New road bike.What would you choose between components. Cheap wheels & electronic shifting di2(r8050), or, good alu wheels 50mm profile ,rotor crankset, but with mechanical old ultegra (6800) Both bikes same geometry.
Thanks.

Do one this year, and the other next year. I would consider it a draw for which to do first. In my case, I chose wheels first and only recently upgraded to Di2 one year later.

I'd do the Di2 first and upgrade the wheels later. A) much easier upgrade B) It's always nice to have a spare wheelset around.

"Duh!"

I mean spare wheels. A backup set is essential if you ride much.

For me, it would be Di2 instead of wheels every time.

Di2:
I always shifted a lot, looking for that "just right" cadence. Di2 is fantastic on rolling hills, or when hanging on to a group that's a little too fast for me. I'll often shift for just a couple of pedal strokes, then shift again. It's fast and drama free to get into the right gear for a short, steep climb instead of grinding up in a high gear. I can use my ring finger from the hoods, or an index finger from the drops.

If you ride flat roads or mostly long climbs, the instant shifting might not be as big of a deal.

Wheels:
Some years ago, the stock wheels on my old bike developed spoke hole cracks, so I got a new wheel set. It was 450 grams lighter, 1550 vs 2000 grams. I noticed quicker steering response, and it "seemed" faster, but that pound of weight wasn't going to make an obvious difference in my speed.

New wheels for racing, for time trialing, for looks.

Alu wheels with a 50mm profile?! What do those weigh 1,500g each? Di2 all day every day.

Di2 no question. Very awesome upgrade can't wait to get my Di2. I would run terrible wheels and have Di2 but that is me.

Mech Ultegra is really nice. But Di2 is even nicer, and it's a harder upgrade.

This.

+1 on Di2 now, with a wheel upgrade in the future.

The Campagnolo Bullet Ultra weigh 1,590g total

Yes, it's a carbon rim with an aluminium braking track

The Dura Ace C60 weigh 1,851g

Normally, I would go wheels first actually...I don't spend my time shifting. I do spend 100% of my time on the wheels though. However, in this particular instance, I wouldn't care about the Rotor crankset, Shimano's fine with me, so in that regard, I would find better value in getting the di2 bike then upgrading the wheels later on. I'd probably stick with a shallower profile too. That's personal preference.

This....

And this.

There are very few fully aluminum wheels deeper than 30mm that are worth it. I'm going to be really skeptical without more information on what bikes, what wheels, etc. As someone who has one with full 6800 mechanical, and another bike with full 6870 Di2, I'd go with the Di2 and upgrade wheels later.

What are the "cheap" wheels?

Regardless, if you want Di2 (and it sounds like you do), get that and do the wheels later. Wheels can be swapped in seconds; installing Di2 will take much longer. And you can find better deals on wheels if you wait and shop for a while than you can on Di2.

Thanks everybody for the inlight. Di2 it is. If Alu wheels 50 mm deepae worth the 600 backs is another long story

After swapping to DI2 on my bike, its always DI2 first before anything and everything else. You can crunch your gears, you can cross chain while going up hill standing on the pedals and change gears. You wont drop a chain. You can mash all you like. You will no drop a chain, the derailleurs are stronger than you are. You don't have to worry about it anymore. Even if you select the wrong gear you can fix that also. I can change 6gears quicker than you can change 3 with a mechanical bike.

Anyone who goes for a mechanical bike in 2018 over an electronic one is a little bit daft. I've had mech Ultegra, and electronic Ultegra. I also have a bike with SRAM Rival mechanical components. I've ridden high end components. I will never buy a mechanical bike outright again in my life. I'm sorry but no, I won't.

Above a pretty low minimum, wheels (especially carbon) are for show. (And I'm guilty.) di2 will improve your life.

Ultegra is very nice, but it’s not “high end”, and SRAM Rival is closer to entry level, than it is to high end. Di2 is nice, but I wouldn’t call someone daft for going 9100 instead of 8050.

You boys and your electric shifters......quite a security blanket

it’s insane, isn’t it?

Di2 is nice, but it’s absolutely unnecessary. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a mechanical shifting bike again. I just bought a Di2 bike, but only because it was the best price on the frameset I needed.

I was looking for a very lightly used 60cm Domane with DA, and I couldn’t find a mechanical shifting version at any price.

I understand what you are saying, but I think most people that are saying “get Di2”, are looking at this from the perspective that either way, an upgrade is likely in the future. It’s far easier to get a great price on a wheelset later, and it’s a simple upgrade.

Wow.

On edit: The totally incoherent rant I was referring to has been deleted ... sort of.