On 2018-02-25 09:17, jbeattie wrote:
On Sunday, February 25, 2018 at 7:56:24 AM UTC-8, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-02-24 14:51, jbeattie wrote:

[...]

I just got back from a ride on my UDi2 equipped Synapse -- which
is my fast rain bike. Worked like a charm. However, if I hadn't
gotten the bike with a crash-replacement discount and insurance
money, I wouldn't have bought Di2. The price differential is not
worth it to me. Cable STI works beautifully, although with the
bizarre internal cable routing these days, it can be a little
stiff shifting on some bikes.


Since my two main bikes have a big central battery I could probably
use Di2 without ever worrying about running out of juice. However,
given that the Shimano mechanical stuff works great I don't see a
need, plus I like the very fast shift across have a dozen cogs that
the friction shifter on my road bike affords.

Mechanical is fine for me, too, but friction is a retro novelty. By
the time you reach down for your shifters, I've already gone through
a half-dozen gears and still have five left.


I can reach down a lot faster than that :-)

From the drops to the lever is only a small paw swing.


... And I've shifted under
power and gotten out of the saddle if necessary. The ramps, pins,
profiles, etc. do make a difference with modern equipment. And with
compact, a lot of what used to require a shift onto the small ring
doesn't. There is no need to shift the whole block on a modern road
bike.


If I ever have to replace the whole drive train I will sure go for
compact, or triple with granny gear. Though even when on the 52T up
front I often shift from 3rd largest to smallest cog in a second.


SIS indexing would fail, but yes, the friction mode usually would
work although lever loosening was common with a lot of DT levers.


My friction shifters are a bit loose now but I had no choice other than
slight greasing. They had become so noisy that the squeak upon a gear
shift made riders up front turn around.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/