Why no love for Di2 ?

My reason for di2 on road, and not on MTB:
1) Sprint shifter buttons in the drop.
Not applicable to mtb.
2) Better front shifting.
Not applicable to 1x mtb.
3) Smaller shifter hood with hydraulic disc brake vs mech on road bike. Not applicable on MTB.
4) Easy cable routing for internally routed bike. (1 soft wire vs 2 stiff housing).
1x MTB has only 1 cable for RD. And it usually isn't internally routed into bar and stem into headtube like modern road bike.
5) Di2 weight less than mech as 2x but more than mech as 1x. Which one is more popular on MTB vs road?
6) Road RD rarely need replacement. For MTB, very expensive RD is a deal breaker for many people who knock RD into trail stuff frequently.
7) Shimano go electronic only on road 12 speed. But they went mechanical only on mtb 12 speed should hint you something.

I think people just forget that Shimano has electronic shifting. SRAM basically blew by them with AXS.

I upgraded my road bike to Red Etap when it first came out. Di2 was already widely available on road bikes at that time. I chose eTap over Di2 because the wireless installation was far simpler than Di2. I was installing it myself and did not want to deal with guessing the correct wire lengths, running the wires thru the frame, installing junction boxes, etc. I later rode a Di2 equipped bike and immediately missed eTap. eTap had far better shifter ergonomics and shift logic. I loved Shimano mechanical road shifters for their ease of use with nice and distinct lever shifter blades. On the Di2 shifter, Shimano shrunk the shift blades, making them less distinguishable, so I kept triggering the wrong shift levers as the smaller lever was highly integrated onto the larger making the small one hard to find by feel.

Yeah, when Shimano released 11 spd Di2, SRAM released Eagle 12, with more range, and that become the standard. Shimano was half-a$$ing 1x drivetrains at the time, whereas SRAM was 100% committed. Shimano eventually released a dedicated 1x setup, but they were lagging...and then came AXS

I have GRX di2 on my gravel bike running 2x and it’s incredible. The XT m8100 on my mtb is so good I haven’t really felt the need. I think with 2x it’s a much bigger advantage because you can program it to automatically up/down shift 1 or 2 gears in the rear when you shift the front. Truly amazing drivetrain though. Flawless every shift for thousands upon thousands of miles.

norcalbike said:

I have GRX di2 on my gravel bike running 2x and it’s incredible. The XT m8100 on my mtb is so good I haven’t really felt the need. I think with 2x it’s a much bigger advantage because you can program it to automatically up/down shift 1 or 2 gears in the rear when you shift the front. Truly amazing drivetrain though. Flawless every shift for thousands upon thousands of miles.

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My general impression of road Di2 is the front shifting is so good it kills any argument people make that 1X is better as it eliminates crappy front shifting.

I had 2X Di2 on my AM bike. It was nice. Only one shifter. Slightly more range than Eagle and was able to run a lighter cassette. Pretty reliable. Went to Eagle for simplicity and have been impressed with reliability. Now with AXS which is sweet but not really necessary.


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Catmandoo said:

My general impression of road Di2 is the front shifting is so good it kills any argument people make that 1X is better as it eliminates crappy front shifting.

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Yes and with my set up, running 46/30 Easton rings in the front and an 11-40 cassette in the rear, I have the gears for pretty much any adventure or hill imaginable

Di2 was brilliant in its day. Combined with the electronic fox suspension it was a slick shifting system. The synchro-shift with 2x worded perfectly. Without a doubt shifts better that any of the current offering from either manufacture.

But di2 needs to be updated for the modern 12-speed drivetrain.

LMN said:

Di2 was brilliant in its day. Combined with the electronic fox suspension it was a slick shifting system. The synchro-shift with 2x worded perfectly. Without a doubt shifts better that any of the current offering from either manufacture.

But di2 needs to be updated for the modern 12-speed drivetrain.

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Yeah, didn't mean to say it was bad...it had a very short lived life at the forefront due to 12spd taking front center and then AXS after regular 12 speed setups. Di2 is plenty good for most people if you want to go there.

LMN said:

Di2 was brilliant in its day........
But di2 needs to be updated for the modern 12-speed drivetrain.

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In it's day? I think it's still pretty damn brilliant. As far as wireless/e-Tap, I don't mind if it's a pain to set up as long as it qualifies for "Set it and forget it". And Shimano fits that bill pretty good.

You know that 12 sp di2 is out in both Ultegra and Dura Ace?

Shimano Dura-Ace 12 Speed & Ultegra 12 Speed Groupset Prices & Availability

Right now you can probably get it only on a complete bike.

Di2 only for road 12 speed.
Mech only for mtb 12 speed.

Shimano decided for us. We don't have to think.

Roge said:

In it's day? I think it's still pretty damn brilliant. As far as wireless/e-Tap, I don't mind if it's a pain to set up as long as it qualifies for "Set it and forget it". And Shimano fits that bill pretty good.

You know that 12 sp di2 is out in both Ultegra and Dura Ace?

Shimano Dura-Ace 12 Speed & Ultegra 12 Speed Groupset Prices & Availability

Right now you can probably get it only on a complete bike.

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Yes, I know it is out for road bikes. I have a bike coming with it. But I thought this was a mountain bike forum?

I actually have two mtbs with di2 hanging on the roof of my basement. They are from 2015 and 2016. The last time I ran a di2 MTB was 2019 and that was with a cassette converted to a 11-45. Gave the range for 1 x but the derailleur didn’t work well with the 45.

I am sure Shimano will have MTB di2 out again. But right now the MTB di2 is past its prime.

LMN said:

Yes, I know it is out for road bikes. I have a bike coming with it. But I thought this was a mountain bike forum?

I actually have two mtbs with di2 hanging on the roof of my basement. They are from 2015 and 2016. The last time I ran a di2 MTB was 2019 and that was with a cassette converted to a 11-45. Gave the range for 1 x but the derailleur didn’t work well with the 45.

I am sure Shimano will have MTB di2 out again. But right now the MTB di2 is past its prime.

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Good point, I thought a couple of the posts were road-centric.

So ultimately it didn't work for you because the downshift performance to low gear?

I've wondered the same thing as the OP, why it hasn't taken off in the MTB arena, but valid points were noted. I don't trash rear derailleurs very often, usually only need to align the tab every other year or so. If I want it, I'll get it but there's got to be justifiable value.

Roge said:

Good point, I thought a couple of the posts were road-centric.

So ultimately it didn't work for you because the downshift performance to low gear?

I've wondered the same thing as the OP, why it hasn't taken off in the MTB arena, but valid points were noted. I don't trash rear derailleurs very often, usually only need to align the tab every other year or so. If I want it, I'll get it but there's got to be justifiable value.

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It didn’t shift well with a 45. To clear a cog that big I had to run too much b-tension. The derailleur was designed for a 40T max. Which is not big enough for myself to run a 1x on a 29er

Shimano recently launched 'wireless' Di2 where the shifter pairs to the rear mech which is then wired to the front for 2x setups.

With a wireless option now they might create an XTR Di2?

Personally I won't replace a cable with a wire.
If I ever move to electronic shifting, it'll be totally wireless like AXS or no deal.
=sParty

RS VR6 said:

I think people just forget that Shimano has electronic shifting. SRAM basically blew by them with AXS.

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Yep. I didn’t even know it existed until a few weeks ago reading this forum.

Hey Shimano Marketing Department, why didn’t I, an eager consumer and early adopter, know about Di2? Hmmm?

Shimano is behind on their wireless mtb. Various sources are indicating that will change in 2022.