Di2 : 20km Ride Impression
Those who know me knows that I'm a firm supporter of electronic shifting. I was so excited when Di2 was announced 2 years ago...alas....the price point was way beyond what I was willing to put on at that point in time. Now, I have a good deal on a set and I've sort of gone bonkers on bike spending anyway, I took the plunge. Just couldn't wait for Ultegra (which by the way, IMHO, looks too bulky but I do acknowledge it should be better and DA7970 since its built with the experience of 7970!) and the DA7900 group just was not a mark up in performance enough compared to the 7800 series.
It was still drizzling when I went out; a good chance to test out the water-resistance of Di2. It was initially a weird experience, clicking on mouse-like buttons instead of doing the the usual lever sweeps to shift gears. Fortunately, after a couple minutes, I got the hang of it and actually enjoyed the simplicity of it all!
Granted its just my first time out (only 20km) but here's the impression so far....
Rear Shifting :
Although lacking in the 2-3 gear sweeps in the 7900/7800 mechanical levers, the rear shifting does not suffer. In fact, it shifts as fast as one can tap on the button. You can tap very quickly for 5 times and the chain would have shifted up and down 5 times as soon as you complete the 5th click. Don't blame the RD if you think its slow. Its your fingers!
Front Shifting :
This part is unreal. Its so smooth and so effortless. A revelation. No chain rub no matter what as the FD plates adjusts itself to avoid chain rub (there is some feedback system that tells the main processor the rear cog position, possibly).
Overall Shifting :
All I can say is - effortless. Improved? Sure! Makes a lot of sense for longish rides, sprints and TT (where satellite shifters can be used!). I don't think it helps much in a climb, maybe in a competitive climb. Definitely for me, being a mere mortal, it holds more poser value than anything else! On this short ride I just clicked nonsensically on all the buttons available to me. It just shifts. Di2 takes out the human hesitation. I even shifted front and back SIMULTANEOUSLY back and forth and it still works!
Gripes :
Sure, there are some gripes of course. Nothing is perfect. A Di2 specific frame will be NICE. There are a lot of cable ties and tape for my case at the moment! The shifters, while they look great and sleek, they are not as comfortable as the 7900 shifters that provide a larger platform to rest the palms. In fact, they are more like the 7800 shifters, which of course, aren't bad too. Just could be better.
Apparently the battery could easily last 2500km on once charge....and it charges up from empty to full in about 2 hours...amazing! Great engineering feat from Shimano : mechanically and electrically!
I'll have to put in more miles before I truly get use to the whole electronic thing but that being said its so cool!
Campy will be launching something similar in 2012.....Italians and Electronics? you go figure.
It was still drizzling when I went out; a good chance to test out the water-resistance of Di2. It was initially a weird experience, clicking on mouse-like buttons instead of doing the the usual lever sweeps to shift gears. Fortunately, after a couple minutes, I got the hang of it and actually enjoyed the simplicity of it all!
Granted its just my first time out (only 20km) but here's the impression so far....
Rear Shifting :
Although lacking in the 2-3 gear sweeps in the 7900/7800 mechanical levers, the rear shifting does not suffer. In fact, it shifts as fast as one can tap on the button. You can tap very quickly for 5 times and the chain would have shifted up and down 5 times as soon as you complete the 5th click. Don't blame the RD if you think its slow. Its your fingers!
Front Shifting :
This part is unreal. Its so smooth and so effortless. A revelation. No chain rub no matter what as the FD plates adjusts itself to avoid chain rub (there is some feedback system that tells the main processor the rear cog position, possibly).
Overall Shifting :
All I can say is - effortless. Improved? Sure! Makes a lot of sense for longish rides, sprints and TT (where satellite shifters can be used!). I don't think it helps much in a climb, maybe in a competitive climb. Definitely for me, being a mere mortal, it holds more poser value than anything else! On this short ride I just clicked nonsensically on all the buttons available to me. It just shifts. Di2 takes out the human hesitation. I even shifted front and back SIMULTANEOUSLY back and forth and it still works!
Gripes :
Sure, there are some gripes of course. Nothing is perfect. A Di2 specific frame will be NICE. There are a lot of cable ties and tape for my case at the moment! The shifters, while they look great and sleek, they are not as comfortable as the 7900 shifters that provide a larger platform to rest the palms. In fact, they are more like the 7800 shifters, which of course, aren't bad too. Just could be better.
Apparently the battery could easily last 2500km on once charge....and it charges up from empty to full in about 2 hours...amazing! Great engineering feat from Shimano : mechanically and electrically!
I'll have to put in more miles before I truly get use to the whole electronic thing but that being said its so cool!
Campy will be launching something similar in 2012.....Italians and Electronics? you go figure.
Comments