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I'm doing a non stop Ultra race at the end of August, it is looking like about 50 hours of riding, possibly a few hours more or less (depending on wind and weather). I don't expect it to be more than 60. I have Ultegra Di2 from the year 2015 and I am concerned that the battery might not last the duration of the event. I am sure that others have had this problem before? What solutions have people come up with?
Cheers.
Apart from this issue, I really recommend the other poster to get Di2!! Totally flawless.
If your battery isn’t lasting well in excess of 50hrs of riding, something ain’t right.
The new diagnostic hardware SM-PCE02 has a battery drain diagnostic function to help identify and resolve excessive battery drain issues.
Just take a 2nd battery if you're worried, they're not exactly very big.
Assuming you already have the shimano usb charger adapter then could you just use a small powerbank to charge it for a couple of hours halfway though?
What's the course like? Could you just risk it going into singlespeed mode?
Most people seem to report several weeks between charges, unless you’re planning to average 20mph for 60hrs straight it should be fine if fully charged before the event.
I was gonna suggest buying a brand new spare battery, until i googled the price, HOW MUCH!! Bugger that.
Just take a 2nd battery if you’re worried, they’re not exactly very big.
Thanks. Only problem with that is the battery sits inside the seat tube.
If you are familiar the Di2 charger you'll know it's not a straight forward Micro USB connection, so I had thought of that, but the Shimano charger / cable would need to sit into the charger port under the stem first, with a battery pack then plugged into that.
I will ask my bike shop to look at the new diagnostic hardware as that's a bit beyond me 🙂 .
something is very wrong with the battery if you are concerned that you'll only get 60 hours out of it. I wait months (abet only about 15-20 hours cycling per week) between charges and even then I charge just in case rather than because there is the battery warning light
As per above - its really unlikely you'll need to charge on the go. How many hours do you get between charges now? I have an Ultegra Di2 system from 2012-ish, and go months between charges. And I'm lazy and shift all the time - because I can!
Really, you should be good, but worth doing some testing before-hand and just get an idea how long until the system is at half charge or whatever, and extrapolate from that. It'll probably be well in excess of 60 hours of riding time.
I charge mine on the 1st of the month - "just in case" 🙂 the little orange
light is on for all of 15 mins most times and the bike is used pretty much every day.
1000km cycled so far on one charge and battery still at 60%. Tells me on my garmin (so geeky)
Thanks. Only problem with that is the battery sits inside the seat tube
That's the easiest place to get to them.
That’s the easiest place to get to them.
It certainly sounds easier than my Canyon, where it appears to be in the downtube. Which, I think (but would be very happy to be corrected!) means having to remove the press-fit BB to get to it.
I just hope they're as reliable as everyone seems to say.
Back to the original point, mine is pretty new but I'd estimate 800 miles or so from a charge. If it's getting to the point it'll be empty after 60 miles, might be worth replacing to be safe? Especially if you don't have to remove the BB to do so...
unless you’re planning to average 20mph for 60hrs straight it should be fine if fully charged before the event
Wouldn't affect battery life even if he was, it's dictated by number of shifts not average speed.
I've done 1800 odd KM since October and charged mine twice, once when I got it and once again after about 5 months.
Yes, my comment re average speed was based on the fact that lots of people report doing c1200 miles between charges, so 60 hrs would give 20mph for that distance.
Daft suggestion possibly, but could you not just put a second battery into one of the junction boxes? Or feed the cable out of a hole in the frame to at least allow hot swapping?
Daft suggestion possibly, but could you not just put a second battery into one of the junction boxes? Or feed the cable out of a hole in the frame to at least allow hot swapping?
That won't work unfortunately, you can only have one battery connected to the system at a time. However, you shouldn't have a problem with charge on a ride that short. I have 6 bikes in the house running Di2 and they're charged very infrequently, think every 3-4 months. the front mech is the one that gobbles the power, so the 1x bikes last forever.
I rode from Biaritz to Girona along the Pyrenees, charged before I went and still had 70% charge left when I got there. I'd just take a fully charged spare just in case if it's in the seat post as it's a 5 minute swap over job.
If you are familiar the Di2 charger you’ll know it’s not a straight forward Micro USB connection, so I had thought of that, but the Shimano charger / cable would need to sit into the charger port under the stem first, with a battery pack then plugged into that.
Why is that a problem? You must be planning to stop during the 50hrs of riding and neither the poewrbank nor charger are heavy. 2-3 hours would be fine.
Though I do agree with the others, My Alfine 11 Di2 only gets charged twice per year and is used most days in the winter (less in the summer) for about 10-15 hours of riding per week. It lasts about 4 months in the winter and nearly 8 in the summer (other bikes get used) .
Back to the original point, mine is pretty new but I’d estimate 800 miles or so from a charge. If it’s getting to the point it’ll be empty after 60 miles, might be worth replacing to be safe? Especially if you don’t have to remove the BB to do so…
To get 800 miles out of a charge you would have to be changing gear a lot. Like I said above I have so far done 1100 km (now 1200km) and the battery is still showing at 60% I think I will get at least 2500km (1500 miles) out of one charge. Doing 800 miles on one charge will not be a problem.
My bike is a new Canyon Ultimate and the battery is in the down tube, you would have to remove the BB to get to it.
To the Canyon users, check the underside of the downtube / BB shell area, and see if you have a plastic hatch which you can use Circlip pliers to remove.
On my Endurace the battery is under that hatch and no need to remove the BB.