Marcus_Ti

Yea...this is one of those topics that Shimano had to have an "Engrish" translation problem--because in their own literature it is never explained and the terminology they use itself confuses things even more.

"Semi" mode is the equivalent of the Campagnolo simultaneous front/rear gear dump. You still need both FD/RD controls-- because of the manually triggered simultaneous gear dump you can get a more-or-less linear gear progression as you shift/up down. In Di2 the RD can multi-shift 3 gears at a time.

"Full" basically eliminates the need for controlling the FD at all, and you can do paddle-shifting. You move the RD, and at pre-determined points Di2 will move both front and rear--and get you a more or less linear gear progression. SO for example you're in the 53/23, your next RD downshift the FD will down shift and the RD will (multi)upshift. Or the opposite, you're in your 39-13--your next RD upshift will upshift the FD and multidownshift the RD.


One of the rubs people have is that E-Tube is Windows only on desktop. Although if you have the wireless unit (either WU101 or WU111), you can program via Android or iOS app. It needs noted that the above are generalities--you can program and customize the heck out of Di2--I keep my brifters in a paddle-shifting style but my aerobar-end shifters in normal L/R FD/RD setup, with multishift set to 3 gears and so on. With Di2 you can use switches to scroll Garmin screens if you have spare buttons (like the hood buttons). Lots of neat stuff you can do with it.

Campag4life

Thank you Tim. No, I have no reservations about learning Di2 and set up. I am simply a duck way out of water with so little experience with it and in a very steep learning curve. Of course discovery is part of the fun of the hobby and why I finally got out from under the tree to see how the other half lives. I am a late bloomer and besides older than you and dirt so better get my licks in now.

Bike is slowly taking form...see pic below I had to unravel the bar tape and move the shifters up and rotate the bar down to make it more usable. Long/generous steerer I lowered the stem a bit. Nos. match my fit pretty well on this bike. I may ride it a hint more slammed than my other bike. Shifter ergos are way different than Campy which maybe a good thing...don't know till I try. Bike is a 58cm and came with a 44cm FSA bar measured hook to hook center...42cm between hood centers. I will likely go to a narrower bar which overall I prefer. But will give this a few rides to remember what it was like to ride such a wide bar.

I still need lots of parts I have on order. I need Speedplay pedals and bottle cages and a bike computer I am debating about. Thinking about the Garmin Edge 130...a minimalist GPS computer without elaborate mapping I don't need.

Its fun. But if the stock market keeps going down, I will need a job to pay for it.

Marcus_Ti

If you're moving brifters....FYI....


Leave some e-tube cable slack behind the brifter right at the cable/brifer junction under the bar tape (just a small circle of cable is enough. A common error people do building Di2 bikes is leaving none...in a crash what happens is the brifter gets knocked off axis, and with no-slack the cable can get unplugged.

Campag4life

Thanks so much noodle soup. Big help.
Once Windows software is loaded on my lap top, is the interface to Di2 through the USB battery charger for the seat post battery?...which connects thru the front Di2 junction box under the stem?

I have this charger on order...below Is that how it works?

As to our earlier conversation about any damage associated with Di2 rapid shift without suitable crank location. Check out post #18

https://forums.roadbikereview.com/ge...i2-355722.html
Again, no idea if this was his perception versus reality.

noodle soup

That's how I do it.

It's really simple. Just plug it in, and the app opens up.

noodle soup

He doesn't mention what brand of bike he was using(some derailleur hangers are really flimsy) or if the hanger had been bent previously.

noodle soup

the bike looks nice, but it needs one of these.

Campag4life

True...maybe the case.

Campag4life

That's cool! What do you think of the junction box that mounts inside the handlebar end?

Campag4life

Yes saw and read about it and discovered it when I unraveled the bar tape to relocated the shifters.
Many thanks for that tip!

noodle soup

Those are cool, if your handlebars have internal routing.

faulker479

The shop i got my Synapse from drilled my Aluminum bars to make it internal routing. That was Mid April this year and I have had no problems with it. When i decide to replace these bars with Carbon Fiber bars, i will make sure they are internal routing ready. This charging port really cleans up the bar/stem area.

Campag4life

Installed the battery in the seat tube and connected it with a snap and set my seat height. Connected my junction box under the stem to the downtube E-tube.
Mounted some crappy plastic pedals to spin it on the stand and first attempt nada. Hmmmm. Performed the two button RH shifter simulataneous push to check batt status and darks-ville. Nobody home. Hmmmm. I was told the bike was shipped with full battery charge and I struggled getting the seatpost in...no doubt encumbered by the e-tube on the way down. Pulled the seatpost out, reconnected the E-tube and double RH shifter button push and....let there be light.

Reinstalled the seatpost and double button push again and this time the wire stayed connected. Only weak link in the entire bike I have seen so far is the battery in the seat post connection may not be a very strong snap in place to the E-tube inside the seat tube and hopefully will stay put moving forward as I ride the bike. I won't be removing the seat post on this bike if I don't have to for sure to not further wear this connection.

On to the stand and success. Bike shifts beautifully out of the box and the auto trim is very cool...it has a brain.

One thing I didn't know was...in the small ring in front as I stairstep down the cassette in back, as I get to what I believe is the second smallest cog in back, it will not shift to a smaller cog in back to preclude further X-chain in the small ring in front. I didn't know this feature existed...or at least the way mine is programmed.

It doesn't seem to need to be tuned because it shifts nicely and maybe best not to fiddle with it.

Wanted to share. Thanks a lot guys for all the great advice. Huge help to get me up and running.

noodle soup

are you using a compact crankset?

if Di2 is programmed with a compact crankset, I think it blocks out a small/small combo.

Campag4life

ns, yes, I believe you are correct.
On this bike is a mid compact aka 52/36 which I believe uses a compact BCD but with ring size between full size and reg compact.
Yes, the programming is such on the small ring in front, it stops on the second to smallest cog in back. I believe this is to mitigate the dreaded rattle when the chain rubs on the inside edge of the big chainring when on the small ring in front and smallest cog in back. Most of my bikes with mechanical shifting and compact exhibit that big chainring rub issue...can't be tuned out.
In the big ring which of course doesn't have the chain rattle issue of the small chainring, it will run all the way up and down the cassette.

Campag4life

Sure is clever tech and permutations all the possible configurations are pretty mind numbing...
Sounds like you certainly know your way around it and use it to its fullest.

Your explanation was very clear. Thanks so much Marcus.

tigat

That was/is the plan for my current Domane. Trouble is the IsoCore bars on the SLR 9 are not internally routed and can't be drilled. LBS head mechanic thinks he can thread it anyway. I think I'll give him a shot and keep you posted.

Campag4life

Appreciate it tigat and good luck. Super clean.

MidTNBrad

I got an R3 with Ultegra Di2 in 2016 and have about 5000 miles on it. Makes me smile every time I stomp on the peddles. Good luck with the build, you're going to love it!

rm -rf

The cable tool
I would never yank on the cable to disconnect it. And it needs to be securely clicked in when plugging the cable in. The tool is very useful--and my LBS included it with the bike. (Although I did drop the rear derailleur when I unscrewed it from the dropout to check the dropout alignment, and the cable unplugged itself with no problems.

Charging
Yes, just plug that charger cable assembly into a USB power block. The charger box's light goes out when the charging is done. I used a silver sharpie to mark the top side of the tiny plug to make it easier to attach to the bike's junction box.
No laptop is required for charging. Use the PC/laptop with e-tube to change the settings.

My 8050 Di2 didn't have any syncro shifting options when I got it. I still don't see the need for it -- I want to shift the front derailleur myself. Sometimes I want to cross chain -- when I'll be shifting back in a few more pedal strokes.

Charging Intervals
It's interesting how long some riders go between charges. A year, or 5 months? I must shift a lot more often than they do. I used to get maybe 6 to 8 weeks between charges. And once, I needed a recharge after about 400 miles, but that was a series of longer rides with continuous rollers, essentially no flat roads the whole time. The Di2 was great, I could easily shift the front even for a very small hill climb, and shift the back all the time.

Micro adjust
Fine tuning the rear derailleur is simple. (It rarely needs to be changed once it's good.)
On my 8050, hold the button on the junction box until the light goes red. Then each click of the right shifter moves the derailleur setting a tiny amount in that shift's direction. So it's easy to move the derailleur over just a fraction of a millimeter, to quiet some chain noise. Press the junction button again, and it remembers the new setting.

Doctor Morbius

Campag4life, that's a beautiful looking bike!

Just curious, what ever came of your Secteur frame that was bubbling paint. Did the shop help you out?

Campag4life

Great to know and thanks Brad for the well wishes. Congrats on your R3. For 2018/2019 they separated the R3 and R5 just a bit more other than carbon lay up.
Principle bikes are the same except, slight more racy shorter stack by 8mm for the R5 I don't prefer due my long inseam and aging body...and Cervelo added a D shaped seat post I won't want either to save a handful of grams of air drag at 30mph...said to be a 2 watt diff between the R3 and R5 and a not to be sneezed at 250g difference in weight.
But, they took 150g out of the new R3 and kept the R5 weight the same because it is already as light as a thimble at sub 700g...one of the lightest frames in the industry.

In summary, I didn't want the R5 nor did I want to pay the king's ransom for one. The R3 is a better match for me all said.

Thanks again and enjoy yours!

GCN's review of Cervelo's 'grand tour' classic road bike, the R-series:

Campag4life

More great insight rm-rf. Very helpful and thanks so much. All steps I will use as I learn about Di2 ownership.
I believe I read while in micro adjust mode, a single lever push either direction manifests a 1/12 increment of normal shift lateral displacement in the rear. So I will take a better look at shifting performance. Shifting seems to be fractionally slower up the cassette than down as it selects the next gear, and maybe micro adjust needs a slight tweak more up the cassette.

Since I have some time before I take it out on the road as I wait on some Speedplay pedals...get the shifters where I like 'em, rewrap the tape etc, I am going to tear it down a bit and you remind me to adjust the rear derailleur hanger with the Park alignment tool as they are never straight from the factory. A good time to do it now. I also removed the crank to make sure there was proper grease and noticed that Cervelo uses their threaded BBright sleeve that connects both sides but with reducing spacers from 30mm to 24mm and use a wave washer which is interesting...a bit belt an suspenders to keep some lateral preload on the 'mechanical pre-load' Shimano Ultegra crank...hadn't seen that before with Shimano cranks. Most just run Shimano cranks with preload and no wave washer. Presumably they do it to keep preload on the spacers and keep them quiet. As you know, mechanical preload can keep some preload on but with time, it can reduce a bit without a spring aka wave washer in the axial stack to keep a small amount of lateral pressure on the bearings and/or spacers. An interesting find none-the- less and somewhat makes sense even though it might appear as slightly redundant.

A last question about micro adjust. How about for the front derailleur. Is micro adjust applicable there?...any tips to fine tune the front derailleur? Mine seems to be ok but not sure if shifting to the big ring could even be cleaner. A note about the FD, the servo is much louder when making the big shift compared to the back. Presuming its normal but it makes a fair amount of noise to make a shift in front from small to big ring...presuming it takes more power in front to lift the chain versus shifting laterally in the back and hence the noise disparity. Is that right?

Thanks again for your thoughtful words. Big help.

Campag4life

Thanks Doc. Much appreciated.

The Secteur saga had a pretty happy ending. I wasn't the orginal owner. I have a good rapport with the lead mech at my local bike shop and try to throw them a lot of business because I am somewhat invested in our town cycling community. He went to bat for me and scored a frameset replacement for the Secteur...a 2018 Spesh Allez Elite. This is really the model replacement for the discontinued Secteur which had a good run as a lower cost Roubaix because frame material was Al as you know. . Spesh basically took Tarmac geometry and relaxed the angles and increased the stack. 3 pts of contact with the bike for the same frame size are close between new Allez and basically what was an aluminum Roubaix, the widely popular lower end Secteur.

So the shop really took care of me and I don't even do a lot of business with them but the head mech is a fantastic guy and me and him speak the same language, bike and we get along great. My Secteur had Campy on it. The shop insisted on performing the frame swap because they wanted the labor profit which of course I was cool with. As with every bike I ever get out of a shop, I rebuild it because a shop can't spend the time to make it just right which as you know is an individual thing anyway. Long time cyclists have particular taste that they develop over time and so we each like our bikes set up a bit different...a particular bar tilt and shifter location, saddle setback and tilt and even gears and brake travel different. When I got it home after riding it a bit, I tore it down and now its dialed in and how I like it.

I will say Doc I am surprised a bit. I expected the Allez with all the fantasy computer modeling skills of Spesh, to make the new Allez a much better bike than the Secteur. It simply isn't. I expected there to be more of a diff in ride and handling and even speed. Nope. The Secteur is basically a slightly heavier Roubaix and truthfully like the Roubaix, there are few bikes as poised on the road and easier to ride I have ever ridden. Unflappable. The Allez has slightly more upright angles and yes, turn in is a hint quicker but the bike doesn't feel as planted on the road. There is virtually nothing in speed difference either even though the Allez is lighter. The Allez may sprint just a hint faster out of the saddle, but not enough to matter much for this type of bike. Don't feel the Allez takes the bumps better either in spite of all the hype about the dropped seat stays. More laid out angles of the Secteur helped it take the bumps and it had Zertz dampers in the four corners and the Allez doesn't. I like the Allez and its growing on me. It gets tall praise in the press as one of the best Al roadbikes 'value wise' on the market. Can't fault Specialized super high tech development of the bike. It just isn't notably better than the more dated and curvaceous 'art deco' Secteur with same components. Personality between the two is only different although I am sure riders exist who would have a preference. I really liked the Secteur and a faithful companion on beach rides with filled panniers..

A pic of new Allez below. Its my hotrod townie. Night train. Guys on $8K carbon race bikes hate I can hold their wheel with rack and platform pedals on the thing . It will run if you put the watts down as will just about any dropbar bike with 25c tires.
I sometimes take on the A group ride to elicit snickers from all the high zoot bike owners...my buddies who get a laugh over me riding it. For the most part, I can keep up but have to work harder than fellow riders on their slammed, weightless rocket ships.


.

Kimmo

The FD is adjusted mechanically - two limit screws and a third one for position.