Do you use wheels with carbon braking surface?
do you ride in the rain a lot?

The maguras will be nice for that.

If not, the Omegas can work out pretty well and you can probably manage to route the cables nicely through the p5 aerobar.

---

---

Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Thanks for the response. I'm running Zipp 808 FC so yes carbon braking surface and live in the UK so yes occasional rain even as I type!!

I faced a similar decision on my NP3. But I really wanted the Maguras. When I want to stop, I want to stop, as infrequently as that is. Anyway, I have Ultegra Di2 which means no shifting on the bull horns, which I want. I have ordered the "climbing shifter" and the shop is installing tomorrow. I haven't seen it in person so I don't know how clunky it is, I'll find out tonight and figure out exactly where I want it mounted. I suspect on the Magura brake, inside, against the base part of the lever.

Plus, in my case, the bike came with those brakes and I would have had to purchase any other brakes and thus increase my expense beyond the price point of the bike which was already beyond my price point.

---

BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.

Do you have one bike or two? I only have one, a tri bike, and cannot imagine going without shifters on the bullhorns. If I had a road bike for climbing days, I might reconsider.

But with all that said, I specifically got the brake/shifters for my A race (IMWI) because I'll be on the horns enough to warrant it.

My race bike has been a Cervelo S5 set up for tri. I love being able to change when sat up and am feeling that I would miss this more than what the magura might give me. Actually as I have never tried them it might be difficult to miss them :-)

I'm surprised this is debated among P5 owners. I view satellite Di2 shifting on the brake levers as an advantage when racing, especially on more technical courses. I would not want to race without it. In contrast, I've never found traditional brakes inadequate when racing.

In other words, Maguras are an expensive and complicated solution to a problem I don't have. Worse, without the hack, they take away the advantage of satellite shifting.

I train on Zipp FCs, in the wet, and on the hills without issue. If you feel the conditions ever necessitate, ride your road bike.

Keep the the satellite Di2. Next best option is the hack. The worst option is Maguras without satellite Di2.

Most folks who race triathlons do not have satellite shifting on their brakes, and they have survived racing to this day.

I have a P56 with Magura brakes and really like that setup.

why would you be out of aero enough to warrant it on the IMWI course? might be a nice to have, but I don't see why you would be out of aero and needing to shift. maybe tucked, but then no shifty. I guess folks have forgotten the art or never learned to select your gear for out of turn just before you enter it, if braking is needed. alas, I digress.

then there is the fellow that needs it for technical courses, guess they have gotten more technical than they were pre electronic shifting.

none of this is meant as a hit against di2/ui2/etc, just a commentary on the reasons given for needing/desiring it are no better than those that hold on to it not being necessary.

personally, I'd love to have it for the auto trim on the FD. that is the only thing annoying to me about mechanical(and the point to where the UCI now measures extensions)

Are we talking about the same course? I'm not talking about turns, I'm talking about the hills.

Also, if you don't have Di2, I don't think you're in a position to argue against it. Just sayin.

I wouldn't muck up my Six trying to cobble parts together, might as well get the Three and run whatever brakes you want. I had shifting on the bullhorns on my argon and don't miss it on my Six. I can say that my Six goes faster on less watts than my argon did.

that is a strawman if ever there was one.

yes, same course, but then again I ride up hills in aero frequently, even in small ring. I suppose when going slow enough it won't matter aero or not, but I'd put that down at sub 10 mph. sub 10 mph usually will mean I am in my lowest gear, so again it would be of no help to me. as soon as speed starts to pick up I am in aero and shifting is right there. hard to imagine a scenario where I want to shift more than 1x before being in aero as my watts are precious few(IMO) and I don't need to be throwing them away by sitting up(see disclaimer below)

I only TT ;) so I don't need to worry about running or "nutrition"

I have a P5-6 and just went through the process of adding shifting buttons to my maguras a couple weeks ago. I took apart the ST-9071 and found a guy that does soldering professional on craiglist and then epoxied them after he was done. The installation was easy and they were recognized as 9071 and upgraded the firmware. There is a thread on here how to take the 9071s apart.

---

ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |

Have you ever ridden IMWI at .7-.75 FTP? Did you look at your speed when climbing? Did you ride it again with Di2 and compare times?

No? Well I have. And having Di2 made a difference not only on speed but comfort.

FWIW... these threads are supposed to be informative... aka advice based on knowledge... not feel. So thanks for coming on.

How did you control for wind with that test?

I would expect any such speed gain would be due to...well I dunno what it could be due to except brief moments of worse CdA when climbing as you reach out to your extension to shift.

Should be able to quantify if that is where speed was different by looking at moments when cadence changes suddenly.

---

---

Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

I agree... the "test" wasn't apples for apples. I'm purely basing this on how quickly I could get myself up to speed and it made enough of a difference for me to say it's worth it. I'm not saying I was 10 minutes faster. I'm just saying it was faster.

your bed break this AM?

I have ridden on the course many times, though only single loops. I don't generally ride below 0.75

I know my speeds when climbing out there, whether an easy 0.75 loop ride or a VO2 interval up a hill, I have a garmin, it edumicates me on speed(which is not a benchmark I use for pacing or racing).

I am amazed that you were able to find exact weather condition days/times of day to ride out there with exactly the same available power to make such a determination. must be great to be you. In TTing on same courses, my times are never the same from one event to the next, not even back to back on same day(well it has been twice with once the second run being faster on less watts, as course was more "known"). conditions change, they change the results. tossing an anecdote out as a reason to have brake lever shifting is a folly. I did not realize the shift buttons were so comfortable. air ride?

all that said, I would not trade my maguras for di2 brake levers. you do use maguras don't you?

this brings up an interesting story, or perhaps made up story, but 2 weeks ago a racer with di2 was telling me about someone they knew that went to kona. their di2 went to sleep in transit and they could not wake it up. rather than seek tech support(shimano all over the place) they skipped the race.

Nope, didn't break the bed... just annoyed with someone who has started every single post with a negative or disagreeing comment.

Errr... You do realize that all eTubes Di2 (such as your current Ultegra) are compatible with both the 6871 and 9071 TT shifters/brakes? It's what I use...

This is a more contentious issue than I thought. Here's my opinion put another way...

If you had a $750 equipment budget, how would you spend it?

A. Things that make you faster, e.g. aero helmet, deeper front wheel, rear disc cover
B. Things that make you a little faster, e.g. riser spacers vs. stem spacers, ceramic bearings, di2 satellite shifters
C. Things that slow you down quicker/better, e.g. hydraulic brakes

Hydraulic brakes may theoretically provide the confidence to corner faster. However, in practice, mechanical brakes perform great.

For example, I raced Boulder 70.3 two weekends ago, and despite lots of turns, my pain-in-the-ass BMC TM01 brakes did exactly what I asked of them...1) occasionally scrub a little speed and 2) stop me at the dismount line.

Except, those brakes don't work with Magura.

---

BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.

it was an OP asking for opinions. does only one side count, or should more sides be presented such that the OP can take the info and then make their decision?

I said there are good points on di2, I simply do not find all variations of di2 to be the end all be all. and yes, there are some things in life you do not need to try to have an opinion as to its use for yourself. (what the heck did I just type there? where is my grammar police daughter?)

I have no problem with someone having a difference in opinion; in fact, I agreed with the first comments about why Magura is awesome over Di2... I have a problem with how you presented it. Here is how you started your comments, do you see what I mean? All are rude.

Post 1:
why would you be out of aero enough to warrant it on the IMWI course? might be a nice to have, but I don't see why you would be out of aero and needing to shift. maybe tucked, but then no shifty. I guess folks have forgotten the art or never learned to select your gear for out of turn just before you enter it, if braking is needed. alas, I digress.

Post 2:
that is a strawman if ever there was one.

Post 3:
your bed break this AM?

Thanks for your thoughts so far.

As I first thought its a matter of personal preference so more time needed to think this over before the build starts. I didn't want to get into the Di2 vs mechanical debate as I fully appreciate I do not need Di2. But having had it for a few years I prefer it and as I write the cheque thats all that matters. I was interested in the thoughts of folks who like me had to make similar decision i.e not use something paid for as part of the frame set or give up something that I prefer to have unless the brakes as so much better the loss of Di2 on the brake levers would be worth it.

I use my brakes for 3 things in a Triathlon.
1) Slow down for turnarounds.
2) Stop at T2.
3) Emergencies.

In other words, hardly ever. The only time I use them descending is if there is a 90 degree corner / switchback I need to slow for and there are very few Tris where I've encountered those. Having ridden for over 40 years I am quite comfortable at higher speeds and cornering.

As an older fat guy, I change gears a lot and I've missed not having shift capability while on the horns. Going up a hill and cresting before getting back in aero requires me to move my hands around more and I likely don't shift as much as if I had a shifter on the tight bull horn (which is what is getting added tomorrow).

Part of the allure of the Magura Brakes is the fact that they are newer technology and are hydraulic. I like that and I'm a technology geek. Similar thing with Di2.

I've ridden bikes with poor brakes and I don't like it (although I'll still ride them, just a bit differently).

Overall, for me, I would get more use out of shift capability than brake capability. I'd use the shifters a bunch more. But that would be predominantly the right (rear) shifter.

I plan to go with the "climbing" shifter and see how it feels. If I don't like it I'll do a hack of some kind.

---

BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.