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Good luck. In general once it
Good luck. In general once it’s on you shouldn’t have any issues. Just make sure the cable connections to Junction B are clicked home before burying it in the frame.
Did you get the little anti-rattle cable hooks with your kit? If you use those on the cables going to Junction B that should hold it away from the tubes.
FWIW the only issue I ever had with Di2 was when I accidentally yanked the rear mech cable out of the mech. Plugging back in and doing the crash protection reset didn’t work, I needed to unplug the battery (which would be major surgery in your build – fortunately I was externally-cabled).
Loved my time with Di2 but ended up going back to mechanical to part-fund a tourer build. I’ll probably stick with mechanical now, but only because I’m more proficient at fettling them than I was back then. Ease of setup was my main reason for going Di2 (plus, y’know, gadgets…)
You can test everything off
You can test everything off the bike, just keep your fingers away from the front mech when you do it. Junction B for internal cabling is usually placed inside the seat tube above BB and below battery. For external wiring I think the assumption is that it is screwed under the BB where your cable guide used to be. The whole system is weather sealed so it doesn’t matter where you put the junctions. Once tested just make sure that you’ve pushed the cable connections fully home using the official Shimano tool. You could test the mechs on the bike without the chainset but make sure the front mech is clamped tight. There’s a lot of torque in that mechanism and I wouldn’t risk it jamming somewhere and scratching the frameAll of the Tribans are great
All of the Tribans are great value bikes and the frames are worth upgrading as budget allows. Out of the box the only thing I’d change would be the calipers – £35 for a set of used 105s and about half an hour to fit them.
If you want to keep the budget to an absolute minimum and want to buy new then consider the Triban 100 – perfect commuter and will take on off-road stuff with family too.
Sorry should add – a Merida
Sorry should add – a Merida 54 is more like a 56, so you should be fine on a 54 (which is an M/L in Merida-sizing)
I usually ride a 56 and was perfectly comfortable on the 54, just needed a 10mm longer stem, which is a cheap fix.
The Merida 500 is superb, I
The Merida 500 is superb, I used to own one and regret selling it. Absolutely zero issues with it and I ran it in all weathers across all terrain. Just swap the tyres for something with puncture protection.
On the sizing front pay close attention to the actual dimensions of the Merida, they have an M/L size which fitted me well (32″ inseam, 5-11 overall height). If you can find a Merida dealer go chuck your leg over a current model (frame hasn’t changed) and see which size suits you.
I did everything from long gravel rides to Ride London on mine and it was super-comfy, and plenty fast enough. the 11-32 cassette got me up all the hills I could throw at it and I’m no climber.
It has loads of tyre room – I ran 32mm Gravelking SKs under mudguards with no issues. You’ll probably appreciate the crosstop levers too.
Might be worth looking at the
Might be worth looking at the Komoot app – that offers crowd-sourced routes optimised for different cycling styles.
Has the bike been used
Has the bike been used regularly? It’s very important that the battery gets exercised regularly, particularly over the winter. If you let it go flat and leave it flat for a while it may not recharge. Made worse if its been sat discharged in a cold shed or garage.Does the CLX3 have internal routing for the Di2 cables? If not it’s going to look seriously ugly and you won’t be able to take advantage of the latest generation of Di2 with synchro shift and so on. Have you considered SRAM eTap?It does have internal routing, yes. In terms of brands, I was going to start a new topic on it but seeing as you asked… I would probably lean towards Di2 simply becasue I’m used to Ultegra BUT that doesn’t by any means mean I’m unswayable. If people have reccomendations other than Di2 that aren’t too much more expensive (or even better are cheaper!) or reccomened combinations then suggestions will definitely be appreciated.
I ran Ultegra Di2 (6870) with 6770 shifters &105 cranks, cassettes, and brakes which trims a fair bit off the price, but not much off the performance. You’re just adding a few hundred grams. 105 brakes are on a par with Ultegra and if you’ve gone Di2 then you’ve got no shift issues to worry about. You can run an 11-32 with the Ultegra Di2 long cage rear mech.
Is it definitely Di2-compatible internal routing? If it’s just set up to route mechanical cables internally it may not work with Di2.
I guess it depends on how proficient you are as a bike mechanic. I went with Di2 because I wasn’t confident setting up a mechanical drivetrain but that’s changed now and I’ve gone back to full mechanical groupsets (Tiagra/105 mix)
eTap is typically more expensive than Di2, particularly for you as it sounds like you’re needing to replace your cranks and cassette. Campy (which every Colnago deserves) is even more expensive.
Probably your best bet is to buy used/NOS Ultegra 6870 Di2, or potentially buy a donor bike with that group and strip it. Di2-equipped bikes regularly go for around the £700 mark on eBay and you may find it’s cheaper than buying the group s/h once you’ve sold the frame on.
richjamesturner wrote:
You’ve said that you really want Di2, so go for that. It’s less immediate outlay and you seem perfectly happy with your Colnago, so upgrade it now and maybe get an aero triathlon/road bike later on.This is probably where I’m at. My hesitation is not knowing what I could be missing – are newer bikes that much better? Is it a waste to spend £1100 on a 2013 model? Maybe I should stick to Ultegra mechanical for the drivetrain upgrade for now, saving money for a new bike next year…
If the bike is comfortable and has all the features you need, keep it and upgrade the drivetrain. Swapping frames is a risky business, even with the same basic geometry you risk ending up with something uncomfortable.
Does the CLX3 have internal
Does the CLX3 have internal routing for the Di2 cables? If not it’s going to look seriously ugly and you won’t be able to take advantage of the latest generation of Di2 with synchro shift and so on. Have you considered SRAM eTap?Decathlon (https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-100-flat-bar-road-bike-id_8500949.html) at £250 and budget another £30 (https://www.decathlon.co.uk/road-r-500-road-cycling-helmet-white-id_8382507.html) if you dont already have a helmet )but i suspect that you do).Those Decathlons look good for the money, hadn’t come across them.
The drop bar version of the 100 comes with chunkier tyres and looks to be the perfect starter bike
+1 for SJS. Spa Cycles might
+1 for SJS. Spa Cycles might also be a help
Went through similar pain trying to find tyres and rims for a bike requiring a 520 rim recently, it might be worth looking at LBS/sites specialising in selling folders and recumbants.
There’s always another bike
There’s always another bike on eBay or Gumtree…
You mentioned gearing for hills – to see much difference over what you’ve got currently you should be looking at a compact front (50/34) and an 11-32 at the rear. If you’re looking at older bikes Ultegra 6700 had the option of an 11-30 cassette.
All the Shimano current gen groups are excellent – Tiagra 4700 is the sweet spot, just upgrade the brake calipers to 105 (£40, about an hour’s work). With the long cage derailleur you can even run an 11-34.
There’s often 1-2% price
There’s often 1-2% price difference in my experience, particularly on accessories.
Is it just me or have Wiggle run out of Haribo too?
SpikeBike wrote:
Yeah they don’t need to come out now it’s just that it is pretty new (<100miles) and it irritates me. Maybe I should just chalk it up to experience? I was hoping for an easy fix but might make it worse.Now that they’re in why do you want to remove them? Chalk it up to experience and unless it’s Red or Dura-Ace just replace the crankset when the rings wear out.
If you do need to remove it if you haven’t done so already take the crankset off the bike, try bashing a larger-sized torx into the hole, then clamp the tool in a vice and use the crankarm as a lever.
Are you sure the bolt isn’t cross-threaded? I’ve managed to cross thread a couple in my time (the recurring theme here appears to be trying to do it on the bike rather than removing the crankset)
You’ll need to be slightly careful as the threads on the chainrings aren’t particularly deep.
I know that feeling. I’m amazed that they work loose, and they’re worth checking reasonably frequently. Last time I did it I had one missing and another very loose – unsurprisingly there was quite a bit of creaking.
If you do have a go at removing it the big advantage of clamping the torx key in a vice is that you can push down hard on the chainring (cover teeth with a rag) and persuade the bolt loose with the crank arm. Should stop the tool from slipping.
