Which Groupset?

That will be good for me as all the knobbers offload their "unreliable" erectronic - I'd like to pick up some cheap Di2 for my winter bike.

Me too - I'm becoming convinced of the merits of Di2 on a TT bike, and my TT bike doesn't have Di2. Yet.

Two small advantages - cable runs for tricky TT frames and far less hand movement required to change gears. Big advantage - smoother faster front shifting.

Disadvantages - slightly higher weight, higher cost, have to charge it, trickier to set up

Indeed, I've got Di2 on my S2 so I'm aware of the pros and cons. The only thing which is stopping me going and Di2ing the TT bike is that I've never changed from the big ring on it yet (more of a reflection on the lack of elevation changes round here than my mighty powah) so the front shifting benefit is a bit hypothetical.

I posted this in any question answered but I guess it's pretty relevant to here as well.

I want to build an audax bike to do some light tours and need some advice on what groupset to buy. I know I'd like STI shifters and it'd to be silver (kind of classic looking and not modern) but apart from that I have no idea.

Any ideas?

I dont know about visually. But functionally I'd go with Sram apex. You can get a massive cassette for improved range, and the actuation is the same as Sram MTB stuff. Which leaves options open.

Visually.

This one with a compact (50:34) chainset, and a biggish cassette (12-29)
http://www.cyclingbargains.com/product_info.php/campagnolo-athena-silver-11speed-groupset-p-758

And it is well cheap and SRAM is easy to repair if needs be.

Other budget offering is the Sora 3500 groupset (approx £200), 9 speed chain are generally stronger than 10 speed.

Having said that, no reason why 10 speeds wouldn't be suitable, just required a bit more looking at.

Indeed, I've got Di2 on my S2 so I'm aware of the pros and cons. The only thing which is stopping me going and Di2ing the TT bike is that I've never changed from the big ring on it yet (more of a reflection on the lack of elevation changes round here than my mighty powah) so the front shifting benefit is a bit hypothetical.

I train on mine quite a lot so the front shifting is a small benefit. The fact I don't have to bend my wrists around the front to force it into top gear is nice. I've got my first race on it on Sunday so I'll see how it goes 'in anger'.

I posted this in any question answered but I guess it's pretty relevant to here as well.

I want to build an audax bike to do some light tours and need some advice on what groupset to buy. I know I'd like STI shifters and it'd to be silver (kind of classic looking and not modern) but apart from that I have no idea.

Any ideas?

Shimano 105 or above. Sorted.

Ultegra 6600 is reasonnably classic looking and can be bought for cheap 2nd hand. Sora 3500 is very good value for money, definitely a massive improvement over the last generation.

Thanks guys. I also should have said I'll try and go second hand (from here hopefully).

That ultegra 6600 groupset looks good. Anyone got one at the moment? Any good?

tiagra 4503 9 speed triple

It's easy to find second hand, as a lot of mid 00s bikes came with it. It was pretty affordable at the time too. I've kept mine just in case I want to build a winter bike or something.

I've run 6500, 6600 and 6700 Ultegra. They all copped loads of miles and loads of AWESOME POWER™. The hidden cables of the 6700 aren't quite as crispy shifting as I'd have liked but to be fair I have done lots of damage to the shifters crashing them so can't really recall what they were like new anyway. 6500 is tough as old boots and is on my race bike in Oz. Still 'ok' shifting after a kabillion miles and almost zero servicing. If I ever bothered to replace the casstte and chain it'd probably be a little bit nicer.

Why do you have to?

Why do you think?

Your obsessive compulsion to have the electronic gizmo?

#beingahypocrite

So you think I would replace Ultegra Di2 with.... Ultegra Di2?

Do you think I would see much difference?

Still run 6600 on a bike of mine. Love it. It just keeps getting better.

Any ideas on a price for a good condition used 6600 groupset?

erm, look at ebay selling prices, use judgement, or any independent analytical process

i've had ultegra 6600 since new from 2007 - still running smooth and strong.

I'm on a bike with Di2 at the moment.
It's a world away from mechanical. Makes mechanical look archaic.
I will hate going back to mechanical.

If you're getting a new bike, get Ui2 or Di2 if you've cash. Any less and it's not worth it. Unless it's a winter or weekly ride bike to trash.