Buying a bike with Shimano Ultegra Electronic shifting.

[Tokie]

My 60 yr old thumbs are ready for easier shifting,,so I am probably buying Trek Silque,size 47. I have short little legs and old knees that do best with 165 cranks.It looks like there are no 165 cranks for the electronic Ultegra group. Any ideas? Thanks for any input,Tokie

[smilingcat]

Can you swap out the regular crank set with 165s? I think the electronic shifting isn't affected by the cranks nor by the size of the chain rings. Ask around and see what bike wrenches have to say.

[Tokie]

With further investigation, I found that the Di2 line comes in 165 crank lengths...but Trek sends out even their tiny bikes with 170's.I emailed Trek at their corporate contact from their website.I don't want to pay $3,800 for a bike that is "Woman Specific Design" with a too long crank.I'll keep you posted...Waiting for a severance package at work to bankroll my new bike.

[Crankin]

I have a Silque with 165 cranks. I do not have Di2, but the LBS wanted me to try it, and there was no conversation that this couldn't be done. It depends what level Silque you are getting, I suspect. My bike was built to order (SSL level); it did cost a lot more than the price you are quoting, but I think that you can probably still get this, no matter what. Work with your LBS, not Trek directly.

[Tokie]

Ah ha....I can tell already from emails to my bike shop guy that he doesn't want to switch out to a 165 for me. I will keep you posted....thanks for your info.

[MarieV]

I've had Di2 on one of my bikes. You use the same Ultegra 165 mm crank for Di2 and mechanical. The electronic part only refers to the shifters and front and rear derailleurs. The crank, cassette, and chain are exactly the same as the Ultegra mechanical.

It's totally worth it to change the crank to the 165 mm crank since you're shorter. However, 165 mm cranks are usually more expensive since Shimano makes so few of them, which may be why Trek and other bike manufacturers put the more common and cheaper 170 mm cranks on their smallest bikes and probably why your LBS isn't willing to swap the 170 cranks to 165 cranks at no charge. I'd ask your LBS if they're willing to swap the crank out for the difference in cost between the cranks.

[Crankin]

This is a crock. My LBS said there was a back order/delay on getting the 165 cranks, but they never discouraged me. In the end, I got the bike about 6 weeks earlier than they had thought! It is always worth it to pay for this upgrade. On my trip to Provence, I was riding a very nice Madone from 2014. It felt almost exactly like my Silque, except for the 170 cranks. My choice was to ride this bike, or a 44cm, with the 165 cranks. The 44 cm would be too small for me, so I sucked it up. My knees have not been right since the trip, and I don't have knee problems.
This sounds like when I bought my Kuota in 2006. They built it up because the shop owner (different LBS) said the 170 cranks would "turn me into a climbing animal." This is just old fashioned male racer BS. I never stand to climb and with my 165 cranks, I do just fine for a 61 year old.

[Tokie]

Thanks everyone.I haven't gathered my energy to negotiate with the local dealer.And if he isn't willing,then there are bigger Trek dealers in nearby towns. I used to have 170's- yes you get more leverage,but it isn't right for me either Crankin. thanks, Tokie

[OakLeaf]

Yeah, I'd look at it more like a bigger dealer is more likely to be able to sell the takeoff AND more likely to be able to absorb the loss if they can't sell it. Unlike some other components that I'd expect a shop of any size to swap out at no charge (or the difference in cost if there is one), cranks don't get replaced very often. Bike shops usually operate on a very narrow margin. Besides looking for a bigger shop that moves more volume, I'd look for a shop that does more custom builds than complete bikes, which a shop like that would also be more likely to do that for you even if it's a smaller shop.

I can't ride anything longer than 165s without hurting my knees either.