Anyone drilled a carbon frame for Di2?

[oldguy00]

asking for a friend......................... ;)

Thinking of trying on a cheap frame, won't devastate me if I ruin it...

Think I need a hole by the head tube or top of down tube, and a hole on the chainstay in front of rear derailleur.

Specific type/size of drill bit? Drill slow like sanding through, or the opposite, fast drill bit??

Thx!

[GonaSovereign]

Yes.
Cervelo S3, the first year model. I enlarged a couple of the existing cable entry holes in the top tube, and the relatively large hole under the bb to stuff in the junction box. It was totally fine for the next 3-4 years of heavy racing and riding. The bike was subsequently broken in a crash, but the holes I made remained perfect.

The big caveats: that frame was designed to have those holes in it, and I merely enlarged them a small percentage. That frame was also very well made by people who know composites, use high quality materials and know where is needs to be in the layup. I can't speak for the manufacturer of your "cheap frame" so YMMV.

[Hank Scorpio]

Just had a Parlee Z3 drilled for a single hole at the back of the seat tube to run and internal battery. I was going to keep it fully external but my LBS pal said the internal battery makes the whole system much more customizable.

You know shimano makes special wire cover tape too? I didn't until I saw it on a bike the other day. Might not be perfect for your application but would allow you to try Di2 on the bike before committing to drilling holes. If you do decide to go the drill route shimano makes special routing grommets as well. I think what you would really want to do is use a dremel with a tapered grinding stone as opposed to a drill. Plenty of youtube videos by unqualified experts like myself showing what to do.

Wow, I really sound like a shimano shill.

[oldguy00]

Just had a Parlee Z3 drilled for a single hole at the back of the seat tube to run and internal battery. I was going to keep it fully external but my LBS pal said the internal battery makes the whole system much more customizable.

You know shimano makes special wire cover tape too? I didn't until I saw it on a bike the other day. Might not be perfect for your application but would allow you to try Di2 on the bike before committing to drilling holes. If you do decide to go the drill route shimano makes special routing grommets as well. I think what you would really want to do is use a dremel with a tapered grinding stone as opposed to a drill. Plenty of youtube videos by unqualified experts like myself showing what to do.

Wow, I really sound like a shimano shill.

Thanks, I will check out the dremel option! I'd rather keep things internal, and already have an internal battery and junction boxes required.

[ntb1001]

A Cervelo S2 wasn’t drilled by factory for Di2, but Cervelo released factory approved instructions on how to drill the frame, so it’s probably fine for other frames.





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[oldguy00]

A Cervelo S2 wasn’t drilled by factory for Di2, but Cervelo released factory approved instructions on how to drill the frame, so it’s probably fine for other frames.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep, I remember reading that paper. But as the other poster mentioned, I believe the guide was how to enlarge already existing holes, not to try to drill new ones. :)

[ntb1001]

Yep, I remember reading that paper. But as the other poster mentioned, I believe the guide was how to enlarge already existing holes, not to try to drill new ones. :)



No...I had one, it was for the S2 which had no existing holes for Di2.



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[godfrey1112000]

I have had it on a Ti frame for about 6 years
Still as good as first day,
Not very noticeable but the external battery

QUOTE=Hank Scorpio;2596613]Just had a Parlee Z3 drilled for a single hole at the back of the seat tube to run and internal battery. I was going to keep it fully external but my LBS pal said the internal battery makes the whole system much more customizable.

You know shimano makes special wire cover tape too? I didn't until I saw it on a bike the other day. Might not be perfect for your application but would allow you to try Di2 on the bike before committing to drilling holes. If you do decide to go the drill route shimano makes special routing grommets as well. I think what you would really want to do is use a dremel with a tapered grinding stone as opposed to a drill. Plenty of youtube videos by unqualified experts like myself showing what to do.

Wow, I really sound like a shimano shill.[/QUOTE]

[stien]

I've enlarged existing holes on carbon. I'm not adventurous enough to try to make new holes in any material.

I will second the external option. I did it on our Paketa tandem. Well worth the 12 bucks or whatever it costs to get the taped on channels from Shimano. I've got internal and semi internal bikes. I wouldn't mess around next time, just keep it outside.

[glepore]

I did this to an Orbea for a friend. Only in the bb area, ran the wires external with tape to bb, then to internal battery, and back out to derailleurs. Did do a small seatube hole for the fd wire. The Orbea had a reinforcing sleeve in the bb so no worries.

[GonaSovereign]

Yes.
Cervelo S3, the first year model. I enlarged a couple of the existing cable entry holes in the top tube, and the relatively large hole under the bb to stuff in the junction box. It was totally fine for the next 3-4 years of heavy racing and riding. The bike was subsequently broken in a crash, but the holes I made remained perfect.

The big caveats: that frame was designed to have those holes in it, and I merely enlarged them a small percentage. That frame was also very well made by people who know composites, use high quality materials and know where is needs to be in the layup. I can't speak for the manufacturer of your "cheap frame" so YMMV.

Quoting my own post to add that I did not use a drill; I used a file (and maybe a dremel?) to enlarge the holes.
BTW, here are Cervélo's instructions (http://cervelo.co.kr/wp-content/uploads/support/S3%20&%20S2%20Di2%20Installation%20Guide.pdf).

[chiasticon]

I wouldn't have any problems doing this, for the most part. probably depends on the bike though, and you may not be able to do it fully internal. for example: pop the rivets out of a cable guide and use that hole, enlarge if needed. then maybe enlarge the hole from the (no longer needed) cable guide under the BB and route RD wire along the drive side chain stay.

I actually was under the impression that it was a fairly common thing for shops to do for you.

[Hank Scorpio]

Definitely not as pretty but shimano makes an under bb junction box too. My current conundrum is wether or not to sand off the downtube cable guides.

Sm-jc40

[loxx0050]

Definitely not as pretty but shimano makes an under bb junction box too. My current conundrum is wether or not to sand off the downtube cable guides.

Sm-jc40

That is what I used when converting my externally cable routed SS EVO to Di2. I used that under BB Junction along with a nut and bolt to secure it (since the under BB cable guide is a pop fit plastic piece and not threaded/riveted like metal ones). Used rubber washers/shims to protect the carbon surfaces from bare metal.

I routed the cables such that both the FD and Battery wires both come out of the FD cable hole that is just behind the BB (using external battery...but could easily just use an internal and route a longer cable through the seat tube instead if I wanted).

I used those shimano Di2 cable tape to kind of "hide" it since my frame is black and it isn't easy to spot right away. Ran 1 long cable from the Junction A to the under BB and then routed every else from the under BB Junction B. The cable tape is on the downtube and the chainstay to the RD.


Here are a few shots of the that Junction B setup I have:

https://i.imgur.com/OyMjmmB.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/9cn9Q23.jpg

Finished product with the shimano cable tape (it is hard to see it unless you really look).

https://i.imgur.com/aOTyJib.jpg

[notsew]

I personally wouldn't hesitate to drill some holes in a frame. I'd want to make sure they holes clean and that I didn't delaminate the surrounding carbon when I was drilling. I'd probably want to find some scrap piece of carbon to flush out my technique.

But then again, I'm just a crazy stranger on the internet, so I probably wouldn't trust me.

[BRad704]

I personally wouldn't hesitate to drill some holes in a frame. I'd want to make sure they holes clean and that I didn't delaminate the surrounding carbon when I was drilling. I'd probably want to find some scrap piece of carbon to flush out my technique.

But then again, I'm just a crazy stranger on the internet, so I probably wouldn't trust me.

I don't know you, so I can't trust you, but I do agree with you. :banana:

[weiwentg]

Raoul Luescher of Luescher Teknik wouldn't recommend it. He repairs carbon bikes. Video explanation here (https://youtu.be/hx6lJKZK9wI?t=67). He basically says you don't know what the long-term effects on structural integrity will be. You can also cause a delamination when you drill (i.e. cause a fracture), which will allow water ingress into the delamination area, which will then degrade the resin. He would prefer to do a stress analysis on the tubes as well. In the short term, this may be OK, but he doesn't recommend it long term.

[oldguy00]

I wouldn't have any problems doing this, for the most part. probably depends on the bike though, and you may not be able to do it fully internal. for example: pop the rivets out of a cable guide and use that hole, enlarge if needed. then maybe enlarge the hole from the (no longer needed) cable guide under the BB and route RD wire along the drive side chain stay.

I actually was under the impression that it was a fairly common thing for shops to do for you.

I was thinking about using the rivet hole as well from one of the cable guides. Any idea how to safely pop the rivet off??

[chiasticon]

I was thinking about using the rivet hole as well from one of the cable guides. Any idea how to safely pop the rivet off??just drill it out?

another option to consider is sending it to a carbon repair service and having them make sure the holes are properly reinforced and the frame is structurally sound.

here's one option, but there's others out there: https://ruckuscomp.com/news/2015/10/30/clean-sleek-unique

[oldguy00]

just drill it out?

another option to consider is sending it to a carbon repair service and having them make sure the holes are properly reinforced and the frame is structurally sound.

here's one option, but there's others out there: https://ruckuscomp.com/news/2015/10/30/clean-sleek-unique

So here's the thing, I'm doing this on a $300 US frameset, and I already have internal junction box needed, internal battery needed.
So I don't want to do this di2 project if it involves buying the under BB junction and a new battery and a new charger for said external battery. Nor do I want to spend money to send the frame away to be tested/inspected. Its obviously not worth it on a $300 frame. :)


Appreciate all the replies. Frame is due to arrive in few days, ridley excalibur, I'll have a look at it, and also see if any of this is possible depending on what the BB insert is like, if it blocks everything, etc.

Cheers

[Hank Scorpio]

I sanded. I had to remove the rear cable guide to run the wire and get the tape nice and flat so at that point the front guides are useless. If need be someone could pop rivet new guides on but this is the only bike i have kept in the past 10 years so realistically isn't going anywhere.

The second pic shows where I opened up the seat tube for the wire. The shrink wrap is a little long and it is causing the wire bundle to stand off the seat tube too much. It looks like it is rubbing the tire in this angle but it isn't. Still a shorter piece of shrink is in order this weekend.

[jpritchet74]

When 10s Di2 first came out (~10 years ago?) I drilled my Cervelo SLC-SL - that was before they made "internal wiring kits" too, so I cut apart my external wiring kit and spliced it back together so that it was internal.
https://i.imgur.com/UwmfpWBh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mvqjqJbh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/69Y5VURh.jpg


I also drilled this Colnago Extreme Power a couple of years ago for Campy EPS.
https://i.imgur.com/jQNh49Ih.jpg

The key is to only drill where the carbon is "thick".

[oldguy00]

How did you run the drill? Really slow and just slowly grind it through? Or the opposite, high speed?
thx!

[jpritchet74]

How did you run the drill? Really slow and just slowly grind it through? Or the opposite, high speed?
thx!

High speed, started with small bit size and slowly made it bigger. Went with 1/4" as the final hole size for all holes - that is what was needed for the early Di2 connector size and that is what also fits the rubber grommets (as shown in the Colnago pic).