It’s a matter of priorities, I think: Eagle AXS and XTR Di2 are very expensive, which leaves XT Di2 as the only “budget” option. What is more, you have no use for things like blip shifters ob a mountain bike. On the other hand, mechanical shifting is really good these days. And us MTBers have better ways to spend that money.
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I own eTap on 2 bikes and mech on 1. It’s a luxury.
Anybody who thinks wireless shifting is never any trouble…don’t tell Chavez after stage 9 of the vuelta.
Again…here is a rider supported by some the best mechanics in the biz.
Do you have any links explaining what the mechanical was? I’ve searched and can’t find anything concrete.
dont you carry a small power bank for your garmin/Wahoo on long rides? Same micro usb cable that can be used to charge both
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I would recommend Di2 over mechanical any day. The shifting isn’t a lot faster but Di2 just works so great. I haven’t had any problems yet.
I like the flexibility to adjust overhead buttons on the hoods and to use them to switch menus and laps with Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt (EW-WU111 needed for this) as well as recording gear data to Golden Cheetah etc. If you race, sprint shifters would be also a good addition. I like also the reliability, battery life has been stellar and I don’t have to fiddle with cables anymore as I’ve switched to disc braking.
If I had some extra money, I would update my winter bike to use Di2 instead for mechanical shifting because I train a lot at sub zero celsius temperatures.
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I am building up next 5 year bike, and i feel the only option is di2. Only thing you need to do is install new chains, and bar tape
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Plus cleaning 
Or is “install new chains” instead of cleaning? 
I’ve been riding my first Di2 bike for 3 weeks now and absolutely love it. Hands down the best shifting bike I’ve ever owned by a long shot. Battery life appears like it is going to be phenomenal. As long as I have the funds to afford it I’ll not be going back to a mechanical system.
Why, yes I do! I’ve got a whole little system worked out for just such an eventuality. Here’s the difference: I can engage battery backup on my bike computer with thumb and forefinger at 35mph on a downhill at night.
Can’t do that with di2.
Or you could just, I dunno, choose a better time to switch to a back up battery? 
I get what you’re saying. No system is perfect, many people feel the benefit of wireless shifting out ways the potential drawbacks. I am in that camp.
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I have Di2 on my Cervelo R3 and it is amazing. I love the size and feel of the hoods and the response is super fast. I like that the buttons on the top I have setup to control shifting so if I’m climbing I can use those instead (tho I never do). Shifting is super fast and I have never had an issue with mis-shifting. I’ve never had the battery die. I guess some people have but a lot of people don’t take care of their bikes. A lot of people don’t live their chain or check their brake pads or inflate their tires before every ride. There are certain mechanical things you need to do regularly to keep your bike running efficiently and charging the system periodically is one of them. I’ll take have to charge it every so often over constantly having to adjust my gearing any day.
Having said all this I’m thinking of off loading my current bike and going down to mechanical Ultegra and rim brakes. I love the new Tarmac frame too much and I don’t have enough money to get the tarmac pro with Di2 and gradual it brakes.
I guess I’m just realizing that while Di2 and hydraulic brakes are amazing they aren’t a necessity and haven’t made me a better rider. What they have done is made my riding experience a bit nicer (Di2, not hydraulic brakes, they squeal so bad!).
I’ve had a lot of coffee so I think I’ve kinda rambled. In summary Di2 is amazing if you can afford it but I would lump it into the luxury category.
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Anyone know how well the battery does in the cold? I’m looking at DI2 for a new gravel bike that I’d also potentially use for multiday bike packing where overnights could be chilly.
By the way, one concern I have with DI2 is if it malfunctions in the middle of nowhere. Based on this thread and what I’ve read elsewhere, it seems pretty reliable. But I wouldn’t want it to crap out half way around the white rim trail for example.
You don’t need to. If you do manage to run your battery down, it disables the front derailleur and allows, I think, up to 1000 shifts in the rear before running out. If that doesn’t get you through the rest of your ride and be enough of a reminder to recharge the battery, then I don’t know what to say 
. Not to mention the head unit prompts of low battery well before this scenario (if u have the wireless device)
Now if you want to complain about price, I’m with you. It is expensive. But putting up with 1000’s of minor annoyances with mechanical to avoid 1 annoyance that should never happen with Di2, I say no thanks to mechanical.
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I’ve done a lot of riding this winter around 20F (not as cold as some ride in I suspect). I haven’t seen any noticeable differences in battery life. I’m also using the wireless unit connected to my head unit and a clutched rear derailleur, which has to use extra battery. In my experience with 2 Di2 setups, the battery capacity is just so huge that it last for a very long time. A friend had SRAM wireless and had to charge much more often, which I suspect is because of smaller batteries.
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The “issue” with Di2 battery life is its like having car with a 250 gallon gas tank. The range is so big you can end up never thinking about filling up.
Just work charging into your normal routine maintain schedule and you’ll never even come close to running dry. Its certainly possible to run Di2 dry but only if don’t pay any attention to your bike. For example, your chain needs to be lubed more often than the Di2 battery needs charging. Do both at the same time and all will be well.
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I’ve been doing a fair number of long outdoor weekend rides this winter on my Di2 equipped Emonda. No issues with the battery. My Garmin has a screen that shows battery % and every month or two I charge it back up.
I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but the only issue I had with Di2 was I initially had a bad battery. The battery wouldn’t hold the charge properly and would trickle down over a number of days. The shop replaced the battery under warranty and never had an issue since. The shop said there were a number of people who had a similar issue at the time (a few years ago), so surprised that it didn’t get more attention on the forums at the time.
Personally I still like the Di2 is wired as wireless does add another variable. Again, I’ve previously posted this, but I spontaneously loss shifting on my Eagle AXS equipped bike in the middle of Leadville climbing Columbine. 20 - 30 minutes later it spontaneously started shifting again. Hasn’t happened since but there have been a number of firmware updates since then. It’s always in the back of my mind now. How many times has your heart rate strap lost a signal during a ride only to pop back up? With all the connectivity between the electronics on the bike, our cycle computers, our phones and then everyone around us, it is not surprising that these gremlins come up at times. For something as critical as shifting, having a wired connection makes some sense.
I put a reminder in my calendar to remind me to check the charge every few months and has also added a data field to my Garmin screen that only has battery levels so end up checking it every few rides.
I’ve only ever used Di2 on a hire road bike. While nice, it wasn’t a game changer for me. When I was building up my full suspension race MTB I did seriously consider it but I didn’t feel that the extra cost was going to give me any real benefits.
As for being out in the middle of nowhere - Mike Hall used Di2 on his record breaking Tour Divide ride so if it was good enough for him …
It’s a system and like any system it will have its foibles, faults and risks. They’ll be different from a mechanical system but they are there nonetheless.
Me too. And that more and more frames are internal makes it even less an issue. I even have a domane set up Di2 with no internal routing and only time I notice them being external is when i do a deep cleaning.