Jiggle

Unless you just have money to burn, it's not worth $500 more for what you get. Cancellara still uses mechanical and did just fine in Flanders last year.

Rekless1

I have Di2 on my latest bike, not for any good reason. It's fun and fast and puts a smile on your face for a while when it's new. On a TT bike it would probably be the nuts, but I don't ride a TT bike.

But there's nothing to 'gain'. It's not cheap, the parts are not cheap and you can't really 'fix' it on the fly. It's bit heavier and of course you have to remember to keep it charged. Battery life right now is a bit hit and miss, sometimes it seems to die sooner than others. No idea why yet.

Bottom line is I think it's cool but completely unnecessary. If I didn't get the deal I did on this last bike, I could live with it or without it. If I only owned one bike, it would probably be mechanical. It's cool and techy if you like that, if not then not so much. Nothing to be "afraid" of either way though, IMO.

BoSoxYacht

If you can afford Di2, there's no real downside. I bought Di2 for my SO to replace the SRAM Red she had on her TT bike, and she says it's the best gift she's ever been given.

I can't bring myself to upgrade over 6800, but I haven't seen any reason other than cost to not go with Di2.

bahula03

Steering clear of the philosophical debate and addressing the OP's question;

I've had 6770 on my bike for a few years now and it has been absolutely brilliant, I say yes. You aren't signing yourself up for any crazy repair bills if something isn't working right. If you crash, it's going to be more expensive to replace things (particularly 9070), but I'll leave that risk analysis to you. There are three reasons I can think of not to get Di2; you're looking to build the lightest possible bike, the cost of Di2 taking substantial money out of your frame/wheelset budget, or some luddite nuttery about electronics not belonging on bikes/keeping them simple machines

Lanceoldstrong

▲ ▲ ▲ Couldn't agree more. I love my 6700 on my bike. 10,000 trouble free and perfect shifting miles so far.

bt

4: you prefer mechanical

bt

so, you're agreeing with his assessment of his electric gruppo while stating you have mechanical as if yours is the same?

Lanceoldstrong

Oops I was confoozled. I love my electric shifting.

colnago62

I heard that there some pro teams that opted for mechanical due to the cost. I assume these were teams that did not have a component sponsor. If you have the money to spend, why not?

R1lee

she feels the same way that 99% of people who switch over to electronics does. It's even more beneficial on TT bikes. With that high of percentage of happy owners, not sure why there are still so many detractors.

no, you're wrong. People are willing to spend more on electronic once they have experienced it, so it is worth it. As you can see in this thread, electronic owners will probably never go back to mechanical.

This is something I would ask my kids, If cancellera jumped off a bridge and committed suicide, I guess I can count on you to follow? How's the trek domane you're riding?

Trsnrtr

This is kind of where I am. I'm satisfied with mechanical, especially my Record bike, but my 6800 bike is fine shifting, too. Having said that, I'd go electronic if the chance arose and the money was available.

I learned shifting on 5 speed non-indexing and heard similar arguments when Shimano 600 indexing came out in the 80s. I ignored indexing until I won an upgrade kit as a prime and never looked back. As the say goes, innovate or die or for us, it' sad opt or get dropped. <--I'm joking, of course.

BoSoxYacht

yeah, I thought indexed shifting was just a fad, so I paid extra to get the next model up (with Suntour Superbe Pro).

StanSeven

Pros are very superstitious. That's often a reason for many of their individual actions/decisions.

LAJ

The expensive part of electric shifting is not the original bike. It's outfitting all the rest of the bikes you own with it.

randallr

One comment about electric and those of us who do our own work: I've heard you don't want your fingers anywhere near the derailleur of an electric shift bike when the shift happens. Bad things can happen very fast.

rpenmanparker 

Electronic shifting is not just a fad, and it will take over the high-end racing and enthusiast markets over the next few years. I don't need anything new right now so I am in no hurry to adopt it. I think that if you have functional bikes at this moment without electronic shifting, then waiting for wireless electronic makes sense. That improvement will be the one to standardize on as the frame configurations (internal wiring, etc.) will make a final adaptation to the new standard and settle down for a long time. No sense buying a frame that is full of holes that aren't serving any purpose.

SRAM! Alright already. Enough with the fooling around. Poop or get off the pot.

Trsnrtr

I was running Suntour Superbe Pro when I won the 600 upgrade which went on a spare bike. The next year, I bought a new at that time Ultra group.

rpenmanparker 

Yeah, converting three bikes at once could be a b*tch depending on how you go about it. All in good time I suppose. But if you like your crank and your brakes (no matter what brands they are), we are only talking about the derailleurs and levers. Unless you are changing from 10 to 11 at the same time, no need to replace your rings, cassette and chain. Especially when electronic moves downline another step (like 105), outfitting the lesser steeds in your stable shouldn't be too big a burden.

Bah Humbug

I remember a time when Slashdot had serious discussions about whether

(1) digital cameras would ever take off as more than toys
(2) McDonald's needed a website. After all, you can't order online (that'd be crazy, they can't deliver!), and if you need to apply for a job, just go in person!

Yeah, I predict it won't be all that long (decade maybe?) before Di2-only starts at Dura-Ace and trickles down to at least 105, with cable shifting left as a cheap relic for $700 bike shop bikes and big box trash bikes.

BoSoxYacht

SRAM pooped when they started making road components.

Bah Humbug

If you have to "pay attention" to shifting (front or rear) your derailleurs aren't adjusted correctly. Now, it's an indictment on cable shifting that it's so often slightly mis-adjusted (I know mine is), but when it's perfect, it's perfect.

rpenmanparker 

I know, I know. We agree to disagree on this. But their wireless electronic shifting could be a game changer...or not. I just want to see.

JohnJ80

I'm interested to see this but it will be too late for me with the Di2 bike I'm building this winter. I think it makes for some interesting things in frame design (especially for a MTB group) but on the other hand, having 3 or 4 batteries to manage seems like not such a great idea. Somewhere I heard that Shimano has a wireless group waiting in the wings too.

J.

robbyville

True enough on all points, but at least in the case of the Dura Ace line, 9070 is a tad (around 24g) lighter than its mechanical counterpart. While some websites differ, I can say that I saved 22g when I made the swap (which included housing and cables). Not that it matters of course .

Unboxed: Shimano Di2 9070 Actual Weights

Jiggle

Suicide is an objective evil. If electronic were an objective advantage, your argument would make sense, but it isn't.

edit - also, incidentally, one of the Europecar riders in that race in the breakaway dropped his chain at the bottom of one of the climbs. He was on EPS. Lot of good that electronic did him!