Cold and wet here in the Pacific Northwest, so time to mess around with the bike!
I know a number of people have done these conversions. I just did this and thought I’d share the details in case it helps anyone. Plus I’d like to hear thoughts from those that have ridden these a while.

The Bike: Co-Motion coupled primera (2005). We love this bike and have travelled with it a number of times. The original setup was ultegra 9speed with v-brakes (tektro cx 8.4). It was quite nice, but I am fussy about the shifting which required constant attention.

The goal: wider and lower gear range, better shifting. We mostly credit card tour in hilly spots. I really like this bike and wanted to see what I could do with it.

What I did:
I put a 28T ring on the inner position of the original FSA gossamer triple. I put a 46t Wickwerks ring in the middle position. (I installed this in the correct orientation so the ramps would work, even though it’s meant as an outer ring. The bolt heads sit a bit proud, but do not interfere with shifting at any point.) Outer position left blank. Added a 2mm BB spacer on the right side, giving a front chain line of 47mm-ish.

I used an XT 11-40 cassette, which fits the original DT/Hugi hub. XT/Ultegra chain (w/114links if someone’s interested). This provides a gear inch range of 19-114 (600%). This compares to 545% with the original triple. The gaps are similar with 11 speed vs 9, and that doesn’t bug me. This gives us the low we want. Lower top gear. We spin out at around 35 mph, and I’m happy to coast past that.

For shifting, I had the luxury of being able to borrow some gear to test.
I tried sram etap red 11 speed. Not AXS, as I need to keep rim brakes and 11 speed. WiFli (A1) RD with a road link. This works perfectly. No more, no less. No issues in any combination.

I then pulled that off and put on Ultegra Di2 (rx805/8050). No roadlink. This too worked perfectly.

Even though I have had Di2 on my road bike for 8 years, I was still surprised at how much better the shifting was with either system. Both fronts shifted the 18 tooth gap without any issue. Both setups allowed full cross chaining without breaking anything, although we try not to do that. The braking was better, as both levers are simply better than the originals.

I have to choose one setup. I really want to like the etap. Clean and simple for travel. But I really prefer the shimano hoods and their shifting logic. Di2 wires mean external run (a bit ugly) or internal (pricey frame mods). Also, these items can be hard to source for a rim brake or mechanical disc setup. Shimano still produces Di2/rim brake levers. SRAM doesn’t make the levers anymore. Maybe some other minor pros/cons, such as battery life.

Curious about what folks would take as spares on a multi week tour? I’ve talked to people who take a set of shift levers and a rear derailleur, figuring those are the most likely to break.

Anyway, hope that info helps someone who is considering a similar change. I;d be happy to hear thoughts from those who’ve used these a bit, particularly etap.

Thanks,
Joel