Pretty much says it all in the title. I’m building up my old Speed Concept again, and it’s kind of the perfect time to dip my toe in electronic shifting, but… I’m a cheapskate and just buying a plug and play set is way too simple for someone that loves to complicate things as much as possible.
So… some info on me
Competent wrench, know my way around a soldering iron and basic electronics, access to 3d printer, small milling machine + carbon/fiberglass fabrication, so I’m more than willing and even prefer to get my hands dirty and make some horrible bodged setup.
Speed concept is a Gen1 7 series, all the duotrap crap in the chainstay has been removed/wrapped/smoothed in carbon. The front derailleur hanger has also been removed and cleaned off, so 1x is the only possibility.
I use Vision Crab claws, and since this is budget, ignoring the brake lever/shifter combo.
Don’t care if it’s Dura Ace, Ultegra, 10 or 11 speed. I’m on DA7800 right now, so obviously latest/greatest isn’t my thing.
What I figure I definitely have to have
Battery
Wires
Rear Derailleur
Junction box(?)
Shifters
I assume the shifters have some proprietary bit in them so I can’t just hack/wire up any switch from radioshack (rip)
Thoughts? Input? etc
Update 1
Ok, I have the necessary parts (famous last words) for the build on the way.
Running total cost so far is $322 - the most expensive single piece has been the battery charger which was basically retail.
It’s likely I’ll also need a bit more cable (will have to see when all arrives) and I will definitely need to replace the cage on the RD, either with an OSP system or a normal shimano long cage. (used derailleur is a short cage)
I actually had the archer setup (the og one) - it did not impress
Sad to hear. I’m glad I didn’t go that way. I got a crack in the seat post of my super budget old Felt DA. I was considering it on that bike.
Luckily, a full di2 Trinity Pro showed up at a scorching deal. I couldn’t say no. It would not be ST approved though. My fit coords workout just fine on it, but the frame is too big.
In my searching for di2 stuff and “cheap” it literally came down to either buying a bike already with it OR buying a bike with it that I didn’t want then putting it on the frameset I did want.
Di2 new or used as piecemeal by my math just never worked out worth a damn. So, maybe be open to getting a whole different bike and then playing the part swap/Ebay game to recoup money.
I got the 2018 di2 Trinity Pro for $2700 before tax and shipping. From that and the old bike kit to sell I can probably make $500, and I sold a spare Flo wheelset to go towards it. I have a Jet 6+ set and a 9+ with disc so didn’t also need a 60/90.
One cost adder that made me go this way was the shifters on the brakes. A primary and amazing reason to get di2. That added enough cost to cobbling stuff together to not make it worth trying to fully DIY. So, $500 minus the $2700 and I’m into a TT superbike with di2 for $2200. Not counting the cash I got for the sale of the spare wheelset. Or the sale of the random Giant wheels that came with the bike (or it’s crankset that I won’t use).
Cliff notes: buy used bike with Di2 to either use or strip the Di2 from
I’ve pieced together two 1x di2 tt set ups for both mine and Summer’s bikes. It started as a total piecemeal upgrade for her bike. Ended up spending $350 on the entire di2 kit including a tt shifter, 9070rd, and junctions and wires.
Awhile later I decided I wanted a group as well and found a great deal on a mostly whole shift group (2 2button tt shifters, 2 brake levers). Bought the RD and junctions/wires separately.
You will need most likely need two junction boxes though. A Junction A for up front (the expensive one) and a Junction B to connect the battery and RD to (cheaper).
Anyways, the final result is that we each have a 1x di2 group, where she has a single di2 tt shifter and a single di2 brake lever (both right side), and I have the same setup but mirrored. It’s pretty funny for me to have my shifters on the “wrong” side, but that’s kind of the beauty of di2.
The not beauty of di2 is that the firmware is complete shit, and I bricked one shifter and one external battery in the process. So if you do piece stuff together, check and see if it works first and if it does, don’t bother updating any firmware even if it’s available.
I actually had the archer setup (the og one) - it did not impress
Sad to hear. I’m glad I didn’t go that way. I got a crack in the seat post of my super budget old Felt DA. I was considering it on that bike.
Cliff notes: buy used bike with Di2 to either use or strip the Di2 from
Yeah, I actually sent the kit to Rruff, not sure if he ever set it up or not.
For me (like I said, mine was the very first version so things may have changed - and obviously the OG one wasn’t meant for road/tt) the archer kit brought back (bad) memories of mavic Zap. It seemed to work pretty well sometimes, and not at all other times… but never great any of the time. It also “looked” really rough. “Delight” being the overwhelming feeling every time it successfully shifted isn’t what I would call reassuring for regular use/racing
I am bike full unfortunately… and after I chop sections of a bike off and modify them I no longer feel good about selling them, so they end up collecting space in my garage. The only reason my bamboo gravel bike slipped under my wife’s ire is because it showed up as a couple of trees and a box of parts
TL;DR - you only delete 1 wire and the FD for a 1x. You need everything else.
Stuff you will need:
BatteryWires (shifters, downtube, battery, & RD)Rear DerailleurJunction AJunction BShiftersChargerYou can simplify down to just a single 2-button shifter on the extensions. That will save some money.Shifters are proprietary, so you must use themYou can do 10-speed Ultegra or 11-speed Ultegra or DA (any generation)You cannot use 10-speed Dura Ace partsYou cannot mix-and-match 10-speed and 11-speed stuff; may be moot, since the RD is the only true “speed” part; the rest don’t care
10-speed Dura Ace was first-gen Di2 and has nothing electrically or physically in common with the 2nd gen versions (10-speed Ultegra and both 11-speed Ultegra and DA versions).
The 1st Gen Di2 Dura ace components are complete modifiable, you can cut/splice as you like. I have cut wires, added wires and put in custom batteries.
The 1st Gen Di2 Dura ace components are complete modifiable, you can cut/splice as you like. I have cut wires, added wires and put in custom batteries.
I may end up picking your brain if I end up that route
Yeah, I actually sent the kit to Rruff, not sure if he ever set it up or not.
No, I did not… sadly. Been lacking ambition for a lot of things lately. I may still play with it if the mood strikes me, but you can certainly have it back if you wish.
Most stripped down 1x version I would do:
Long cage rear mech (road or gravel) so you can go to 34 on the back
Jc130 Y-junction between battery and rear mech
Jc200 straight junction on to an sd50 that goes up to
RS910 bar end junction
Shifters go into RS910, possibly using a JC130 again, or a couple of JC200s and SD50s if you use older shifters
Or, battery and RS90 in the back of the extensions using a Profile Design Aeroport (designed by yours truly)
then an SD50 from a JC41inside the bars down to the rear mech - means no mess inside the frame
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Yeah, I actually sent the kit to Rruff, not sure if he ever set it up or not.
No, I did not… sadly. Been lacking ambition for a lot of things lately. I may still play with it if the mood strikes me, but you can certainly have it back if you wish.
I definitely feel you there, ambition has been in short supply over the winter
no no, my time with archer has passed It’s your burden now haha
Most stripped down 1x version I would do:
Long cage rear mech (road or gravel) so you can go to 34 on the back
Jc130 Y-junction between battery and rear mech
Jc200 straight junction on to an sd50 that goes up to
RS910 bar end junction
Shifters go into RS910, possibly using a JC130 again, or a couple of JC200s and SD50s if you use older shifters
Or, battery and RS90 in the back of the extensions using a Profile Design Aeroport (designed by yours truly)
then an SD50 from a JC41inside the bars down to the rear mech - means no mess inside the frame
thanks, that is helpful info.
That aeroport looks good, nice design! I wish I had known about it (and this quest to add di2) when I was fabricating my extensions I’d have made room for it.
If you have not put together di2 before, then try bettershifting.com. That guy has a lot of good info and once I combed through, felt confident to set it up on my own. He explained that the absolute simplest version would be to run shifters to the Junction A. Then one wire to the battery and one REALLY long wire to the rear derailleur.
If you got your hands on a two button shifter like someone did above, you could do it with:
Two-button shifter (assuming that version comes with wire)
Junction A
Battery and battery holder
Short wire from A to the battery
Really long wire from A to the derailleur
Rear Derailleur
So six pieces.
I’ve been riding di2 for about a month and it is just great. It is changing the way I shift. I did it so that my gravel/all-road bike could shift from the brifters and from the bar ends of my aerobars. It works perfect. I have not even bothered buying a front derailleur yet because front mech shifting is really simple and fast. Plus, technically XT di2 only goes to 38 teet and I’m on a 40 and want to go to 42 with a 26 inner.
It’s your burden now haha
I’d have made room for it.