Shimano XT Di2 – anyone using it yet 1x 11

Really want to give it ago but can’t find any info on cabling.. has anyone taken the plunge..thoughts?

What info are you looking for?

Been running 1×11 di2 with an extender cog for 2 years now.

Faultless so far. Have the battery hidden in the steerer tube, i cut and re-joined the wire to the rear so i could thread it through the frame.

Cable routing etc..watching vids but can’t get my head round it..

So you have to cut the wires for internal? Do you charge the battery through the display as I would like to use it without the display if poss.

I thought about it for a while, but then realised for a 1 x system, it seemed totally pointless & just added more weight.

With a twin, made much more sense, along with on a road bike 🙂

I’ve a build on the go (all right, I’ve got the frame and forks so far) and looked into Di2 for a 1×11 and concluded that the benefits only really applied to 2x. Things like auto shifting the front and rear once you got to certain cogs on the cassette so you didn’t get that sudden change in cadence. Apart from that it took a £150 drivetrain to something stupid for no discernible gain.

Mine routed internally with little fuss. Love it. Agree that it makes most sense on 2x with a single shifter in synchro mode (I use that with 26/36 11-40) but the shift is way faster and more precise than my 1x mechanical set ups, so think it would be awesome on a 1x set up too.

I did it because i wanted to try it.

I’ve found the following things to be useful, your mileage may vary:

1) When i put my bike in a bike bag to fly or travel, i can now easily unbolt and disconnect the derailure without having to phaff around reattaching and realigning a bowden cable when it goes back on.

2) The ability to adjust the indexing from the display in seconds is really handy when, like me, you have a couple of sets of different wheels that put the cassette in a slighly different offset to the frame. I just remember +3 for my DH wheels, and -2 for my winters and can then ride either set without any sifting noise or crunching

3) The “saver” mode where the system releases then resets after the dearilure gets a knock has definitely saved it a few times. In fact, in the Alps, i hit rock, the system disconnected then reset, and the guy behind me did exactly the same thing (same rock!) but broke his conventional mech because the system couldn’t release and move out of the way

4) I like being able to chose which button does UP and DOWN to suit how i like changing gear

5) Minor one really, but I like how clean the install looks, without cables flapping everywhere

Ok, none of those are a big deal, or worth the extra cash for someone who’d be better off spending the money on say a better fork, but once you’ve got all the best bits, and if you can afford the ££ then i think 1by di2 does have real advantages.

you don’t have to necessarily cut the wires for internal. I did because on my Dune:

1) the longest pre-made wire was way too long, and would have had to be looped up somewhere, but the next shortest one was too short

2) the holes in the frame for the gear cables to enter were juuust to small to get the di2 cables with their connectors through. I could have filed open the holes a bit, but i took the opportunity to make a perfect length cable at the same time (and i slid on some extra protection over the cable for where it exits under the BB and at the back of the chain stay)

For my install, with the battery hidden in the steerer, i use the display as the only hub:

1 wire from battery, sneaks out of modified steerer top cap, through stem, sneaks out sideways into back of display mounted to bars in middle next to stem (wire practically invisible)

1 wire out of back of display, taped with clear helitape to underside/back of rhs of handlebar, along to the shifter. Invisible to all intensive purposes

1 wire out of back of display, small loop (enough to allow bars to turn full 360deg in crash etc) and down into internal routing holes on frame head tube area. through frame, pops out at BB, small loop under/over to chain stay. into chain stay, through chainstay, pops out right at back, small loop over and into derailure.

simple, neat, practically invisible (because there is no mechanical push-pull action going on, you can route the wires into much tighter bends than you would with a bowden cable, and keep them really close to the frame)

Awesome cheers…I see no point in 1×11 also but just want it…lol

Fellas where do you put the junction box..?

No junction box used as there are enough sockets in the display if you’re just got battery, shifter and rear mech

im guessing you could use one of the road bike junction boxes rather than the ugly bar mounted mtb one for 1×11 systems

Maybe the new bar end junction box in the fork steerer

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A post shared by Sean Chaney (@vertigocycles) on Jul 21, 2017 at 4:32pm PDT

I’d have probably wedged it in with a little less finesse and some tape to cover it but good to see it works

maxtorque – Have you got any photos of this setup?

1 wire from battery, sneaks out of modified steerer top cap, through stem, sneaks out sideways into back of display mounted to bars in middle next to stem (wire practically invisible)

Orangeboy, what is that part in the fork steerer?

The part in the forks is the bar end junction box that’s now available.

You can replace the under stem box on road bikes and should be able to replace the gear number display on mtb. It’s got the charger port in it and the function button

I’m not sure the bar end JB would love being covered in crap from under a front wheel mind.

I’m using the road JB under the stem with no gear display, don’t need it 1×11 if you push the button and it doesn’t move, you’ve run out!

So how do you charge it?

Only person I know using it ripped out the wire riding in Portugal. Wire seems a bit fragile for mtb use.

The charges plugs into the junction box ( the thing in the forks) or the large bar mounted screen

Wires only susceptible if routed poorly. Mine are all internal so no problem.

I’m running 1×11 XTR and have had no problems at all catching wires etc.

I have the battery in the steerer tube using the Shimano seatpost mount and a rubber plug at the bottom of the steerer where the cable pops out and goes to the junction box on the bars and then 1 single run of cable down to the rear mech.

It’s true there aren’t that many benefits on a 1×11 but you can always add the front mech later and it all just works and works and works no matter what slop you ride in.