Hello all-
I’m new at the whole concept of building a bike with Di2, and need some help.
Outside of the following parts, what will I need.
Front Derailleur
Rear Derailleur
Aero Bar Shifters
Brake Lever Shifters
5 port junction harness
Battery (internal one)
Wire
What else would i need to purchase (other than a crankset because I’m all set there)?
I’ve been reading and planning for a while, to upgrade my wife’s tri bike to Ultregra Di2.
You’ll need a Junction Box B, typically installed in the downtube by the bottom bracket. The 5-port junction harness hat you mention would be junction box A, installed at the stem.
And, you’ll need to decide if you want to have a wireless bluetooth connection to upgrade the firmware, and program the shifting yourself. This makes a difference in what battery you get, believe it or not! You’ll need the newer battery: BT-DN110. In addition to the correct battery model, you’ll need the “wireless” unit. This could be the EW-WU101, but I’m waiting for the EW-WU111, which is smaller and will fit inside the downtube as well. The EW-WU111 is the newer hardware, announced with the DuraAce 9100 update this fall, but not yet available on the market. Or, if you don’t care about wireless, you could either 1) have your shop do the programming for you, or 2) buy the device to plug your bike into a PC (but a Mac version isn’t available). With the bluetooth wireless connection, you will be able to use your iPad (available now) and your iPhone (expected “soon”.)
The information on the e-tube site will give you latest information on compatibility and which device model numbers you want to get: http://e-tubeproject.shimano.com/pdf/en/HM-CC.3.0.0-01-EN.pdf
You’ll also find a lot of material at this website: http://carltonbale.com/shimano-di2-everything-you-need-to-know/
Hope that helps. Let us know how your project goes.
don’t forget the charger.
oddly enough, I bought a ultegra Di2 bike, and it didn’t come with a charger.
There is a small tool you can use to plug/unplug the eTube wires, but it is not necessary. You can do it by hand and they insert with a nice, solid click. It is handy for plugging all those wires into the 5port, since your fingers are too big to get a good grip. It is less than $10.
Also, there are little grommets that plug into the frame to keep the wires from rubbing on the frame holes. They may also keep water out of your frame as well. Again, pretty cheap. I think I got a set each of the angled and flat mount ones for around $10 for both.
Neither are essential, but both are nice to have.
For mounting the battery, there are several types of mounts, but most people just DIY them. You can make ‘spider legs’ out of zip ties, or wrap the thing in a bit of foam paper so that it fits snug somewhere. For me, all I needed was a few wraps of electric tape and it wedges very snugly in the seat post (plus a little carbon paste). I then made a small ball of foam roll and taped in underneath, around the wire. That way, if it slides out of the seat tube (gravity + bumps), it’ll slowly slide down the seat tube and softly squish onto the bottom bracket. So far, it has stayed put!
Another option for the front junction is to replace the 5 port with a 3 port, a “B junction” and another wire. That may be cheaper and if you can mount the B in the bar, it’ll be a less bulky thing out in the wind. With etube, you have a lot of flexibility with plugging things in. Just make sure you have one, and only one, A junction box for charging that is easily accessible.
The other advantage of the new Bluetooth battery and wireless units is that when the new firmware is issued, you will have “Synchroshift” which is auto shifting. You will only get that with the new battery and wireless unit.