I’ve talked with Giant reps and the eTap solution is as I’ve described, hide the blipbox in the bento loosely (or creatively find a way to secure it inside the blipbox). Fitting the 4 eTap wires through the headtube is the only way to go as well.
I have my own Trinity Adv. Pro 1 and the Avow I’m working on is for a customer at my bike shop. I was just wondering if anyone out here has come up with some other solution!
Every bike comes with a bunch of extras like those velcro pieces when it’s shipped to the bike shop. I believe those velcro pieces are technically for securing a Di2 junction box, or a Blipbox, but I didn’t use them either.
Where Can you get the new bento box with slit hoping to find online
Contact the store you bought the bike. They will hook you up. If you got it direct, find a local Giant distributor and sweet talk them a bit. Have your serial number handy. IF they won’t help you, ask for thier contact’s info. It oughta be free, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they charge you for the effort involved.
Has anyone installed the D-Fly EW-WU111 unit on their Di2 equipped Trinity Advanced? It’s the new inline wireless transmitter so I don’t think mounting on the seat stay makes any sense. Shimano recommends not installing the unit inside the bike, but on the Trinity everything is internal so there aren’t many other options.
I have the old version mounted in the bento box, rubber-banded to the A-junction. It works just fine, broadcasting to the computer mounted on my bars.
(On my roadie, a TCR, it’s in the seattube and also works, but BT might not be as good transmitting through the frame as ANT+).
So, you have two easy spots to mount it: in the bento or in the front headtube cover. I bet either would work.
I have mine in one of the aero extensions, with some bar tape around it to avoid rattling. Mind you that I have the SW-R9160 extension shifters, which come without cables, so I have a 150mm cable between that and the wireless unit, so there’s not a whole lot of cable I have to cram into the extension.
I had the old one installed in the BB and it worked fine. I then bought the new one and installed it in place of the old one and it still works fine. My Garmin 820 head unit picks it up no problem every time.
Considering the two major upgrades to most bikes are storage and wheels…
Well, this bike has storage handled pretty well, with the new front bottle and bento.
Where do you stash a flat kit? I taped some stuff (tube, co2, inflator, lever) up under the saddle between the seat post and a rear hanging bottle. It fit all right, but would be a tough time getting anything back in there after a flat repair. I wish the down tube bottle was a little bigger. I may still cut off the top and put most of this stuff in there and maybe just the tube under the seat. Has anyone cut up this bottle yet?
What other upgrades have you done?
So far, I:
swapped out the S-bends for ski bends and my wrists are happier for it.In a drunken splurge, I got a fouriers carbon framed pulley hanger with gold 12/16t pulleys and ceramic bearings. It was $150. I regret nothing.gold kmc chain, same circumstances as above.Zipp TT computer mount.Flo 60/disc with corsa speed
I just got mine I am super excited about it. I have a question from a first time tri bike owner: to change the extensions for the ski bend do you have to re do all the gear cable? do you use giant ski extension or are there other compatible options?
I just got mine I am super excited about it. I have a question from a first time tri bike owner: to change the extensions for the ski bend do you have to re do all the gear cable? do you use giant ski extension or are there other compatible options?
thanks,
Alejandro
Hi Alejandro,
Unfortunately, yes. The Di2 TT shifters do not have quick release plugs, so you have to remove the two small allen screws near the switches, then the large lock screw going straight into the bar (this one may be reverse thread…there’s an arrow), then take apart the front chin, under the ‘stem’ (5 allen screws) to reveal the B junction box. You may also need to drop the bar (one vertical silver screw, head to the ground) to get more wiggle room pulling those wires out the cutouts in the basebar.
It took me a few hours, learning as I went. I could probably redo it in 30 minutes. If they simply unplugged from the shifters, it would take 10 minutes.
If you have mechanical cables, same rules apply, but you have to run the cables all the way down to your derailleurs. That will add some significant time to the project, but it is a good skill to know.
While you have the chin off, reinforce those wires that go into the headtube cutout. If the wires are unplugged, put heatshrink around them. If not, tape them with strong (gorilla is my preference) tape. When you steer, they rub and eventually break. This is the biggest design flaw of the bike.
The extensions are standard - 22.2 mm. I got some 3T aluminum extensions. They were about $40. I didn’t want carbon in case I wanted to flip them around or redrill the cable exit holes. I’ll take a few grams for that piece of mind.
If you have any questions, ask away…and post a picture!
In a drunken splurge, I got a fouriers carbon framed pulley hanger with gold 12/16t pulleys and ceramic bearings. It was $150. I regret nothing.gold kmc chain, same circumstances as above.
I haven’t cut up the down tube bottle yet, but I can’t think of any place to store a flat kit. For 70.3 I try to ride as minimal as possible which means I remove the downtube bottle and the seat mounted bottle. I’m just going with the front aero bottle as I can fit enough fluid in there that I need. The only downside is that I’d like to carry a bit of solid nutrition (a bar and a gel) as well as a flat kit. For now, I stashed the flat kit in the bento, but that leaves no room for anything else. Taping a gel and bar to the stem seems so lame. A tube with a 100mm stem is tough to store under the saddle…
I was going to say that I use on my Trinity a behind-the-seat double cage mount for a flat kit, but since you’re going minimal, that won’t work for you.
I haven’t cut up the down tube bottle yet, but I can’t think of any place to store a flat kit. For 70.3 I try to ride as minimal as possible which means I remove the downtube bottle and the seat mounted bottle. I’m just going with the front aero bottle as I can fit enough fluid in there that I need. The only downside is that I’d like to carry a bit of solid nutrition (a bar and a gel) as well as a flat kit. For now, I stashed the flat kit in the bento, but that leaves no room for anything else. Taping a gel and bar to the stem seems so lame. A tube with a 100mm stem is tough to store under the saddle…
I haven’t cut up the down tube bottle yet, but I can’t think of any place to store a flat kit.
I cut up the downtube bottle last night. I did a horizontal cut, right about where it starts tapering towards the mouth piece. You can stash 2 tubes, a lever, CO2, inflator (I have the shiny objects one…super small) without it bulging out too much. Since the walls of that bottle are quite thin, any packing in will cause a little deformation. I taped the top back on with some 1" gorilla tape and it looks good to go.
I stashed another CO2 in the tritone ‘behind the saddle’ bottle mount. There’s alittle threaded hole. This way, I have 2 tubes (one set up for the disc (40mm stem) and one for the 60 front (80 mm)) and enough gas to inflate them both. I guess I could change the 80 mm stemmed tube to a 40+40 extension and jam a spare 40 mm extension with the lever. That way I could either flat the same tire twice or one of each before getting into trouble.
For Victoria, that’ll give me the big front bottle for drinking and a bottle behind the saddle to fill it back up. Flat kit on the downtube. Gels in the bento.
(Tinypic was being troublesome. If the pics above don’t load, I’ll try again later.)
I remove the downtube bottle
…and BTW, when I tested in the tunnel, I was faster with the downtube bottle than without it.
Hey, I’ll see you in Victoria! I’ll be the other guy with a Trinity!
You’ve got a great setup there. Probably the best setup possible on this bike with the included storage. Using front bottle for liquid, bento for food, and downtube for flat kit is a smart way to go. If I wasn’t so cheap I’d cut up the bottle right now and my problems would be solved!
Very interesting that wind tunnel showed you faster with the bottle.
Have you seen a source to rebuy the downtube bottle?
I’m totally happy with how the cut up one turned out, but I may like a spare in case I change it up in the future. That’s a great sized bottle for a diluted gel mix.
Yeah, see ya in Vic! These bikes are certainly more rare, but I’m sure there will be at least 5-10 of em out there.
Giant doesn’t even list the bottle on their site as far as I can tell. I’m sure I could track one down by calling the Giant rep. But I found this sketchy option through the ol’ google machine. I’m sure the bottle would be about $25-30 Cad which isn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.
Just got this bike last week and raced it at Eagleman. Love it.
I got the fluoro orange Ultegra Di2 model. I think it looks damn hot.
First time I own a bike with Di2. Wow, it is sweet.
For a superbike (and in general really), it is super simple to work on. I don’t know what all the fuss is about that I’ve read various places. I can’t imagine it being easier to adjust. The pad height, width, extension position, saddle etc, all really easy to modify.
The integrated water bottle, also no issues. Very nicely designed.
The bento box is nice, but made only for gels or bars. I use a First Endurance squeezie bottle, and it ejected early on in the race, as it doesn’t fit well in there (kinda screwed up my race!). The problem with this bento box is that it has a base with sidewalls, which makes the actual usable space narrower. I will have to find an alternative to carrying that little bottle. But I can’t knock the bike for this, as it was clearly designed for the 90% of use cases, which would be gels/bars.
I flew with the bike back home. Packed it in my EVOC bag. Took about 45min being very careful since it was the first time I had ever taken it apart. Could probably do it in 30min or less next time. Still, I’d say it was not any more difficult than my old P2. It just has more bolts and some Di2 cables that need to be unplugged.
Brakes feel really solid. Also simple enough to adjust. There is a kind of barrel adjuster built in, so it is possible to adjust the brakes without having to deal with the cable.
Rear brake is a bit of a pain to get to, since it is mounted under the BB and has a cover. But this is true of all superbikes.
Looks like the wheels that came with it are the same width as my race wheels, so luckily don’t have to make changes. Changing pads is annoying on any bike, so can’t knock this bike for that.
Flat kit: I have always stuffed a tube, lever and C02 with inflator under the saddle.
Overall, I am super impressed with this bike. Fit, finish, design is top notch. Just need to dial in my fit and position now. I’m really happy.
EDIT
What I don’t like:
The S-Bend extensions. My hands really want ski bend or similar. Other options should be available - Giant should at least give shops an inventory of a few options and give customers the choice for initial build.
The arm pads/cups. I will be replacing these too. For one, the pads themselves are larger than the cups, and they are attached with tape, meaning after adjusting a couple of times, the stickiness will wear off. I want a velcro attachment system. And cups that hug my arms/elbows more.
Looks awesome! Glad you like it. I have the same model and I love it so far.
I’m not sure how you think it’s easy to work on though. I’m a bike mechanic and I’ve built a few of these now, and for my bike I plan to get the Scicon bag, which costs more than most, for the sole reason that I won’t have to touch that front end!
