Shimano’s new Dura-Ace Di2 electronic group may or may not be a marketplace success but it could possibly change our perspectives regardless.James Huang
The Di2 Dual Control lever is virtually empty inside. As a result, the lever body is markedly more compact than its 7900 cousin and is more in keeping with Shimano’s ideal.James Huang
In practice, the Di2 lever actually feels rather similar to the outgoing 7800 unit but thankfully, the electronic version’s body still seems to yield a flatter perch up top.James Huang
The Di2 lever doesn’t just look smaller than 7900; the body is substantially smaller in girth and it’s also 100g lighter.James Huang
The shift buttons felt somewhat small in use and the differential texture is well-intended but it’s still hard to tell the two buttons apart in the saddle.James Huang
Di2’s carbon lever blades are wider and flatter than 7900, plus they’re not canted out as far.James Huang
Shimano fitted Di2 with a reach-adjustable lever like on 7900…James Huang
…although the Di2 version looks far cleaner when the reach is shortened; there’s no unsightly gap as on 7900.James Huang
The button throws are fantastically short but they still require a relatively firm push thanks to the collection of springs that lie behind them.James Huang
This will be a more common sight if Shimano gets its way.James Huang
The compact battery is supposedly good for 500 charge cycles and is “conservatively” rated for around 2000km per charge. If you calculate the lifespan based on 10,000km of riding per year… well, you do the math.James Huang
Shimano has managed to integrate the battery mount fairly neatly with this aluminum bracket. We’re guessing it can also be ‘massaged’ to fit, depending on specific frame shapes, but it’ll invariably still be pretty unsightly on some models.James Huang
A lever pulls the battery in tight and the o-ring seals should hopefully hold up well over time.James Huang
Shimano claims a dead battery can be fully recharged in just an hour and a half.James Huang
Shimano said this tangle of wires was a small price to pay for the lighter weight and better reliability as compared to a wireless setup.James Huang
All things considered, this doesn’t look as bad as it could have.James Huang
This setup strikes us as a bit jury-rigged but we’d imagine that future setups will get cleaner as frame manufacturers develop dedicated routing solutions.James Huang
The main wire runs the full length of the down tube and is well-masked on this black frame…James Huang
…but these little adhesive wire guides will surely stick out like a sore thumb on any other color.James Huang
This little widget replaces the standard bottom bracket cable guide and serves as a junction point for the incoming and outgoing wires.James Huang
The ‘JCT-A’ will carry signals from the two Dual Control levers and channel them to the main wiring harness.James Huang
The small LEDs display battery life and are used during the initial setup.James Huang
Shimano abandoned the auto-adjust feature of earlier prototypes for the production version to save some weight.James Huang
In fact, the two rear derailleurs look strikingly similar from the upper knuckle forward.James Huang
The standard Dura-Ace rear derailleur houses the conventional coil spring within the parallelogram but the Di2 unit just needs the stepper motor.James Huang