Just go SRAM now...

I used to really like Sram

then my Sram Red RD snapped at the knuckle, my Sram Red RHS shifter had a snapped shifter paddle, and my Sram Red LHS shifter has a shifter paddle that's almost snapped

The defect with the RD, I could understand. The QC issue with the Red RHS shifter (and Sram's subsequent non-response) really turned me off of its products. Their first gen Red RHS shifters never had that issue (while it was a known issue on Rival and Force RHS shifters), and somehow, Sram managed to let the issue spread up its product line

Well I was planning on building up a Di2 bike this fall. So I imagine about 3 months after I finish a new version will come out

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Matt

I have a friend that is very close to a pro tour team. Supposedly Shimano asked pro tour teams a couple years back if there was an interest in a wireless Di2 version. The Mechanics provided Shimano feedback that there was no interest in wireless, since all (or nearly all ) high end frames come designed for internal Di2, and Di2, just works really well and works really reliably. Maybe their answer is different today, but you don’t see many teams on etap....

My partner and I were earlier adopters to etap, and have well north of a combined 20,000 miles on
. We previously had mechanical Dura Ace. Our bikes, like yours, were not built for Di2 (older pre Di2 frames) and we wanted to go electronic (replacing our internal cables was a PITA). Etap, has lots of niggles: randomly unpairing (and no shifting until you re-pair), front derailleur alignment periodically going out of alignment, ghost front derailleur shifting (going quickly from high low high), battery tabs cracking, and I know of many that have front derailleur chain drop issues. I have a good friend, that after sram warrantied his rear etap derailleur for the 3rd time for failing during a ride, he gave up and went back to Di2. He was a 10 speed Di2 user previously... Another friend, has also had rear derailleur failures, and batteries cracking, as well.

It’s definitely not a set and forget system, nor as robust as Di2. Maybe their new system is better?

I’ve since, replaced my SRAM red crank, brake set, chain, and cassette with Dura Ace and its quieter and shifts better. Now if only Shimano would make a wireless version....

I also, thought about paying for retrofitting my frame to take wires for Di2, but I had worn out my prior Dura Ace Parts, so going wireless helped take care of two items: new group set and no internal retrofit needed.

You'd think there would have to be a weight penalty with a wireless system, having to have separate batteries for each component; that's going to be a hard sell for a Dura Ace product line.

Not to mention the usability issues with charging each component and as people said about Sram, connectivity issues. I'm not surprised the pro teams weren't keen on it but I guess that doesn't help your situation!

I'd like to see the Di2 system split into two.The FD/RD mechs on one battery/bus and the front end on another, both connected wirelessly. I could live with a two battery groupset if it was designed well. Say a ShiferBUS and a MechBUS. ShifterBUS battery would be lot smaller than what is required on the rear. The RD pigtail has to go too.

Once there is a wireless system for it to tap into, non essential shifters such as TT/Tri blips could be wireless with coin-cell....

And the system HAS to come with ANT+/BLE integration as standard.

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Shane Miller - GPLama
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I hope DI2 never goes wireless. The current iteration just really works well with no fuss and no issues. Why jeopardize the aspect that delivers its great reliability? I have DI2 wired internally on my bike and I can see all of six inches of cable in total. I can understand the desire for wireless on travel bikes or coupled frames but for the vast majority of bikes it's perfect the way it is.

YMMV.

I prefer wires. I used the original 7970 10 speed di2 for 6 years and it never missed a beat, still works perfectly now. Now I also have the latest generation Ultegra di2 and thats perfect too.............. however, I tried to use the Di2 wireless unit in the system just so I could communicate with my garmin and change settings with my phone but that single piece of hardware caused loads of issues.............. it drained the battery, bricked the system twice and was just a big PITA to use with the phone app. I removed the wireless unit from the system and it's worked flawlessly ever since, settings etc. I don't mind plugging in to change. Based on this experience it would take a lot of convincing for me to go wireless especially with almost all frames catering for internal wiring.

Indeed. I heard of bluetooth issues with DI2 from the day that unit was introduced. Plugging it in via cable to a pc to both charge and update is so simple and reliable. Why muck with it? There's little reason to.

I wont even consider Di2 until it goes wireless.

All I hear from my friends is how the connectors suck. Maybe they don't know what they're doing.

I have 2 Shivs, one with Etap, and one with Di2. Di2 has smoother shifting, better battery life, and the chain doesn't drop as easily. I've had my sram chain drop several times on hard bumps. Di2 wireless would be perfect for frames with challenging routing. That said I actually ride my etap shiv more often as etap allows me to run my hydraulic rim brakes/levers and still use the bullhorn shifters.

Has been for me. About 3 years and ~20K miles with nary a missed shift. None of the problems you mention, even once. I even slid out in a rainy crit once and shaved amount a mm of metal of the RD. No issue (and crash mode worked great).

And, you aside, the internet seems mostly absent of anecdotes diatribes of eTap issues.

My impression is that SRAM knocked it out of the park.

Edit: Oh yeah, I did drop chain a few times. Adjusted the limit screws properly and it stopped. Go figure.

Your friends don't know what they are doing.

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blog

Shimano has wireless “ready” in the wings but will keep selling wired groups until they are happy with the ROI. I just hope the next Shimano group doesn’t embrace the same drivetrain losses that the SRAM AXS group does.

Beat me to it.

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Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

To me, the whole wired and wireless thing is still WAY too expensive due to limited supply and competition.

Look at similarly complex devices in other areas and how cheap reliable wireless or wired things are.

The actual electronics to make the wireless part happen is probably a couple dollars in parts and manufacturing cost. You could choose to use an existing and reliable protocol that has a library of code for it that further minimizes your cost.

You need at least 3 wireless options to compete to bring the costs down.

I'd give it 3 year

I'm an "insider", but I have heard zero about this. I'm not assuming that Shimano will ever go wireless - they *always* go for reliability over everything. A great example is their continued use of the 24mm steel crank spindle, which has stood the test of time remarkably well (and they get quite a lot of crank spec, despite it being so darn flexy, weak, heavy, and outdated compared to 30mm alloy spindles). People give them a hard time for moving slowly to new standards and ideas (never mind how massive of a ship that company is to turn) - but they rarely miss the mark once they execute.

Same here. Has been flawless so far and love that there are no cables to mess with, but I'm just generally fed up with cables for everything.

Definitely set it and forget it in my experience and love the simplicity of shifting.

I don't see Shimano signing up for all the headaches and issues that wireless introduces. The only advantage of wireless is behind you at the time of installation. Once installed, all the advantages are with the wired systems. Leaving aside the performance and reliability issues that the most popular wireless brand has experienced -- even if the hardware were equivalent, watching one battery is a lot less bother than watching four batteries of two different types.

Friends must be bike hacks. I have 3 Di2 systems and all have been nothing but flawless. Oldest system is the original Dura Ace 10 speed Di2 and it's still going strong. Only thing is the battery (original) needs to be charged more often that original.....but that is to be expected.

No issues here I have etap on road and tt bikes. Works great so far.

Yep, 3 years same wiring, zero issues.

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Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

Because the majority of Shimano's market in the drive train arena is OEM, I don't see them going wireless anytime soon. I'd wager that 80-90% (maybe more) of the people currently running r8050 or 9150 (or the hydraulic versions) all obtained them by buying it as part of a new bike from the manufacturer. Which means that there is no burden on the customer to do the initial routing, nor is there an issue with the frame not supporting internal routing or an internal battery.

I totally get how wireless improves the ability to add it to older frames, or to swap a groupset from one bike to another. But it's such a small portion of the market. ST is not a good representation of the market as this forum generally consists of people who like to tinker with their bikes, and like to talk about or ask about ways to make changes. 90% of the people I know with bikes just buy one from the shop, and the only thing they do is change tubes and tires. They take their bike in for a new chain, or to get cables and housings replaced. And if they want a new feature like electronic...they'll just buy a new complete bike.

SRAM has a much smaller share of the OEM market. So I get why they went with wireless to differentiate themselves for those people who are looking to swap groupsets easily.