Electronic is awesome. Ride a bike with it to check it out. You will never want anything else.

Electronic shifting is the way to go on tri bikes. The amount of cable and housing causes serious delays in shifting and the electronic shifting eliminates drag and all delays ... serious upgrade

Even 10 year old bikes shouldn't drop chains. Seems like the front derailleur isn't properly adjusted (or there is a chain/crankset issue).

Having said that...
-Yes, mechanical groups have come along to some extent and are reliable. They can also be a pain in the butt to set up; so if trouble shooting isn't your thing, then mechanical might not be any better than it was 10 years ago (and harder to set up right in the first place).

-Di2 is very reliable, shift are easier to initiate at the levers, ...but it all comes at a price. It's also a pain in the butt to swap from bike to bike (this could be my lack of experience in finding places to install batteries).

I have tried both and stuck with mechanical. But I still appreciate the quality of Di2.

That salesman does not ride very often and definetly does not race bikes. DI2 is the best shifting period, mechanical is very good today but DI2 never fails. I have literally not adjusted my two DI2 bikes in the last year. For raod bikes the sprint shifters are a game changer. For TT bikes the integrated shift/brake levers are incredcibly nice. The front shifting is always perfect with no issues, you can be sprinting and shift from big to small ring or vise versa. The other advantage is if you have different wheelsets with potentially different hub spacing you can quickly micro adjust the RD with the touch of a button.

Well the investment for upgrading a 10 year old bike might not be a great idea. If you have a road bike you really should think about whether you want to go the disc route, which let's face it is where the industry is going. Upgrading to new levers if you ever go to disc will cost a fair amount. You might be better in the long run just doing the big upgrade to new frame with Ultegra disc and fancy wheels.

Tri/TT bike is a little different. I did an eTap 1X on my TT bike and total cost was only about 700$ for derailleur, blips and blipbox. No changing levers or any additional expenses. Di2 will be a bit less straight-forward if you want shifting on the levers. And I will add that wires are stupid.

I’ve got a new roadie with SRAM eTap and it shifts beautifully - but I also have an indifferently maintained CX bike with a basic Rival drivetrain that shifts almost as well. I put a lot of miles on the CX bike this spring training for the Belgian Waffle Ride and I remember thinking “should I be mad my Red eTap and 4-5 year old Rival bike shift almost as well as each other, or happy?”

If you’re going with a new bike, particularly a tri bike, electronic will make you feel like you’ve joined the 21st century and for the ~ $500 difference it’s a nice ergonomic upgrade, but the group set probably won’t change you ur finishing position.

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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978

Could always do something like I'm doing now. Constantly search classifieds for parts a pieces to upgrade my IA16 to di2. I currently have everything I need for Ultegra 6870 (with DA shifters and brifters) except for internal battery, a junction A, and a few wires I haven't measured for yet. Ive spent only 495 bucks so far and hope to get the rest for 250. After getting a steep discount on the IA16, it'll be much less than the cost jump to an IA10 which comes stock with di2. And everything I've got is basically in "like new" condition. If you don't mind some blemishes, it can be done even cheaper.

I just realized it wasn't clear from the way my post is written, but yes I meant to say that I am shopping for a new bike, no intention of trying to mount new components on the old frame. And, yes, disc brakes are the other must have on my list, ultegra hydraulic.

yes 100% definitely for a tri / TT bike.

IMO no for a road bike.

Why "no" for a road bike?

I've got Di2 on my TT bike and it's brilliant. But my current (temporary) road bike is using mechanical Ultegra (2017) and is flawless, but i'm still 99% sure that my bike upgrade later this year will be to a Di2 bike.

I have Di2 on my road bike - it is "nice" for sure, I like it - but really the performance benefit is almost zero.

Would I pay extra for Di2 on my next road bike - probably not. If money is not an issue then of course go for what is nice and Di2 is certainly nice. But if money is in anyway a consideration for you then save your money and spend it on something else.

....whereas on the TT bike the performance benefit is clear - I could not imagine not being able to shift from the base bars and aero-bars - seems really dangerous on a technical course, especially a descent but also the ascent, where you are spending a lot of time on the base bars to have to go to the bar ends to make a manual gear change.

I went with etap on my old road bike and love it. In fact I started getting New Bike Fever late 2016 and I quenched that desire by changing out the drivetrain and I am so glad that I did. My old LOOK lugged CF frame is just as good as anything current day for a road bike and is under 15 lbs. With the etap wifli I was able to go 11-32 and upsize the rings to 52-36 and climb just about any steep sections in my area with no issues. The bike looks and feels like it is brand new and even the guys at the shop that race crits could not believe how light and responsive the bike feels.

With the upgrade I save a whole lot of money on a new frame that may not be any better. Plus with a slight bit of arthritis now in my fingers it is super sweet to shift with such little effort and it is on the money for shifting even under heavy torque on a standing climb. I know Di2 is just as good if not better in many ways so I am not necessarily plugging etap, but rather electronic shifting was a good deal for me and I plan to upgrade my new IA16 at some point to either Di2 or etap.

Depending on the frame and the condition I see no problem doing an upgrade on an older bike as well.

Do you need it no but it is such a greater pleasure riding your bike. I ride bikes for pleasure...

I dont want to get into an argument but if you are noy sure you can afford it don't ever ever try it

trust me

True that. The question now is DI2 or Etap? Vision is coming...

Tandems (if you have that perversion...) are one place I can really see electronic shifting being a benifit,

Spend the $30 at your LBS and have the front shifter cable replaced and derailleur tuned. I haven't dropped a chain in years.

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

My view is that I shift a lot more on my road bike, and shifting properly is more important when trying to match quick pace changes within a group. On my tri bike I pretty much pick my gear and grind for long periods of time. For that reason, electronic shifting is way more valuable to me on my road bike.

I have both.
Recommend DI2 for TT and etap on road.

I have Ultegra mechanical on my Speed Concept and my wife has Ultegra Di2 on her P2. Both work great but I have to admit I'm kinda jealous of her electronic shifters. It's worked flawlessly and shifts quickly. It's particularly nice just hitting a button to change the front chain ring rather than a long lever pull.

Is it worth the money? Absolutely yes if you have the extra money to spend because it's 'nice,' but it won't make you any faster IMO. If you're on a tight budget, spend the money on wheels, an aero helmet, a coach, etc.

Mostly good replies so far. It seems we all have different ideas of "worth it" here. A couple things to keep in mind specific to road bikes.

You're paying nearly $1,000 more for the di2 version of something up front if you're buying a new bike. Ultegra di2 is not worth $1000 more than mechanical di2 on a road bike. I pieced together an Ultegra di2 group (plus extra shift buttons) for about $400 over what I sold my equivalent mechanical shifters and derailleurs for (and a couple hours of work).

Which components does your 2009 bike have? Dura Ace 7800 and Ultegra 6600 from around then were some of the best shifting until very recent years. I'm not a sucker for nostalgia, those groupsets just shifted really well. Unless you're going straight to something like the most recent Dura Ace 9100 or Ultegra 8000, I don't *feel* the mechanical shifting is leaps and bounds ahead of the 7800/6600 stuff right before 7900/6700 starting being put on bikes around 2010. The 7900/6700 was a a step backwards that wasn't entirely remedied with the 9000/6800 series.

As somebody else said, a few bucks for a new cable, cable housing and front derailleur tune are probably worth it for current riding and will make it easier to resell when you do upgrade since the chain won't drop during a test ride. If your chain is dropping to the outside, half or a full clockwise turn on the "H" screw might be enough to stop that. There's a good guide here.

di2 front shifting (and auto trim) is really nice once it's set up properly.

Electronic shifting on a road bike has some significant advantages but whether it is "worth it' to you depends on how you ride (and how much of a financial stretch it is).

Electronic shifting is flawless in normal conditions but, as others have pointed out, the higher end mechanical group sets are too. In normal use, the advantage of electronic comes down to the fact it does not go out of adjustment over time or when your drive train gets dirty.

Where electronic shifting excels and surpasses mechanical by a clear margin is in hard riding. You can make flawless shifts under load. That is a huge advantage if you are racing or riding really hard. Also, shifting by button press vs lever throw is way easier when you are under stress. It also eases shifting in different hand portions even without installing extra buttons. More comfortable shifting just using your ring finger in a certain hand position? You can do that with electronic shifting. Rolling along in the drops at 28 mph in a crowded crit at a critical time and you want to go down a gear? One finger does it, no compromise in your hand position on the bars. Need to shift while standing up on a climb? Electronic shifting can handle that. Doing any of that stuff in the rain or with seriously dirty drive train? No problem, the shifts are the same.

Electronic shifting is great and worth it if you can afford it. But the harder you ride, the more you will love it.

Thanks all for the comments. Yes, I recognize all of these things are "wants" and not "needs."
Since you ask...
My current bike is a 2009 Trek Madone 4.7 with ultegra components (was it 6600?). I love the bike, and never had any desire to upgrade until the past year or so. I am getting close to age 50, and starting to want to do some big rides that have been on my bucket list. This year I'm doing Levi's Gran Fondo, and in the next year or two I hope to go to Europe and get a taste of the big mountains, and this is what has got me thinking. One issue is that I am not exactly what you would call a natural born climber, so I would like to be able to put some bigger cogs in the back, and with my current groupset the biggest I can do is a 28. There is a 10-speed ultegra cassette with a 30, but I'm told that won't fit on my bike because the derailleur cage is not long enough. I am also skittish on the downhills, so I thought disc brakes would be nice. Also, I thought a newer frame might be a little more comfortable for long rides with rough roads.
Again, none of these things are absolute requirements, but since I did get 10 years of use out of this bike, and intend to make the next one last as long, and since I can afford it and do not have any other big indulgences that I like to spend money on, and since I am getting close to 50 and my years of epic rides may be numbered, my wife has given me the go ahead to get my dream-bike.
Now don't get me wrong, I have no interest in getting a $12,000 superbike with marginal gains that I won't even be able to notice. But I don't mind indulging in some extravagances, as long as I'm actually going to notice and enjoy them, which it sounds like that would be the case with electronic shifting. So I'm looking at an ultegra DI2 bike with disc brakes that 's good for zippy club rides around here, but also good to take on big climbs and long rides. I was thinking the Cervelo R3 would fit my needs nicely.

Electronic shifting is not worth it. Gears are not worth it. Ride fixed, or, if there are steep hills to go down, a single speed freewheel.

This proliferation of unnecessary gadgets is pure evil.