New Bike - It's here!

[Catrin]

VERY nice and the colors are just awesome!

[eofelis]

Very pretty!

[Penny4]

Congratulations! It is a beautiful bike!

Ummmm, not to sound stupid, but how do electronic shifters work?

[Pax]

Congratulations! It is a beautiful bike!

Ummmm, not to sound stupid, but how do electronic shifters work?

I asked the guy at the LBS that exact same question today, he said "don't ever ride a bike with it unless you're prepared to buy it, you'll never go back to regular shifting again". He said a small computer monitors/controls the shifting process (done by touching a button rather than moving a lever), it's supposed to be insanely cool.

[azfiddle]

Gorgeous! I know you will really be enjoying hhis bike!

Noe when do I get to see it in person?

Fun ride planned for Sunday from Arivaca to Sasabe and back- 50ish miles, not everyone is as slow as me. Let me know if you and the new bike are interested.

[Dogmama]

Just curious...where did they mount your battery pack? Seven wants to mount mine on the chainstay, but I'm not sure I want it there because that's where my Garmin cadence sensor is located. Is yours mounted on the seattube in the pic? Would it be too much trouble to request a closeup pic of where the battery is mounted? Thanks!
Linda

I tried to get a picture, but my camera battery died. I'll send one. They mounted the battery pack on my bottom bracket. I'm not crazy about that but it looks like the seals are very tight, so we'll see. When I go back for it's 30 day check up, I'm going to quiz the mechanic again. He went to the factory school for the Ui2, so he should know what he's doing. It may be a space issue too. The bike is 50CM, so that doesn't leave a lot of room. Linda, can they mount it on the other chainstay??

Penny, one of the things that is supposed to be neato about electronic shifting is that you no longer have cables that stretch. The shifting is done with electronic wires. So, theoretically, it should always be right on. If you forget the charge the battery (it's supposed to be good for 500 miles, depending on how much you shift) the front derailleur will slow down but you'll still have your rear gears, so your quads won't freak out.

The colors are hard to catch. They are a deep purple and a forest green. Two colors I'd never put together, but DH, my style & color go-to, picked it out online.

AZfiddle - just got your message, hope you're having fun!

For all who are interested, I found this on the web. It's a pretty good story with illustrations on electronic shifting.

http://www.bikerumor.com/2011/08/10/...o-tech-report/

We're going out for our maiden voyage this morning, so I'll be sending a complete report. But for now, here's something I strongly recommend if/when you get electronic shifting. Here's my disclaimer - I'm NOT mechanically minded at all.

Make certain that the mechanic, or somebody is the shop KNOWS about this technology. The guy who fitted me was good, but unfamiliar & the shop owner & mechanic were gone. When I asked about how to remove the battery, charge & check it, etc. they told me, "Oh, the instructions are in the box. " Nope. You get the standard, circa 2008 manual. I had to go online. Found a U-tube video that showed how to remove the battery & other info on how to check it (it's terribly technical - you slightly depress one of the shifters & a small little box lights up green, blinking green, red or whatever to tell you the amount of charge you have.) I will say that I am a bit miffed - for this money I'd think they'd have somebody who could show me this stuff but I guess I need to pull my head out of the previous century.

More later!

[Owlie]

Is the shifting done with levers, or a button, because you've still got that secondary lever? (Or is that just aesthetics?)

[AppleTree]

Isn't it true that you can ride faster on a pretty bike??

And that IS a pretty bike!!

[nscrbug]

Is the shifting done with levers, or a button, because you've still got that secondary lever? (Or is that just aesthetics?)

Owlie...the second lever is really just for "looks". The "buttons" are located on the sides of the levers. To go into a higher gear, you simply touch the button on the inside lever and to go into a lower gear, you touch the button on the side of the brake lever. It really is cool and I cannot wait until my bike is ready. I played around with Ui2 extensively in my LBS, and I am SO looking forward to never having to worry about a mis-shift or my painful, numb hands not being able to move the levers all the way. My DH and my fitter, think that electronic shifting will be a Godsend for me.

[Penny4]

Sounds a little bit like going from a stick shift car to an automatic....
Enjoy!

[Trek420]

Ooooo, shiny!

My old Trek 420 was that same purple to green fade. I'm glad they brought it back. Prepare to have heads snap around and people ride into tree trunks as they see the bike. It's a real attention getter. Enjoy.

[Dogmama]

Owlie...the second lever is really just for "looks". The "buttons" are located on the sides of the levers. To go into a higher gear, you simply touch the button on the inside lever and to go into a lower gear, you touch the button on the side of the brake lever.

NSCR-the one that I "demo'd" was buttons also. But the actual set up is like the Shimano type shifters. The Ultegra has small levers but they push so easily that there might be a 1 inch throw to them, that's all. And the amount you have to push is like if you stroked a cat's ear - just about that amount of pressure.

[nscrbug]

NSCR-the one that I "demo'd" was buttons also. But the actual set up is like the Shimano type shifters. The Ultegra has small levers but they push so easily that there might be a 1 inch throw to them, that's all. And the amount you have to push is like if you stroked a cat's ear - just about that amount of pressure.

Hmm..that's interesting Dogmama. I guess I'll have to wait and see what the setup is on my bike. The bike I looked at in the LBS, was a Cervelo S5 that was an actual bike for sale on the floor...and I don't recall the shifter levers actually moving...but maybe I wasn't paying close attention to it. Thanks for the headsup on that!

[Seajay]

Love the color scheme. Is it an H3 frame?
I can't think of an actual moving lever on the DuraAce Di2. Just two buttons for each side. Sounds like the Ultegra is a tad different. Waiting until March for mine to be available...Please let us know how you like it.

[Owlie]

Owlie...the second lever is really just for "looks". The "buttons" are located on the sides of the levers. To go into a higher gear, you simply touch the button on the inside lever and to go into a lower gear, you touch the button on the side of the brake lever. It really is cool and I cannot wait until my bike is ready. I played around with Ui2 extensively in my LBS, and I am SO looking forward to never having to worry about a mis-shift or my painful, numb hands not being able to move the levers all the way. My DH and my fitter, think that electronic shifting will be a Godsend for me.

Ah. The levers are there to show that it's not low-end parts!