DI2 Depression.

[MarieV]

Here's a really informative review of Ultegra Di2, especially halfway down where Hannah Bussey provides her take on it: http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/tech/...tegra-di2.html

When I bought my new bike, my LBS had to special order the frame to get the smallest Colnago CLD (in a 40s) in the color I wanted. That meant I could pick the components--well, within my budget. After weeks of research the review above convinced me to pay the extra $600 to upgrade from Ultegra mechanical to Ultegra Di2. Since it is a Colnago, it would have been nice to have it be all Italian, and I actually considered Campy for about a day. However, Campy Chorus and Campy Record were about the same or a little more than Ultegra Di2, and I already had Shimano wheels and didn't want to spend even more. (BTW, the full Dura Ace Di2 groupset and Campy's electronic shifting Record EPS groupset would have been $2000 more and Super Record EPS was $3000 more than Ultegra Di2.) For racers I think the advantage of Dura-Ace, Record, and Super Record components over Ultegra is probably greater than the advantage of electronic over mechanical shifting at the same level, but as others have brought up before, those who can shell out that kind of cash always have those advantages.

As for dealing with a dead battery, there's a battery indicator light that's solid green (51-100% charge), flashing green (26-50%), and solid red (25% and lower). The typical Di2 battery charge should last between 1000-1500 miles, so you're probably not going to take a Di2 bike on a cross-country ride if you're not going to have access to a wall outlet. But in general the only way you'd have a dead battery is if your indicator light's been flashing green or solid red, and you've just been ignoring it for hundreds of miles. I've ridden about 500+ miles since I've had my bike, and the battery indicator just went from solid to flashing green.

As for Shimano pushing Di2 on consumers, so far only the higher-end carbon bikes are even Di2 compatible, and manufacturers don't even offer Ultegra Di2 as an option on complete bikes except for their highest-end bikes. If anything it seems like for the same price more and more of the newer carbon bikes are getting Shimano 105 or even Tiagra components and cheaper wheels.

For me, the Di2 upgrade was definitely worth it. I'm so much more confident on my new bike, maybe because the frame is smaller and it really fits me and/or maybe because the Di2 hoods are smaller, so with my XS-size hands, I feel more confident shifting and braking. In any case, I'm having a lot more fun riding my new bike, and I don't think we should discredit anything that makes riding more fun. Just my $0.02.

[nuliajuk]

I'm glad you got something that worked so well for you! Thinking back to bikes I've owned over the decades, I have nostalgic thoughts about the rides I did on them, but wouldn't go back to down-tube shifters, toe clips, or deep drop handlebars for any amount of money. People who are overly nostalgic about the good ol' days of cycling often forget that riders at the extreme ends of the size spectrum - but especially small riders - were simply left out.

[zoom-zoom]

I'm glad you got something that worked so well for you! Thinking back to bikes I've owned over the decades, I have nostalgic thoughts about the rides I did on them, but wouldn't go back to down-tube shifters, toe clips, or deep drop handlebars for any amount of money. People who are overly nostalgic about the good ol' days of cycling often forget that riders at the extreme ends of the size spectrum - but especially small riders - were simply left out.

Heck, we're still left out in many ways. I'm frustrated as I look to upgrade my CX bike. If I want something more than entry-level frame and components I pretty much have to go custom...and at just under 5'4" I'm not THAT small, but women still make up a fraction of the field at local races (I think there were only 6-7 of us at yesterday's race...out of hundreds of racers. Most women I've ever seen in a day at our area series is in the neighborhood of 15). Just finding a frame small enough in the first place is a challenge, since the bottom bracket height is so much higher than on a road bike. To find bikes with top tubes that I can clear means that anything larger than a 44 (comparable to my 48cm road bike) is generally going to be too big. I love my Redline and was drooling over their carbon/disc Pro model...which starts at a 48 and would be far too big for me.

[Owlie]

Heck, we're still left out in many ways. I'm frustrated as I look to upgrade my CX bike. If I want something more than entry-level frame and components I pretty much have to go custom...and at just under 5'4" I'm not THAT small, but women still make up a fraction of the field at local races (I think there were only 6-7 of us at yesterday's race...out of hundreds of racers. Most women I've ever seen in a day at our area series is in the neighborhood of 15). Just finding a frame small enough in the first place is a challenge, since the bottom bracket height is so much higher than on a road bike. To find bikes with top tubes that I can clear means that anything larger than a 44 (comparable to my 48cm road bike) is generally going to be too big. I love my Redline and was drooling over their carbon/disc Pro model...which starts at a 48 and would be far too big for me.

Beautiful bike...but I'd ride the 48. Maybe a 51 if I didn't want to actually race on it and wanted to use it as an off-pavement road bike. (My Charge is close to the 51.) Wow.

[nuliajuk]

Heck, we're still left out in many ways. I'm frustrated as I look to upgrade my CX bike. If I want something more than entry-level frame and components I pretty much have to go custom...and at just under 5'4" I'm not THAT small, but women still make up a fraction of the field at local races (I think there were only 6-7 of us at yesterday's race...out of hundreds of racers. Most women I've ever seen in a day at our area series is in the neighborhood of 15). Just finding a frame small enough in the first place is a challenge, since the bottom bracket height is so much higher than on a road bike. To find bikes with top tubes that I can clear means that anything larger than a 44 (comparable to my 48cm road bike) is generally going to be too big. I love my Redline and was drooling over their carbon/disc Pro model...which starts at a 48 and would be far too big for me.

Believe me, it's way better than it was 20-30 years ago.
Part of the problem with 'cross bikes, I think, is that they can't have a sloping top tube because there wouldn't be enough clearance to carry the bike over the shoulder. Compact frame geometry has created smaller frames that weren't possible years ago, but no-one is going to make a cross frame like that.
edited to add: Probably not quite what you had in mind, but this 'cross frame goes down to 42cm:
http://www.somafab.com/archives/prod...ble-cross-disc

[zoom-zoom]

Believe me, it's way better than it was 20-30 years ago.
Part of the problem with 'cross bikes, I think, is that they can't have a sloping top tube because there wouldn't be enough clearance to carry the bike over the shoulder. Compact frame geometry has created smaller frames that weren't possible years ago, but no-one is going to make a cross frame like that.
edited to add: Probably not quite what you had in mind, but this 'cross frame goes down to 42cm:
http://www.somafab.com/archives/prod...ble-cross-disc

That is lovely. What gets me is that my bike has the most amazing geometry for me (aside from toe-overlap, but I even know bigger guys who run into that), but Redline will only do that frame in low-end models. I guess it's not profitable for them to do carbon molds of that geometry, simply because they wouldn't sell enough of that smallest size. It's NBD for them to do that with aluminum and low-end components.

[MarieV]

Kirsten, the Ridley X-Fire comes in a 41 (45 cm seat tube and 502 mm top tube).

http://www.cyclingnews.com/reviews/r...re-disc-review
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/ri...-complete-bike

Wahine, sorry about hijacking your thread, so those of us who are vertically challenged can vent.

[zoom-zoom]

Kirsten, the Ridley X-Fire comes in a 41 (45 cm seat tube and 502 mm top tube).

Yeah...unfortunately the only shop near us that carries it are sorta sworn enemies -- they fired "our guy" just before Christmas...ugly politics and they've alienated a lot of long-time area cyclists in the wake of that. As a result we're actually in the process of opening a new shop with our friend and 2 other friends (using some of the money DH inherited when his grandma died early this year -- couldn't think of a better way to invest that, really!). So far the lines we're likely to carry (trying not to duplicate too many other shops in the region) don't offer a lot of CX bikes for shorties. At this point custom is my likeliest route...which still sorta sits weird with me. I know it's my own insecurities, but I can't help but feel like my relatively slow, relatively casual riding doesn't "deserve" a $$ custom frame, even though I have legitimate reasons for going that route. I'm still bummed that I can't get a higher-end carbon Redline with discs, since that would be perfect (and probably half what a comparable custom will cost). My low-rent Redline is my very favorite bike. It fits like it was made for me.

[Owlie]

As for Shimano pushing Di2 on consumers, so far only the higher-end carbon bikes are even Di2 compatible, and manufacturers don't even offer Ultegra Di2 as an option on complete bikes except for their highest-end bikes. If anything it seems like for the same price more and more of the newer carbon bikes are getting Shimano 105 or even Tiagra components and cheaper wheels.

For me, the Di2 upgrade was definitely worth it. I'm so much more confident on my new bike, maybe because the frame is smaller and it really fits me and/or maybe because the Di2 hoods are smaller, so with my XS-size hands, I feel more confident shifting and braking. In any case, I'm having a lot more fun riding my new bike, and I don't think we should discredit anything that makes riding more fun. Just my $0.02.

I'm glad you like it! I agree with your last sentence completely. Would I buy Di2? No. Doesn't mean I don't think other people should buy it.

It's definitely harder if you're smaller.

[Dogmama]

For me, the Di2 upgrade was definitely worth it. I'm so much more confident on my new bike, maybe because the frame is smaller and it really fits me and/or maybe because the Di2 hoods are smaller, so with my XS-size hands, I feel more confident shifting and braking. In any case, I'm having a lot more fun riding my new bike, and I don't think we should discredit anything that makes riding more fun. Just my $0.02.

+1
For those of us with small arthritic hands, the Di2 is a Godsend. Interesting that you have to get old enough to have arthritis hands to afford one...?

I also looked at Campy because my previous bike of 17 years was Campy. But when I tried the Di2 I was sold. I have never ... knock on wood ... missed a shift in the almost two years that I've owned it. I've also never run out of charge because you get plenty of warning. If you ignore the warning light for weeks, you won't get stuck in a gear. The next warning is that you won't be able to shift your front gears but you'll still have all of your rear derailleur.

I "raced" a guy up a long hill a few weeks ago and beat him only because my shifting was smoother, quicker and more accurate. Hey, when you're pushing 60 hard, winning a race against a kid is a big thing!