Titus Project-29 Di2

[maxxevv]

Hey Jeff,

great to meet you and Jason again at Interbike. Let me know if you need help on the prototype machining part of things. Or mechanical related design for that matter.

Fantastic job done there!! Was really fun to see how it blew the minds of some of the Shimano guys who came along !

Cheers !
Lee

[Jeffr]

Thanks, it actually took me a while to come around and see how useful it is. The thing that I think makes it most useful is that it controls the timing of all operations. So it can shift faster and more safely than a person could just tapping buttons. We can control exactly what is going on when the front shifts so there is no risk of a dropped chain and the adjustment in the rear happens as quickly as possible. Additionally there will never be chain rub or inefficient chainlines. You can just shift and forget about whats going on. When the front ring shifts it is somewhat noticeable but not nearly as bad as you would expect. I think I can tighten up the timing there more as well.

The trim feature is indeed missing and it is one that I need to add back in. I had some experimental code for that and I need to work on it again. I wouldn't hold your breath for a commercial version any time soon. I want the guys at fairwheel to trash the bike looking for flaws and getting some real experience with it. I'm going to produce a road version for myself to try soon.

Currently there is a reprogramming port on the device but I believe any chainring combination can be represented by a small set of parameters that I will provide a switch for.

Please don't hold your breath for a commercial version. We're still evaluating whether that would be practical. Additionally, madcow has told me that each di2 mtn bike has to be custom built. They can't just sell a conversion kit due to the significant differences in mountain chainlines, bb width, cassette sizes, etc.

[Jeffr]

Hey lee, it was great chatting. I'll definitely talk to you if we need to make a box for the thing. Good to see you back on the forum.

[pritchet74]

Di2 FD is $750-ish. I would expect it to be that FD he was referencing.

[Jeffr]

The price will really depend on whether I have to cut up a di2 wiring harness to make each part or not and how much it costs to make an enclosure. There's too many variables to say for sure. If I fully miniaturize it I will probably have to pay the PCB company for assembly as well. In small runs the PCB already costs $60 a piece, assembly can be very expensive on top of that.

[JudgeNick]

Jason, Jeff, this is truly incredible. I think this is at least as big a leap forward as Di2 itself was over mechanical. Amazing, amazing stuff. I'm kicking myself for not taking a video of this in action. You guys are just nuts. Thanks for the excellent writeup and in-progress shots. This setup would be KILLER for triathlon. Ok, for anything, really. But the less you have to look down at your chainline and put your aero helmet tail into the wind, the better.

[maxxevv]

Hey lee, it was great chatting. I'll definitely talk to you if we need to make a box for the thing. Good to see you back on the forum.

Hey Jeff,

just let me know. I do have resources/vendors in the areas of CNC machining as well as electronics packaging, though it remains to be seen if they are of the types that will suit your needs.

It would be most interesting if there is a switch over mode for sequential as well as normal shifting in normal Di2!

The ideas we floated the other day would be most interesting, and I think aesthetically most intriguing too.

[pritchet74]

I am pretty sure that it could be sequential or regular shifting. Jeff will verify though.

[hooker_elite]

Bravo, Jeff!

[jever98]

Hats off to the innovators. This is truly great stuff and pushing the envelope in a whole new dimension.

[jever98]

@Jeffr: a friend asked if the source code of the brain is public or private. Maybe releasing it would spur further development by the community? As a thought....

[Jeffr]

I am still looking at options for commercializing it. If that doesn't work I might be willing to open-source it.

[KF]

I just recently had the chance to try Di2. The shifting is out of this world, and I am currently finding a buyer for my son, so I can afford to buy the groupset (which (as any other bike bit) is insanely expensive in Denmark)...

So... I want Di2 - after reading this, I want to have this "Jeffr-mod" too - that would be SOO cool to put on the bike of my freams at some point.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, that this is by far the most innovative, and exciting bike build I have ever seen. Great job, guys!!