.... the jackal rides and run....

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...

Got a sweet deal on a full (well semi-full, came with 7800 brakes iso 7900) lightly used Di2 set and got it installed yesterday at TEF (good guys over there!). Since the Z3 is not Di2 specific, wires and the cable guides look slightly out of place but not hideous. Had a bit of a problem in installing the battery though...due to the compact geometry and the extremely low water bottle location, the battery could not be mounted at the usual place without sacrificing the bottle cages.  This, I cannot accept and promptly suggested that they place the batt on the chainstay. Well I did one up as I got home, I put it BELOW the chainstay just like in most of the pro bikes! Some comments on shifting later. The 7970 shifters are much sleeker compared to 7900 and has snake-skin-like texture on the rubber grips. DIY Chainstay battery mount. The NDS chainstay now looks kinda busy with the speed/cadence and Di2 batt.. The FD makes a really nice whirring noise when it shi...