MikeOK

Yeah 195 riders on stage 9 all but the tt over 100 miles and we have 1 maybe 2 failures? That's pretty good to me and just think how many in the past had to tinker to keep their mechanicals working. When I ordered my bike my first choice was a titanium with mechanical. I bought my second choice since they were out of my size in titanium and this one had the Di2. I didnt think I really wanted the Di2 but now that I've ridden with it I'll never go back to mechanical. I say spring for it you'll not be disappointed.

Andy_K 

You can not call it that if you like, but it's something that needs to be done to keep it working. That's maintenance, even if it is easy.

TCR Rider

Do you think of charging your phone as maintenance? I charge mine no more than once a month if that often and check for firmware updates while I'm at it. I don't miss replacing cables and barrel adjusters in fact it's so low maintenance I almost feel guilty.....almost

Campag4life

Froome. He had to change bikes because his rear derailleur stopped shifting. Di2.

Marcus_Ti

When did he say that? I haven't seen that printed.

Then again Brailsford literally told CyclingNews to "F___ off" when they tried to get comment on the stage.

Athens80

That's one (possible/likely) Di2 failure. No one in the thread has identified a second Di2 failure, to justify the thread title.

Athens80

I did hear Froome say in an interview that he had a problem with his gears. At least in what I heard, he wasn't more specific than that. So it sounded like a shifting problem, since breaking the cassette or other problems are more rare. After a derailleur issue, and barring a cable issue which he won't have with Di2, I suppose the next most common problem is a bent hanger or cage, but we don't know of any incident that would have caused that. So Di2 seems a possible or likely suspect, though not convicted beyond a reasonable doubt.

MikeOK

All I can say about Di2 is in all the threads I've seen, I have yet to see anyone who has it and doesn't like it. Most people rave about it. The only negative I've read is from people who haven't tried it.

jon c. 

I've read that with the current generation of batteries it no longer matters when you recharge as long as you fully recharge. But I don't know if that's definitive as there seems to be a lot of conflicting information.

StanSeven

I saw he uses a custom switch on the bar tops. That might be the source of problems.

Campag4life

Everybody likes it until it breaks. Ridiculous to compare Joe six pack to GC riders who ride a bike for a living where bikes routinely bump into one another during a race. Pro racing is a different world. You may not believe some choose to ride mechanical groupsets because they believe them to be more reliable in the heat of the battle, but some pros feel this way. This is particularly relevant btw in classics races like the Roubaix where vibration is a bigger factor. Many choose mechanical over electric groupsets because they feel they are more bullet proof.
Keep in mind, electric groupsets are a combination of mechanical and electric. Mechanical are just mechanical and are simpler. So 'liking' a given groupset has very little to do with whether a groupset will get you over the finish line in a big race. I like Porsches for example. I don't choose one for my daily driver because they typically are harder to fix and maintain compared to a Toyota.

Marcus_Ti

The good old standby arguments...you used Di2?

Mechanical groups: just as impossible to repair if anything breaks. A hell of a lot more moving parts. More susceptible to contamination. Needs (more) regular maintenance. Needs consumables. Much higher lever dead space and throw...Oh and the number of people racing Di2 in the pro peloton outweigh those on mechanical by a large margin typically.


Yea it is "simpler" only if you don't actually think about it.



Still haven't heard about 2 Di2 failures on Stage 9...or even one.

rm -rf

I used up most of a Di2 seatpost charge in about 400 miles. It was a series of long, hilly rides, all rolling hills, so I was shifting all the time. Often, after just a few pedal strokes. I shifted the chainrings on a lot of the small hills, just because it was so easy to shift, I wouldn't have shifted the rings nearly as much if it was mechanical. It worked great.

And I still shift a lot more than many riders. I think a typical recharge interval for me is 800 to 1000 miles. But I usually charge within a few rides when the battery indicator goes from solid green (50-100% charge) into blinking green (25-50% charge).

~~~~~

It's likely just the additional "sprinter" shift button that can be placed anywhere under the bar tape. I think most sprinters put it on the bar curve so their thumb can reach it, but I saw a report that Cavendish has it on the front of the curve for his index finger.

Di2 cables plug in similarly to an ethernet switch box, the signal is forwarded out each port in the junction box. There's no dedicated ports for certain components, so it's easy to add an extra switch along with the ones behind the brakes.

Athens80

Here's the report from Chris Froome of the one gear problem in stage 9 not resulting from collision:

StanSeven

What I read was Froome didn't like the standard sprinter button and uses a much smaller one someone made just for him. Like you said the cables and box are standard. The only possible problem is in the switch.

HardyWeinberg

That's the Femke van den Driessche button right?

MikeOK

Have you tried Di2?

MikeOK

2 months of riding and I'm still solid green. It took me 30 seconds to check and that includes me getting out of my easy chair and walking out to the shop.

Cyclist0108

Di2 has a crash-protection mechanism whereby you have to reset the derailleur after impact, to prevent a disaster if (for example) the hanger is bent enough to send it into the spokes when shifting to the lowest gear. There is a simple reset procedure, but I would have to look it up in the instruction manual. Without knowing anything else, I would hazard to guess that this might be what happened.

If the battery was low (unlikely), the front derailleur will stop working first. You get ample warning, and the check is very simple -- you get a red light when you hold down a shift button long before you run out of charge.

I use mine on rough trails a lot, and haven't had any issue in the three years I have had it. But I don't race (or even go fast).

MikeOK

Yes it is simple to reset it when it gets into crash mode. I don't remember exactly how to do it either but it's simple, I saw a YouTube video showing how to do it.

To check the battery on my version on either side you push both up and down switches at the same time, apparently it's different on different firmware. Oh and whoa is me, it was such a burden to do that

Marcus_Ti

Reasons I love my MT800 display...

MikeOK

I wish I had that MT800. I also wish I could do the synchronized shifting but that requires the newest battery. I can swap the switch function, I always thought the front derailleur was backwards. Try to do that with cables.

Campag4life

Ridden it and worked on it. To me its a gimmick. No value added and loss of tactile feel.
Personal preference all said. Over and above introducing the element of electronics into the riding equation affecting system reliability through environment changes including crashes. Just like Nibali who could have ridden EPS to his TdF victory. When asked he said flatly, he sees no value in EPS which btw many prefer to Di2. Instead he rode Campy mechanical Super Record to win.

MikeOK

Your username says it all. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. And we still just have one failure, most likely Froome. He said in an interview today that the rear derailleur wouldn't move so I'll give you that one.

Campag4life

Actually my user name says very little other than an ID. I own bikes with Campy derailleurs with Shimano cranks and brakesets, wheelsets and cassettes and Shimano chain. I have no allegiance to any manufacturer. I ride what I prefer. To me Campy ergos are most comfortable and I prefer their shifting method. I also rode DA9000 for a summer and still prefer Campy.