Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)
  • Di2 questions / cheap way to swap?
  • joebristol
    Full Member

    I spent ages typing out a thread but it seems not to have posted….Grrr.

    I have a 2017 Cannondale Caad 12 105 disc and the standard shifters make me a little mad (mostly when you slightly brush one lever so the whole thing impotently swings inwards not doing any shifting you wanted – but also because the shifting always feel vague / too quiet compared to Sram). I preferred Sram doubletap but it’s quite expensive to swap to that and a little complicated as I have a post mount front brake and flat mount rear. So wondering about di2.

    I have a 52/36 front setup with si cranks (wondering about swapping to 50/34 spiderings at some point) and 11-32 cassette – all reasonably new 11 speed stuff.

    So I think I’d need front and rear mechs / hydraulic di2 sti’s and whatever else I need (cables, batteries, control unit?).

    I’d be trying to do it as cheaply as possible maybe buying bits off eBay / new or secondhand. However I have no experience and wonder what the pitfalls are / exactly what I’d need etc.

    Any thoughts or advice?

    joebristol
    Full Member

    Just to add synchro shift sounds perfect – looks like that’s available on Ultegra 8070 and backwards compatible with Ultegra 6870 if you get a new updated battery.

    momo
    Full Member

    I love my Di2, the shifters are so much nicer than the mechanical hydro shifters!

    You need:-
    Shifters – 8070 or 9170 if you want hidden buttons (I use them to controo my Garmin head unit)
    Mechs
    Battery – as you’ve picked up the new dn110 gives you synchro shift
    Junction boxes – JB A- This is used for charging and connecting to pc for updates etc, can be either under stem or in the bar end (needs compatible bars either internally routed or drilled near the end for the cable to pass through) under the stem can be 3 or 5 port. JB B, 4 way splitter connects to JB a and both mechs and the battery (assuming it’s in your seatpost
    Cables- at the most basic, 1 each for shifter to JB a, JB a to JB b, JB b to battery, and one each of JB b to mechs total of 6 cables

    Optional extras – Bluetooth module, sits in line, mine hangs just behind the bars, I’ll relocate it when I change my frame next month to either sit inside the bars or inside the frame.
    Additional shifters, climbing shifters or sprint shifters.

    I googled lots of Di2 wiring diagrams while planning my build and then went trawling eBay and the usual online retailers for the bits I needed.

    I think I ended up spending around £1100 for my dura ace setup – 9170 shifters with 9070 mechs.

    Shifters were new from pro bike kit using a discount code, mechs from eBay. I scored a kit of both junction boxes (I’ve got the bar end one) battery and charger for around £210)

    I’ve actually changed my setup to 1x using a xt rear mech

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    joebristol
    Full Member

    @momo thanks for the detail – sounds like you love it!

    I would want to spend considerably less than that as I only paid £1200 for the bike plus an extra couple of hundred on upgrading the wheels…..so I think I’m going to trawl eBay over time to try and source cheap bits / secondhand bits.

    When you say hidden buttons – are these separate / extra from the shift paddles behind the brake lever?

    I think the shifters / mechs / battery sound straight forward – it’s making sure I get the right junction boxes and wires.

    Sram etap sounds much easier to get the bits for / setup but doesn’t have syncro shift – need AXS for that and it’s ££££

    momo
    Full Member

    The hidden buttons are on top of the hoods, so can be pressed with your thumb when you’re on the hoods. All the buttons are programmable using the phone or desktop app.

    It can definitely be done cheaper, I would have gone for Ultegra shifters – they’re functionally identical, just more carbon on the dura ace ones – but right hand shifters were impossible to get hold of in the UK when I built this one (very strange, everyone had left hand ones!)

    Cables are fairly expensive at around £20 a pop, I could have saved money by going for the under stem JB which would have eliminated the need for the ‘Y’ splitter cable I used (it was £40 on it’s own) not including the wireless sender would save around £70 (sender plus a short fly cable)

    The older 785 shifter can be picked up fairly cheap if you look around.

    joebristol
    Full Member

    That’s a good call – r785 is much cheaper for shifters with hydraulic brake callipers included too. If I paired that with a new style battery syncro shift is still on. Don’t think I’d need / use the Bluetooth d-fly thing and have desire with extra shifters (I don’t think). But if I did (say to fit to tri bars) then a 5 port junction box at the front seems to do that?

    joebristol
    Full Member

    @momo

    Made some progress – have new r785 shifters which I picked up from CRC for a bargain £130 with hydraulic callipers / hoses. I didn’t need those so sold them for £45 so the shifters only cost me £85.

    Picked up the lower junction box for £20 and the Bluetooth inline unit for £50 – I think I’ll get the junction box A for about £30 ish.

    Then I just need mechs, battery and cables. Going for the newest battery that fits inside the seatpost and supports syncro shift.

    With mechs – I prefer the look of the newer Ultegra rear mech rather than the 6870. But on the front mech they look broadly similar – is there any advantage to the newer one over the older one?

    escrs
    Free Member

    Ive built a few Di2 systems from parts over the years and ill give you a word of warning when buying Di2 parts from various sources chances are they will not be on the same firmware versions

    So if all your di2 components are on firmware version 4.1 to 4.9 for example then you will have no problems, they will communicate and work fine but if one or more of those components has firmware version 3.9 or 5.1 then it wont communicate with the rest of the system

    This isn’t a major problem but it cant be fixed by using Shimano’s e-tube software unfortunately

    You will need to by the Shimano SM-PCE01 diagnostic tool (seems there is a SM-PCE02 version now so best check that too)

    This allows you to connect each individual component rather than the whole groupset so you can update each component to the same firmware range so it will all speak to each other

    The software tool is £100+ they can be found on ebay for rent or a good local bike shop who know di2 and these issues should be able to update the components for you

    Its an extra cost some people don’t realise when building Di2 systems from parts from various places

    breninbeener
    Full Member

    @joebristol….i have sent you a PM

    Ian

    joebristol
    Full Member

    @escrs

    I thought from reading online that you could update the firmware from the e-tube app and so if you had the Bluetooth / ant+ module in the system this would do the job.

    If this isn’t the case then I’d been toying with getting all the stuff together apart from cables and then finding an LBS who could supply the cables and fit all the di2 stuff and set it up. This convinces me even more this is the approach I should take!

    joebristol
    Full Member

    @breninbeener – there are quite a lot of bits you need to build a di2 system. I think I need:

    Rear Mech

    Front Mech

    Battery (internal or external)

    Shifters

    Junction box A (there are 3 types I think – 3 port / 5 port / bar end – excluding the mtb ones)

    Lower junction box

    6 cables to join all the bits up.

    I’ve then added in the bluetooth module so will need an extra cable (as short as possible) I think.

    Bear in mind what escrs has said above about software updates too.

    breninbeener
    Full Member

    @Joe, thank you.

    My youtube trawling seems to show that you CAN use the charger to connect to your windows pc and update the firmware.

    Can anyone say that you cant do this? My GF has a Di2 bike that has never been updated so i may have a try!

    Ian

    joebristol
    Full Member

    I only have a Mac Mini at home – no windows pc so I think that option is out of the window for me as I have no desire to buy a new laptop just to setup the gears on my bike….hence the purchase of the Bluetooth module so I can tweak the syncro shift on my phone / tablet.

    escrs
    Free Member

    Been a couple of years since I’ve worked on di2 so no idea about the Bluetooth

    Yes u can use the charger to update the firmware through the junction box but if one of the components isn’t in the same firmware range like my example above then the system won’t update and you would need the sm-pce1 software tool to connect each individual component to the pc to update it (the pce1 software tool has a lead with di2 plug on one end)

    Had this issue when I had a team bike back for an upgrade to dura ace components but still using the original battery and junction box, none of it would communicate due to the large difference in firm ware versions when using the charger to update

    Had to use the sm-pce1 software tool and connect each component individually to the p.c to update each one and then the whole system worked together and I could then connect the charger to set up custom shifting etc..

    This was a few years ago so things may of changed but it worth being aware of it

    breninbeener
    Full Member

    Ok thank you.

    My GF bike is all functioning and so pribably all the same firmware generation.

    I will report back!

    Daffy
    Full Member

    The Shimano DN110 battery is bluetooth enabled and when connected to the app, allowed me to update the firmware of components with widely varying firmware versions.

    Flaperon
    Full Member

    This isn’t a major problem but it cant be fixed by using Shimano’s e-tube software unfortunately

    You may have success if you do this before building the bike, and use only the junction box, battery, and a single component at a time. I’m not sure whether the BCR will update firmware without the battery connected; I suspect not though.

Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)

The topic ‘Di2 questions / cheap way to swap?’ is closed to new replies.

Members Notice New deal added to Members Discounts