Changing to Ultegra DI2

micase · 17-02-2015 12:17pm #1

Hi all,thinking of changing to 11 speed DI2 and was looking for comments good or bad from people who are running this groupset.Thanks

Inquitus · 17-02-2015 12:23pm

Can't say a bad word about it, the electronic shifting is top notch the front derailleur trims itself when you are cross chaining, never dropped the chain. Battery lasts for eons. Shifting is effortless, you can shift up and down with your little finger when gripping the hoods, this means I find myself rarely in the wrong gear.

Zyzz · 17-02-2015 12:34pm

The bad comments are going to come from people that don't have it.

..or are campag fans

07Lapierre · 17-02-2015 1:49pm

The only reason I can think of not to use Shimano or Campag electronic groupset's is your budget. If you can afford it...go for it!

Are you changing the groupset or are you getting a complete bike?

micase · 17-02-2015 2:28pm

Thanks for the comments.Looking at a frame and groupset deal.

killalanerr · 17-02-2015 2:30pm

I have the campag version love it,i have never heard a bad word about the di2 , its old tec now,scram have a version now as well ,its the way to go

oconnpad · 17-02-2015 4:45pm

make sure the frame can take the internal battery in the seatpost.
i think i saw video saying some frames that follow the arc of wheel can't take the internal battery.
It would be horrible to be caught out by something like that when trying to put the 2 together.

Leroy42 · 17-02-2015 5:02pm

It is not only budget, you should consider whether you actually need to spend the extra money, and whether it would be better spent somewhere else if you have it to spend.

Electronic is great and all, but do most cyclists need it? Is it really that much of an upgrade? It is basically an little electronic device to avoid having to actually move the gears yourself. It is not the same upgrade as say when they moved from downtube shifters to the current set up.

While it could make the difference in the last minute dash to the line in the pro ranks, I doubt very much that most riders would lose out by sticking to the current mechanical versions.

Maybe spend the money on normal Ultegra and get better wheels, or a PM or better shoes etc. I assume you are thinking of getting a new frame, then why not get a better frame for the price difference instead?

Don't get me wrong, I would love it, but I can't justify the extra cash required for what is essentially a modest upgrade.

spyderski · 17-02-2015 5:14pm

I run Dura-ace, both Di2 and mechanical (10 speed) currently. I'm building a new bike and it's getting mechanical (DA9000 11 Speed). IMO the electronic upgrade, while quite nice, is just not worth the price premium.

Given the choice between Ultegra Di2 and Dura Ace mechanical at the same price, I'd go for Dura Ace every time. If I had so much money I didn't give a toss, yeah, I'd probably stick on Dura Ace Di2 for ****s & giggles.

codie · 17-02-2015 5:24pm

micase wrote: »

Hi all,thinking of changing to 11 speed DI2 and was looking for comments good or bad from people who are running this groupset.Thanks

What are you upgrading from and is it ultegra or dura ace upgrade?

Eamonnator · 17-02-2015 5:28pm

Needing it has nothing to do with it. It's all about wanting it.

micase · 17-02-2015 7:21pm

Got it in one,bitten by the bug on a change. I'm running record 11 speed on another bike and would like to build up something different,so I've been looking at DI2. Still going to keep the current bike.Thanks again for all the input.

Slo_Rida · 21-05-2015 10:41am

I'm planning to upgrade my gruppo and am also going through this decision. My 2 choices are Ultegra mech or Ultegra Di2. The main reason I am looking at Di2 is that I don't have much time or expertise in gear adjustments and as I understand it, Di2 does away with this almost completely. Is this correct?
Ultegra mech will cost me about €720 and the Di2 is about €1180.
A difference of €460.

omri · 21-05-2015 10:44am

Slo_Rida wrote: »

Ultegra mech will cost me about €720 and the Di2 is about €1180.
A difference of €460.

That's a set of nice wheels...

Slo_Rida · 21-05-2015 10:45am

omri wrote: »

That's a set of nice wheels...

Do you have a link? Or is your definition of "nice" different to mine

Cee-Jay-Cee · 21-05-2015 11:36am

Slo_Rida wrote: »

I'm planning to upgrade my gruppo and am also going through this decision. My 2 choices are Ultegra mech or Ultegra Di2. The main reason I am looking at Di2 is that I don't have much time or expertise in gear adjustments and as I understand it, Di2 does away with this almost completely. Is this correct?
Ultegra mech will cost me about €720 and the Di2 is about €1180.
A difference of €460.

Ultegra 6800 is €610 on Ribble and Ultegra Di2 is €1157 so a difference of €547 which is quite a bit.

iwillhtfu · 21-05-2015 11:39am

Slo_Rida wrote: »

Do you have a link? Or is your definition of "nice" different to mine

Clearly not shy of a few quid. Get the di2

iwillhtfu · 21-05-2015 11:40am

Have a look at the German sites. Do you need a full kit you can buy a di2 upgrade which is basically mechs shifters batteries/charger and cable junction kit. I think they can be got for around the 700 mark

Brian? · 21-05-2015 12:35pm

omri wrote: »

That's a set of nice wheels...

€460 or €500 will buy some ok wheels, but nothing I'd get excited by.

The only thing I'd rather spend money on than Di2 is a power meter. 10 speed mechanical to 11 speed mechanical is not an upgrade worth spending the money on IMO.

The only reason to go 11 speed as far as I can figure out is so ou can have a wider range cassette that's less gappy. If you're running a 28 or less on the back I don't think it's really worth it. I'm open to correction of course.

hesker · 21-05-2015 12:38pm

Slo_Rida wrote: »

The main reason I am looking at Di2 is that I don't have much time or expertise in gear adjustments

It's really not that hard....and worth the little time it would take to pick it up

ted1 · 21-05-2015 12:55pm

Slo_Rida wrote: »

I'm planning to upgrade my gruppo and am also going through this decision. My 2 choices are Ultegra mech or Ultegra Di2. The main reason I am looking at Di2 is that I don't have much time or expertise in gear adjustments and as I understand it, Di2 does away with this almost completely. Is this correct?
Ultegra mech will cost me about €720 and the Di2 is about €1180.
A difference of €460.

Sure you'd spend more than 460 on car tax in a year. Without putting much thought into it.

PCX · 21-05-2015 1:17pm

ted1 wrote: »

Sure you'd spend more than 460 on car tax in a year. Without putting much thought into it.

You have to do that by law. There is no law saying you need slightly better shifting.

DI2 is a luxury. Go for it if you can comfortably afford it. If not mechanical shifting is good enough.

Slo_Rida · 21-05-2015 1:38pm

I never asked if it was worth it. Nobody can tell another person if it's worth it or not because it's down to how much money one wants to spend on their hobby. And I don't think anyone should be judgmental of someone who does like to spend lot's of money on their hobby, it's a personal choice.
My query was really to find out if Di2 is really as low maintenance as what I've read in other posts/websites.
Anyway, I'm still on the fence!

Brian? · 21-05-2015 1:39pm

Slo_Rida wrote: »

I never asked if it was worth it. Nobody can tell another person if it's worth it or not because it's down to how much money one wants to spend on their hobby. And I don't think anyone should be judgmental of someone who does like to spend lot's of money on their hobby, it's a personal choice.
My query was really to find out if Di2 is really as low maintenance as what I've read in other posts/websites.
Anyway, I'm still on the fence!

Di2 is brilliant. /thread

Slo_Rida · 21-05-2015 1:39pm

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Ultegra 6800 is €610 on Ribble and Ultegra Di2 is €1157 so a difference of €547 which is quite a bit.

I quoted the cheapest prices which makes sense to me!!!

joey100 · 21-05-2015 1:42pm

I have it on my bike. Wouldn't go back to be honest, no need to adjust cables and the shifting is always the same, even under pressure. Going uphill and in big ring on front and want to change to smaller ring, does it no bother, no slipping or jumping. Auto trims as well to avoid cross chaining. I'd definitely recommend it.

omri · 21-05-2015 1:46pm

joey100 wrote: »

I have it on my bike. Wouldn't go back to be honest, no need to adjust cables and the shifting is always the same, even under pressure. Going uphill and in big ring on front and want to change to smaller ring, does it no bother, no slipping or jumping. Auto trims as well to avoid cross chaining. I'd definitely recommend it.

Is the initial set up complicated, and how often do you need to charge the battery ? I presume you want to have the Di2 frame to make it neat ?

joey100 · 21-05-2015 1:58pm

initial set up wasn't too bad, getting the cables sorted was the trickiest bit. I have it on a mechanical frame but it isn't that bad really, bit of exposed cable and would be neater on an internally routed di2 frame but you don't have to worry about muck or dirt getting stuck in the cables.

I have it around year and a half now and I'd say I have charged the battery around 4/5 times so not a lot really. Got stuck a fair bit from home one day with the battery going dead, it just knocks it into the small ring on the front and keeps the remaining power for the rear derailleur. Was my own fault anyway, knew the battery was dying but never charged it.

Only issue I've had is the bike fell over and the cable for the rear derailleur popped out. Didn't notice and had to stop and put it back in when I couldn't shift, other than that no problems at all really.

Lumen · 21-05-2015 2:01pm

I don't think the shifter feel on Di2 is very satisfying. It works well though.

smalltalk · 21-05-2015 3:37pm

I got 11 speed ultegra Di2 as part of a deal on a new groupset+frameset, I was not really bothered about Mech v Electronic but Di2 works really well!!! Make sure you get the seat post battery set up as it looks much neater.

Cee-Jay-Cee · 21-05-2015 3:46pm

Slo_Rida wrote: »

I quoted the cheapest prices which makes sense to me!!!

But you didn't quote the cheapest prices, you quoted €720 for 6800 and the Di2 €1180. I quoted cheaper prices of €610 for 6800 and Ultegra Di2 for €1157 (inc postage) Using a more expensive price to show a smaller price difference in two products does not make sense!

fat bloke · 22-05-2015 7:15am

For me the biggest "against".... ah.... against

ultegra di2, is dura ace mechanical, or indeed sram red mechanical.

And then there's the weight. Saving grams from bars to seatpost and then slapping on a big fat battery remains for me an indigestible

youtheman · 22-05-2015 7:31am

For me going for Di2 is like getting a 'dishwasher',...sure, you can do without it (afterall that's what the previous generations did),...but once you embrace the new technology there is no going back.

vertigo1976 · 22-05-2015 8:45am

I went with Ultegra 6870 Di2 on my recent new build. I tried out 6800 when trying to decide and my last bike had Sram red 10 speed.

I've only about 600km on Di2 but I really like it. The shifting is effortless, predictable and the same regardless of the effort you're putting in at the time. Charging is simple and quick on my internal battery and lasts for ages. The self trimming front mech is great too.

6870 is a much nicer looking group (in my opinion!) that the first generation of Di2 as the mechs and junction boxes are neater. If you can do an all internal install then even better.

The only slight disappointment with Di2 is the feel from the shifter buttons. It feels much like a mouse click so you don't feel quite as "connected" to the mechs as you do with a mechanical setup.

Having said all that, I was seriously impressed with Ultegra 6800 mechanical. It's much more refined than 105 5700 which was the last Shimano mechanical group that I'd ridden.

I got over the price difference from mechanical as the frame was a warranty replacement (thanks Cervelo!) and my BTW covered most of the groupset price.

iwillhtfu · 22-05-2015 9:27am

vertigo1976 wrote: »

my BTW covered most of the groupset price.

I'm sure I misunderstood and you aren't admitting tax fraud here.

vertigo1976 · 22-05-2015 9:33am

I purchased a new bike with my BTW, the fact that the frame was free was incidental...

Slo_Rida · 27-05-2015 10:05am

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Ultegra 6800 is €610 on Ribble and Ultegra Di2 is €1157 so a difference of €547 which is quite a bit.

I didn't check ribble actually. And as I check it now, it seems that Ultegra 6800 11 speed is €469 with free delivery to Irl. Is that correct? Am I missing something here or is that ridiculously good value?
Slo

And the Di2 for €902? I must be missing something with all the excitement of upgrading???

Crocked · 27-05-2015 3:12pm

Sounds like its the Sterling prices you are seeing not Euro

iwillhtfu · 27-05-2015 4:05pm

Crocked wrote: »

Sounds like its the Sterling prices you are seeing not Euro

€1156.94 - di2 6870
€636.94 - mech 6800

You can get the di2 6870 gear set for €870.99

Agent Smyth · 27-05-2015 8:03pm

I have the Dura-Ace 9000 mech since it first came out, cant fault it in anyway, huge improvement over the 7900
I felt at the time the Di2 was not worth it in terms of value and the perceived improvement over the mech version
If I was to change today I would still stay with the mech

Cee-Jay-Cee · 27-05-2015 8:10pm

Slo_Rida wrote: »

I didn't check ribble actually. And as I check it now, it seems that Ultegra 6800 11 speed is €469 with free delivery to Irl. Is that correct? Am I missing something here or is that ridiculously good value?
Slo

And the Di2 for €902? I must be missing something with all the excitement of upgrading???

No they're the £stg prices. You need to change the currency at the top right side of the page. Delivery to IRL is free.

Changing to Ultegra DI2

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