Di2 - non internal cabling

[Sbudge]

There is actually one advantage of going external (for some). The internal kit relies on you having a power socket close to where you store your bike to recharge the battery as it's not something you can remove without taking off the seat post etc. With the external kit you can just unclip the battery. A pretty marginal gain I grant you as they only need a recharge every few months but it was certainly an issue for me.

When I got mine I also bought a spare set of the routing tape as I was also concerned it would come loose...that's still sitting in the box. One important difference though is that the external setup requires the older interface kit to perform upgrades (and you will definitely want to make sure you have the most recent version). Many LBS will know this and do it for you but if they start scratching their heads about 'failed upgrades' you might want to ask which software/hardware tool combo they're using. :-)

 

[Smokin Joe]

As of 2 weeks ago the external kit was widely available. I can't vouch for how durable the routing will be long term but so long as the frame is properly degreased and cleaned before applying the Shimano external routing kits are pretty tough. If you pay attention to details you can do a pretty neat job too. The battery can be mounted either below the frame or on a modified bottle cage mount.

I wouldn't dream of going back to mechanical now.

Budge

If yours is mounted externally can you post a picture please? I'd be interested to see how it looks.

 

[Sbudge]

No probs, will do. probably can't be until Friday though as I'm away right now.

 

[Sbudge]

As promised, pictures before the ride in today.

Cheers

Simon

 

[Smokin Joe]

That looks very neat. External wiring would not put me off.

 

[Sbudge]

If it's done with an eye for the little details then it's not bad at all. (I didn't do mine, relied on a good LBS)