Di2 newbie remorse
 

Hi

I just upgraded my bike to Ultegra Di2 12 speed. Previously this one had DA9100. It’s got rim brakes.

Took it out for a short test run and these were my first impressions. Wondered if others have felt similar discombobulation and does it go away? :D

Hoods felt tiny. Almost as though I have to close my hands up too much to grip them Maybe that’s a side effect of using my gravel bike over the winter with hydraulic GRX levers. I remember them seeming quite chunky at first. But I’ve also used my trainer a lot and that has rim brake 105 5700 shifters and I don’t remember those feeling skinny. This might be something not many have tried as I bet most Di2 owners have disc brakes.

I found shifting down to a smaller sprocket quite a clunk. Think I started to finesse the timing of this a bit better towards the end of the ride.

More than once I hit the wrong button. Usually going up (bigger) on the cassette when I meant to go down.

Top hood buttons seemed a little difficult to locate and the click feedback was very subtle when I did hit it. Took a brief pause for the Garmin screen to change so I was rarely sure I’d pressed it. Long fingered gloves but thin ones. You have to press it right at the front of the little chevron I seemed to figure out?

Things I already love;
front mech is so easy
being able to hold down a hood button to go direct to the Garmin map. Shame you can’t do it for ClimbPro as far as I can tell
holding down the button to slip down a few cogs as you start a descent.
11-34 range

The hoods are tiny. I had Sram force on my gen 6 madone and hated the FD. There was a 60% chance of chain drop whenever you shifted the FD.

My wife knew that was a problem, so when she bought me my Gen 7 madone she went for shimano ultegra Di2. I was stoked at first, but the hoods are way too small. Almost feels like the old 5800. I’m slowly getting used to it, but really wish I could use Sram hoods on my shimano drive train.

I do think the system as a whole works better than my Sram, as well as looks cleaner. The sram derailers are so chunky.

Sounds like getting accustomed to the new system
Who did the shifting adjustment...is it properly adjusted
'shifting down to a smaller sprocket quite a clunk'...could be the number of teeth from one gear to the other is the reason...one tooth change perhaps no sound.
Lever sizes change, sometimes for the better, other times not so much depending on the size of the person's hand and the size change from one type of device to the other...can be a pain but likely less noticeable as one puts in the time with the new device.

LBS, excellent mechanic I know well, yes I think it's adjusted properly. Hmm - good question on the number of teeth delta, I was probably mid-cassette but I'll play with that a bit.

Shimano > SRAM.

Their FD is ****. Plus, the hoods are enormous. The new generation have smaller ones, but I still don't trust the FD. I've had so much problem with mine (Force) including chain drops on every-single-freaking ride and all adjustments were 100% within specs. I now have a PTSD.

If you are noticing shifting issues I would download the E-Tube app, it makes adjustments for Di2 super easy and is kind of fun in a way. Plus you can adjust all of your buttons to do what you want so maybe you might consider one side shifts up and one side shifts down and maybe the top buttons for front derailleur shifts since most people do those less frequently? However that is on you. I occasionally play computer games and sometimes while similar games they have slightly different controls so it takes a second to get used to it and I am usually so excited to play a new game I don't bother to keep the settings similar for all the games. It provides a little extra challenge for a second while I refamiliarize myself but it is usually quick.

In terms of the hood size that is probably a bit of getting used to but coming from bigger chunkier hoods it will be a change but I think you will get it ok.

Sounds like normal stuff that you have going on anytime you are getting use to something new.

Depending on what you came from the hood's might feel smaller. I had many of the same perceptions too and have gotten over them.

I only ride Campagnolo. Their shifters are always perfect in size and shape.

Yeah I have the eTube app but haven’t played with it much yet.

(and also have about 20 game controllers in the house 😂 - they get a lot less use these days)

Soooo many dolla! They are things of beauty though.

I’m so baffled by this. I totally believe you but my experience has been completely different with every SRAM FD I have had. I’m generally inept at bike maintenance and have been able to successfully set up 2 AXS setups where the chain never drops. Personally I prefer everything about SRAM, but that’s just me.

Must admit, a lot of my friends are on AXS now and I haven’t heard any complaints like this or seen any problems on many Sunday rides.

Is Shimano stuff truly wireless now?

This rim brake one certainly isn’t. The disc one is semi wireless now (shifters to battery/brain has no wire, from there to both derailleurs has wires)

But are they “best” ?

Disc brake shifters are wireless, rim brake are not. Derailers are wired to the battery.

I was being silly and don't know about non-Campy. I suspect the most correct answer is ymmv.

I only have 1 bike with SRAM Force AXS and it has been faultless for 2 years. The FD works fine and doesn’t drop the chain. SRAM obviously did have some FD issues as they went out of their way to document the setup in fine detail, but mine has never had a problem. I did follow the setup procedure very closely before the first ride and it just worked.

I much prefer the SRAM shift paddles and fully wireless setup.

I've had my Di2 since Sept 2014, almost 10 years, and approx 40,000 miles. The shifters are still working perfectly. (I replaced the rear derailleur as "preventative maintenance" since I plan to ride it many more years.) A ballpark guess is I've done 500,000 to 800,000 shifts on the Di2.

I have large hands. The shifter hoods seem fine to me. A bit smaller than the 11 speed Campagnolo mechanical on my other bike, but I like both. I do have the Di2 hoods at a slight upward angle so the palm of my hand fits naturally on the hood+bar.

I don't notice any shift button problems, even with heavy winter gloves (or thin goretex shell mittens, that I like for the first half hour of cold starting rides.)
I've gotten used to being able to shift with a ring finger on casual rides, or doing fast, easy shifts from the drops with an index finger. I ride rolling terrain and I shift all the time, even for just a few pedal strokes before shifting again.

I have the Di2 set to "shift 3 cogs with a long press". At the base of a hill, hold both bottom buttons for 1/2 second or longer (the "long press"). That's small ring and 3 harder cogs, good. Over the top of the climb: long press both top buttons. Now it's the big ring and three easier cogs.
I don't see the need for auto shift on the front. I'll just decide for myself.

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Info:
Charge level: Solid green light: 100% to 50% charge. blinking green: 50% to 25%. solid red: "low" to 25%. blinking red: the last few percent, and usually the front stops shifting, to preserve a bit of battery for the cassette shifts. I've run out 2 or 3 times in the 9+ years, so I try to charge within a ride or two after I see the blinking green "under 50%" level. There's no advantage to letting it get really low.

Di2 crash mode: I've seen this mode when a chain got jammed. It also can be triggered by a fall onto the drive side, but I've never seen a Di2 bike fall on it so far. It acts like the Di2 is broken -- nothing happens when pressing shift buttons. It can be easily reset back to working condition using the junction box button -- google search this.

Micro adjustments: Holding the junction box button for 5 seconds, the light turns red. Now each shifter button click moves it 1/32 of a shift in that direction, for fine tuning the chain-cog position. I do this maybe once a year if I hear some slight chain rubbing noises. It's very easy to do.

It's amusing to me all these innovations with hydraulic brakes, electric shifting, 12/13 cassettes.

There is one innovation none of them want to do. Make hoods/shifters for various sizes of people. I think it's too funny that the hoods/shifter size/shape is the same for someone who is 4'5 and someone who is 7'2. Wouldn't surprise me if someone 7'2 hands are 3 times as large as someone who is 4'5.

So what’s the rationale for reduced size? Cost cutting, weight savings, both?

Huh? You think offering different sizes for hood/shifter would be about cost saving or weight savings? Without even changing the size, the difference in comfort from 105 5600 to 105 7000 is so dramatic for people who don't have massive hands. And I still think it's too big for most people, since average woman has smaller hands.

I honestly think it's really weird it's one size fits all for hoods/shifters when we offer 36cm to 46cm on handlebar widths on average. 165 to 175 cranks. People are complaining that the smallest frame for women is still much too large for a lot of woman and men too. We offer different size widths on saddles depending on your saddle bones. Different stem lengths, from 50 to 200mm or whatever. Even offer different angles on stems.

But considering one of the most important parts of a bike, contact point for hands and where most road cyclists spend most of their time on, it's 1 size fits all. I just think it's weird that one of the most important contact points on a bike is 1 size fits all.

I rode Athena EPS for little bit. Liked the shifter shape and loved the feel of the shift 'levers' over Shimano Di2. Didn't like the aggressive waffle pattern in the rubber hoods--rubbed the palms a bit raw. Just the normal hood texture (like they've run on their fully mechanical stuff) would have been perfect.

Adapting to using the shift buttons is just that, adapting. You get used to it in time.

I'm in the "it's new you need to adjust" camp, except I agree completely about the top buttons on the hoods. Those things are tiny, hard to find, and you have to press directly on top of them rather firmly. Perhaps this was easier on older versions, I have Ultegra 12-speed 8170 shifters.

As for shifting, mine works great. Of course, anytime you shift from the large to small rings, there's a bit of a noise. But I don't find it any different with Di2 vs mechanical. And shifting small to big ring is a dream with Di2.

When I first starting using Di2, it didn't seem that great to me. But I used it exclusively for a month or two before I road my older bike with mechanical. That's when I realized how much nicer Di2 was. Basically, more noticeable when you lose the super fast and easy crisp shifting. I very quickly converted my old bike to Di2 after that. At this point, I don't expect I would buy another road bike without Di2.

Concerning hood shape, I think I saw a video of a pro mechanic adjusting hood fit by stuffing padding, perhaps scraps of bar tape, here and there under the hood covers to adapt the shape. It's one ting to just get used to a new shape, but another if the fit is causing pressure point issue and actual problems. If that's the case, you certainly don't' want to just live with it.