Going Di2 as an amateur cyclist - is there any tangible value in it?

[nickAKA]

I'm looking at options for my next bike and contemplating whether there's a good enough reason to go for Di2 (if it can be done within a reasonable budget). The Merlin Cordite is currently £1500 with Di2 so the direction of travel price wise, certainly on that older 6800 groupset, looks promising.

My dilemma is based mainly around how easy / difficult it is to tinker with the indexing if I need to swap wheels or cassettes. I'm assuming it MUST be simpler to index given that you take the cable tension out of the equation right from the off, but I really have no idea.

Any opinions on the pros & cons appreciated; option one is just to go Ultegra as an obvious upgrade on my current groupset but as I intend the next purchase to be a long-term mile muncher it'd be nice to have something a bit more future-proof and reduce the risk of wanting to upgrade again in a couple of years!

 

[Globalti]

Di2 is amazing but personally I can't justify spending the money and adding the weight when traditional cable Ultegra is so good and so easy to fettle.

Given a choice I would spend my money on a good frame with 105 or Ultegra then gradually upgrade it with better groupset and wheels as time goes by, which is exactly what I've done with my Roubaix Comp.

 

[steveindenmark]

My Koga Solicio has Di2. None of my other bikes have.

When I get up and go to work I have to choose between my Koga Solicio and my Genesis CDF and it is always a close call. Its 50/50.

Di2 is a luxury, no doubt about it and its great to go up and down the "Box" with no clicks or crunches. But you can live without it. In all honesty, I would save your money and invest in a good saddle rather than have Di2.

But go and arrange a test ride on something with Di2. I wouldnt want a Porche. But I wouldnt mind test driving one.

 

[nickAKA]

Thanks for the replies chaps - as a quick aside re the ultegra; are the 6800 bits becoming difficult to get hold of? Not long ago you could pick up an 11-32 cassette from anywhere but they're out of stock practically everywhere now. I vaguely recall Shimano having a fire in the recent past (?) so is it just a production issue or have they killed the range off?

 

[vickster]

Thanks for the replies chaps - as a quick aside re the ultegra; are the 6800 bits becoming difficult to get hold of? Not long ago you could pick up an 11-32 cassette from anywhere but they're out of stock practically everywhere now. I vaguely recall Shimano having a fire in the recent past (?) so is it just a production issue or have they killed the range off?

Just get a Sram cassette

 

[Drago]

You won't go a single second quicker. However, you'll quite likely love it.

Buy it because you'll enjoy it, not out of any expectation of performance improvements.

That said, invest the money in the best frame you can afford. Hanging Top flight kit on a mid range frame won't make the mid range frame any better.

 

[biggs682]

i have it on a Viner Maxima and enjoy using it but ......... i think normal well set up sti's are just as nice to use and just as quick to use

Only issue i have had is that you need to be wearing fairly thin gloves

 

[MichaelO]

i have it on a Viner Maxima and enjoy using it but ......... i think normal well set up sti's are just as nice to use and just as quick to use

Only issue i have had is that you need to be wearing fairly thin gloves

To change gear on di2? I find easier to change with di2 with thick gloves on, than normal shifters.

A definite luxury, but a very enjoyable one. Can't say there's much performance difference, but not having to re-index is great (and even if you do have to index, you can do it as you are riding along!)

 

[nickAKA]

To change gear on di2? I find easier to change with di2 with thick gloves on, than normal shifters.

A definite luxury, but a very enjoyable one. Can't say there's much performance difference, but not having to re-index is great (and even if you do have to index, you can do it as you are riding along!)

That's what I wanted to hear really - speed advantage isn't my main consideration, more ease of use / setup. In my novice mind I assume once you've set the hi/lo limits it should all be plain sailing - please correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[si_c]

I'm considering it as a possible future upgrade, am considering ultegra but di2 wouldn't break the bank as an upgrade kit not including the whole drivetrain.

A consideration for me would be long distance rides, after a certain distance I can feel the shifts in my wrists on mechanical.

 

[jowwy]

Buy it, enjoy it and dont look back......

Luxury = yes
Enjoyable = yes
Easy to set-up = yes
Costly = yes

Smile on face = huge

 

[derrick]

I have it on both my Cervelo's. would never go back to cables.

 

[Globalti]

My only grouse with cable shifting is that on many groupsets, by the time the RD gets down the cassette to the penultimate gear the parallelogram spring is almost fully relaxed and sometimes they don't drop promptly into top gear, even with a well-maintained cable. So yes, Di2 woud solve that issue.

 

[betty swollocks]

You'll never fluff a gear change again and thus change gears far more often to suit the terrain, rather than muscle it.
Indexing is a doddle.

 

[jowwy]

but if your going to go electric - sram etap is mint and well worth the investment - i have it on my Ti and love the simplicity of the set-up and zero cables