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and have/am toying with the idea of switching to Di2 a la with added sprint shifters for shifting in the drops
I've had this setup on a cross bike for the past few years and really rate it. Shifting has been absolutely flawless and the Hylex brakes require minimal maintenance, just the odd sticky piston which is easily resolved.
andyp
Skant
Issues/updates:
Bars:
Not totally in love with the bars but get on well enough with them. I like the flat drop of classic bars so tried out a Ritchey classic but didn't like to hood position it gave. Zipp SL88 (which I have on my track bike) offer's the best of both worlds but the reach is too long so will probably stick with a compact bar. I prefer a round top so will likely swap out the Deda RHM02 for an 01
Stem:
I like the looks and ride of the steel stem but only realised while cross racing that how much it flexes and so I'm having two stems painted: the steel for the looks and an alu one for the ride
Shifting:
Another issue that only became apparent in racing - in cross I ride almost exclusively on the hoods but found gravel racing that I wanted to ride in the drops more as holding an aero position on the hoods over rough terrain was roasting my triceps. The Gevenalle shifter is only accessable from the hoods and I found it super annoying having to come out of the drops to brake, change gears and set up for corners then accelerate, shift and go back to the drops on exiting.
I love the braking performance and feel of the TRP's so want to keep them and have/am toying with the idea of switching to Di2 a la with added sprint shifters for shifting in the drops:
For now I'm sticking with mechanical as I do like the Gevenalle outside of race situations and it's bombproof and suitable for long tours, will be evaluating in coming races this year though
Chainring:
Had some issues with chain drop using the Wolftooth (no doubt due to many hundreds of climbing km's in the smallest gear with extreme chain line causing excessive wear very quickly) - have bought a Garbaruk chainring which looks to have longer teeth in the hope it'll stop the problem
Cassette:
With the chain drop issue in mind I've gone for an 11 - 46 XT M8000 to broaden the gear range and reduce the amount of time I'll spend at the extreme
Wheelset:
Have been running these rims on the FTF without issue but on this bike a known issue reared it's ugly head in fairly short order, namely: the rim cracked around every drive-side spoke hole. Stans have since completely redesigned the rim but I'm not taking the chance and have gone with the slightly robuster DT Swiss XR391.
I also didn't really like the feel of the 105 rear hub: I've never before felt that pick-up was an issue but it's super slow on the these - you get a "clang" feeling when you jump of the pedals coming out of corners caused by the lag. I've gone with Hope Pro 4s as I've always been a fan of the reliability and servicibility and chose the 6 bolt option, again with a thought to future touring.
The old brake rotors were totally worn out so I've got some Hope rotors coming to match the hubs too.
Tyres:
tbh I've been very happy with boths sets of tyres for their intended uses and they've both got life left in them so they'll definitely see more use but I've always been a fan of Conti tyres and have heard good things about the Terra Speed so am keen to give them a go