‘Multiple bikes’ : some Di2 - some not ?

[AlanW]

I have three bikes with Di2 12 speed and love them, but I also have three bikes with mechanical 11 speed, and I love them to

 

[All uphill]

I run bar end friction shifters both front and back. It just works, never goes out of adjustment, muscle memory means slick shifting each time. Maintenance is just replacing the outers once every 30,000 miles or so. At which point I will do the cables as well whilst I am at it. Lever position gives you instant feedback on the gear you are in and how many gears up or down you have left to shift.

My history of gearing is

1970s Single speed, 3 speed Sturmey Archer
1980s Single speed, down tube friction shift
1990s down tube friction shift, indexed trigger shift
2000s down tube friction shift, DC hydraulic index shift 9 speed
2010s STI rim brake 10 speed, DC hydraulic index shift, twist shift Rohloff 14 speed, bar end indexed rear, friction front, 3 speed Sturmey Archer
2020s Bar end friction shift front and rear, 3 speed Sturmey Archer

Unlike DI2 no charging necessary and could be left indefinitely and bar end friction shift just work. The bar ends will work with anything from 5 to 13 speed at the rear.

I'm very happy with bar end shifters, too, and thumbies now I've gone to flat bars.

They just work.

 

[esoxlucius]

I have three bikes with Di2 12 speed and love them, but I also have three bikes with mechanical 11 speed, and I love them to

6 bikes!!! Hell. If I had 6 bikes I'd be losing light before I could decide which one to go out on!!

 

[fossyant]

No DI2 and I have two bikes with SIS downtube shifters. At least they don't run out of charge as they aren't used very often.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

it is probably something which I will swerve into eventually.

You had your steering looked at by the LBS?

 

[Elybazza61]

Have four regularly used bikes;

Stayer All Road ;Ultegra 11-speed Di2 (long distance road)
Stayer OG ;GRX 1 x 11speed mechanical (gravel/atb)
Fairlight Faran ; 105/Ultegra mix 11 speed (touring/leisurely all road)
Ridley Helium ; Dura-Ace/Ultegra 11 speed Di2 (road and the least used these days)

TBH have no problem switching from one to another and have only ever had one battery issue which was my fault for not checking before a ride (bike had been learning on the shifter).

The Ridley was all DA at one point with carbon rims and TBH was purely for the bling factor even though all the DA bits were second hand (even had a DA cassette!) and was the older (but shinier) model.

Do find the Di2 is good towards the end of a long ride with basically one finger operation and apart from the above faux pas has been totally reliable, do carry a spare battery on longer rides but have never needed it.

 

[geocycle]

I think the gearing needs to match the bike. The ‘best’ gearing I have without doubt is my 20 year old rohloff which has never missed a beat, but you’d not want it on a fast carbon bike. The Ti framed bikes have mechanical 105 and GRX. The GRX is pretty good and reliable bar the occasional bent hanger and proactive cable changes. Di2 sounds great, for the right bike and application. For example, Pinarello equipped Amy Hudson’s gravel bike she rode around the world with mechanical gearing, rather than the Di2 she was more used to, for repairability reasons.

 

[Webbo2]

I think the gearing needs to match the bike. The ‘best’ gearing I have without doubt is my 20 year old rohloff which has never missed a beat, but you’d not want it on a fast carbon bike. The Ti framed bikes have mechanical 105 and GRX. The GRX is pretty good and reliable bar the occasional bent hanger and proactive cable changes. Di2 sounds great, for the right bike and application. For example, Pinarello equipped Amy Hudson’s gravel bike she rode around the world with mechanical gearing, rather than the Di2 she was more used to, for repairability reasons.

Yet Mark Beaumont used Di2 on his bikes on hos record breaking rides but I suppose he was going faster so less need for reliability 🫣

 

[Jenkins]

I have just gone Di2 with my new bike and, while it's a lovely thing to play with, it just adds yet another complication to the gearing/braking combination on the various bikes (SRAM rim, SRAM disc, Shimano 105 disc, Shimano 105 Di2). The main problem I've had with the Di2 is trying to decide which function to assign to which button. Quite happy to alternate between the various bikes - sometimes on the same day, and it's more of a problem going from using the SRAM equipped bikes for a few days to the Shimano one (or vice versa) than it is to go from manual shifting to electronic.

Absolutely no plan on retiring any of the manual shifting bikes other than possibly breaking one for spares in the future.