Hi weenies,

A couple of weeks ago I met a guy who's running DA Di2 on his Orbea Orca. He couldn't praise it enough, claiming it's the best groupset he's ever run, and he's ridden a few. I began to consider upgrading from my humble SRAM Rival to Shimano electronic, but unfortunately I cannot afford new DA Di2.

The guy said that DA Di2 worked "much better" than Ultegra Di2, and some comments I've read here are similar. So, the question is, would you buy new Ultegra Di2 stuff or would you try to buy second hand DA Di2? Or would you wait a few months until the new DA 11s groupset comes out and early adopters sell their old stuff to afford the new jewel of the crown?

Any advise would be appreciated!

I've read several reviews online that have Ultegra Di2 rated higher than the DuraAce based on cost to benefit ratio. One of those 95% of the benefits at 50% of the cost kinda things.

If I weren't a campy guy I'd be perfectly happy with Ultegra Di2.

Now I need to take out a second Mortgage on my house to upgrade to EPS =]

I've used both DA and Ultegra, they seem to function identically, the DA stuff is lighter and (in my mind a big advantage) you can hack it- I've got my battery in the seatpost for example.

I'd wait for the new 11 speed stuff to come out and pick up DA Di2 second hand if I was you- it's what I'm going to try to do for my second bike.

I'd like to see the arguments why DA Di2 is so much better than Ui2.
DA Di2 is about less weight and marginally better front shifting but uses the first generation 4 core wires. Ui2 uses newer two core wires which are much more simpler and easier to deal with.
If money isn't the issue buy DA Di2, if it is, Ui2 is just as good.

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Scott Foil Di2 2012
Scott Scale 35 2010

He didn't elaborate that much, but I think he meant front shifting. Plus, the RD is SO bulky in Ultegra Di2 that it nearly puts me off... I think I can get second hand DA Di2 for 1100-1200 EUR, while new Ultegra Di2 is about 900 EUR... Of course, it's new agains second hand, but I am undecided...

Get the Ultegra Di2 shifters/ders and DA7900 cranks, brakes, cassette, etc. This is the route I went and I love it. It's a touch heavier, but works just as well.

Ultegra Di2 is easier to wire and should be software upgradable.

The Ui2 RD is indeed bulky, but you care about only at the time you are installing it.
Front shifting - get Ui2 with DA crank and then compare them. You won't notice much difference. I have this setup and FD upshifting under power is flawless.
I wouldn't buy current DA because of the wiring. I won't buy full DA Di2 because of the price, though if you don't race, then its not such a big issue.

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Scott Foil Di2 2012
Scott Scale 35 2010

Interesting views here, I far prefer the non Canbus wiring as you can alter it.

Sorry for being OCD, but can we not call it Ui2? It's Ultegra Di2.

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K2

Do you suffer more when you train, or cannot train?

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so...di2=dura ace electronic; ui2= ultegra electronic

rode a full season last year with different di2 groups and they have been 99% flawless(battery lost contact very few times on cobbles, resulting in no shifting despite battery 100% seated in the holder). i would buy it immediately for my bikes.

mounted 6 bikes for teammates this spring with ui2, and 3 other bikes got built up by 3 other mechanics. all 9 bikes had the shifting not working one time or the other. cables plug in and out way easier in fd, rd, battery and even the levers. battery gets emty very fast when limit screws are set tight(derailleurs shoudn't touch screws when in the outer positions). bikes stored in 39-11 overnight had emty batteries next morning. the fuji frames they have get a lot of water inside and the water has a hard time getting out of the bike. we think that this little box where all 4 cables are plugged in is under water most of the time, or at least there's a lot of moisture in the downtube, where all the cables get stuffed into. there were bikes where we had to change all 4 cables and the box, hairdryer and contact spray didn't help.
most idiotic failure was a cable got unplugged in the right lever after hitting a big hole in the road at full speed. can you imagine how long we searched for that?
i've never read anything about that in magazines, but there are other teams with ui2 around here and they all have their problems. dura ace seems a lot more solid, and i really hope that they don't take the exact same cables and plugs from ui2 for di2 2013...next to the disadvantages in optics, weight and image for ui2 i think you can clearly see which group is more durable and more "thought-out".

Hi Simon

Finally someone with a lot of first hand experience on the Ultegra Di2. I think one of the best things about the Dura Ace DI2 is how flawless it just works - all the time

If Durability have taken a hit with the new Ultegra DI2 - I would think this is a LARGE step back from Dura Ace

In fairness Lars I don't think that's what Simon is saying?


And can you also please not quote the post directly above, as requested by the boss (Frankie - B)

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Baum Ristretto, Baum Mondrian Corretto & the '89 Merckx! | "If you could eat it in one sitting, hold your line." | twitter.com/Tinea_Pedis