Anyone have experience of Ultegra DI2?

[tuffty]

I'm looking at two possible bikes to replace my Trek Madone 4.7 which was recently ruined in a fire. First is a 2013 Cannondale SuperSix Evo with Ultegra DI2 at £2600, the second is a 2013 SuperSix HiMod Evo with SRAM Red at £3000. The HiMod comes with carbon tubular wheels so realistically I'd be looking at spending another £300-£400 on clincher wheels for training purposes, as I don't really like the thought of carbon tubulars for day to day riding. Bike is for summer training rides and sportives, I don't race.

I'm not light enough for the HiMod frame or SRAM Red weight advantage to make any appreciable difference. I'm drawn towards the DI2 as like the thought of the seemless shifting, auto-correction etc - plus it will ultimately work out almost £800 cheaper. I can't find anyone who's lived with Ultegra Di2 for any period of time though. If you have, what's it like - battery hold the charge, perform well still after a few thousand miles? Any experience or opinions gratefully received!

 

[Peteaud]

I have a Supersix Di2 2012 model.

Di2 is fantastic, the shifting is just spot on every time.

Battery, ive charged mine twice in 6 months.

Mr H of this parish (Di2 Guru) will no doubt be along to help, but from my point of view, buy it.

 

[musa]

Is it the new ultegra di2 6870?

 

[tuffty]

Is it the new ultegra di2 6870?

No it's last year's 6770.

That's interesting Peteaud thanks, charging was one worry so always good to get some first hand experience

 

[Peteaud]

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/shimano-di-do-and-do-not.112006/post-2866673

 

[musa]

No it's last year's 6770.

That's interesting Peteaud thanks, charging was one worry so always good to get some first hand experience

if it was 6870 then your laughing its basically last years dura ace di2 so the diagnostics are a lot better, but saying that maybe consider 11 speed mechanical for the price difference

 

[jay clock]

I have Di2 and all the concerns re battery life are not concerns at all. Charge lasts ages and changes are buttery smooth

 

[DooDah]

Ask @mrhaemocrit he knows all about di2

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I'm drawn towards the DI2 as like the thought of the seemless shifting, auto-correction etc - plus it will ultimately work out almost £800 cheaper. I can't find anyone who's lived with Ultegra Di2 for any period of time though. If you have, what's it like - battery hold the charge, perform well still after a few thousand miles? Any experience or opinions gratefully received!

I'm curious to know what you expect from seemless shifting, auto-correction etc - and what you tthink they are as the reality is usually different from what people think.
The battery performance after a few thousand miles depends upon how you treat it, so many people are paranoid about it running flat and charge it before every ride which kills it over time. You have to permit it to drain and go by the battery status lights. You really should not be charging it a great deal or on a regular basis unless your doing real big milage.
Ultegra Di2 is good and IMHO its really OK to live with, its reliable and consistent but it has slower and bulkier servos than Dura-Ace Di2 as such it lacks that real snappy performance of Dura-Ace but then again its not the same price.

 

[tuffty]

DuraAce Di2 is out of budget unfortunately. Battery cycling etc I know about, I've run an Exxposure Strada for commuting for quite a few years now and let the battery drain as much as possible before recharging - I'm guessing its the same with the Di2 stuff.

Seemless shifting, I guess I've just heard you can mash the buttons at any point in your pedal cycle and it will shift flawlessly. Plus the auto-correction - I just mean not having to fiddle with barrel adjusters every now and again as the cables stretch, or adjust the front mech slightly as you go up and down on the rear.

Reading that back - perhaps this is correcting problems I don't really have as in reality none of that tends to be a problem very often at all. I'm possibly being convinced by the "latest and greatest" argument here with no real need and might be better off with mechanical DuraAce or Red for the same price....

 

[musa]

11 speed dura ace mechanical

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

DuraAce Di2 is out of budget unfortunately. Battery cycling etc I know about, I've run an Exxposure Strada for commuting for quite a few years now and let the battery drain as much as possible before recharging - I'm guessing its the same with the Di2 stuff.

Yep its pretty much the same as the way in which you treat your Exxposure Strada, if you hold down two shifters at the same time a light on the junction box comes on, Red = Charge it, Green = Ride it - if it goes flat out on a ride you loose the front first followed by 50 miles later the back so you can make it home without to much issue.

Seemless shifting, I guess I've just heard you can mash the buttons at any point in your pedal cycle and it will shift flawlessly. Plus the auto-correction - I just mean not having to fiddle with barrel adjusters every now and again as the cables stretch, or adjust the front mech slightly as you go up and down on the rear.

The seemless shift is not available on 10 speed, on 11 speed it shifts multiple gears seemlessly.. you can not do this on 10 speed you have to keep tapping the button (not hard) as it only shifts one gear at a time but it does give you amazing quality and positive shifting. Auto-correction suggests that something is wrong and it needs correcting, its not as such I describe it more accurately as fit and forget

Reading that back - perhaps this is correcting problems I don't really have as in reality none of that tends to be a problem very often at all. I'm possibly being convinced by the "latest and greatest" argument here with no real need and might be better off with mechanical DuraAce or Red for the same price....

Ive just purchased Red and based upon my experiences I will personally choose Shimano group sets where possible.
Mechanical Dura-Ace is very very slick and I like it a lot, but I'm just not sure its as nice as electronic shifting... There is just something great about having no cable stretch, maintenance, and being able to fit and forget imho. This is the thing I adore about Di2 is that its the shift quality is exactly the same every single day you ride.

 

[musa]

The autocorrect I believe your referring about is the front mech preventing cross-chain etc

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Do you mean Auto-trim?.. Di2 can trim the front derailleur to eliminate chain rub and calibrate itself to adjust for wear and tear.

 

[tuffty]

I didn't realise you could only shift one gear at a time on 10sp di2, that could get tedious pretty quickly.
Auto-trim isn't a worry as in reality I rarely find myself needing / attempting cross-ring combinations where it's necessary. Fit and forget is the thing, no cable adjustment as they stretch.

Just to stir it up someone has thrown the 2014 Felt Ar2 into the mix. 11 speed di2. Very top end of my budget but it sounds like with a pair of clip on bars it could double as a tt bike so just about do-able.