Quote:
Originally Posted by JCL
Bunyan: That is the battery for the Shimano DI2 electric shift. Actuator motors in both the front and rear derailleurs, pushbutton shifting, automatic trimming of the front derailleur with rear chain position. Shifts under full load, by automatically overshifting then trimming back to a running position. Very cool. Still a bit pricy for the rest of us peasants.
AZX54.4: Bike looks good, thanks for the pictures. Need to watch that focus on the close up shots! Interested in why the Mavic brakes, or is that just the way the bike shop had built it up?
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Bunyan: Like JCL said, my bike is equipped with Shimano Di2 electronic shifting. That little box is the battery.
JCL: Sorry about that. I just looked at the closeup pics. The one of the rear derailleur was a little intense! haha.
As far as the Mavic brakes. Those are some of the best brakes I have ever felt on a road bike and those were 100% my choice. The bike had some G-force brakes before i bought it that wouldn't stop the bike at any speed. They had a lot of flex in the design. I am not exaggerating. When I first rode the bike around the parking lot before I bought it I couldn't even stop going a few mph. I had first become addicted to the Mavic's on my other bike which originally had Dura Ace 7800 brakes on it. They have unbelievable stopping power and great modulation. When you pull the brakes they don't have that gliding over the rim feel. They have great bite and always feel like they have more power for emergency stops. And to top it off, Mavic's "rapid spring return" technology is dubbed "R3" so it is a perfect mating for my R3 sl
! On top of that, their weight is contained at just 314g. And weight is not a concern for me. This bike is crazy light. I never compromise on stopping performance. The freehub on my DA rear wheel has failed so I am waiting for the warrantied one from Shimano to arrive in a few days. I've gotten enough miles on this bike to start to get a good feel for it. I like it!! It is extremely smooth and stable at high speeds. I haven't found that having a very light bike makes my avg. speed any higher but i am able to accelerate much quicker. Climbing is different on this bike mainly because my other bike has a compact crank and the R3sl doesn't. The only thing that I am getting used to is sometimes the shifts are so quiet and smooth that you aren't sure that it happened. I wouldn't call this a problem at all. It is just that seamless and smooth. It's just like any bike or car for that matter. Somethings are different but the more you ride/drive it the more accustomed you become to it. Theres a learning curve to everything!
One more thing on the Mavic note! My dad found four cracks in his rear bontrager race xxx lite rim the other day. They are being warrantied and replaced. In the mean time, our bike shop is letting him use a set of Mavic Ksyrium premium sl's. So far, he has ridden maybe 70 miles on them and likes them a lot and might just switch over from the bontragers. Any comments on Mavic rims. My dad also runs Mavic crossmax 29er rims on his mtn bike.