Ok so it’s been asked before..

Shimano Dura Ace Mechanical or Di2????

If you can afford it there’s no reason not to go Di2 IMO, the only downside is the cost.

Lighter
Betterer
Cooler
It self trims

What more could you want?!

Mechanical. Shimano made it too good and it has been widely rated as every bit as good as electrical.

Is the frameDi2 ready? I.E. internal cable routing and a recesss for the battery comparment?

If not you may want to consider the aesthetic impact of the Di2 wires and battery.

Otherwise Di2 all the way if it was my choice.

I went for leccy, because its coolerer, and it makes a whirring noise when it shifts.

Pick it up tomorrow. canny wait!

Is the frameDi2 ready? I.E. internal cable routing and a recesss for the battery comparment?

If not you may want to consider the aesthetic impact of the Di2 wires and battery

Not an issue re the battery, there is an option for one that can go in the seatpost/seat tube

This is true Tom. But if the frame is not Di2 ready, where is the cable from the battery going to go?

Personally I would love Di2 and will upgrade to it at some point. My Equilibrium would look messy with external cables and I haven’t got the balls to drill the frame to internally route it.

If you have the cash then Di2 all the way. Only time I’d hesitate is if it’s on a winter training bike as I prefer the feel of mechanical shifters in big winter gloves. Oh and if you a rubbish at making sure it’s charged up (though the battery does last ages.)

I do love dI2 but don’t think it’s worth the extra, self trimming and the shirt noise is good but mechanical stuff is ace. The scary cost of mechs would worry me.

debated this with my new bike purchase. I personally like the idea of a bike being ‘mechanical’, ie no batteries or electrics involved.

That said, my ultegra mechanical works as well as I need it to, if I thought there was a performance advantage to be had I may reconsider.

Could you repair it if it goes wrong? Do any of the bike shops you would potentially take it to, if it needed to repair it, specialise in electronics?

Personally I’d wait for it to trickle down a bit. Or at least have some time to become not witchcraft.

njee20
Lighter

You what?

9070 is lighter than 9000 (admittedly based on using the lighter battery). 24g in it according to this, 2,047g plays 2,071g.

7970 was slightly heavier than 7900.

Had the same choice recently between DA mechanical and Ultegra Di2 (based on rough price). Went for mechanical as a) DA was still a fair chunk cheaper for the bits I needed, b) it works perfectly anyway, and most importantly c) I wouldn’t be seen dead with only Ultegra on a bike 😉

Aaah, now that’s a different choice, and in that instance I’d probably go Dura Ace mechanical, because it really is very nice!

I am sure it’s very good,but I don’t need Di2 in my life.
Mechanical Dura Ace is lovely,mine is as smooth as a smooth thing,and I like the small amount of force that is needed to change.

The day I have to remember to put my bike on charge is the day I get a mobility scooter……. Mechanical all the way!

Could you repair it if it goes wrong?

Good luck repairing a mechanical sti unit…

The day I have to remember to put my bike on charge is the day I get a mobility scooter……. Mechanical all the way!

Take it you dont ride at night then? Or use a bike computer/GPS?

I’m pretty sure I can remember to charge the battery both times a year it’ll need it.

Di2. Once you’ve used it, you won’t want to go back to mechanical.

In particular, front shifts are *lovely* with the electric mech 😀

I have the 9000 mechanical… I love it because it’s the most advanced mechanical groupset ever. The shift throw is so short, it’s lovely to use.
Di2 is lovely, but I didn’t think it was necessary for my needs.
A lot of people that raced last year on Ultegra Di2 seem to be going back to mechanical…

I’ve just stuck di2 on the winter bike and it’s freakin ossum. I know its such a small thing in relation to say, a new frame or set of wheels BUT I’ve not put something on my bike recently that’s made such a huge difference.

In my opinion, the whole ‘mobility scooter’ argument is a bit null and void – it’s made by shimano so it’s highly unlikely it’ll break and its a piece of piss to install. I had no instructions, fitting it to a frame that wasn’t Di2 compatible and it was still much faster to do than a conventional mechanical set up. As for charging, I’ve done about 400 miles on mine now and its still going well (and that was a slow 400 miles sadly).

It’s the front mech action that wins it for me, that and the complete lack of maintenance needed. Doesn’t sound like much but until you’ve used it, you can’t really see what the fuss is about.

This all said, I bought a set of wheels from a nice chap on here and he’d just put the 11 speed mech Dura Ace on his road bike and it looked bloody lovely. I actually prefer the slightly difference lever shape of Di2 levers but thats down to personal taste.

Keep in mind if you go either Di2 or mechanical, you’ll need new wheels if its 11 speed, or at least a new freehub body. I managed to blag some 10 speed stuff of my LBS (lifecycles for life!) but unless you have mavic wheels with the m10 cassette or spacer, it’s new wheels time..

Mechanical all the way, it’s super sweet shifting, love the hood shape even with my small hands! Upgraded freehub body easily on my wheels to 11 speed.
I did an 800 mile ride on vacation last year not a minutes bother, only rider of the 14 of us that had problems was using Di2 (ultegra)!

‘mobility scooter’

DI2’s nowhere near as the monstrosity that is the ‘sailing’ boat Wild Oats XI. How can you call it a sailing boat when even the crew complain that the engines are too noisy being run 24h a day to power the winches?