DA mechanical or Di2?

2013 Dura-ace Di2 or mechanical? Which do you reckon?

OK, so I’ve decided on what bike am going to get as a crash replacement… that is decided on the frame, but not the groupset. Still not got the cash from the car driver who knocked me off (yet), but I don’t have a race bike and am only on an old bike for commuting at the moment.

Am very lucky to have a discount from my LBS as they sponsor my club and I won a race last year which qualifies me for a decent % discount from RRP.

Anyway, so I have chosen the bike and am looking to get Dura-ace version, but it domes in 2013 11-speed Di2 (9070) and 2013 11-speed mechanical (9000). Now historically I’m a Campag man (my last bike had Record 11 on it), but I’m not prejudiced against Shimano and am happy to try their top-end groupset, but I’m really not sure whether to pay a bit more for Di2.

So here are the positives:
– everyone who has used Di2 has said they love it and they’d never go back – including on1 guy who wasn’ really keen, except with a similar discount to me has become a convert!
– can change with force throught the chainset.
– new Di2 no weight detriment vs mechanical
– now 11 speed (which I like!)

Here are my concerns:
– is it more at risk when travelling? I took my old bike on planes several times in the last 2 years and sometimes found I had to tweek the derailler at the other end. nothing too serious, but suggests that the bag had got hit. What happens if I get a hit on Di2?
– what happens if I go on a trip (as I like to do) and get a failure? If I’m in the middle of nowhere, e.g in the mountains in France or Spain and the nearest bike shop is a small LBS what’s the chance that they will say they can’t fix it as it’s Di2, whereas a mechanical groupset can probably be fixed in no time at all!
– reading about Di2 online it seems there’s no manual way to change gears if the system fails (for any reason), so you have to ride home in whatever gear it is in when it’ off – is that true?

Am I being too scared of the new technology? I just don’t want to be disappointed by it. Am sure that there will be a drop in the prices in the next 10 years and right now they’re very over-priced as they become more common, but if I’m racing maybe I should take the best I can afford and use it as it may give me that advantage.

Having done a few internet searches I can’t find that many stories on forums or reviews that say that people have had problems, apart from where the connectors have been loose, but I think you’d probably work that out and sort it fairly soon (happened to one guy in a race).

So, what do you reckon?