How can you tell if a trend will last or not?

[Blue Hills]

Actually, car drivers do have all sorts of things that need checking and replenishing on either a time basis or a use basis - from windscreen washer fluid through engine oil to cam belts.

er yes but not a relatively low capacity battery which, when it runs down, will render their car inoperable.

 

[ianrauk]

no idea, but it will surely shrink.

I think I remember some one saying it lasts 6 months easy between charges.

 

[jowwy]

How long is it usually between Di2 charges?
I know its an open ended question but there must be a base time/use.

Lasts about 1500miles.......but it links to garmins and shows battery life and gear selection on the screen. So its easy to know when to plug it in........etap lasts around the same.

So going on last years mileage, my 2 bikes wont need charging this year lol

 

[Blue Hills]

Yes, on brifters, I used to lead lots of rides. I well remember someone turning up at the station in the Kent countryside for the off. He'd got off the train and then found that his brakes wouldn't work. No matter how much he fiddled. He was a technical sort but couldn't figure out what the problem was. As a flat bar person this came as news to me that such a thing was possible. ie - the cause would usually be pretty clear - something detached or a cable broken. He just had to get back on the train.

On the batteries, are they affected by cold? Lots of batteries are.

 

[bpsmith]

We really are clutching at straws for the Di2/eTap bashing.

Personal experience from people above suggests that it works just fine.

I can’t comment myself, as never ridden electronic gears, so perhaps others should just accept the experience of others too maybe?

 

[Vapin' Joe]

We really are clutching at straws for the Di2/eTap bashing.

Personal experience from people above suggests that it works just fine.

I can’t comment myself, as never ridden electronic gears, so perhaps others should just accept the experience of others too maybe?

Whenever anything new comes out, every single reported fault is highlighted as to why it will never work. Yet the usual breakages on traditional kit is just regarded as "One of those things".

 

[bpsmith]

Whenever anything new comes out, every single reported fault is highlighted as to why it will never work. Yet the usual breakages on traditional kit is just regarded as "One of those things".

You’re right. You’d have thought people would have got over it...9 years later.

 

[Blue Hills]

Whenever anything new comes out, every single reported fault is highlighted as to why it will never work. Yet the usual breakages on traditional kit is just regarded as "One of those things".

Not aware that anyone is saying it will never work. I had the impression that there was a general view that it does work but that the fag and expense and other factors will, to the sensible, mean it will stay a niche product. Been across london twice/four times today and i genuinely cannot see that electronic shifting would have improved my rides/day.

 

[Ajax Bay]

diaderant forks…
used circa 1950 by bates…

1935 onwards
http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/builders/bates3.html

 

[jowwy]

Not aware that anyone is saying it will never work. I had the impression that there was a general view that it does work but that the fag and expense and other factors will, to the sensible, mean it will stay a niche product. Been across london twice/four times today and i genuinely cannot see that electronic shifting would have improved my rides/day.

Why to the "sensible"....... are you saying di2/etap riders are nonsensical??? Or is it just a case of the green eyed monster as the cost means your unable to purchase, so will use abusive cliches towards the people that can and enjoy its use??

 

[StuAff]

Electronic shifting hasn't, at least yet, trickled down to lower-end groups (105/Rival/Centaur level) let alone the bargain basement. But it's still fairly early days- carbon frames were still sitting at far higher price points a decade ago, a similar timeframe. That said, they cost no more in running costs than mechanical groups- no cable replacements, same cassettes and chains, same option to fit cheaper cassettes and chains rather than DA/Red/Ultegra…

 

[mikeymustard]

Quite often, it's not til another technological innovation comes along before the original "advance" makes sense, like indexed gearing seemed largely pointless to skilled users of the down tube lever until the advent of the brake shifter.

I remember the arguments back in the day "oh that safety bicycle idea will never catch on, harsh ride" etc. then the pneumatic tyre came along and jobs a good'un!

Perhaps, electronic shifting needs a partner innovation (and a massive price drop) before it becomes a must have item.

A while ago I was approaching Combe Lane in Surrey when a roadie whizzed past me. As we started the ascent of Combe Lane I passed him pulled over, twiddling with barrel adjusters. I asked if he wanted any help, and he declined* and I trundled on. A bit later he zoomed past again but once more I took the lead as he had to stop to fiddle with his indexing. If only he'd had DI2 he'd have won this titanic struggle. In the end I took all the glory, and he was left gnashing his teeth dreaming of what might have been.

* Good thing too. I'm hopeless at indexing gears.

I have never had to stop and "twiddle my barrel adjusters" (I hope that's not a euphemism), when set up properly and maintained gears rarely need adjustment. He was probably just having a rest!

 

[jowwy]

Electronic shifting hasn't, at least yet, trickled down to lower-end groups (105/Rival/Centaur level) let alone the bargain basement. But it's still fairly early days- carbon frames were still sitting at far higher price points a decade ago, a similar timeframe. That said, they cost no more in running costs than mechanical groups- no cable replacements, same cassettes and chains, same option to fit cheaper cassettes and chains rather than DA/Red/Ultegra…

Ultegra di2 for road and xt di2 for mountain is mid range.........2yrs ago on merlin cycles you could get a full di2 groupset for £550. Same cost as full ultegra mechanical...........so it is trickling down, just not as quick as most people would wish.

Yes its a luxury to have as an ameteur cyclists, but that doesnt make it any less sensible than any other groupset you may purchase

 

[Blue Hills]

Why to the "sensible"....... are you saying di2/etap riders are nonsensical??? Or is it just a case of the green eyed monster as the cost means your unable to purchase, so will use abusive cliches towards the people that can and enjoy its use??

I said no such thing. I abused no one. Maybe you should wander over to politics. I clearly said that it had its applications. I don't consider it sensible for general purpose cycling and said so, politely, a perfectly reasonable view. If it did make inroads into that very broad area of cycling I would consider it a backward step. A perfectly reasonable view. If someone wants to use it, including you, fine.

 

[Drago]

Green eyed monster? What a Lob. Unless some poor schmoe is living on benefits it's hardly out of reach. After all, most Di2 owners seem to have an absence of Maseratis on their driveways. What makes me chuckle are the people that hark on about how mortals don't have Di2 because they can't afford it, but then hang it on mediocre frames themselves.

I don't have a downer on it, I don't dislike it, it just leaves me cold like smartphones do. It just doesn't twitch my Y fronts, and I own two houses with no mortgage if aspiring to Di2 is some kind of weird Willy wagging competition.