The Ultegra 6870 Di2 components were removed from the Wheelsport Fantasy mini velo, and now it will be installed onto the Merida road bike! The final setup would be Ultegra 6800 mechanical on the mini velo, and Ultegra 6870 Di2 on the road bike.
Prior to this latest upgrade, the Merida road bike was using a mixture of Dura-Ace and Ultegra components. I will be changing the shifting components (shifters, RD, FD) from mechanical to electronic shifting.
Before changing to Di2 components, the road bike is using Ultegra mechanical shifters and Dura-Ace RD and FD
This was the setup not too long ago. Di2 system was on the mini velo, while the mechanical system was on the road bike.
I have already gathered all the required Di2 components, and by now I am familiar with setting up a Di2 bike as I have already done it three times. On the Dahon Boardwalk, the Dahon MuEX, and the Wheelsport Fantasy mini velo. This time, it will be done for the fourth time on the Merida road bike.
Before I can install the Di2 components on the road bike, I have to remove the mechanical components on it. First to go would be the Ultegra 6800 road shifters. These were removed and installed on the Wheelsport Fantasy mini velo.
Ultegra 6800 road shifters removed from the handlebar, leaving the clamp band. Since the clamp band is the same for Ultegra 6800 or 6870 Di2 shifters, I left it on the handlebar as this saves me from unwrapping the whole bar tape to remove the clamp bands.
Next, the frame needs to be prepared for Di2 shifting. I started by identifying the parts that can be removed, as mechanical and electronic shifting has slightly different frame requirements. Before that, I removed the crankset too as this will allow me to access the bottom bracket and also the internal routing that goes past the bottom bracket.
Crankset removed. Notice the red plastic liner that appears under the down tube? This routes the inner cable for the front derailleur.
This stopper is at the head tube side, where the FD inner cable enters the frame and passes through the red liner.
The red liner can be removed as there is no shifter inner cable required for Di2 shifting.
One reason why I like threaded BB: It can be removed easily for servicing. This black piece of plastic is the cable guide for the FD inner cable, which can also be removed as it is not required.
The Ultegra 6870 Di2 components taken off from the Wheelsport mini velo, and now ready to install onto the Merida road bike!
The battery mount on the Wheelsport mini velo was using the long battery mount, but I changed it back to the previous short battery mount to use on the Merida road bike
Before I started this project to install Ultegra Di2 on the Merida road bike, I have already noticed that this frame is designed to allow Di2 internal wire routing. There are multiple holes on the frame to allow Di2 wires to be routed internally. Examples will be shown below.
The battery mount can be installed under the left chainstay, using the designated battery mount as shown by the two bolts here. The hole on the frame is for the Di2 wire to go into the frame.
Battery mount installed! Located unobtrusively under the left chainstay
Ultegra 6870 Di2 Rear Derailleur installed. The Di2 wire is routed through the right chainstay.
Ultegra 6870 Di2 Front Derailleur installed. The hole under the FD mount is for the Di2 wire to go into the frame.
As with most frame designs, the Junction B of the Di2 system will be located somewhere around the bottom bracket area. Therefore, all the 4 wires (from RD, FD, battery and Junction A) will meet Junction B at the bottom bracket area. Before connecting up all the components, I will run all the wires from the individual components to the bottom bracket area.
Di2 system layout will be the same as on the Wheelsport Fantasy mini velo, but with different lengths of wire between components due to the different frame geometry.
The right side hole on the frame will be closed off as it is no longer required.
On the left side, the Di2 wire that joins Junction A to Junction B will pass through the frame. However, the connector head is too big to fit through the original rubber grommet.
I made my own DIY rubber grommet using the rubber bellow from a V brake. This plugs into the hole on the frame and guides the Di2 wire through the frame along the downtube.
Di2 wire from the FD passes through the hole on the seat tube and downwards to the bottom bracket area
The D-Fly wireless unit is connected between the RD and Junction B. It will be mounted on the right side seatstay as recommended.
Finally, the Di2 wire from the battery will enter the frame from the hole at the bottom.
Now that all the wires have been routed from the components to the bottom bracket area, the next step is to join them to Junction B. This is not that easy as there is very limited space around the bottom bracket to connect and secure Junction B internally. To be continued!
Click here for Part 2!
Hey Man as usual your post helping me a lot with my bike.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is i am going to change levers for durace mechanical and want also to Change cables and housing and not sure how the proceidure of changing housing and cables is (and can't find on this bike) with out messing up on the routing.
Is it posible to oriented me on the steps i must do for doing it peopperly?
Thank you in advance.
Cheers.
The internal cable routing makes it tricky to change inner cable or outer casing. To make it easier, you will need to remove the crankset and bottom bracket, so that you can access the inside of the frame from the bottom bracket hole. This will allow you to route the cables properly.
DeleteAs for the cable lengths, just refer to the original lengths and it should be OK.