Ultegra Di2 weight and reliability?

[JJacobs]

I've been riding Di2 for 4 years and absolutely love it.

 

My first Di2 bike was with the 6870 with external battery (Cube Agree GTC SLT). The only issue with that was that you charge the battery separately on a charger and the junction box had no connectivity to a PC, so software updates had to be done by shops (I am still not sure how it connected to a PC).

 

Then I had the same groupset on another bike (Trek Emonda SL7), but with the internal battery and charger. It makes connectivity easy, just download the eTube software on your PC and you can do all the software updates and settings yourself.

 

I got the Giant TCR Advanced Pro 0 disc in September last year, so everything basically the same, but for going to the latest 8000 series and with disc brakes.

 

Over that time, +/- 40,000km I had three minor issues. One - the charger broke for no apparent reason; two - but by no fault of the groupset, I tried to push the battery life a little too far and had to single speed it home; three - I tried updating software on eTube mobile via Bluetooth and it lost the connection with the phone and the groupset crashed and had to be reset via usb and the PC. After that, I don't do updates on Bluetooth, there seems to be lots of cases if you internet search where connections get dropped and the groupset crashes.

 

The fear of the groupset crashing or battery dying on you mid-ride is most people's concern, but to me, the likelihood of that happening is probably around the same as a shifter cable breaking mid-ride - it happens, but not all that much at all.

 

So, really good and reliable equipment, but I share the sentiments of some of the above posts - it is not absolutely necessary and mechanical Ultegra is also very good.

Edited May 15, 2020 by JJacobs

[SwissVan]

Thanks for all the feedback

 

Another question, the bike comes with thru axles with no QR type head...as i spend a fair amount of time riding on an old powerbeam IDT, how do you attach it to a non direct drive type trainer?

 

Can you replace the thru axle to a QR type thru axle?

[DieselnDust]

Di2 ultegra is roughly 200gr heavier than mechanical.

reliability is good when it works.

bear in mind that mechanical doesn't need to be reset.

mechanical doesn't need to be maintained regularly

Ultegra mechanical is far more robust than dura ace mechanical when one compares the number of warranties against the number of sales.

Di2 is very consistent in performance.

it does suffer connections coming loose.

its an extra thing to charge. Yes people do turn around realising that they didn't charge the battery in 2 months.

 

Personally I would go for mechanical and get better wheels. If you fit on a 60 cm bike the lever throw of mechanical won't hinder your experience.

that's my 2p

[Thomo]

Thanks for all the feedback

 

Another question, the bike comes with thru axles with no QR type head...as i spend a fair amount of time riding on an old powerbeam IDT, how do you attach it to a non direct drive type trainer?

 

Can you replace the thru axle to a QR type thru axle?

You get trainer specific thru axles which will attach to idt.

[Patchelicious]

You get trainer specific thru axles which will attach to idt.

Many have a conversion kit available

[SwissVan]

Di2 ultegra is roughly 200gr heavier than mechanical.

reliability is good when it works.

bear in mind that mechanical doesn't need to be reset.

mechanical doesn't need to be maintained regularly

Ultegra mechanical is far more robust than dura ace mechanical when one compares the number of warranties against the number of sales.

Di2 is very consistent in performance.

it does suffer connections coming loose.

its an extra thing to charge. Yes people do turn around realising that they didn't charge the battery in 2 months.

 

Personally I would go for mechanical and get better wheels. If you fit on a 60 cm bike the lever throw of mechanical won't hinder your experience.

that's my 2p

 

Yeah i would be more than happy with mechanical and some good wheels (Roval CLX 32's or 38's).

Been riding with Ultegra since 2005, very little maintenance or fiddling required and only now am i starting to have trouble with the levers (internal wear i suspect).

 

But mechanical is out of stock and means waiting until November (at least) for the next stock to arrive. The CLX 32's wheels would my first choice and are pretty expensive so maybe I'll wait and buy a new wheel set next year...

 

Di2 version they have 1 in stock as of yesterday.... but that comes with a DT R470 wheel set which I'm not over excited about

 

Patience is a virtue i struggle with...This month vs Nov (winter here)…. 

[DieselnDust]

Yeah i would be more than happy with mechanical and some good wheels (Roval CLX 32's or 38's).

Been riding with Ultegra since 2005, very little maintenance or fiddling required and only now am i starting to have trouble with the levers (internal wear i suspect).

 

But mechanical is out of stock and means waiting until November (at least) for the next stock to arrive. The CLX 32's wheels would my first choice and are pretty expensive so maybe I'll wait and buy a new wheel set next year...

 

Di2 version they have 1 in stock as of yesterday.... but that comes with a DT R470 wheel set which I'm not over excited about

 

Patience is a virtue i struggle with...This month vs Nov (winter here)…. 

 

 

 

This is a nice problem to have.

 

I only know one person who sold his electronic group and went back to mechanical for the same reasons I stayed with my mechanical. A cable replacement once per year (jagwire slickshift not the crap Shimano gives you) keeps it humming along nicely. 

But if Di2 is available then why wait. Next year you could get Wheels as you say or sell something else and get them sooner. The DT wheels aren't bad either

[SwissVan]

This is a nice problem to have.

 

I only know one person who sold his electronic group and went back to mechanical for the same reasons I stayed with my mechanical. A cable replacement once per year (jagwire slickshift not the crap Shimano gives you) keeps it humming along nicely. 

But if Di2 is available then why wait. Next year you could get Wheels as you say or sell something else and get them sooner. The DT wheels aren't bad either

Jaaaa 1st world problems

Could also pay my tax bill early

 

Nah

[Thomo]

You get trainer specific thru axles which will attach to idt.

Here's an example:

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/indoor-trainers-and-accessories/401056/trainer-thru-axle