electronic Dura Ace

I stopped in the lbs to pick up my new tires yesterday, and was put on a Specialized Tarmac with electronic Dura Ace for a fun test ride. The shifting was pretty amazing. The shifters are in the same place, and work the same as standard Shimano, but the levers are smaller and with just a light touch, you get perfect shifting every time.

I didn't have a lot of time to play, so I spent the whole ride going through all the gears, especially spending time shifting up front while in the lowest gear. No gear combination is impossible. You can ride in the small chain ring and the highest gear, and shift to the large chain ring, and nothing rubs and you won't drop your chain. Since the front derailleur self adjusts, there are no cross-chain issues. It's pretty awesome. I didn't have time to test it climbing, but I suspect the precision of the shifting is the same. No more worries about getting in the right gear at the right time. The battery is really small, and a charge supposedly lasts for 2,000 miles.

This is the wave of the future. Probably soon, it will be standard on all new bikes. As a person who is not into gadgets (my cell phone doesn't even take pics), I know those who do like them will HAVE to have this. Will you put it on your vintage Raleigh Gande Prix? Probably not. But, your carbon bike will be like my cell phone without it. Old school.

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Originally Posted by redrhodie

Since the front derailleur self adjusts, there are no cross-chain issues.

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Isn't cross-chaining about the lateral stress on the chain - with derailleur rub and trim just being a little "warning" that you're getting into the extremes?

My sister's mechanic has the old Mavic electronic system and loves it. Before its time, I guess.

Personally, I'll be ready for wireless shifting when they integrate solar charging panels into the frame...

My question is: is it wireless? and if so, will it have a mind of its own like my heart rate monitor near a high-tension power line.

It sure would be a drag climbing a steep hill and it decides to shift up into a higher gear like 13 cog. :mad: would be an understatement. or what happens if the battery goes dead.

Reminds me of my electronic dash board in my car. Now that it has over 200,000 miles on it, half of the electronic displays are kaput. And I don't trust the gas gauge anymore so I have to keep a log of miles travelled from last fill-up.

smilingcat

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Isn't cross-chaining about the lateral stress on the chain - with derailleur rub and trim just being a little "warning" that you're getting into the extremes?

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Yes, I just called my shop, and you'll still have lateral chain wear from the extreme angle. But, maybe since you're not hitting the side of the derailleurs, you're not getting that additional wear and tear? I didn't get to ask him that. In any case, it's really precise, and can handle the shift from small to large chain ring in any gear without any effort. I think even when climbing, you don't have to ease up on your pedal when front shifting. I read that in this review:

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6...7875-1,00.html

I'll keep my old Ultegra until it dies, and probably get the same level components next time. But, I can see the appeal. If you're a (rich) tech geek, you're going to love this. I'm neither, but it was fun to try! ;)

I have Dura-Ace Di2 (electronic) on a long-term loaner bike. I've done about 6 rides, or roughly 200 miles on it I'd guess.

To redrhodie: Thanks for your review, I too loved it the moment I started riding it.

To smilingcat: It's not wireless, no issues near any power lines (or anywhere for that matter) on any of my rides.

Buuuut...

While I had the loaner bike with Di2 I didn't ride it for month (travel for work) and the battery went dead. A few rides later I was again off the bike for several weeks and the battery was almost dead.

So, based on this I think, if you ride frequently it could be fine; recharge every couple of weeks or whatever. But on my infrequent riding schedule I felt it had to be recharged every "couple" of rides, which for me made it more hassle than I want.

Hope my experience helps!

What happens when the battery goes dead? Does the bike become unrideable (or, more to the point, a single speed)?

Max

I wonder what would happen on a week long bike tour like RAGBRAII? We had problems trying to find a place to charge our Garmin bike computers every night. I can ride without my computer but what if my bike needs a charge and you don't have access to electricity?

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Originally Posted by Bike Chick

I wonder what would happen on a week long bike tour like RAGBRAII? We had problems trying to find a place to charge our Garmin bike computers every night. I can ride without my computer but what if my bike needs a charge and you don't have access to electricity?

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Maybe something like this would work, if you have access to a car? This charges batteries from the car's lighter:

http://www.technooutlet.com/wgn67.ht...=19-30891654-2

How about DIYing the electronic shifting system on your bike for €50? ;)

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/4999/schaltung1.jpg

Check out these:
Homemade Electronic Shifting Bicycle From Germany - Part I
DIY Electronic Shifting Bicycle Part II

He (Norbert) even made his own bike. :eek:

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7673/49671589.jpg

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Originally Posted by Maxxxie

What happens when the battery goes dead? Does the bike become unrideable (or, more to the point, a single speed)?

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See that's what I am afraid of. Imagine it conking out on a long climb and you're MILES from home. :eek: :mad: :p :p

The battery takes a while to die, between 600-1,000 miles is normal life of a battery charge. There are also charge lights. If you are really worried about it, the batteries are small, think old school Nokia cell phone battery. On a long ride, put it in your seatbag.

The derailleur also stays in the position it was in before it died. So if you are starting to see a red blinking light, keep it in an easier gear in case it dies.

>>>
I've only seen Di2 on a Cervelo P4 we built up in the shop. It was ubber cool and amazing to look at. The coolest thing was the self trimming feature the front derailleur has. When you are in that 3rd or 2nd to last cog, it self trims the front derailleur.

For pictures -----> http://arsbars.com/?s=di2

I just saw one in action at my Trek LBS. It is way cool. You can hear a small electronic whirring sound when it trues up the front sprocket. It would be great for my arthritic hands because it just takes a very light push. I asked him about battery life & he said "forever" - hmmm...that's a long time. After reading this thread, I'll have to grill him a tad more about that.

One of the cool things is that because it's electronic, you don't have a cable to stretch out. It's just a wire & with the Madone, it is inside of the frame.

Electronic shifting will be available on Ultegra. The LBS says Ultegra would last longer because it is heaver material. But would the shifting be as smooth?

There was an article I read on Slowtwitch about Di2. I think it is very exciting. Except for the price. So it will be a few years before I make the plunge.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/C..._tri_2078.html

The Madone I looked at with dura ace electronic shifting was $3,200 higher than a regular Ultegra. But the Ultegra e. s. was $1,300 higher, so a little more do-able.

Ahhh Oakleaf, I remember the old Mavic electronic system... generally worked fairly well as long as the mechanic was patient and simply took their time with it.:rolleyes:

AS for the new systems, whether there is chain rub on the front derailleur or not there definitely is still some crosschain wear that will happen. I do think that we'll see Shimano and the Campy systems on more bikes, but until the price has dropped quite a bit... I can't see it being something that we'll see most of the time. But, only time will tell...

Batteries definitely are something that will need to be watched, but I don't think will cause a lot of issues. If you're travelling, then you'll simply need to bring the charger.

Will you see one on my bike(s)? No, I would rather spend the additional money on a new frame, wheels and continue to run CAmpy on all of my bikes... but just a personal preference.

I am glad to hear all of you talking about it though... our shop will run specials on the systems in the spring if interested.


http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

This can help people who can't shift due to arthritis, which is really cool. I read somewhere recently about an older man, I think in his 90s, who put this on his bike for that reason.

I didn't mention in my OP that I initially thought the bike would shift by itself, like an automatic transmission. :o I rode it around the block, then went back to the shop to tell them I thought it didn't do anything. Doh! I can't believe they let me live that one down.

Sounds like the car makers aren't the only ones dealing with consumer's "range anxiety"
It will be interesting if the bike industry takes this on as a concern or treats it the same as they have with shifting opposite directions on front and rear. "Get used to it"

With our gas cars and our cell phones we have learned to read the gauge and plan for our intended trip. 1/4 tank? 20 miles no need to fill up. 200 miles? better fill up.
On bikes, do we often head out for a 20 miler and end up doing 200? Not really. It will just take some time to adjust our thinking.

I had not heard of the discharge while not riding issue. Hopefully this is a problem with that particular unit. I can't imagine any company would expect us to deal with a LiIon battery self discharging in only a few weeks.
But the bike industry works in strange ways sometimes.

Ah yes, I remember Mavic ZAP too. Balky stuff but the sexiest crankset ever.

Apparently there is a way to check the battery before you ride. Recharge takes 90 minutes and from what I read, if it goes dead, you still have the back derailleurs. Wonder if you can just pop a new one in if you don't have time to recharge before a ride?

I'll have mine in March. Will do all I can to run the battery dead and report back here.

I too, have decided that my next bike will most definitely have Ultegra Di2. My hand strength is awful, so I'm looking forward to effortless shifting.

Very cool.
But I am still waiting to afford a new road bike. The electronics would be a much longer wait. Best to let the leading/bleeding edge work out the technological issues.
S

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Originally Posted by sarahkonamojo

Very cool.
But I am still waiting to afford a new road bike. The electronics would be a much longer wait. Best to let the leading/bleeding edge work out the technological issues.
S

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I've never been a Shimano fan but the mechanic at the LBS tells me that Shimano works out the bugs before they go public. He went to a workshop on the new electronic shifting & says the Ultegra is actually better than the DuraAce because they've made some improvements and don't have to recoup the R&D costs (thus it's about $2K cheaper). He said the Shimano electronics are head & shoulders above the others - who are basically just rushing to get to market.

He says the battery should last 500 hours. You know when it's getting low (in case you didn't check or haven't recharged in awhile) because the shifting gets slower.

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

He said the Shimano electronics are head & shoulders above the others - who are basically just rushing to get to market.

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What "others"? Right now there's only Campagnolo's just released EPS system. They've supposedly been working on it for 20 years! Also supposedly, Campagnolo had an earlier version in pre-production several years ago, but pulled it because it wasn't perfect.