Athlete Blogs
October 11th, 2009Justifying price of Di2
So let's say you want some Di2 on your bike(s). Maybe budget is a concern or maybe your wife raises an eyebrow to the idea of many more thousands of $ in bike parts. Gladly mine doesn't but here is your justification:-Time saved: Since I have setup my di2, I might have adjusted the shifting once. That's it. No more constant tweaking, trying to get the shifting correct, only to have it not work properly 2 rides later. Major time saver. Time is money and I just saved you a bunch.
-Works perfect every time. No danger of messing up a shift and crashing because you drop a chain or royaly screw things up. Your wife should like that.
-Makes you happy: Every single time I shift, with amazing precision and speed, it makes me a little bit happy. Even in the midst of a long tiring workout, shifting is nice.
-Spares your fingers from all that work. No more "long" throws of shifters, just a light tap. That's gotta be good for your fingers long term.
-Saves all that money in cables and housing. That's gotta be worth $50/year.
-One more thing to charge - lights, SRM, Di2. Not to mention your Iphone, Ipod, garage door opener...you get the idea.
Now of course I say this a little tongue in cheek, but I have no plans to own another mechanical bike. None. Rainy rides, sweating all over it on the trainer, I don't care.
I'm not one to shy away from new technology and high end bike stuff, some of it is worth it, some not as much. Di2 definitely fits the "worth it" category for me, just like SRM, e-motions and custom shoes. A $4K frame, ceramic bearings, $1200 lights, carbon bars - all nice, but not necessarily "worth it".
If anyone is looking for a bunch of perfect SRAM red parts let me know, they will soon find their way to ebay.
