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Di2 users: do you have/want the D Fly?

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway
View Poll Results: Pick one thanks.
I have Di2, have D Fly.
42
65.63%
I have Di2, don't want D Fly.
7
10.94%
I don't have Di2, would want D Fly.
8
12.50%
I don't have Di2, would not want D Fly.
7
10.94%
Voters: 64. You may not vote on this poll

Di2 users: do you have/want the D Fly?

Old 09-22-20, 10:50 AM
  #1  
Seattle Forrest
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Di2 users: do you have/want the D Fly?

Shimano link about the wireless communications module aka D Fly

In another thread, we're talking about whether the D Fly should be included with Di2 bikes. There's a feeling that most cyclists have no interest in the thing, so here's a poll to see whether that's true.

I made some choices for non Di2 folks so that no one feels excluded.
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Old 09-22-20, 11:01 AM
  #2  
Chi_Z
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pretty much a must have, a small price to pay to never look down for gearing again
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Old 09-22-20, 11:16 AM
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Want it....have it.
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Old 09-22-20, 11:21 AM
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A must have for sure.

Largest reason for me is the Di2 battery level indication sent to the Garmin
Second would be control of Garmin screens from my shift levers.

The rest is nice but I don't use it.
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Old 09-22-20, 11:34 AM
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I agree with psimet, the biggest thing I like about it is seeing the battery level on my computer.

Could take or leave the other features, changing screens sounds neat, but I found I rarely use it, and seeing what gear I'm in is of absolutely no use to me.
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Old 09-22-20, 11:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Rides4Beer
I agree with psimet, the biggest thing I like about it is seeing the battery level on my computer.

Could take or leave the other features, changing screens sounds neat, but I found I rarely use it, and seeing what gear I'm in is of absolutely no use to me.
You must have a Garmin. I wish you didn't have to back out and select the sensor in a Wahoo to see it.
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Old 09-22-20, 11:43 AM
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I was convinced that I needed it for the hood button support, because the silicone cover for my Edge 520 (which I needed because the Garmin's altimeter would go crazy whenever it rained) made the buttons nearly impossible to press when wearing long-fingered gloves. Then I switched to a Wahoo that on the plus side has buttons in a more accessible place and on the minus side doesn't support customizing what the hood buttons do. So truthfully, I don't get a whole lot of use out of having D-Fly anymore, but I don't regret paying for it.
​​​​
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Old 09-22-20, 11:45 AM
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Originally Posted by jadocs
You must have a Garmin. I wish you didn't have to back out and select the sensor in a Wahoo to see it.
Pretty sure you can add the Di2 battery field to a Wahoo page.

Edit: or maybe not. Can't find it in the settings, oops.

Last edited by surak; 09-22-20 at 11:48 AM.
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Old 09-22-20, 11:46 AM
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Originally Posted by surak
Then I switched to a Wahoo that on the plus side has buttons in a more accessible place and on the minus side doesn't support customizing what the hood buttons do. So truthfully, I don't get a whole lot of use out of having D-Fly anymore, but I don't regret paying for it.
​​​​
Are you talking about customizing the hood buttons directly from the computer? Yeah, you have to use the E-Tube app on your phone.
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Old 09-22-20, 11:49 AM
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Originally Posted by surak
Pretty sure you can add the Di2 battery field to a Wahoo page.
I don't think so....I'd love to be wrong. Pretty sure the only way to view it is to go directly to the sensor (Di2) then click about or something like that.
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Old 09-22-20, 11:51 AM
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Originally Posted by jadocs
Are you talking about customizing the hood buttons directly from the computer? Yeah, you have to use the E-Tube app on your phone.
Wahoo doesn't support that. Are you telling me it will work? This is what their documentation says:
If your Di2 hood buttons are not functioning properly, it could be due to button customization in the Shimano E-Tube App as the ELEMNT and BOLT are designed to work with the default settings. Make sure that the buttons do not already have a function designated to them, essentially leaving them open. The left hood button should be configured for ch. 1 and the right hood button should be configured to ch. 2. You can reset the Di2 button configuration with the Shimano E-Tube App to restore functionality.
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Old 09-22-20, 11:57 AM
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In the other thread, I predicted that 90% of Di2 users don't want the wireless communication unit. I was so wrong! Bike Forums cyclists are more passionate about cycling than just anybody on a bike so the poll isn't representative … but you have to be pretty passionate about cycling to pay for Di2.
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Old 09-22-20, 11:59 AM
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I don't have buttons on my hoods, I have the previous generation Ultegra Di2. So all I get is for my Garmin to count shifts for me, tell me how much battery is left, and for me to be able to change synchro settings from my phone. It can tell me what gear I'm in, too, but I never use that.
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Old 09-22-20, 12:03 PM
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Originally Posted by surak
Wahoo doesn't support that. Are you telling me it will work? This is what their documentation says:
We might be talking past each other. I'm saying that hood button assignment is done through the E-Tube app, and it can't be done directly from a Wahoo computer. However, you can assign page turning (as an example) and the hood buttons will turn the page of a Wahoo computer.
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Old 09-22-20, 12:18 PM
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Originally Posted by jadocs
We might be talking past each other. I'm saying that hood button assignment is done through the E-Tube app, and it can't be done directly from a Wahoo computer. However, you can assign page turning (as an example) and the hood buttons will turn the page of a Wahoo computer.
Gotcha. Yeah, I'm aware Wahoo supports default actions for the hood buttons. But because they are just mapped to the l/r computer buttons that are easy to press, they aren't that useful compared to what you can customize the buttons to do on a Garmin - I found the jump to map screen and turn backlight on functions really useful.
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Old 09-22-20, 12:21 PM
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I don't have it, but have long considered getting it.
I mainly want it, so that I can control my Garmin from the hood buttons, but I'm also interested in the gear tracking ability it provides (i.e. how much time I spend it each gear).

The questionable reliability is what's keeping me from actually pulling the trigger on it, though.
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Old 09-22-20, 12:21 PM
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Originally Posted by jadocs
You must have a Garmin. I wish you didn't have to back out and select the sensor in a Wahoo to see it.
Nope, I have a wahoo, but even having to go into the sensor info is better than the blinking lights on the junction box. It would be really nice if Wahoo would incorporate that into the battery page, the data is there, they just need to write the code for it.
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Old 09-22-20, 12:26 PM
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I thought I wanted it, and even did a firmware update in anticipation of purchasing it, but then I realized:

(a) I was buying it just because it was a geeky add-on toy

and, more importantly,

(b) I read that it drains the battery faster.

Also, I shift by how it feels to pedal, rather than knowing what numerical gear I am in.
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Old 09-22-20, 12:47 PM
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I have it, I use it, and I love it. Changing Garmin screens using the buttons top of my hoods has become essential to my training. I'd pay for anything that makes my rides more efficient.
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Old 09-22-20, 12:55 PM
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I wouldn't pay extra to get D-fly. If in the mass marketing scale of things, including D-fly with any Di2 bike wouldn't add but a few dollars, I'd be okay. But if it added more than fifty dollars, I might go hmmm, and wonder what other things I don't really care to pay extra for are included and adding to the increased price of the bike.
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Old 09-22-20, 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by wgscott

(b) I read that it drains the battery faster.
That has not been my experience
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Old 09-22-20, 01:00 PM
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I wouldn't be without it. Purchased it online and gave it to my dealer so they could do the install when they did the bike build-up.

Favorite features:
Gear Combo display on computer. I've become dependent on it.
Battery level display on computer. Can check the Di2 battery when I check my lights. Made a separate battery level page.
Hood switches. Use them every ride.
Ability to access Etube settings without having to drag the laptop out the garage and plug it in every time I want make a change or just look at something.

Honestly, when you're investing a fairly large amount of money in a Di2 bike it is a pretty minor cost to add it when you look at the big picture.
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Old 09-22-20, 01:39 PM
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Originally Posted by wgscott
I thought I wanted it, and even did a firmware update in anticipation of purchasing it, but then I realized:

(a) I was buying it just because it was a geeky add-on toy

and, more importantly,

(b) I read that it drains the battery faster.

Also, I shift by how it feels to pedal, rather than knowing what numerical gear I am in.
I've never heard that before, but it makes sense in general, and it explains why my battery doesn't last as long as I keep reading it's supposed to.
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Old 09-22-20, 01:41 PM
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Originally Posted by melikebikey35
I don't have it, but have long considered getting it.
I mainly want it, so that I can control my Garmin from the hood buttons, but I'm also interested in the gear tracking ability it provides (i.e. how much time I spend it each gear).

The questionable reliability is what's keeping me from actually pulling the trigger on it, though.
At the end of a ride, my Garmin can tell me I shifted 297 times, or whatever. The actual Garmin unit can go back into its history and tell me how many times I shifted on that ride last week, too. This isn't displayed anywhere in Connect. It has to be in the file for the history to work, so there's probably some software that can throw more light on your gear usage. Golden Cheetah seems most likely. But what I'm trying to say is it's not easy at all to get at this info.
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Old 09-22-20, 02:04 PM
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https://di2stats.com will also get you this info if you upload your .fit files ;-)
(and the SRAM AXS Web app/site does too)
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