There are many other Di2 threads. It's rare to find anyone that switched back to mechanical. For other riders, Di2 isn't worth the extra expense.

Very few riders have posted having trouble with their Di2. It seems to be very reliable. (Just keep the battery charged -- there's a green/red status light on the junction box for the battery charge level.)


I have Di2 on my road bike, and mechanical shifters on my "touring & gravel road" bike.

Di2
I've always shifted a lot, trying to always stay at my preferred cadence. Now, with Di2, I shift even more often. I'll shift the back for just a couple of pedal strokes, then shift again. And I often shift the front chainring for very small roller climbs, even 40 or 50 feet high, and stay seated. I have the Di2 set to "shift 3 with a long press", so pressing the bottom button on both the front and back for 1/2 second (a "long press") moves the front from 50 to 34, and the back to 3 cogs smaller, just right for the base of a hill. Pressing the two top buttons does the opposite when I hit the downhill.

I did a 100 mile ride this summer that was 7500 feet of rolling hills. Very little flat ground. I was shifting the front a lot all day, it was great.

On fast (for me)group rides, the instant shifting helps me to hang on.

The shifting is like clicking a mouse. The rear shift is instant, and the front is quite fast and certain, and works under load too. And it auto trims as I shift the back, so there's no chain rub.

Mechanical
On my other bike, for gravel roads or for touring / all day rides, I've slowed down and don't need to shift quite as much. I tend not to be riding at a full effort on this bike, so I can use a wider range of cadences. I don't really miss the electronic shifts. Front shifts are a lot more effort, so I don't do them nearly as much.