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Di2 Triple Clearance Sale

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Di2 Triple Clearance Sale

Old 01-12-19, 02:22 PM
  #1  
swiz
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Di2 Triple Clearance Sale

There have been quite few threads on Di2 compact vs triple and synchronized shifting in this forum. Re-reading them has been a great resource in evaluating our set-up. The trade-offs when deciding on Di2 are still a good discussion topic. Thanks again to everyone for their effort.

I've been considering trying the triple since XTR was announced, but it was definitely expensive for an experiment. That line of XTR is being replaced and the mountain triple now all but dead.

Last week I saw some better prices to make me reconsider, but this weekend found it for $70. Coupled with an XT rear the price is reasonable enough to try!

Google FD-M9050 and it will come up. Don't want this to look like an ad, but a PSA. I have ordered from the site in the past.

The part has been hard to find, and expect supply to eventually dry up. Maybe even time to pick-up a spare.

I have rings for a 30-39-50 set-up and will start with that.

jeffs
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Old 01-12-19, 05:19 PM
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Originally Posted by swiz
That line of XTR is being replaced and the mountain triple now all but dead.
jeffs
Can you please elaborate on your statement about the death of mountain triple?
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Old 01-12-19, 05:32 PM
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Can you pair an XTR Di2 FD with an XT Di2 RD?
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Old 01-12-19, 07:13 PM
  #4  
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Originally Posted by swiz

I have rings for a 30-39-50 set-up and will start with that.

jeffs
How are people getting the FD to work with the large chain ring? It's rated for 40T max. I'm running our E-Tap outside specs on the rear but had to add a wolf tooth and it's not perfect.

Last edited by act0fgod; 01-12-19 at 07:52 PM.
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Old 01-12-19, 07:27 PM
  #5  
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The mountain triple being dead is a strong statement for someone that doesn't follow mountain bikes closely.

What I see looks to be focused on 1x, some frames are only 1x compatible. m9100 has no x3 at this time. No XT Di2 x3 FD. Most on-line shops do not carry FD-m9050.

Other segments of the MTB market may be able to support a triple component market, but the high-end Di2 triple market looks like it could easily be discontinued.

But just speculation.

jeffs
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Old 01-12-19, 07:32 PM
  #6  
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Compatibility guide says so. I think most people have been XTR RD.
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Old 01-27-19, 05:38 PM
  #7  
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New XTR/XT drivetrain is installed and seems to be working well with synchro-shift. Also move to the display junction A. Took me some time to do the work, but overall very smooth job. Used the Santana shim, and a 50th chainring looks fine. Thanks again for those who took the time and money to experiment.

jeffs
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Old 01-27-19, 06:58 PM
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Originally Posted by swiz
New XTR/XT drivetrain is installed and seems to be working well with synchro-shift. Also move to the display junction A. Took me some time to do the work, but overall very smooth job. Used the Santana shim, and a 50th chainring looks fine. Thanks again for those who took the time and money to experiment.

jeffs
Where did you get your Santana shim?
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Old 01-27-19, 08:00 PM
  #9  
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Originally Posted by bikeinxs
Where did you get your Santana shim?
There is a thread here on making one out of a washer. It is straight forward to make, a little trickier to get it to stay in the right spot and assemble he clamp.

Jeff
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Old 01-31-19, 04:34 PM
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Originally Posted by swiz
There have been quite few threads on Di2 compact vs triple and synchronized shifting in this forum. Re-reading them has been a great resource in evaluating our set-up. The trade-offs when deciding on Di2 are still a good discussion topic. Thanks again to everyone for their effort.

I've been considering trying the triple since XTR was announced, but it was definitely expensive for an experiment. That line of XTR is being replaced and the mountain triple now all but dead.

Last week I saw some better prices to make me reconsider, but this weekend found it for $70. Coupled with an XT rear the price is reasonable enough to try!

I have rings for a 30-39-50 set-up and will start with that.

jeffs
What cassette are you running? Since the XT RD Di2 comes in GS version with no SGS option (like the XTR RD Di2), does it wrap enough chain, since you already have a 20t difference up front? Thanks!
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Old 01-31-19, 05:17 PM
  #11  
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Originally Posted by Joint Venture


What cassette are you running? Since the XT RD Di2 comes in GS version with no SGS option (like the XTR RD Di2), does it wrap enough chain, since you already have a 20t difference up front? Thanks!
I didn't take the cage length into account, so will see if GS has troubles over time.

The initial test build still had a 11-40 XTR cassette. But only set-up on the stand and test ride. Big/big was okay, not sure about the max cross chain on the low. The middle ring only has a limit to 9. I tuned the synchro shift points and it goes through the range well.

Have had the bike on the trainer which has a 11-28 this week. Goal is to move to a 11-30 or 11-32. The 11-30 and some other chainrings came yesterday for weekend tinkering.

jeffs
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Old 02-01-19, 12:24 PM
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For the road tandem we use a 11spd triple XTR Di2 derailleur setup with a SGS rear cage, 48/36/26 rings x usually a 11-28 cassette for typically hilly stuff or a slightly closer 11-25 for cruising. These are our go-to close ratio cassettes and the rings are on a 104/64 mtb triple spider. For comparison, the 26x28 combo is a slightly lower ratio than a 30x32. We have a 11-36 cassette ready to pounce on any unsuspecting climb which thinks it is steep enough to warrant it, but we typically hate the bigger ratio jumps on this kind of cassette and so only resort to it for seriously hard day to day tours when fatigue will be a factor.

Obviously a 48x11 is by far not a big enough gear for racing, but IMO (and we have never been dropped) plenty for high spirited riding. My advise to everyone is to get gearing you can use all the time, not what you wish you could use.
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Old 02-01-19, 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by twocicle
For the road tandem we use a 11spd triple XTR Di2 derailleur setup with a SGS rear cage, 48/36/26 rings x usually a 11-28 cassette for typically hilly stuff or a slightly closer 11-25 for cruising. These are our go-to close ratio cassettes and the rings are on a 104/64 mtb triple spider. For comparison, the 26x28 combo is a slightly lower ratio than a 30x32. We have a 11-36 cassette ready to pounce on any unsuspecting climb which thinks it is steep enough to warrant it, but we typically hate the bigger ratio jumps on this kind of cassette and so only resort to it for seriously hard day to day tours when fatigue will be a factor.

Obviously a 48x11 is by far not a big enough gear for racing, but IMO (and we have never been dropped) plenty for high spirited riding. My advise to everyone is to get gearing you can use all the time, not what you wish you could use.
Can you please describe how you mounted the front derailleur? I understand that some shimming is required to get the right angle. Any chance of some close up photos? I'm really on the fence about double vs triple for my new build.
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Old 02-01-19, 01:19 PM
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Originally Posted by bikeinxs
Can you please describe how you mounted the front derailleur? I understand that some shimming is required to get the right angle. Any chance of some close up photos? I'm really on the fence about double vs triple for my new build.
As our setup uses only a 48t max ring, we did not need to tilt the FD as Santana's shim thing does (and which Swiz apparently implemented) to make the FD cage tail clear the big ring and still leave the front of the cage low enough to operate properly.

However, due to my stoker requiring a narrow pedal stance (Q-factor), my install involved a narrower crankset of single bike triple width - not the typical tandem width crankset. My install had a bunch of other issues to resolve due to our narrow chainline, because the XTR FD is designed to work further outboard than what we had. I ended up successfully creating a reduced direct mount plate (instead of using the Shimano seat tube clamp adapter) which moved the XTR FD inboard just enough to get it to work for our triple setup.

You can read more about our install and see photos in this thread link, starting with post #79 here...
https://www.bikeforums.net/tandem-cy...y-build-4.html

The final result using a filed down direct mount adapter...

Last edited by twocicle; 02-03-19 at 11:20 AM.
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Old 02-03-19, 09:58 PM
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Some work on the bike this weekend.

We had some rattle on the high 50t chainring with a 39t mid. Moving to a larger 42t mid I finally noticed the rattle was derailleur clearance with the mid. We are using the high Shimano mount. With our 2015 Calfee I had issues with interference with the water bottle mount. I shaved the mount to get enough clearance.

The current set-up is a 50-42-28 + 11-30, and 11-32 when we the extra bail out gear. On the 28 there is some rattle on the FD rivet. This is a large range, so we will see how it works.

I am coming around to the twocicle's point of view (this has taken a few years). We do use the 50-11 downhill (we have no sprint) and used/enjoyed have 52-11 when we had it. But 48-11 is likely enough.

I picked the 42 to try and be on our flat/rolling range w/o a big chainring change. We will see how that works out in practice, and of course will be tinkering.

jeffs

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Old 02-08-19, 01:00 PM
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FWIW in case anyone is looking for a pair of Di2 ST-R785 hydraulic road shifters - I have a spare set, slightly used, excellent condition. You can see them by following the links I mentioned above in post #14 . These Di2 shifters work with either road or mtb derailleurs.

PM me if interested.
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Old 03-19-19, 09:54 AM
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I appreciate all of the well-reasoned and carefully thought out advice available on this forum.

When we got our new Calfee several years ago, I wanted a wide range. We went with a Di2 double with a 52tx11t top end and a 34tx36t bottom end. We need the low end and I like the top end. One of the few times we can drop younger, stronger riders is on a slight downhill with the 52tx11t top end. It gives me a grin.

However, living with the big steps in this setup is a bit draining. I do like the sychro shift except when it drops from the big ring to the small (and does a compensating 2 - 3 cog drop on the cassette). This is like a wide range with a big cliff near the bottom. The "beep" lets me know that the cliff is coming on the next downshift and I try to avoid it (pushing a bigger gear than we should).

So, maybe I need to give up the top end in favor of smaller jumps. Maybe I can get there with a Di2 double or maybe I need to investigate a triple.
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Old 03-24-19, 07:04 PM
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I ended up going with a double on the new build. I will run the 50-34 with an 11-34 cassette on the road wheels and I bought a wolf tooth road link for an 11-42 cassette with my 650B gravel wheels. Once it is all put together and I get some miles on it I will provide an update.
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Old 08-30-19, 12:37 PM
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Originally Posted by twocicle
As our setup uses only a 48t max ring, we did not need to tilt the FD as Santana's shim thing does (and which Swiz apparently implemented) to make the FD cage tail clear the big ring and still leave the front of the cage low enough to operate properly.

However, due to my stoker requiring a narrow pedal stance (Q-factor), my install involved a narrower crankset of single bike triple width - not the typical tandem width crankset.

The final result using a filed down direct mount adapter...
Hello,
where can I find this shim of santana because I have this concern on my tandem cannondale in triple ?
Thanks a lot
Stephan
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Old 09-01-19, 07:00 PM
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This thread has details on the shim:

https://www.bikeforums.net/tandem-cy...i2-triple.html

I did the work on the bike early in the year, but we were out of town for a number of months. Finally back to some riding in the summer.

We very much like having the mid ring, makes cruising much smoother. Shifting the front with TA rings isn't perfect like a Di2 single
bike. This is expected. Still fine tuning, but it gets the job done.

The only downside is that I shift a lot more....

jeffs
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Old 09-02-19, 12:33 AM
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thank you very much for this detail. I had not found that thread yet. I will try this solution of wedge but it remains of the DIY

Stéphan
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Old 09-04-19, 09:37 AM
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FWIW, 3 year update on my Di2 triple implementation (referenced in the Santana thread above). Not a single problem and shifts great!

As a quick summary, ours was a special case of trying to install the Di2 triple FD to work with a non-mtb chainline, ie: single bike road triple chainline setup, not the typical wider tandem triple that situates the chainrings further outboard. My install involved hacking a Di2 mount to move the FD inboard, right up against our stoker seatpost which allowed sufficient inward FD movement to utilize the full triple functionality, not limited to just 2 chainrings (we ran a double ring setup for a few years but decided the triple was our preference as it allowed using a closer ratio cassette on the road tandem). As we are using only a 48t big ring, there is no need to tilt the FD per the above "Santana" shim method.

Good luck with yours!
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