Ultegra Di2 vs Force Etap

Of Ultegra Di2 and Force eTap

Of Ultegra Di2 and Force eTap AXS, I would go for the SRAM option.

I’m researching my next bike and I’ve concluded that it has to be Force eTap AXS rather than Ultegra Di2, to the extent that I’ve ruled out any bikes that only offer the Di2 option.

Key reasons being:

• no wiring hassles, particularly with PF bottom brackets
• better range of gears
• easier shifting when wearing full length (especially thick) gloves
• ability to swap batteries around in the event of failure mid-ride – for example to make sure the rear mech keeps working so you still have a range of gears.

I was riding recently with a friend whose Di2 battery failed (not out of power, but the battery completely failed due to water ingress). She was stuck in one gear and had to give up mid ride.  With Force AXS she could have ensured she had at least one mech working.

I would agreed with you to.

I would agreed with you to. If electronic shifting is something you want then why wouldn’t you want a wireless set? We use wi-fi at home because cabling is just too much faff. And in Di2 it is not unheard of for the cables to become detatched, just ask a T. Pinot who lost a whole heap of time on a TdF due to a cable becoming detached.

I would have throught the

I would have throught the difference in Force and Red would be the same as in Ultegra and Dura Ace. The performance is pretty much the same but the parts are lighter for the pricier model. 

Tricky choice, best advice I

Tricky choice, best advice I’d give is to ride them both – you say you’ve ridden Etap but it wasn’t clear if you tried di2. I doubt there’s any real world performance difference (weight aside) between Force and Red, same with Dura-ace and Ultegra, so it’s really a comparison of which you like the feel of most.

I’m running 11speed Etap, the key for me was I was upgrading a bike with external routing, thus di2 wasn’t an option. It performs near as dammit faultlessly, the wireless nature makes it very easy to fit and set up, and I like that you can switch the batteries around if one runs out when riding – this hasn’t happened yet, but I’m sure it will someday. The other big thing for me is that the paddle to change gear is bigger and IMHO more ergonomic, giving a positive ‘click’, much more akin to mechanical, plus one shifter does one thing, so less miss-shifts. When I test rode di2 (The previous generation dura-ace, not the current), I found the buttons much less tactile and, being spring and wearing full finger gloves, I found it hard to hit the right button. 

In the plus corner for Shimano, I’d say the shifting was marginally better – in terms of front shifting and the auto trimming nature of the front mech. Despite Srams claims, you will get a tiny amount of chain rub if cross chaining using Etap. 

 If I was buying a new bike, I’d probably pick Shimano, partly since I’m not convinced about Sram 12 speed and its durability. I’ve had endless chain/mech issues in the 12 speed MTB world, and although I’m sure the range is nice, on the road as you say, 52/36 or 50/34 and 11-32 is enough for most things. Another thing to bear in mind is how expensive the Sram cassettes are – since I’m on 11 speed, I use etap with Ultegra cassettes since I refuse to pay >£100 for something that may only last a year! with 12speed, you’re stuck with what Sram give you. 

Hope that helps! 

SRAMs implementation of

SRAMs implementation of electronic gears is so much better than Shimano. 

Wireless shifting, smartphone/garmin connectivity out the box, 12 speed, wider gear range, brand new software, it’s just thoroughly more modern in every way. 

If you’re going to spend real money I’d go with new tech that will only get better.