IanSmithCSE
Guru
- Location
- Worcester, Worcestershire
Good morning,
Although generally a luddite I do like Di2 but one clear issue with it is that it is only available on Ultegra or Dura-Ace so it is hard to justify for many riders.
So I was wondering how many here would buy or recommend Sora Di2 if it was available on a bike like the Allez in preference to the same bike with Mechanical 105 at the same price?
Bikes like the Allez are often bought by new riders trying triathlons or time trialling for the first time, and in these cases being in the right gear and going as fast as possible is the objective.
One of the big benefits of Di2 is that it makes short term gear changes easy, on a typical country lane without Di2 I often take a break of a few seconds as the road dips a bit and be slightly over geared on the subsequent rise.
With Di2 I just make the necessary gear change and breathe a bit harder as I get no rest.
Clearly Sora has less gears and weighs a bit more than 105, but I would tend to discount the weight aspect at this level of rider performance.
The number of gears does at first glance appear to be a bigger issue, but a 12/13/14/15/16/17/19/21/23 9 speed cassette with a 50t chain ring would in practice make the difference irrelevant.
By having a much lower entry point for Di2 getting riders to try it seems like a great way to get a whole new set of sales for both Shimano and the bike shop.
The only downside that I can see is that Shimano could be worried about warranty returns if Di2 could not be made as cheaply as I am suggesting. Currently the retail price difference seems to be a bit over £300 for Ultegra Di2 over Ultegra mechanical, however I am unclear how much of this is “just because we can” rather than a reflection in costs.
Bye
Ian
Although generally a luddite I do like Di2 but one clear issue with it is that it is only available on Ultegra or Dura-Ace so it is hard to justify for many riders.
So I was wondering how many here would buy or recommend Sora Di2 if it was available on a bike like the Allez in preference to the same bike with Mechanical 105 at the same price?
Bikes like the Allez are often bought by new riders trying triathlons or time trialling for the first time, and in these cases being in the right gear and going as fast as possible is the objective.
One of the big benefits of Di2 is that it makes short term gear changes easy, on a typical country lane without Di2 I often take a break of a few seconds as the road dips a bit and be slightly over geared on the subsequent rise.
With Di2 I just make the necessary gear change and breathe a bit harder as I get no rest.
Clearly Sora has less gears and weighs a bit more than 105, but I would tend to discount the weight aspect at this level of rider performance.
The number of gears does at first glance appear to be a bigger issue, but a 12/13/14/15/16/17/19/21/23 9 speed cassette with a 50t chain ring would in practice make the difference irrelevant.
By having a much lower entry point for Di2 getting riders to try it seems like a great way to get a whole new set of sales for both Shimano and the bike shop.
The only downside that I can see is that Shimano could be worried about warranty returns if Di2 could not be made as cheaply as I am suggesting. Currently the retail price difference seems to be a bit over £300 for Ultegra Di2 over Ultegra mechanical, however I am unclear how much of this is “just because we can” rather than a reflection in costs.
Bye
Ian
