Ultegra Di2 Lifespan?

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SpinnerTim
Posts: 170
Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2010 11:36 am

by SpinnerTim

I can't imagine that Di2 system failed due to water damage without first being breached by some prior insult or slipshod assembly.

Assembled with due care, these things can operate under water, and I've completed rides where I got caught out by freezing rain and limped home with actual ice forming on my frame and gruppo. Of all the people I've ever met who've used Di2 - or EPS, for that matter - none has related a first or second-hand account of Di2 water-shorts.

And mechanical parts are as susceptible to water damage as electronics in the long run. Maintain your Di2, check the plugs periodically, apply some silicon or grease if you're really worried, and you'll be fine. It's worth mentioning that most parts of a mechanical gruppo will expire if continuously exposed to water without due attention. Anyone who puts away his wet bike without a once-over is going to see their chain/rings/cassette/bearings expire long before the Di2 components are compromised.

I have total confidence in Di2 in the wet and over the long term. The nitpicking at the margins about battery life and electrical failures concern me as much as the theoretical non-serviceability of STI levers that Campy fans loved to mention back in the day. I've never worn out an STI lever or a Di2 electronic element without the assistance of a crash, and I'd encourage anyone considering 9070 or 6870 to just go for it. It solves more problems than it could ever create.

-Tim

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Slack
Posts: 206
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 11:37 pm

by Slack

I've been riding 6770 for three years now approx 25-30,000 miles. I haven't had a single fault that wasn't my own causing. I've thrown the bike down the road twice ending up with me having broken collarbones on both occasions but the di2 just shrugged it off despite some pretty heavy damage. The groupset is now on my winter training bike because of the reliability that I have experienced it's now seen almost all of one of the wettest British winters in history and it hasn't skipped a beat.

To add to my own experience on my own bike, I work for one of the largest independent bike shops in the U.K. dealing with all of the warranty for our shops. Since we have been selling di2 I can say hand on heart we have had one failure. That was a 6770 rear mech that had a casting failure on the knuckle that was replaced by Madison under warranty.

Having seen many mechanical groups trashed by lack of maintenance, worn out cables ruining sti's, putting too much pressure on the ratchets. Gear cables heads snapping/pulling of cables because the owner hasn't lubed the cables after a winter's riding. Mechs seizing up because they're full of grit or seized solid because of road salt. I literally cannot recommend it enough, especially if you are not mechanically fluent.

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