# Di2 Quick Start Guide?



## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

I've just had Dura Ace Di2 installed on my Cervelo R3. It's great so far, but I am having trouble finding out how to use all the features. The online manual is voluminous and focused mostly on installation.

Is there a quick start guide somewhere that covers the basic features - ie checking the battery, charging, changing wheels, on-the-fly adjustments etc?


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

Not that I'm aware of. But what you're wondering about is very easy.

To check the battery just hold a button down. If you're in the small ring up front, just hold that button down that changes it to the small ring. No shifts will happen but a light will illuminate on the junction A box. Green is good Red is bad.

Charging is easy too, just plug the charger into the port on the side of the junction box. If you have an external battery, flip open the door, press the white button remove the battery and stick it on it's charger.

Changing wheels is the same as with mechanical, zero difference. Shift to smallest cog and get er done.

On the fly only works for the rear mech. Hold down the button on the bottom of the junction A box until the red light illuminates and stays illuminated. Your right shifter is now a barrel adjuster. The buttons move the mech in micro adjustments the same way the buttons go. When you're all barrel adjusted up hold the button down on the junction box again until the light goes off.


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## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

Thanks, that is helpful.


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## rm -rf (Feb 27, 2006)

*Charge level:*
The battery lights, from holding a shift button for more than one half second:

Green: 50% to 100% charged
Blink green: 25% to 50%
Red: very little to 25%
Blink red: almost out.

I usually remember to check every few rides, and plan to recharge fairly soon when it's blinking green. There's no advantage to running it all the way to the red.

*E-Tube software*
You can download the e-tube firmware update and shifter config software. Then you just plug the charger cable into your PC and launch the software.

I changed the "long shift" rear derailleur to be "*shift 3 cogs*" instead of "shift all cogs". (Or have your LBS do it.)

Now, at the base of a hill, it's left side bottom button to go to the small chainring, and a half second or longer press of the bottom right button to go 3 smaller cogs. That gets me close to the previous big ring cadence.

At the top, a long press of the top buttons does big ring and 3 bigger cogs. 

You can also change the speed of the cog-to-cog shifts. But I just left it alone.


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## goodboyr (Apr 19, 2006)

Green 100-75
Flashing green 75-50
Flashing red 50-25
Red 25-0


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## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

Thanks. On changing wheels, will the RD automatically adjust or is there any dialling in required?


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

The RD will act just like a mechanical one. It stays where you leave it.

As for stops, no. There is no auto adjust. Those are set differently than mechanical ones, are actually quite important and should be reset with different wheels/cassettes or at least checked.

If you tighten a stop bolt on a Di2 rear mech too tightly it will drain the battery very quickly and repeatedly and also shift like crap.


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## rossb (Oct 11, 2005)

That's disappointing. I was led to believe that it was a much easier process swapping wheels with Di2, which is one of the main reasons I bought it.


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## rm -rf (Feb 27, 2006)

goodboyr said:


> Green 100-75
> Flashing green 75-50
> Flashing red 50-25
> Red 25-0


I ran my Di2 *down to zero in about 600 miles*, instead of the 1500 miles that's often quoted. But I ride lots of rolling terrain, and shift constantly. I'll shift just for a couple of pedal revolutions,and shift again, since it's so easy.


It's hard to find this info from Shimano (see this DuraAce pdf). Both Park Tool and Carlton Bale say:

To check the battery charge remaining, press and hold any shifting switch for 0.5 seconds or more. The amount of battery charge remaining will be indicated by the light on Front Controller A Junction.

100% remaining: Illuminates green (for 2 seconds)
50% remaining: Flashes green (5 times)
25% remaining: Illuminates red (for 2 seconds)
0% remaining: Flashes red (5 times)

This always seemed odd to me, especially the cutoff for the flashing red indicator--it's kind of too late by then!

I thought the change over to flashing green happened faster than half the charge. So maybe Shimano means that the cutover from each different pattern is in between the named cutoffs? But the spacing isn't even.


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## rm -rf (Feb 27, 2006)

rossb said:


> That's disappointing. I was led to believe that it was a much easier process swapping wheels with Di2, which is one of the main reasons I bought it.


The micro adjust is easy, you push the control box button until it shows a red indicator, then each click, in or out, of the right shifter moves the derailleur a tiny distance in that direction. When done, push the box button again to turn off the light.
*
For two different wheels*

Perhaps both wheels will already work, but if they are offset a little:

I assume it's adjusted correctly for one wheelset. Then swap wheels.
If the wheels are way off, the limit screws might interfere with shifting onto the biggest or smallest cog. That could be a problem.

You'd want to put the bike up on a repair stand so you can spin the crank. See how the chain is centered on the new wheel's cogs. Keep track of how many clicks it took to adjust to the new cogs, and which direction, inward or outward.

Then when swapping wheels, just go into adjust mode, do that number of clicks, inward for one wheel, outward for the other.

If you lose track or want to *start from scratch*, use the Shimano method:

Shift to the 5th cog, where 1 is largest, 11 is smallest. Press the button for adjustment mode. click inward to the 4 cog until the chain makes a slight rubbing noise. Move outward 4 clicks. Turn off the adjust button. 
(I've sometimes moved it a click or two after a test ride to get it perfect.)

There's 32 micro steps total. So if it's really messed up, you could micro adjust one way until it stops, then click back 16 steps to get to the middle of the range. Now do the "5th cog" method.

Park Tool Repair covers all this.


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## 5DII (Aug 5, 2013)

MMsRepBike said:


> If you tighten a stop bolt on a Di2 rear mech too tightly it will drain the battery very quickly and repeatedly and also shift like crap.


I dont have Di2 yet, but what is a stop bolt?


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

5DII said:


> I dont have Di2 yet, but what is a stop bolt?


All derailleurs have them. They stop the derailleur from moving too far. Each derailleur has two of them, high and low. On a mechanical unit you set the stops first. First thing you do. Makes sure the unit can never travel to the point of throwing the chain off of the cassette or chainrings. On Di2 (for the rear) it's the last thing you do. After things are all set up you then put the stop bolts in place. They're just sort of reference marks for the unit. On the rear low you screw it in until it just every so slightly touches the plate. If you add even a little bit too much tension by screwing it in just a little bit extra your battery will drain like 4 times as fast as normal. On the rear high you do the same and then unscrew it a turn. Different than mechanical but still very important.


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