Fixing Di2 in the field

[@TheRotgans]

I've raced a Di2 set-up in a bunch of races now (SRMR, Cabin Fever, Further, Trans Pyrenees, Atlas Mountain Race, and Further again), and love it for it's reliability, even off-road. I used to take a full set of spare cables (4 in the correct length), a spare charged battery, and a spare junction box. The idea being that I could replicate the wire loom outside of my bike's frame (and attach it with tape or zip ties) if anything would go wrong. On the SRMR I even took my charger with me. Nowadays, I'm down to 1 or 2 spare cables, a junction box, and a charged battery. And on shorter races not even that. Thanks for this tip, never thought about attaching the battery to a shifter! And I have pinched a cable with a seat post too, luckily not in a race.

[@TurnCycling]

Glad I gave you some ideas here Bas. SRMR is on my list for 2022. I went to Kyrgyzstan last year and rode up to Son Kul lake and fell in love with the place.

[@FrankNolf]

excellent hack, starting to think about taking a long cable and a junction box on a race after seeing this video. On the subject of di2 in general, I'm not going back to mechanical if I have the choice, it has been utterly reliable for me.

[@TurnCycling]

It only occurred to me that you could do this when Rhonda had the issue which needed fixing. Obvious in hindsight and a great way to fix things. I'll be sticking in a couple of cables and a junction box in future.

[@tombukowski3839]

Fantastic video! Thanks for the tips. Hope to see you a start line sometime soon ✌️

[@TurnCycling]

Thanks Tom. Race Around Rwanda is my next race.

[@shaunellis1]

Great Hack and Video Niel, will defo consider this. Re Battery life, how much difference do you think a 2x system uses vs a 1x system( which i presume your still using,) and probably worth mentioning when deciding whether to take a Di2 Charger.( oh and to add it appears to only take an hour or so to charge from a battery pack in my experience)

[@andrewrichmond2129]

Hey Niel! Good video. My primary concern is physical damage to the rear derailer (during transport, impact on trail, crash..) I assume could get some basic Shimano mechanical derailer (even used or off another bike) even in developing countries... What would one do if Di2?

[@TurnCycling]

In my view that's most likely to snap your hanger, and I (now) always carry a spare. I did burn my servo out on TCR last year but a replacement Di2 was easy to get in Austria where I was at the time. The reality is that some races you might be able to get a replacement some you won't. For me the trade off of having Di2 vs maybe an easier replacement if I have a big crash that totals the rear mech but I'm okay - that's a rare scenario in my view so worth it. You can't carry spares or allow for every eventuality.

[@TheRotgans]

@@TurnCycling Hey Niel, do you know what caused the servo to burn out?

[@andrewrichmond2129]

@@TurnCycling Thanks Niel!