Di2 a gift to Campagnolo?

[De Sisti]

I see the OP hasn’t been back. Fire and forget.

Doubt we'll hear from him again.

[grams]

I expect that the reason Di2 can't shift a triple is because triples are unfashionable. At some point in the next decade or two they will come back into fashion and then there will be a triple Di2.

https://www.bike-components.de/en/Shimano/XTR-Di2-FD-M9050-3-11-speed-Front-Derailleur-p44318/

So unfashionably that a while back you could get them on clearance for like £40.

[IanDG]

I'm so much of a luddite I'm still speccing stuff with 10sp, I like the idea of cross compatability in case of failure.

And I'm another +1 for 105, XT etc

10 speed? You lucky modern b******! I'm still running 7/8/9 speed on my bikes 

[IanDG]

Surely cross-compatibility between different manufacturers groupsets went out with 6 speed freewheels and down tube friction gear levers. Sure, you can make some things work together with a bit of ingenuity and some widgets but not something the average cyclist would tackle. But I guess this forum isn’t made up of average cyclists.

I was thinking more about sensible gears for touring bikes and particularly recumbents.  Typically that's a road triple chainset and mountain bike cassette to get sufficient range, with whatever else needed to make it work properly.  Obviously derailleurs and shifters have to come from the same manufacturer to avoid the need for widgets, but Di2 completely scuppers that sort of thing, not least because AIUI it can't shift a triple.

Average cyclists ride whatever's on the bike that the bike shop sells them.

What gears do you need for touring? Can a triple get better than my 28:40 lowest to my 38:11 highest? And if it can go higher, do we really need it? 90rpm in top gear is 40kph.

J

24x34 is pretty close at the bottom end (19.1" cf 18.9")

44x11 is a lot higher at the top end  (108" cf  93.3") which gives 46kph at 90rpm

With smaller range the change from one sprocket to the next is not as big and there's much less of a "jump" from one gear to the next minimising the occasion where one gear is "just a bit too high" and the next up is "just a bit too low" A triple is much better suited for mixed terrain IMO.

[retromodern]

I see the OP hasn’t been back. Fire and forget.

Doubt we'll hear from him again.

Wow. Many interesting comments in this thread which have certainly hleped me address the question. I didn't know I had to write thankyou notes.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Some sort of acknowledgement means you are more likely to get an answer the next time you ask something.

[ElyDave]

I'm so much of a luddite I'm still speccing stuff with 10sp, I like the idea of cross compatability in case of failure.

And I'm another +1 for 105, XT etc

10 speed? You lucky modern b******! I'm still running 7/8/9 speed on my bikes 

My reasonably priced 90's MTB is still on 7 SP

I've not forgotten my roots 

[retromodern]

As fortune would have it, I have just acquired 2 bicycles: 1 with 10 speed mechanical ultegra and the other with 10 speed mechanical 105.  Both component groups are impressive and the 105 bike lacks Shimano brakes and hubs, and this shows, as the substitutes are a little lacking. (I always thought that if Colnago put their name on it, then that was a guarantee of high quality and performance - it seems not). But I can make this stuff last, I hope, and thus the subject of electrical shifting is moot, for me. I imagine that all 3 major component manufacturers will be fully wireless within 5 years, and then I may consider it. One of my new bikes has holes in the frame for wires, but otherwise not. As an engineer who spent many wasted hours fault finding on wires, I can say with some certainty that I do not want any of that in my leisure time. Anyone else holding off for true wireless with S and C, where SRAM already are?

[rafletcher]

I think you'll find that the latest Shimano 12sp Di2 groupsets are already wireless.

[quixoticgeek]

I think you'll find that the latest Shimano 12sp Di2 groupsets are already wireless.

Semi wireless

[rafletcher]

I think you'll find that the latest Shimano 12sp Di2 groupsets are already wireless.

Semi wireless

My bad, I'd only glanced at the shiters.

[Hot Flatus]

I've had Di2 on one bike for seven years, but until last October it was a may-october bike (now its a winter commuter). I've had a DA Di2 top end machine (july-sept) machine for two years. So it's only been about a year that I have ridden almost exclusively Di2 (apart from fixed).

I used to regard di2 as an expensive luxury and certainly not a necessity, but after a year of it  stepping back to cables now almost feels like a joke.

[Genosse Brymbo]

Here's another contribution in my continuing attempt to hijack this thread and turn it into "Campagnolo marketing - a gift to Shimano?"

A couple of weeks ago I changed from Campag Ultratorque to Shimano HT2 chainset/BB, after I'd tired of having to use the LBS for servicing of the former.  The last time the Campag BB started creaking within 100km.  HT2 is so much easier to install and you don't need expensive, dedicated tools to replace the bearings (actually bearing and cup assemblies which Shimano appear to call "adapters").  Did it myself - even easier than fitting square taper.

Oh, and thank you for the one 112mm BCD hole on your 34t inner chainring, Campagnolo.  That meant that I couldn't re-use it on the 48/36t truly 110mm BCD 5-bolt Shimano crankset.

I hope that fully wireless Di2 will be available when the Campag derailleurs and shifters need replacement.  Back on topic now...

[Hot Flatus]

Funny you should mention that...

It is exactly the reason I gave up on Campag. Working on it has become a real pain in the arse, especially the ridiculous cranksets. Powertorque is even worse. You need a bearing puller (??) to get the bearing off the axle, and a different kind of puller to get the crank off. You also need a special blanking disk as well. Oh, and another tool to get the outboard bearing cups off. If you use the proper tools it is currently over £150 just to be able to change the BB bearings, and it takes ages.

Shimano...one £15 tool and an Allen key (that also removes disc rotors) and 10 minutes max.

I had to replace the spring in my Record ergo 3 times in 8 years. Never had an STI fail.

I feel a bit sorry for Campag as up to the 90s they were supreme, but in a couple of decades we won't be talking about them any more.

[Bianchi Boy]

Will we all go electronic? I doubt it. The hassle of getting a bike running after the winter and all the ones in use will see it available for the next 20 years I think

Sent from my XQ-BT52 using Tapatalk

[drossall]

Except that I think there's a significant possibility of a large part of the market going e-bike, in which case powering the derailleurs will just be a side-effect of powering the forward motion.

Many people may soon assume that it's not really possible to do anything more than, say, a mile without electric assistance, just as many people will not do much more than that without a car!