Viewing 23 posts - 81 through 103 (of 103 total)
  • Great XTR Di2 article/review on cyclingtips
  • nemesis
    Free Member

    Too right. And imagine having gears on bikes. Or suspension. All crazy ideas.

    hungrymonkey
    Free Member

    if you’re getting a new bike, there’ll be bikes out there with Di2 which’ll come in at a sensible(ish) price, probably. Take Cube – they’ve got a £2200 XC race bike with a £1400 RockShox RS1 fork…

    flange
    Free Member

    Too right. And imagine having gears on bikes. Or suspension. All crazy ideas.

    I know!! I mean, its just stuff to break isn’t it. I’ve never seen the point of anything greater than 7 speed and thumbies. And don’t get me started on dropper posts….

    yorkycsl
    Free Member

    A side from road bikes, are there any new of the shelf MTB’s available as standard with Di2 fitted? I’d like to see some reviews if possible.

    Also interested in a weight comparison, exact same bike either 2×10 or 1×11 then with a mtb fully kitted out with battery & all the bells & whistles.

    theflatboy
    Free Member

    flange – Member

    Di2 on an MTB….what a total waste of time. I mean seriously…electronics…on a bike…

    Joking aside, I genuinely don’t like the idea of adding electronic elements to the key functions of a bicycle – it goes against the mechanical purity of the way it works, however advanced and complex that may be these days with e.g. air suspension, in my opinion. Lights etc. are different in my eyes as they are not core parts of the bike actually functioning.

    I realise others may not understand this perspective, of course.

    nemesis
    Free Member

    mechanical purity

    theflatboy yesterday

    I realise others may not understand this perspective, of course.

    I understand. I just don’t agree 😉

    hungrymonkey
    Free Member

    A side from road bikes, are there any new of the shelf MTB’s available as standard with Di2 fitted? I’d like to see some reviews if possible.

    There are virtually no working groupsets available at the moment for the press – hence the only reviews you’ll see are from the odd teaser event hosted by Shimano, like the one the aussies had recently and the europeans/americans had in Albstadt in the summer (when there were only 3 available to ride anywhere, except the 3 which were on the pro XC racers’ bikes). there’s not yet been the full launch event yet for Di2, just teaser events.

    you can pre-buy Di2 bikes for delivery when its available (plenty out there), but you’re likely looking jan/feb delivery at the moment. it’ll be the same for journos testing bikes too, at least in europe…

    if that aussie at cycling tips actually has Di2 as a longterm test (as opposed to the mechanical groupset that the likes of singletrack have), he’d be the first journo to have one, and given that its an aussie roadie blog (as opposed to a global MTB website), it’s somewhat surprising…

    (I’ve been chatting to a bike journo mate about it…)

    tang
    Free Member

    I had a go on the xtr di2 at the cycle show. It was only on a turbo, but it was fantastic. The whizz pop of the shifting, so crisp and easy, plus the rep delivering all the right patter.
    I still unashamedly take pleasure on lusting over top kit. The key word in all things riding is ‘pleasure’ albeit rather masochistically applied at times.

    winston
    Free Member

    whoever said that electronic shifting will probably come to be cheaper than mechanical was spot on – hardly anywhere in product ranges is it cheaper to mass produce something mechanically complex over electronics. Whilst there will be mechanical groupsets in the lower ranges for many years to come, I would be surprised if shimano continued to make a mechanical XTR/Dura Ace for much longer.

    Afterall they are supposed to represent the state of the art – whats the point of a top flight groupset using old technology when you can have an electronic set up on say the third tier down once 105 gets it. XTR and Dura-Ace are race derived and once the UCI gets its act together mechanical shifting is on its way out I reckon.

    kelvin
    Full Member

    I like ampthill‘s crystal ball.

    When di2 gets down to entry level bikes, and eventually why shouldn’t it, it could be said that it’ll offer even more to the less frequent casual rider than it does to the super keen riders currently buying it. Great shifting without fiddling and fettling? Sold!

    For the next few years, I’m more than happy with cables.

    njee20
    Free Member

    and once the UCI gets its act together mechanical shifting is on its way out I reckon.

    How are the UCI stifling the proliferation of electronic shifting? 😕

    I agree they’re not exactly progressive when it comes to technology, but AFAIK they’ve done nothing to halt this!

    Some riders still use mechanical through choice (Cancellara?).

    amedias
    Free Member

    whoever said that electronic shifting will probably come to be cheaper than mechanical was spot on – hardly anywhere in product ranges is it cheaper to mass produce something mechanically complex over electronics. Whilst there will be mechanical groupsets in the lower ranges for many years to come, I would be surprised if shimano continued to make a mechanical XTR/Dura Ace for much longer.

    The mechs still have to have all the same moving bits really, in fact the only bit you really get rid of is a spring, and you replace that with a motor, so arguably the same complexity but more expensive.

    Shifters on the other hand change from a complicated mechanical close-tolerance clickety, ratchety, tiny-springs bundle of magic to a pair of buttons, so you have point there.

    winston
    Free Member

    Sorry njee, for some reason I thought UCI disallowed electronic shifting.

    Well then I’m even more convinced we will see top end mechanical groupsets die out in the next 5 years

    I bet they bring out something like nexus di2 as well for the city bikes.

    Non electronic shifting will be left to the BSO’s and maybe deore for the expedition riders/cycle tourists and the retro crowd!

    njee20
    Free Member

    I bet they bring out something like nexus di2 as well for the city bikes.

    Alfine Di2 is already out there!

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    Some riders still use mechanical through choice (Cancellara?).

    Believe Nibali prefers mechanical too, rode mechanical Campag SR I think at the TdF.

    There has been a bit of Di2 teething troubles in the pro-peloton I think. Wiggins “parking” his bike at Trentino comes to mind.

    Mine actually played up a bit soon after I got it, it would be fine for a while then take a good few stabs at the shifter to change down. A software upgrade seemed to resolve it. Did shake my confidence in it a bit but it’s been flawless since.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Alfine Di2 is already out there!

    Right, so Di2, hydro discs and belt drive – about as close to maintenance free as it’s possible to get I reckon.

    nemesis
    Free Member

    Have you actually used a belt drive, molgrips? 😯

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    Am I right in thinking that the Di2 XTR mech doesn’t have a clutch?

    Does seem to have a little gold thingy, but doesn’t mention it in the specs, and it doesn’t look like it’s in the right place.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Have you actually used a belt drive, molgrips?

    No, I read the thread on here, MTQG wasn’t it? He got through a lot of belts, but that was off-road.

    Perhaps I’d stick with chain and one of those fully enclosed floating chain covers.

    nemesis
    Free Member

    That XTR Di2 looks like it has a clutch – the bit that says ‘Dynasys II’.

    njee20
    Free Member

    Right, so Di2, hydro discs and belt drive – about as close to maintenance free as it’s possible to get I reckon.

    See TurboFerret’s ti commuter build!

    That XTR Di2 looks like it has a clutch – the bit that says ‘Dynasys II’.

    Agreed, and the orange lever is in exactly the same place as the clutch switch on the mechanical mech.

    hungrymonkey
    Free Member

    yep, clutch controlled – as with the mechanical XTR you can adjust the tension on the clutch too. they reckon you can run the clutch tighter as the motor is more powerful, meaning shift performance isn’t compromised… i wonder what chris porter would say 😉

    motor disconnects in a big stack like the road ones do to protect it and lessen the chance of damage.

    turboferret
    Full Member

    Right, so Di2, hydro discs and belt drive – about as close to maintenance free as it’s possible to get I reckon.

    Linky link for my interpretation of that, although I hope my belt has a slightly longer life-expectancy than MTQG! I don’t anticipate quite so much mud on my London commute though 🙂

    Cheers, Rich

Viewing 23 posts - 81 through 103 (of 103 total)

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