[tlg]

Really not sure what all those wires are for or what you're tying to achieve.
The wireless unit doesn't need to go in the bars. Stick it in the seat tube connected to the battery with the 150mm cable.

You mentioned the Junction A. But that can't go inside. That's where you charge the system. It needs to be external.
But your picture shows a Junction B. That typically goes in the Bottom Bracket or Downtube.

 

[tlg]

Yeah... no thanks bike industry. You're killing cycling one "innovation" at a time nowadays.

It has absolutely nothing to do with 'bike industry innovation'.

It's seriously not that complicated.

 

[tlg]

It's a single piece cockpit with integrated cabling. Neither is a good idea and makes things more complicated / expensive for no real appreciable gain, plus there are less adjustments possible. I can't fathom how you could consider it less complicated.

I said it's "not that complicated". Because it's not. You never mentioned integrated bars. We weren't talking about integrated bars. This isn't an integrated bar issue.

But since you brought it up, yes di2 wires are less complicated to route in integrated bars. They're dirt simple.

 

[tlg]

Why does he have a cable coming out the end of the bar on the left? I think that's his problem.

Not if he's using a bar end junction. (Which makes the wiring even less complicated!)

 

[tlg]

ETA: No, Di2 isn't really hard at all. As long as you have the right parts and wires it's pretty simple

Ding ding ding.
It's like trying to swap shift cables from one bike to another then complaining that they're too short but you don't want to buy longer cables and housing.

 

[tlg]

Haha. TLG, It's not that complicated but it kinda is.

Duriel - the wire sticking out was for the bar end junction that TLG showed.

I opted to move my Di2 11 speed to the new frame. The old Pinarello had the junction A in the downtube. I'm moving it to the the bar end. This frame has the integrated cockpit which is the root of the issue not that the Di2 wiring is in of itself complex. I was trying to make it work with my existing cables and I couldn't find any configuration that didn't involve buying more longer ones. The longest Y cable that Shimano makes is too short to connect both shifters and the junction A in the bar end. I ended up buying both 1m and 700mm cables to get it done - $75 extra I was hoping not to spend.

I wanted to keep the wireless junction in the bars for proximity to the head unit but that isn't happening right now - it's in the downtube. Now for about 5 hours I have been struggling pulling the hydraulic lines and have finally gotten them after removing all the Di2 wires first. Even then it was a struggle and I had to use a hex key to manipulate the lines to bend just enough to pull out the of the bars by the shifters.

A integrated cockpit now ranks in the "hopefully never again" for me. I felt like I needed 4 more hands just to deal with the Di2 wires and brake lines in the notches of the headset compression ring while still keeping the fork in place.

You really just super over complicated it. You only need two Di2 wires in your bars. (Only one on the other side)
And there's no reason to put the wireless unit in there. It doesn't need to be close to the head unit.

 

[tlg]

For those of you who like Di2/equivalents--more power to ya. Tinball's frustrations are the main reason I stick with simpler, time-tested components like mechanical shifting and rim brakes on my road bike: cheap to purchase, easy to install/repair, and proven to work for decades upon decades. As with everything, the more complicated/complex something is, the more that can go wrong. Not trying to start any trouble, just an observation.

Except his frustrations were caused by not knowing what he was doing and shoehorning an improper solution.
There are decades of posts of people doing the exact same thing with mechanical drive trains. (and people STILL doing it)

I have three Di2 bikes. Tens of thousands of miles.
I've never adjusted a derailleur. Not once.
Never had a frayed or broken shift cable.
Never replaced a shift cable.
Never replaced shift housing.
Rarely have to replace bar tape.
Shifting is exactly the same as it was on Day #1

I've gone all Di2 because of... the simplicity. Is it more expensive? Yes. But well worth is for the maintenance savings.

 

[tlg]

My Di2 is much simpler, buy the bike, ride it, done! I do have to charge it once every 3 months, it's really getting old doing that.

I know some people are bad about charging their batteries. (These are the same people who neglect their shift cables and have them fray and break mid ride and are stuck riding home with a single speed)

I've never had mine die on me during a ride.
The battery charges super fast. ~10miles / minute
If you're low, throw it on the charger for 5-10min while you're gearing up before you head out. And you're good for 50-100mi.

 

[tlg]

To be fair, there are warning lights you can check on the batteries that let you know when it's time to charge. When a shifter cable frays inside the shifter, it gives you little warning. Heck, I'd rather charge a battery than change an internally routed shifter cable. @tlg , Can you see I'm warming to Di2?

Also if you have the wireless unit (built into newer generation) you can display battery level on your Garmin. And it'll alert you at 20%.
When you get down to ~10% the FD shuts down and you have ~50mi of RD shifting.

 

[tlg]

Can I assume when the FD shuts down, it defaults to the small ring? If so, no big deal.

It defaults to the ring you're in. If you live in flatlands where you don't use the small ring much you'd likely never know it shut down. Which is good. You wouldn't want to be forced into the small ring.

Usually there's enough juice to get you into the small ring. But then not back up. That's when people typically realize they forgot to charge.

 

[tlg]

Hmmm. I think I would rather be stuck in the small ring than in the big ring. If there are killer hills on the way home, the big ring could be tough.

Definitely. If you live in a hilly area.
But not if it's flat. A friend of mine has been in FL the past month. I've been busting his balls about how flat his rides are. He's averaging 9ft/mi.
Being stuck in the small ring for 50mi of that would royally suck.

 

[tlg]

If you charge it once every 3 months on the version I have, one never has it go down.

You can't say that for everyone. It depends on how much you ride and how much shifting you do.
If you ride 150+ mi a week where you shift a lot, there's no way to go that long.
At 200+ per week you're not making it 2 months.

 

[tlg]

Well yea, if you ride a ton of miles, my comments do not apply. I ride about 60m/w in mtn country and get by charging every 3 mo's. I would think most don't ride 150m/w in mtns, but some do. I have a guy in the next town over I follow on strava, he can go out for a ride and it's 150+ miles, up/dn 3 mtns.
I don't have a phone app, so I just charge it on a schedule that works for me.
I think 99% of the riders don't log 150 mi per week in mtns.
How many miles do you ride a week?

Charging on a schedule is a good idea. But it can be vastly different for everyone.
It really doesn't matter what you think 99% of riders do.
You can't just blanket say 'charge your bike every 3 months'. Contrary to what you believe, a shit ton of riders do more than 60mi/wk.
Me? I don't ride less than 60mi on a Saturday. I'm about 150/wk. More in the summer. I don't consider that a ton.
This is my clubs top 100 riders mileage for last week. And it's winter, so those numbers are down.

 

[tlg]

There's a site called di2stats.com. It analyzes your shifting.
This is a pretty good demonstration of why terrain drastically affects battery life.
Two rides, 106mi @ 25ft/mi. And 103 mi @ 75ft/mi.
The flat ride shifted almost 3x less. And never used the little ring.

 

[tlg]

Elevation doesn't always mean you shift more, you can't make that blanket statement.

I didn't make that statement.
I said "terrain"
Terrain can be consistent or varying
Which is why it "drastically affects battery life"

So how many times do I get to shift before I need to recharge?

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