ronin4740

Preface - I have a Giant TCR with Ultegra Di2 and after just one ride I fell in love with the accuracy and ease of electronic shifting...

That said I've just purchased an Otso Warakin with a GRX 600 series 2X11 mechanical groupset. Admittedly I haven't yet ridden it but should take possession of it this week.

Because of how spoiled I've gotten with Di2 on the road bike I'm already wondering if I should start planning a GRX Di2 upgrade for the Otso... I'm thinking I'll need shifters, cables, a battery, a seat post holder for the battery and the derailleurs. I believe I can keep the 600 series hydraulic calipers and rotors as well as the rear cassette and crank.

This is kind of an oddball "mini groupset" and I've yet to find a dealer who sells just these components as a package. Yet the individual component prices add up to the cost of most mini groupsets which contain parts I don't really need and don't think I can easily resell (the calipers for example).

Any suggestions on a retailer who has good pricing and/or might be willing to bundle the components I need into a special package?

Thanks in advance!

wsteve464

I don't know of a dealer, when I did my Di2 conversion (not GRX) I had to buy individual pieces. In addition to what you have listed above you will 2 junction connectors about $25 each, the charge/calibration port that goes in the handle bars about $100.

Anyway you can change what you ordered to up grade to Di2?

Good Luck

melikebikey35

You should have got it from Merlin's...they have full Di2 kits, at extremely good prices. I've bought several, and have been very happy.

But for GRX, I wasn't able to find any kits when I built up my bike a few months ago. If you want to upgrade, you'll have to buy each component separately, and it gets pretty dang expensive...about $1400 to be exact. And that is without the calipers/rotors, crank, chain, and cassette. Meanwhile, you can get complete Ultegra Di2 groupsets for about $1500.

Steve B.

Should only need the A junction that sits under the stem, has 3 ports, does battery charging connection, etc.... than will need the B junction for the seat tube/b-bracket area. A junction is around $90, B junction is about $27.

Steve B.

GRX Di2 or mechanical is really expensive right now. Not sure when the price will come down, so it's a hard upgrade to justify.

You will need:
- Shifters
- R derailer
- F derailer
- Internal battery plus shim for the seat post
- A & B junction boxes,
- WiFi unit ?, your call, $90
- 5 or 6 cables.
- Tools/kit to install the hydraulic brake cables. I think you can re-use the existing, just remove from the existing shifters, then do the full bleed process.

You do not need a new and extra battery chargers, which about all of the upgrade kits or groups are providing. I think only Texas Cyclesport add's that as extra. I found Universal Cycles to have the best prices currently, it's all a-la-cart but is still cheaper than kits I've seen.

ronin4740

Hmmm. Merlin's is (I think) in the UK and while I don't mind ordering overseas I also don't see any Di2 results when I search for GRX.

Universal Cycles seems to have a store just down the road from me... or a warehouse - not sure. Will throw the parts into a cart and see what they come out to... Or maybe just stop by there as I like to haunt the local bike shops.

...I could always go the full Ultegra route and add the clutch rear derailleur and try to sell the short cage rear I suppose... Silly that it's sooooo much less than GRX 800 which is basically the same thing as far as I can tell but just branded for Gravel. At the prices though I think I'm destined to ride it with the 600 series GRX for a while. Maybe it'll grow on me.

...and now it's dawning on me that there's no internal cable routing at all on the Warakin. Wonder how Otso sets up the Ultegra Di2 group that they sell as an option. Guess I'll send them an email.

I really do not want to go SRAM... but that would be the much cleaner option... Yet I have heard stories about the battery retention clip failing, ejecting the battery and I am not thrilled with the way SRAM shifts. It's also far more expensive for the HRD system. Have really gotten addicted to syncro shifting in Ultegra Di2 - I don't think I've touched the left shifter in a year since I set that up.

srode1

You can mix and match any of the Di2 components. The only thing you want to make sure matches is your front DR and your crank. If you use a GRX crank you want a GRX front DR because the chain line is wider by a couple mm.

My opinion if you want to save money and don't need a cassette wider than 11/36, go with Ultegra Di2 because it can be found on sale more readily. I have both systems and the differences really aren't significant enough to warrant spending lots more for GRX over Ultegra Di2.

wsteve464

Or you can use an mtb RD.

On ebay for $170

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-XT-...5.c10#viTabs_0

Steve B.

Or new, Universal Cycles has this on sale new for $200.

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...85&category=72

gus6464

If you want to switch to Di2 and 1x this will save you the headache of junction boxes and make install much easier.

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...s.php?id=81983

That has ANT+ and BT built-in so all you need to connect to it are shifters, battery, and RD. It will also charge the battery as well.

Steve B.

I’ll update at weeks end. I just purchased this system (Mt. bike, XT 1X upgrade) it’s arriving today, (maybe). If the cables I ordered (1600mm) are long enough to go from the display unit to the seat post battery and rear derailer, all is good. If not E-Tube couplers and extra shorter cables are needed. Or a B Junction in the seat tube or downtube.

gus6464

1600mm should be more than enough. Your standard Shimano brakes for the rear tend to come with 1400mm hoses which 99% of the time end up being trimmed.

Plus I forgot to mention that if one is doing road brifters the Y cable EW-JC130 is needed to connect them as the Display unit has only 3 e-tube ports (shifter, rd, battery) but it actually makes for a cleaner run.

TerryDi2C

Keep in mind you can mix and almost any of the Di2 components. Important to remember is that all derailleurs need to be either road/grx or mtb.
You can not use road/grx derailleurs with a mountain bike derailleur.

Also, you cannot mix 10-speed derailleurs and 11-speed derailleurs