, yep, but until the day I hear a person who got Di2 takes it off and is not loving it, then ....

.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I went with mechanical 10 speed on this P5 which I have just finished building up - having had 9 speed on my 2005 P3c which served me well for 9 years and being able to still use my Lew Pro VT 1 wheels (which cannot go 11 speed) made it a simple choice.

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Chris Walker.
Gibraltar,
Europe

I have used mechanical ultegra and then when I received a new P5 frame I switched to Di2 ultegra.

Here is what I think.

Mechanical is PITA for your bike shop. It will take a little fiddling and testing to get it right. Once it is right, however, it is right.

Di2 offers no substantial advantages beyond installation in my view. Shifting performance is not better, and tri riding means less shifting anyhow. Another aspect of Di2 i active dislike is how I have had to fiddle with my finger position on the bars to avoid accidentally shifting...trust me...it is not a fun experience to be riding 53/11 hard and suddenly ride 39/11.

Without an option to reliably (and here I mean warrantied non home tech work, because I am not a technical person!) to install shifters on the bullhorns, I see little advantage on the Di2. In the end, mechanical is dead. But if you are worried about money, saving money and going with mechanical is not a very large hit if any at all on the use and enjoyment of the bike. But then again, if you are worried about money...you already know the answer....P3!

I went with the di2 to appease my LBS who are friends...certainly made their lives easier...but nothing in it for me that I value!

i just took my di2 off my bike. Got tired of the what if during travel. While I could afford di2, idk if I could stomach a 500 dollar derailleur if I needed it in a pinch. Went to ultegra 6800 and am perfectly content. I can get parts at any lbs when I need it and get peace of mind when traveling. Routing is no less clean and I haven't gotten any slower :)