I've been pretty fortunate to being exposed to doing a lot of Shimano Di2 installations at the bicycle shop I work at. The popularity of electronic shifting has grown like crazy in the past couple of years, and I predict that within the next few years, it will be on the majority of nice road bikes. There is quite a bit of info out there regarding the installation processes of Di2, but not as much as you would think. I've done at least 100 or so Di2 installs at this point so far, some stock builds and some totally custom, and I thought I would share a few things I've picked up along the way.
Di2 in general is pretty easy to install and set up compared to a standard mechanical derailleur/shift system. The most difficult part of the process is routing the wires through the frame and making everything look really clean. Some bike frames it's a really easy process and others can be a nightmare. I've used several different methods for getting the wires through by taping them to shift cables, using dental floss to pull the wires through ETC.
Earlier this year I came up with an easy to make tool that works really well. It's primarily for the new style 11 speed Dura Ace and the Ultegra Di2 which both use the same smaller type wires.
These are the pieces you need: A standard shift cable, a 5mm brake ferrule, and a crimp on cable tip.
Cut the closed end off so the cable will slide though it....
Like this.
Slide the ferrule and cable tip over in this order.
Push everything to the end and crimp the tip.
The plug on the end of the wire fits perfectly into the ferrule....
Like this
At this point it's easy to feed the tool through the frame. In the case of this Cervelo P5, the tool is fed through the opening behind the head tube....
through the down tube and out the bottom bracket.
With the wire plugged into the ferrule, I pull the tool back through the frame.
Super quick and easy. The wire is routed and ready for hook up.
I've got a complete Di2 conversion scheduled next week on a non Di2 specific bike, so I'll document that process as I do it.
I've been riding, racing and working in the bicycle industry for over 30 years. I'm a USAC category 1 road racer and daily bicycle commuter. I like tools, working on stuff, bicycles, hot rods, metal fabrication and welding. I also like making videos about the stuff I like to do and how I like to do stuff. If you're interested in any of the stuff I'm interested in, you might want to check out my youtube channel. I have a very cool wife and 2 awesome daughters.
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