Di2 battery suddenly died.

[Drizt]

Update. My brother came over and put his ampmeter on the battery mount and found it was drawing 20 milliamps of power even with nothing else connected. The battery capacity is 500 milliamps so in terms of the time it was taking for the battery to drain, the numbers seem about right. I can only assume there is rust/corrosion somewhere in there. As this bike has NEVER been caught in the rain, perhaps it was sweat dripping down onto the battery mount or even the salty air of the Northern Beaches that caused it to form. As the old battery mount is obviously now useless, I will take it apart and see if I can see anything inside it. So Duck! was right on the money from the beginning. My local bike shop was nice enough to lend me a battery mount to take home and swap over with mine to see if it fixed the problem. It did! After nearly 6 days I still have a solid green light.

It has been pretty hectic and stressful trying to solve/diagnose exactly what was wrong and its something that took way longer than it should have, something Shimano needs to take a good look at. Di2 is a great system, but it seems that the old fashioned cables still have many advantages. Thanks to everyone for their help and advice.

Thanks for posting back. To be fair, external battery mounts are pretty old hat now. Most batteries are stored internally.

[singlespeedscott]

I guess so, but it really is a very complicated answer to a simply answered question.

Di2 shifts better, more consistently, and is done at the click of a button.

I'm betting you bitched and moaned about electric mirrors, electric windows, central locking, remote controls etc as being unnecessary when they came out..... am I right?

Actually I prefer all of those in my car. They are also a lot more reliable then Di2 and have 12 volt battery that recharges itself

[Drizt]

Guy without di2 telling me about di2 reliability... Lols

[singlespeedscott]

I have used Di2 and yes it works but no better than my current cable operated setup. Cable actuation is a system that works fine and is easily and cheaply maintained. Besides Di2 will not make you a better or faster rider.

[rheicel]

Its all comes down to preference. Buy gears and toys that will make you ride more. No point arguing which system is better.

[singlespeedscott]

Its all comes down to preference. Buy gears and toys that will make you ride more. No point arguing which system is better.

True

[Drizt]

I have used Di2 and yes it works but no better than my current cable operated setup. Cable actuation is a system that works fine and is easily and cheaply maintained. Besides Di2 will not make you a better or faster rider.

It does work better I use di2 because it is cheaper and easier to maintain, and more reliable. My commuter has di2 and hydro discs. Stuff all maintenance

[CKinnard]

One thing Di2 doesn't do better/quicker than mech is fine RD adjustments, which can be necessary as the chain stretches.
Di2 doesn't auto compensate for chain stretch or cassette wear.
I've had Di2 for 6 mths now, and I find the pressure I have to apply to the right lever to get 1 gear shift, consistently variable. That means sometimes i don't shift when I thought i pressed the lever hard enough, or I shift 2 gears. Or I get the desired one gear shift.
That makes Di2 unreliable at shifting.
At least with mechanical I know how hard I have to press the levers.

[Drizt]

Di2 does have fine tuned Rd adjustments. You put it in maintenance mode and make very fine adjustments.

Not sure what you mean about how hard you need to press the button. It's an electronic button, it doesn't sense pressure. Perhaps yours is faulty?

[CKinnard]

Di2 does have fine tuned Rd adjustments. You put it in maintenance mode and make very fine adjustments.

Not sure what you mean about how hard you need to press the button. It's an electronic button, it doesn't sense pressure. Perhaps yours is faulty?

I know Di2 has fine tuning. But it is quicker and easier to twist a fine adjustor barrel, presuming you know which way to twist it....which many cyclists don't.
Di2 only has buttons as an accessory. Otherwise you push levers, which vary in how hard you push to trigger a gear change.

[jasonc]

Ckinnard - di2 fine tuning can be done whilst still moving...... What does "di2 only has buttons as an accessory" mean?
tapatalk for Windows Phone. For when you want it done right

[Arlberg]

I can't compare the two systems because the only road bike I have ever owned is this one with the Di2. In fact until I borrowed a friends road bike during a trip in Chiang Rai, I had never ridden a road bike without Di2, I had to ask how to change the gears!

Being clueless mechanically I do know though that overall having Di2 has saved me a lot of money in maintenance costs because it is very easy to tune the gears etc myself. Until this battery problem arose I haven't had to spend a cent on it in servicing costs in the 3 years I've owned it. My commuter bike however, which has normal gearing/cables, I am unable to service myself and I have to take it to the LBS at a minimum cost of $40-$60 a time. Over the years that bike has cost me way more to service than it did to buy in the first place.

Di2 is very good I think when it works, which is in my experience 99% of the time. But when things do go wrong as I have seen this week, it can be a lot harder and take a lot longer to diagnose and to fix than a cabled system.

[Cossie Phil]

I adjust my Di2 while riding, but in saying that, if it does need adjusting the rd has probably had a knock. Chain and Cassette wear doesn't come into it if the rd is still tuned correctly as that wear doesn't effect the sideward chain position.

[CKinnard]

Ckinnard - di2 fine tuning can be done whilst still moving...... What does "di2 only has buttons as an accessory" mean?
tapatalk for Windows Phone. For when you want it done right

yeah I know Di2 fine tuning can be done while riding.....but it's easier to twist a fine adjustor barrel, which i did for 20 odd years with mech.

These are not buttons. they are levers, which introduces pressure variability.



These are buttons

[CKinnard]

I adjust my Di2 while riding, but in saying that, if it does need adjusting the rd has probably had a knock. Chain and Cassette wear doesn't come into it if the rd is still tuned correctly as that wear doesn't effect the sideward chain position.

frayed knot. as the bits wear, they don't engage as readily, therefore need more of a lateral push to engage. this is more noticeable trying to change to larger sprockets on the rear. changing to smaller rear sprockets isn't as effected...so the bias is to fine adjust the RD medially.

[Drizt]

Never needed to tune the Rd for chain / cassette wear. Di2 is pretty much set and forget.

Di2 levels have "buttons" on them.

[Cossie Phil]

By the time a chain or cassette is worn to the point that it will upset Di2 shifting, the shifting will be the least of your worries!

[CKinnard]

Di2 levels have "buttons" on them.

We're talking gears shifting yes? Do you apply force directly to a button or a lever?

[jasonc]

Di2 levels have "buttons" on them.

Do you apply force directly to a button or a lever?

Di2 has buttons. The only levers are the brake levers

[Cossie Phil]

The buttons are on the levers in the shape of the mech style controls.

[Drizt]

I press all buttons.... I can't magic them clicked

[CKinnard]

Have a real close look at your Di2 shifters. Mine are Ultegra 6870. The shifter is a long stem that pivots on an axle at one end (which equals a lever, not a button) This stem has a lot of play in it before the circuit is tripped.

[Duck!]

Blimey, I thought I was picky! Lighten up, guys, it's a bloody shifter! (PS, I reckon it's a button, it's not generating mechanical advantage to achieve its desired reaction.)

In any case, the road Di2 shifters have copped a bit of criticism for having a very vague feel. SRAM eTap, Campag EPS and XTR Di2 have a much more positive click action.

[Drizt]

It's a button. It is digital, it is clicked or it isn't..... Ck is off his meds [emoji14]

[CKinnard]

We're all off, though the button pushers more than me!

Shimano call it a "shifting switch".....a shifting switch designed to be pushed at one end while it pivots on another, in other words a lever. The lever depresses a button which trips an electric circuit.

There's no such thing as a "button" in electrical circuit nomenclature, digital or otherwise.