Shimano Di2 Roadside Hacks To Get You Home | GCN Tech Helpful Cycling Tips

Shimano Di2 shifting is the ultimate in road bike gear performance. It provides crisp, smooth and reliable shifting which is used by the pros at the very top of the sport. Even the best tech can go wrong sometimes, through misuse, lack of maintenance, or just bad luck. In the event that it does go wrong while out on a ride, Alex shows us some top hacks for getting you home. Some of them are even Shimano approved!
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Do you have any other top hacks for Di2?
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[@gcntech]

Do you have any other top hacks for Di2?

[@kennyvdh]

Charge the battery in time! don't wait! So obvious..

[@panzerveps]

If you notice your battery has flatlined, disconnect it, then reconnect it after about a minute. That usually give you a couple more shifts to get you home.

[@CyclingLifePT]

As a backup you can charge it using your smartphone. Just buy an OTG adapter and carry the USB cable with you.

[@cadaver1ne635]

Using mechanical gears 🤷

[@BetterShifting]

The top hack would be to visit bettershifting.com, of course! (sorry, Ii couldn't resist ;-) ;-)). Good tip by @panzerveps!

[@SelaningSejati]

Why am i watching this? My bike runs on 105......

[@tjeaey]

I don't even have a bike and I'm still watching this...

[@jxdirsdt1045]

Same dude🤣

[@kroko9691]

We want to be prepared for those days... which will never come. 😂

[@XLStress]

105? Tiagra 4600 ftw.

[@MrIanD1]

Because it is GCN and you have to watch every episode 😅

[@jshepard5840]

Aw, don't tell anyone how to fix Di2 problems. One of the few joys in my life is watching a friend with Di2 spin furiously or grind viciously after their batteries die on them in the middle of a ride.

[@gcntech]

B Blutarsky 😂

[@florian4181]

Maybe a shift cable break. A screw falls of. What ever. Have seen it all. Aw... Show me how to fix this on mechanical systems without any uncommon tools and helpers u usually have with you.

[@rlanger]

Love that my Garmin warns me when I have 25% battery life remaining on my Di2. I've never run out of battery.

[@dsaishivam396]

The CRANK look Good!!!

[@bremnet1812]

You can't help but love @GCN & @GCNtech for everything they have to offer. I was debating between a mechanical and a Di2 system for a recent build. I ended up sticking with a mechanical groupset. That said, with some manufacturers slowly moving away from mechanical groupsets and that I know others with Di2 systems, I've definitely learned some tricks to help others or should I eventually move over to a Di2 system.

[@brookedinger]

Thank you! Crash recovery advice (by hand) was just what I needed.

[@pmartbrown]

These are brilliant tips. Thanks!

[@ooojamaflip]

1:44 Is DISCLAMIER French for DISCLAIMER????

[@jameslilley8919]

love the videos, thanks!

[@ramadhanratrifarhandy9860]

00:04 front rotor: shining shimmering splendid

[@khazza930]

... don't you dare close your eyes

[@panzerveps]

Another + for rim brakes!

[@trunks2210]

at 3:35, i thought alex was gonna say, "i'm going to straight up swap batteries with conor and he won't even notice."

[@eb6055]

Great tips Alex! Love the power-stealing / borrowing hack!

[@denisbassom172]

Presentation style a lot more relaxed, enjoyed that. Thanks

[@morapelimokokomali7907]

Yes I was even surprised the video was over, nice flow!

[@bikemanlancia1]

Excellent hac on swapping Di 2 cable to charge flat Di2 to and adjust comfy gear ratio!

[@arnarkristjansson9066]

Fantastic help - thank you for this video!

[@jedisdad2265]

At Smiley’s Tire Shop in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, they call that a “Tail Light Warranty”. It is in effect until we see your tail lights. This is not to be confused with the 50/50 warranty. 50 feet or 50 seconds, which ever happens first.

[@Salvatore7921]

How timely. I’ve just picked up a new bike today with Di2. Many thanks

[@jorgeivano71]

Worked like a charm Thanks

[@Mjdssdfff]

I officially like Alex a lot as a presenter. Great video man!

[@ericfolio73]

Good information 👍🏼 Thanks😃

[@TheZonalMarking]

i've just ordered a bike with Di2 and a bit scared about how it works so this is really useful, thanks!

[@jdwyer2685]

Amazing vid, helped me at the roadside when crash mode had been engaged. Cheers, happy riding.

[@grimp53]

If you push both left levers together, the light on the junction box will tell you the battery level in 4 stages. 10-75%, 75-50%, 50-25% and

[@royhippert6980]

How to check the battery level should have been in the video. I have come across many riders that are unaware you can simply check the battery so easily.

[@magicknight8412]

I love being able to index whilst on the move. Adjust till it’s smooth and not noisy easy stuff

[@jimbrittain2617]

Absolutely brilliant video!!!

[@stu09]

Awesome tips! I didn’t even know crash mode was a thing but it solved it perfectly! Thanks

[@gc6347]

Marvellous ideas

[@cpf55]

Great video...thanks!

[@user-mg6ue5bn3z]

The last one i found so cool 😁 It is like jumpstarting a car!!

[@simondavison6956]

@gcn, once again, a top video that has helped 👍

[@aroundandround]

@3:50 There should be soft music before the bikey love making.

[@industrialchristian7453]

This Informative video has convinced me to get a Track Bike.

[@ryanmichael11]

Thanks Alex, Great tips, - when I fitted my Di2 I made sure to fit the Shimano Di2 Wireless Unit (SM-EWWU111), it connect to your Garmin & shows the battery power, you can change shifting mode & also connect to the E-Tube app to adjust the rear derailleur (I really think its a must for Di2)

[@pwittouck8707]

I've asked this before. Could you guys do a maintenance video of ultegra di2 deraillers? Cleaning, greasing, having to open something, .. If there is something you can do to lenghten the life of your deraillers I'd love to know! Thx!!

[@shanew634]

Top tips.👍

[@carlmullender2941]

Brilliant !

[@JMcLeodKC711]

This video does not make me want to run out and buy Di2 or any other electronic shifting bike. Having said that, this video was excellent. Well delivered, you clearly have had to deal with these before

[@prestachuck2867]

This is a very informative video! Great job! I’ve worked in shops for over three decades, and I approve of your presentation. I’d refer any customer to watch this one! And ignore all of the Negative Nellys in the comment section. Most of them are just jealous of folks who can afford di-2. I cannot afford it, but I think it’s pretty cool.

[@MrPortbarell]

Great hints

[@rayhradek3294]

Neat tips. Thanks

[@frazergoodwin4945]

The number of times I've seen comments of people worried about flat Di2 batteries its a wonder that a small gizmo hasn't been created that achieves exactly what the last hack did - a small light battery with a button and cable that would slot into the rear mech and allow its button to shift the gear into a "get-home" configeration. You'd think Shimano would produce it as an emergency aid to put in a saddle bag...

[@gcntech]

Good idea!

[@MrIanD1]

I just have my di2 synced to my Garmin. So I know every 30 seconds what the battery level is.

[@1973honza]

@@MrIanD1 That's really cool, too bad it has nothing to do with this topic.

[@MrIanD1]

@@1973honza What? I was supposed to on topic? Damb, this stuff is hard. 😃

[@billkerrigan4354]

great tips

[@jamesj6901]

Do i have Di2? Nope. I am still gonna watch the video? Of course.

[@discoverVNmusic]

Me too😂. Hope my next bike will have Di2.

[@glynnbuxton3349]

I've used SRAM for 12 years having naturally recently gone to AXS and yet I still watched this! Wondering whether I am simply addicted to GCN too much or just morbidly curious?

[@anggapriangga]

Thx a lot for the valuable info, especially for the crash mode, I thought my rd was completely broken after light crash

[@alienaudaxer9827]

I've had a couple of times when the Di2 stops working after a freshly charged battery and the junction box doesn't react to any button presses. From this point the only way to reactivate it is by plugging it in (and pretty rarely am I carrying a cable and power bank on a ride!). Nice tip with the cross charge though!

[@cypercharged5960]

Love the « Disclamier » 😆

[@mnbv5555cxz]

must be french :)

[@cypercharged5960]

@@mnbv5555cxz No, in GCN en français, the typo was « Conculsion » instead of « Conclusion » 😂

[@okantichrist]

I think someone’s got lysdexia 🤔🤣

[@harshvardhansharma2231]

gcn youtube thumbnails always gets me

[@ltrtg13]

Shimano's Di2 also comes in GRX, XT and XTR. I know 2 are mountain bike groupsets. But fancy forgetting the GRX.

[@gustavmeyrink_2.0]

Anybody remember when cycling just meant you jump on your bike and go and you didn't have to worry that a myriad of batteries were charged to make your bike functional?

[@_clintt]

anybody remember when cycling just meant you could hop on your penny farthing and go and you didn’t have to worry that your carbon frame was undamaged to keep your bike functional?

[@5ch4cht3l7]

anybody remember when cycling just meant you jump on your bike and realize that you actually live in the 14th century and bikes haven't been invented yet?

[@Duraltia]

Anybody remember when cycling just meant you jump on your bike and realize you have to redo all of your gearshifting cables and housings because they again lost tension? Shimano Di2 / FOX iRD just requires you to plug your shit in every once in a while to charge it up again... Cabling on the other hand you will have to do on the regular IF you're on the level of Di2 / iRD and viceversa IF you don't give a shit about slac cables and poor gearshifiting then you're also not in the market for Di2 / iRD that deals with this issue in it's own way.

[@breddary]

Okay, the replies went too far 🤣

[@KenSmith-bv4si]

Hey Alex they let you out to make a video, awesome. I have Sram Force, this one time I had an issue with my rear derailleur , after switching batteries the rear mech worked then when I got home recharged both cells and was ready in an hour.

[@gcntech]

Ken don’t worry, we kept a close eye on him the whole time 😂

[@samuelmundula2216]

I once cross the finish line of a TT, changed gear down to the little ring for the cool down, then the battery went flat. Perfect timing, exactly after I crossed the finish line. There was no warning, though - just the front shift to the little ring then no more shifts.

[@tomasocenas5795]

Alex love the Fizik shoes! Great look, are they any good?

[@jasocaz]

Boom, mine went into crash mode and this helped me get back on the road quickly. Thank you!

[@DantetheHell]

It didn’t work with mine. What’s plan B? 😂

[@Ridgeway0022]

If Di2 freezes then simply disconnecting the front or rear mech cables can sometimes help to wake it up.

[@250dpi9]

That chainring looks stunning

[@kidShibuya]

anyone know what it is?

[@250dpi9]

Not sure but i think its called Absolute Black chainrings

[@jascollinscork]

Just got a new Di2 bike...... very informative!!! How do I connect my Di2 to my phone or garmin...... is it via the Shamino app???

[@sudduthjonathan]

I’ll never go back to manual shifting. Electronic is amazing. Granted, I have SRAM Red eTap, but it’s just brilliant. If your rear mech battery ever goes out, chances are your front has a ton of juice left since you rarely use it compared to the back. Just swap out the batteries.

[@inVINCEible64]

How about some tricks for Campy EPS?

[@AberHangie]

If you have your Garmin head unit connected to di2 when you tuning the derailieur it will show you the amount of adjustment you are making....handy...

[@bjmullan]

Charge every month! I've had my Orbea Gain for 10 months and only charged it twice! Love Di2 :)

[@Lukearthwalker]

Exactly. I charge mine about every four-five months depending on how much I've been riding.

[@danielmoorhouse6506]

Can you do a video for the new 12 speed di2?

[@user-cx2bk6pm2f]

BADDA-BING, BADDA-BOOM. AYYYYY!

[@matthewryan647]

Flat battery is the worst. I got stuck in top gear in a hilly area with traffic lights, I had to time it so I never stopped!

[@christoffeichtinger5430]

which chainring is that on the bike? looks nice...

[@AirSpace]

Tips, please, for getting DI2 into smallest gear for tire swap or setup on trainer. The default mode switches chain ring to biggest gear and smallest in back. So there's too much tension on the chain to make the change smooth. Thanks! #ASKGCNTECH

[@ariffau]

What chain ring is that?

[@rayleps4576]

2015 Ultegra di2. Junction box in front of handlebars. Button on bottom of box, I never knew about. Thanks. p.s. My di2 battery is on my down tube. Does resetting power do anything? Battery easily removable without tools.

[@MichaelMohrshipofools]

When Teck makes your mech a wreck. I will stick to old school for now. thanks.

[@LoneZZZ10]

how to steal the Battery... its a nice trick...

[@eagleironic5815]

Eh. The first time I was going to ride a friends Di2 bike, the battery had carked it, and we had to sit around for an hour waiting for it to charge! Much prefer the mechanical shifting. Don’t have to shell out for a $100 replacement battery!

[@iancanuckistan2244]

5 years and counting on my Di2. I average 3,500 - 4,000Km a year. The battery will lose charge eventually or I could have mechanical and have to adjust cables and replace them frequently.

[@Alexclk230]

Hi, what's the brand of the chainring, please?

[@kurtobermeyer3356]

You may have a cable issue as well if it isn't shifting. My rear mech recently died mid-ride. I thought it had gone into crash mode, crash mode trick didn't help. Ah, the battery is dead! Nope, fully charged, and still doesn't work. Turned out the cable to the derailleur was bad and needed to be replaced. I think SRAM will be on the next bike I buy.

[@harpoon2445]

My Garmin gives me a nice warning when Di2 battery is down to 20%, plenty of time to charge the battery in the next weeks. I would need to ignore the warning for many many rides, before ending up with a flat battery.

[@percyharper]

woha which chainrings is he using?

[@razorree]

how to change a gear manually (FD-R8000) when the battery is flat (or near flat and front mech doesn't work)

[@Ruggine85]

Hi Manon, Alex and Ollie! My Di2 ceased to work after configuring the buttons using shimano’s etube app. I’ve tried everything from disconnecting the battery to charging at different amps but my junction box won’t light up and gears won’t change. Battery is 100% and still can connect via bluetooth though. Any ideas?

[@chetlangford2144]

Well if a mini cooper happens to drive by. Jump out and ask them for jump start! 😆 #askgcntech

[@dominickfrancis9808]

What chain ring is that on that orca amazing 🤩?

[@chickenleg123]

I think it's a rotor chainring

[@michprent]

Is it possible to disable crash protection? My di2 sometimes goes in it after hopping of the sidewalk

[@grimp53]

Check for loose connections! And try a firmware update.

[@bebbeec600]

Hello i would like to now the model or the name of your crank.i refer about the first crank that you have in first part of the video not the tradicional model.in the 10 and 27 sg of the video. Sorry for my English.thank you

[@ysllsy6624]

The last trick of connecting an other bike to your own, will "Only" work if they have a similar firmware and similar era of groupset. 7970 will not connect, 6770 will not work with 6870 etc

[@davepratt9909]

Back in the day with the external battery, we would just lend the battery.

[@skyscraper5910]

What is that chain ring?

[@jimmyzbike]

How frequent do these problems happen?

[@Gledii]

so, there is no manual mode on the DI2?

[@jimkeeble8253]

Hi I went over a big pothole today and my DI2 now won't do anything on the right set of shifters. I have it set up to change to smaller rear cogs on the right hand side and bigger on the left. I also have it to change to big front ring on the top of the hood on the right and small front ring on the left hood. I have done a crash reset and charged the battery. The crash reset worked fine and the battery is fully charged. But it wont change up at all on the righthand front shifters or to the big ring on the right hood. Have you got any ideas?? @gcntech

[@252Scooby]

More like “ help what’s a D12 ?” The only thing I can remember that’s sounds like that is that rap band from donkey years ago 🤔

[@U.s.e.r.3493]

What is that shiny front chainring? 😁

[@zulinkin]

yeah what chainring is that?

[@floydie9255]

Could be an Absolute Black, I have an oval chainring thats nice n flat n shiney.

[@adamsteineke4661]

Looks like it might be a rotor carbon.

[@2darkdragon]

i remember when ollie and james started at gcn and i was thinking, "who the hell are these new guys they suck WHERES MATT." nut now they are super natural and relaxed. this new guy needs time and soon he'll be a great presenter but you can tell his personality is being a bit held back

[@jonathanzappala]

Probably just your perception, Ollie was around on KZbin for a while before on cycling weekly.

[@borisb.5024]

What's the best way to discharge my mates di2 at a coffee shop?

[@panzerveps]

Disconnect it and short circuit it for about half a minute. That should drop the voltage quite fast.

[@GCNalex]

Just unplug the rear derailleur and rest the cable back in place to look like it's plugged in. You'll be a few km up the road before they realise 😂

[@pandiarajan3705]

Second liked

[@JulianAllen13]

My Di2 tip is eTap.

[@melihsaruhan2462]

It would be cool if Di2 charges itself with a low resistance dynamo😂

[@richarddugdale6051]

I got home with a flat battery by lodging a plastic tyre lever under the front mech guide which put it onto big ring, otherwise everything goes to very low gear and impossible to ride.

[@GabrieleBarniBurnout]

Happened to me: in the middle of the ride, the rear deraillieuir simply stopped working and my only solution was to unplug the relative shifter, wait a little bit of time, and then, magically, started working again...don't actually know whether the problem was on the rear derailleur or the shifter itself :/

[@bobhayes8750]

I did the same thing. Once while 25 miles into a 50 mile ride, the rear derailleur suddenly would only shift within the three smallest cogs. No collision, no hard jarring, it just decided out of nowhere to act this way. I don't think this was collision mode behavior as I could shift the three smallest cogs. The only thing that cured it was to disconnect the rear derailleur Di2 cable, wait a bit, then reattach it and let the Di2 firmware "rediscover" the derailleur and reinitialize it. I am wondering if it was a firmware bug. I may have been in one of the three smallest cogs and then shifted to the 34 tooth chainring, putting the drive train into a configuration that the Di2 normally prohibits. I would think that the Di2 would refuse a chainring downshift if it's in the three smallest cassette cogs, I suppose I could experiment. I was not a happy camper.

[@Ridgeway0022]

@@bobhayes8750 same thing here, happened twice and that was the solution that worked for me. Seemed i had a loose connection at the box that my LBS fixed, all good after that. I disconnected the rear mech for 10 seconds, reconnected and bingo !

[@brownshit1]

I've never had nor researched Di2. I don't know why but I assumed it didn't require indexing.

[@graemehill]

There's no cable to stretch so it's a fair assumption. You can definitely go longer without adjusting anything.

[@hatzefugsingah]

Who else wants this dark red bartape?!

[@PabloHoney520]

#askgcn You never seem to discuss Campagnolo much. Is this a bias on your behalf? I often wonder what I could do if my eps battery died out on the road. Perhaps you have the answer?

[@PabloHoney520]

So, no reply then.