"downgrading" from electronic shifters
 

I have a '12 venge with ultegra di2 shifters on it, and I think I honestly prefer mechanical shifters.
Am I the only one in this situation? Is there an objective advantage to electronic shifters over mechanical?

It's your bike, do as you like.

What is it that you prefer about the mechanical shifters? I went from Shimano mechanical to SRAM AXS electronic and much prefer the SRAM ergonomics. I was never in love with the feel of Shimano mechanical shifters either. I do quite like the feel of mechanical SRAM mtb trigger shifters, but haven't tried the electronic version yet.

The advantage for Di2 is not having to adjust anything. In the four years I've had my bike, the only time it required adjustment was when I went into the settings and mucked it up before I really understood what those settings did.

With my mechanical shifting, I'd be adjusting them at least once a year to maintain the perfect shifting I like. And changing cables every 2 or 3 years.

There are differences you'll experience with electronic shifting that are unique to it alone, but just things you have to get use too. I'm sure there were things I had to get use to with mechanical shifting too, but after most of a lifetime using them, I'd have to sit here most of the day to come up with what they are.

If this Venge with Di2 is fairly new to you, then you probably just need to get use to it and get some experience. If you are new to cycling, you might not be as good with the mechanical either as you now imagine you are when comparing it to the Di2.

I don't recommend converting the bike to mechanical. If you want mechanical, get a bike that has it already.

Modern mechanical is good as it ever has been but on the other hand we are going into peak an electronic shifting era where battery, shifting speed, app control, price, and weight is drastically getting better. If you are coming from a later Venge yeah electronic shifting in practice hasn't changed, but IMO the positives of electronic shift vastly outweigh going back to mechanical unless the finances prohibited it.

so your thread title is "downgrading" from electronic shifters"
... and you're new to cycling and especially higher end bikes...
short comment : I would give yourself time to really get to know the intricacies of 'electronic' shifting, become really familiar and then decide.

Longer comment - running the needed cabling for mech shifting may bring up some issues...
I'm staying with mech shifting... for all the decades of integrated shifting/braking systems, I've had very reliable shifting, and almost never had issues which caused me to interrupt a ride - couple times in the first decade of not paying attention to old cables which should have been replaced - but no issues in the last 25 ish yrs.
I've now become a slave to ALL the recharge battery devices which for wwhich I need to concern myself about 'charge level'... Not a 'bike' thing, but very much a 'life' thing...
... given current trends of bike shifting technology and equipment available, I don't need or want what 12 speed systems have to offer... (to0 lengthy to go into here...)
11 speed seems to be the final frontier for mech shifting on road bikes.
IF, I had a bike with E-shifting, I would prolly just deal with the battery issue, and just ride it...
I will prolly end up with a higher level "road E-bike", as quite a few of my riding/ex-racer buddies have. They've integrated into the local group/peloton rides with the younger racers...
I've had to stay out of many of those rides... At coffee stops, I'm constantly being 'campaigned' by my buds to 'Get an E-Bike!, and get back into the peloton"...
so
maybe give e-shifting some time... you might find a liking...
Ride On
Yuri
The 'End' of the Ride is known, inevitable - but we get to choose the journey and how we get there...

Thank you, this is the input that I was hoping for. I am fairly new to cycling (last year was really my first year cycling) so it would have taken a ton of time for me to notice the easier upkeep.

Fair points. I have put around 100 miles on it so far, which is a decent amount for me. I thought maybe that was long enough to tell, but it sounds like it isn't (and it also sounds like converting to mechanical is trickier than I thought it would be).

What are you not liking that motivates you enough to consider all the hassle of converting it to mechanical? I can certainly understand someone not wanting to convert from existing mechanical to electronic, but I've never heard of anyone doing the opposite unless moving to a different bike.

I do know someone who make that switch. He considers himself "old school" and when he bought a new bike a few years ago he had the bike converted from DI2 to mechanical shifting. He also scoffs at disc brakes and road tubeless tires. A lot of experienced older riders who buy new bikes nearing retirement age buy the bike they couldn't afford when they were younger

I prefer mechanical 11sp Dura Ace, and never went electric. (Although I rode it and liked it.)
In your case, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Switching to mechanical will cost you a fair amount.
If I found myself in your shoes, I'd ride that old Di2 until it wore out.

I would say that 100 miles isn't nearly enough mileage to really assess your bike

Did he actually ride it with Di2 and disliked it enough to go to the expense of converting to mechanical
or was he just dead set against trying something different?

I can fully understand not going to the expense and hassle of converting from mechanical to electronic, but it just seems nuts to rip off a brand new functioning Di2 groupset and replace it with mechanical. Not unless you were having serious issues.

To be honest, I don't remember, but he is resistant to change

Yes: with electronic shifting you'll never break a shift cable.

Bear in mind that whether it's a 'downgrade' or not, converting from electronic to mechanical shifting will require new shift levers and new derailleur(s). It'll be costly.

That's a bit sad.

It's not always easy to find parts for older Di2. If something expensive wears out, it might make sense to switch to mechanical shifting rather than spring for current Di2. Otherwise, enjoy it! :thumb:

12sp mechanical seems like it would be really sensitive to small adjustments and need a lot of fussing to keep in perfect shifting condition.

The principals of bicycle shifting were perfected a very long time ago.

Whenever a technology has reached it's peak of ingenuity, people invent gimmicks instead of actually innovating.

Granted, manufacturers have to eat too, but at some point we must insist on actual, revolutionary technology improvements and refuse these incremental, minor upgrades that come around once a year to drain our pockets.

Same goes for phones, laptops and computer hardware as a whole.

Why do you say that? Now that I'm retired I wish I had bought some new bikes before I stopped working. Budget is very tight now. I could still spring for one but it would come out of savings. More sad.

Some people love the new stuff. Many swear they will never go back.

Nobody is forcing you to buy new stuff every year. Drivetrain incremental upgrades are not even annual in any case. It’s more like every 3-5 years and there is always room for improvement.

Phones might get updated more often, but you can skip a few generations and they certainly improve. Try going back to an original iPhone or Blackberry and see how that compares.

Sure, but that's not the point.

The point is that R&D resources should be utilized for technological innovation, not the unnecessary and repeated refinements of an already complete technology, in this case electronic shifters.

The reason for this isn't ingenuity or technological progress, but corporate greed. Finding another reason to charge exorbitant sums for that next best thing. Of course you don't have to buy it, but that's not stopping the market from being manipulated in this manner.

When I got 9 speed Ultegra I thought it was the bee's knees and was all anyone could want. 25 years later my 11 speed GRX just blows the 9 speed away. Incremental maybe but it shifts better and requires less maintenance though operating on the same principles. I don't think it even costs more in real dollars. I thought my DA 7800 calipers were the "peak of ingenuity." Duh. My current GRX discs are much nicer even for my undemanding use. My prediction is that as you become more familiar with bikes and cycling you'll come to better understand and appreciate the advances. They aren't imaginary and people aren't suckers for embracing improvements. Edit- I do agree that the change to electronic shifting is more fundamental than incremental. A few more refinements and price reductions and it will take over road cycling beyond C&V.

A resistance to change, including technological change, is one of those behaviors that makes people less relevant and more frustrated as they age. It signifies an inability to change and grow and is a futile attempt to cling to the past.

​​​​​​If you want to buy those bikes that you lusted after ten or twenty years ago, aren't they actually a lot more affordable now? Just pick them up for cheap on the second-hand market.