Barrettscv 

My sturdy Pedal Force CG2 road bike is 5 years and has about 5000 miles on it. It's used for faster rides on dry days, it's one of several bikes I use.

The Shimano 5603 105 drivetrain has never been a perfect performer on this bike. (The same exact drivetrain works perfectly on my CX bike with external cable routing, and it's my rain bike). It's a large bike with internal cable routing and the rear derailleur suffers from cable bind that several professional mechanics have never completely sorted out. The drivetrain has seen it's best days and parts like cables, BB, cassettes and chainrings are starting to show some wear.

I like the fit and the ride of the frame, I also like that the frame is unpainted and lacks the billboard graphics of most bikes.

I'm considering installing an Ultegra 6870 digital drivetrain with 2x11 gearing. It should shift quickly and accurately. I've read the online Part Tool install document for installation.

Is this a project that a good amateur mechanic can do himself? Will the system be reliable or are the electronics temperamental?

jimc101

Di2 is a well proven and now in it's 2nd generation, nothing to be afraid of for reliability now or user install-ability; would be doing the math on what a complete bike will cost vs upgrading an old one though, as they may not be too much in, it for the advantage of getting everything new.

You haven't mentioned wheels, a bike from 2010 will have a 10 speed rear hub, and will probably need a new rear wheel, as most older hubs are not capable of being updated to 11 speed.

Also, most new bike have internal cable routing, you mention this on your current frame, but can you get gromits to fit the holes, as the Di2 cables are a lot smaller than gear cables.

Barrettscv 

Good info. The wheels are HED and they offer an 11 speed upgrade kit for the hub I have. I'm willing to budget $1500 and I'll apply the take-off parts to a different bike.

A new digital Ultegra bike is more than $2000, yes?

My bike might sell for only $600, it's a no-name bike in a 61cm frame size.

andr0id

If you like your frame, you can keep your frame.

I went to 11 mechanical after getting my Waterford repainted. It was Ultegra 10 before that.
The cassette body is the main thing and will set you back about $100 for most mfgs.

Planet Cyclery probably has the best US prices on groups, but you can save more if you buy from ProBikeKit and are willing to wait a few weeks for it to show up. You might get hit with some customs and "bowl shirt" processing fees ($25ish), but it still comes out to be less even after that.

Go online to the Shimano site and download all the Dealers Manuals for each component and the Di2 overall document. They are in pdf form and very useful. Follow the FD instructions exactly!

Good Luck!!

sch

Probikit has very good prices, but at present does not seem to offer 170mm 50x34 cranks. I got my 10spd Di2 group from them
for $1100, which then, excluded the cranks but had everything else. Currently for about the same price you get the complete
11 spd group including crank. They were sent in baggies FWIW no literature, but it is all online. You may not have a US warranty
if that is a concern. Someone recently posted this US source for sub-groupset Di2 kit at excellent prices: Shimano Ultegra 6870 Di2 Gear Kit | Road Bike Electronic Components | Merlin Cycles

If I get the upgrade bug, I would want the mid-range RD, which seems to be in short supply on the secondary market, as it
allows an 11-32 cassette, which with 50/34 cranks gets you the same gearing as a 9-10spd triple with 11-28 cassette. For
me that would be ideal.