Di2 11 speed on rim brake steel frame: clever/stupid/goofy solutions?

[robt57]

Originally Posted by krooj

Rim brake stuff is still wired

The EW-SD300 for 12s is thinner and the plug connectors VS EW-SD50 even smaller diameter. FWIW

You actually don't need a B junction. You can solder into a star cfg and heat shrink junction.

[benb]

All the complications and different versions of wires and connections just makes more people look to the dark side.

[benadrian]

The 12 speed idea does have it's appeal, but it also exposes the weakness in my setup.

See, I'm one of those people who got a gravel bike with two wheelsets as their "one bike to rule them all". I also have a commuter/city bike, but we'll just ignore that. Anyway, after riding my very nice carbon gravel bike on all sorts of stuff, I began to miss having a more pure road bike, as well as a classic-ish steel bike. My gravel bike was working so well, I also had no bike wrenching projects. The obvious solution was a steel frame road bike that I could use as a platform for my crazy bike ideas and tinkering platform. i built the first version of this bike up for under $1,000; all mechanical, all external.

Annoyingly, as I looked for inexpensive rim brake parts, I also found inexpensive, modern, current gear. Then I start getting a tickle of, "maybe I just need a modern road frame." The original intent of having a classic style road bike is being smothered by the possibilities and the good deals on modern components.

So, for now, I want to keep the steel, mid-reach-brake frame my north star. I want to be able to put the very nice parts to good use, even if the industry and average consumer thinks that they are outdated.

Otherwise I might just sell a bunck of stuff and but a Roubaix from Blubba.

[ggdave]

abandon the idea...buy a different frame that is already setup for di2. try it out and if you really like it then drill the holes in your steel frame.

[peanutgallery]

Etap

May the Gods strike you down if your solution is to zip tie it externally

[weisan]

If I may, I would like to present an alternative viewpoint.

I am a very late adopter of electronic shifting. With the help of several generous forum pals here, I was initiated into the world of Di2 less than 2 years ago. I first dipped into 10 speed because most of my bikes at that time were 10 speed mechanical. Like you, I fell in love with Di2 almost immediately for all the same reasons. Within a year or so I converted 3 or 4 other bikes to Di2 and also upgraded to 11 speed.

Now here's the rub. None of my bikes are drilled or prepped for Di2 internal routing.

But that didn't faze or stop me from proceeding forward.

And here's why.

My personal philosophy in life is to live in the here and now, in the present, to enjoy whatever life has to offer instead of waiting for the perfect moment or the future.

I have posted pictures of my bikes set up with di2 here before and gotten quite a few chuckles . They are a complete mess with tape and zip ties everywhere. I don't care.

They have all worked perfectly as intended, from day 1, not so much as a missed shift or accidental discharge. I have traveled with them to France, Australia, Singapore and several other places within the US, on all kinds of road conditions, gravel, road, dusty, wet, mud... you know it, not a peep.

So what's my point?

My bikes may get a C- for aesthetics but functionally they are flawless, for the last two years.

I am glad I didn't wait for the perfect bike to show up or waste a single minute in coming up with some clever/stupid/ goofy solutions.

Start living.

Now.

[deluz]

Originally Posted by krooj

Rim brake stuff is still wired

Darn you are right

[krooj]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

Etap

May the Gods strike you down if your solution is to zip tie it externally

This is probably the cleanest way to accomplish it.

Originally Posted by deluz

Darn you are right

I felt like such a moron when I bought some Ultegra 12sp Di2 rim brake shifters and kept looking for the "linking" QR codes on them to pair with the RD. As others have mentioned, the 300-series wires are far more svelte and can be spliced in ways that the 50-series stuff couldn't, so at least the wiring harness can be made more "clean". I have a Sachs on order and I'm low key stressin' about whether to ask e-Richie to drill for Di2 or just go with eTap.

[robertbb]

It's actually not that hard to get 12sp Di2 retrofitted on a metal frame.

Shimano sells rubber grommets for EW-SD300.

They are about $1 each. The biggest bargain in cycling today.

They are available in two sizes, the one you want is size small which is to fit a 6mm round hole. You just drill a 6mm hole into your frame wherever you want a wire to enter (or exit), insert one of these grommets and Bobs-yer-fathers-brother. Super clean. No junction box means you just use the 4 port adapter I mentioned earlier (EW-JC304) somewhere between the wired shifters and the battery. My choice would be to have it somewhere up front (like where an inline barrel adjuster used to go on an externally routed bike. This way if you need to drop the fork you just unplug at that one location and your bar/shifters are decoupled.

EDIT: And if you want to run 1x on your rim brake (or mechanical disc) bike, for some reason, you don't even need EW-JC04. Just one port on the battery to the Rear Der, and the two remaining ports you just plug directly into each of the front shifters.

[zmalwo]

drill holes through the frame. it won't affect the frame at all and i've seen people do it on a colnago master for di2 and it turned out fine and is still fine with not rust or issues 5 years later.

[peanutgallery]

I'd almost rather see zip ties than this solution

Originally Posted by zmalwo

drill holes through the frame. it won't affect the frame at all and i've seen people do it on a colnago master for di2 and it turned out fine and is still fine with not rust or issues 5 years later.

[Dave]

Sram axs.

[zmalwo]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

I'd almost rather see zip ties than this solution

It's not a bad solution at all. The end result looks very neat.

[pdonk]

I have given this lots of thought as I was thinking of going DI2 on my moots at one point. I hope I can explain my idea clearly.

Seems like a 3d printed piece that threads or presses into cable guides that functions as a Chinese finger trap or a collet on the wire would be a good solution. Pull the cables through the guides and 3d printed locks/collets similar to normal wires and then pull tight at various locations to make them look like regular cables.

Get a hollow bolt for the cable guide under the BB and hide the battery in the seat tube. May have to solder the connections back together, but that is not that difficult to do.

Junction box, use the problem solver stem adaptor or jb weld a mount onto the underside of the stem.

I am likely missing something, as I chose not to go down this path.

[benadrian]

What's up bike nerds!

I have been reticent to drill my steel frame. Before that, I wanted to have a season to ride the Di2 on this bike, just to make sure I want to keep both the frame and the group set. So I needed a kind of semi-permanent install.

I'd had everything tucked into a water bottle in the seat tube position. I cut a small hole in the bottom of the bottle to run the wires. The B junction box and battery went in through the top. It was ugly, but it worked well. The main problem was that I occupied a bottle cage that I'd rather use for water.

So, my idea was to fine some kind of bag to repurpose. However, it didn't need to be that big. It's quite hard to find bags that are trying to NOT hold too much. There were a few in the triathlon world, but nothing right. I'd have to make something.

I cut out a piece of an old 45mm inner tube. I was able to bundle up the battery, the junction B box, and the excess cable into a little package that fits into the inner tube. I then tightly wrapped the ends of the inner tube and attached it under the down tube.

It's... not terrible. Since the frame is dark blue it's a bit difficult to see the black zip ties. Since I have a pump attached to a water bottle cage, the innertube packet just kind of fits in with all the noise.

Photos below. Click on the links for higher res images.



DI2 on Milwaukee Road by benadrian


DI2 on Milwaukee Road by benadrian