sumbikerguy123

Greetings:

Trying to choose between 10 speed Di2 Ultegra and 2015-2016 11 speed Ultegra bikes, both in the $2000 range. I'm looking more toward Endurance rather than race geometry.

Jamis has a 2013 Di2 10 speed Ultegra bike with fender/rack eyelets. The only negative with the 6770 10 speed di2 is that Shimano is no longer producing the derailleurs, so if they are damaged they would have to be replaced by a 6870 which would require both derailleurs and a cassette. Otherwise looks like a decent bike.

I have rode a 10 speed cassette bike before, but not a 11 speed. So I don't know what difference or advantage there is over the 10 speed, if any, other than the one extra gear. I live in an area with no hills, all flat terrain, so don't see the need for extra gearing or the 11th speed?

I looked at the BD 2016 Motobecane Le Champion CF LTD Ultegra 22 speed bike, no Di2, in the $2000 range. Has 3 decent color schemes to choose from. This bikes geometry looks close to endurance geometry with a similar HTL as the Jamis bike.

There is a thread here on the forum where one rider after upgrading from Di2 6770 10-speed to Di2 6870 11-speed stated he noticed a very small shifting improvement, but nothing worth noting. Though he did notice the 2 extra teeth on a 14% climb after changing his 12-30 rear cassette, to an 11-32 rear cassette.

I don't have any hills to climb, so it doesn't appear I should be concerned about gearing or the outgoing Di2 6770 10 speed group on the Jamis.

But would like to hear from anyone with experiences with either 10 speed Di2 or 11 speed bikes with or w/o Di2, which one you prefer over the other and why?

Thanks, sumbikerguy.

jimc101

You have answered you own question, 10 speed 6770 is OOP , and if anything breaks, getting spares may be impossible, Add to this, there isn't compatibility between 10 and 11 speed DI2 anymore.

OldTryGuy

Out with the old and in with the new. Who knows, some day I may need a 32 here in SW FL so I would go 11sp given the choice.

JimF22003

I actually have two bikes with those exact setups in the other room. What do you know?

The 10-speed DI2 is very nice. I had it on two bikes. I still have the 10-speed Ultegra Di2 on one of the bikes.

On the other bike that had Di2 10 speed I just last week switched over to an 11-speed Ultegra setup. The reason was that I needed to get a lower gear for some of the hills I ride. The 11speed setup gives me a 50/34 compact crank with an 11/32 cassette. The 11/32 is basically the same as the 11/28 10-speed cassette I was using before, but with the extra 32-tooth cog. So the spacing and gear selection is similar to what I'm used to except I have that one extra low gear.

I miss the electronic a little, but not as much as you might think. I miss the auto-trim on the FD. FD shifting is fine, but not butter smooth like the electronic. The RD shifting is about the same except you have to push the lever a little farther. I can still shift both derailleurs from the drops.

I could have paid the extra money for the electronic 11-speed Ultegra, since it also will handle the 11/32 cassette, but I'm not missing it too much (yet anyway.)

sumbikerguy123

R. That's part of it, but if any of the 10 speed Di2 parts broke and I couldn't find a replacement then a complete swap/upgrade would be in order, albeit a more expensive one.

But then again there's no guarantee a 11 speed Di2 part couldn't break also. Though the 11 speed parts are more readily available than the OOP 10 speed parts. And it would be cheaper replacing one 11 speed part, than replacing several 10 speed Di2 parts assuming you can find the parts, the again, upgrading at that point to 11 speed would make sense.

Thanks.

sumbikerguy123

R. Why would you choose the 11 speed over the 10 speed Di2 bike?

jimc101

The point is that 10 speed DI2 is at a dead end, as well as 10 speed in general, all manufactures are moving to 11 speed from mid range up.

Given that 11 speed DI2 is now standard for both road and MTB system, you have a much better spares base than from the original DI2 which for both Ultegra and Dura Ace is now several years OOP.

If looking at a new bike, which the OP is, there is little point in looking at 10 speed, if upgrading, the cost of a 10 speed DI2 groups set could be attractive, especially if it is priced in the knowledge that its obsolete, and spares are becoming hard to come by (although I would pass on this).

sumbikerguy123

R. So if you had to choose between one of your bikes, which one would it be, the 10 speed Ultegra Di2 or 11 speed Ultegra bike?

I assume if you had the $$$ you would/could combine the features of both bikes an get a 11 speed Di2 bike, yes?

sumbikerguy123

R. Assuming a 10 speed Di2 part did break at some point, if at all, then upgrading to the 11 speed Di2 would make sense, albeit a expensive one. So that was one of my thoughts when posting the 10 speed v. 11 speed question. Should I purchase the 10 speed Di2 bike, then maybe at a later date I may have to spend extra cash to upgrade to 11 speed Di2 or even 11 speed w/o Di2. Not sure what that would cost? Or just buy the 11 speed?

JimF22003

No choosing I use the 11-speed manual in the hilly country. I keep the 10-speed Di2 machine at another location where it's much flatter. It has a standard crank and a narrower cassette.

I could have gone Di2 on the 11-speed last week (I had the money, but had more interesting things to spend $1000 on ).

sumbikerguy123

R. Thanks for the info. Makes sense using the 11 speed in hilly areas and the 10 speed in flat areas where there is no need for that extra 11th gear.
And spending $1000+ for such as small shift improvement seems like I could think of better things to do with a $1000 also...

Thanks again, SBG123....