Shiv TT Di2 upgrade; unexpected wiring challenge

[MisterBotak]

After review of multiple older threads on this, thought was better to make fresh one, than bump

Had expected wiring to be reasonably straightforward on a 2017 Shiv TT, especially with 12S removing some of the previous 11S challenges.

However found out from LBS that there were two variants of the 2017 TT model; Di2 friendly and Di2 not friendly. I unfortunately have the latter, which means no BB access panel:

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There are separate internal frame channels for the FD and RD cables, but not sure if that helps anything.

Can anyone recall how, or if they managed, to workaround this, in getting their Di2 cabling from cockpit to seatpost?

[ParisCarbon]

Mine's setup as EPS now, but from what I remember we needed to "break" the derailleur guide tubes out of there.. it was easy to do.. then you needed to dremel a slot in the front of the frame to match where all your front shifting cables will exit out the back of the stem feed those through the frame... also if I recall we drilled a small hole in the center top of the seatpost, and fed di2 lead out the top of the post, and the velcroed the Di2 box under the seatpost... sorry, Im not familiar with the shimano stuff anymore as Im using Campy.. but yeah it was a process but doable... we also needed to dremel to small circular slots in the top stem cover plate.. we did those just about at the trailing edge of the base bar... this will then allow you to feed the di2 cables from your bar end shifters through the stem into the slot you'll need to cut in the frame... be caseful when squeezing the top stem cover down.. there isn't alot of room in there, and its easy to "pinch" a cable.. I ended up doing this accidently when I swapped to EPS and my FD bar end shift gets glitchy sometimes, but the bar end one still works... keep meaning to put in the new dti, but its been working perfectly fine lately, and Im not keen on digging back into that rats nest of wires anytime soon lol

[CrankAddictsRich]

I don't think there was ever a Di2 friendly version.... just people that converted them. I can't recall how much I documented the photos of mine... I'll edit my post and link shortly.

edit:: Yea... page 6 and 7 of my build thread link inmy signature have pics of my Shiv.









There was a dremeled hole behind the stem area allowing the di2 and brake wires to run internally over the top of the stem top cap, under the area cover. There was also a drmreled hole under the BB to access the di2 4-way box (JC-41) and then we drilled a whole in the top of the seat post and put the Di2 EW-90B box there on a special mount that ziptied to the seat rails. Here's a rough skecth of the wiring.

[MisterBotak]

Thank you both for the input. Appreciate it was a while ago, so thanks for digging up.

The pics are also helpful.

Here is the reference for the other frame variant. I understand it was a differemt SKU. It's the BB access panel, which allowed for straightfoward cabling of both a mechanical, as well as a Di2 setup:


I'm guessing that you maybe had this config Rich, whereas ParisCarbon I think yoiu have have had no BB access panel, similar to the pic of mine, I shared in the OP.

I'll look further into opening up the FD and RD guide tubes. That may help me get cabling to back of the bike. However I still face challenge of getting a cable to the battery if I mount that in the traditional seatpost area. I understand that the BB area is not hollow apart from the guide tubes, so getting cable from BB area to seatpost doesnt look straightforward.

The other option I'm considering is potentially trying to place the battery close to the cockpit, which would remove this challenge.

Anyway thanks again for input. Definitely the encouargement I need to still think a solution is possible.

Beautiful Allez project btw Rich, even more so with the recent cockpit upgrade

[CrankAddictsRich]

Thank you both for the input. Appreciate it was a while ago, so thanks for digging up.

The pics are also helpful.

Here is the reference for the other frame variant. I understand it was a differemt SKU. It's the BB access panel, which allowed for straightfoward cabling of both a mechanical, as well as a Di2 setup:


I'm guessing that you maybe had this config Rich, whereas ParisCarbon I think yoiu have have had no BB access panel, similar to the pic of mine, I shared in the OP.

I'll look further into opening up the FD and RD guide tubes. That may help me get cabling to back of the bike. However I still face challenge of getting a cable to the battery if I mount that in the traditional seatpost area. I understand that the BB area is not hollow apart from the guide tubes, so getting cable from BB area to seatpost doesnt look straightforward.

The other option I'm considering is potentially trying to place the battery close to the cockpit, which would remove this challenge.

Anyway thanks again for input. Definitely the encouargement I need to still think a solution is possible.

Beautiful Allez project btw Rich, even more so with the recent cockpit upgrade

You're wlecome... thanks for the compliments on my Allez. I have a few more little tweaks coming for it.

My bike definitely did not have a BB access panel. My bike was a former pro bike for the Specialized Lululemon team. When I got the frame, I had done a ton of researcg and wrote an article, but unfortunately that website where it was posted has died, so I'm just working from my memory. I beleive the frame was a 2014 model. It had no ShivTT logos like the production model, only had S-Works and Shiv on, clear coat over the CF. The frames were made for the Specialized Lululemon team ahead of the Tour of California Womens TT, so that the team didn't have to bring their TT bikes from Europe for one race. The bike had been converted to Di2 by a team mechanic prior to me getting it. I only had to make a few adjustments based on the set up I was going to use. My BB area was hollow if I recall correctly. I wired most of the Di2 myself, pulling the wires through with a Park Took magnetic cable puller and I don't recall any issues.

[MisterBotak]

Rich

Good to hear. Another case of completion with no BB access, adds further encoragement. 2-0

I will take bike back from store this afternoon, so I can have a good look myself. This should help give me some better context on the tips and insights shared thus far.

Nice story on your Shiv. Definitely looked sharp in the pics.

[MisterBotak]

Glad to report, finally finished the project

What had been planned as a simple upgrade, turned out to be a much larger undertaking.

A di2, 12S and 1x upgrade did not seem problematic at the start, but did eat up a significant amount of time.

Many thanks for the guidance and hope offered here, as well as John at Veloworx in UK, who had visually documented a similar build up, plus Terry at Bettershifting.

In case anyone takes on such an undertaking and ends here looking for a reference, here’s quick summary of the modifications made:
1 dremel 5mm access hole #1 at headset into top tube, to bypass RD/FD cable channels and allow entry into frame itself
2 dremel similar deeper, access hole #2 at RD exit point to allow cable channel to be bypassed and pull down di2 cable through frame
3 opted for just bar end shifters (ST-R9160s), so cabling quite simple. Single JC41 and AD305 all housed within the down tube, after above access points were opened

4 no need for any work around BB, as 12S required less junction boxes, compared to 11S
5 Park Tool internal cable routing kit was invaluable
6 opted for Pyramid Cycling Design for the 1x chainring, who were able to custom cut the chainring, so I could keep existing S-Works crank and PM
7 9160 bar end shifters required software to be updated to run 12S

[TerryDi2C]

Looking good!

[MisterBotak]

Looking good!

Thanks Terry and again for the guidance

[CrankAddictsRich]

Looks great! I miss my Shiv TT.