First Impressions: Stetina’s Paydirt on the New Shimano GRX Di2 Group

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Last weekend I had the privilege of attending a press event in Nevada where Shimano announced the new 2x12 GRX Di2. All the lurid details on the drivetrain are available here.

At the end of the press event we participated in Stetina’s Paydirt , a gravel race in Carson City that has enduro-style timed segments and untimed transfers (and a $10,000 purse for women, which is rad). The three timed segments included some descending, some singletrack, a good amount of climbing, and a lot of sand, with time in between to soft-pedal, slather on more sunscreen, pound pickle juice, and eat glizzies with zero pressure.

The consensus after the race was that this format is more fun, more sustainable, more enjoyable, and all around a better experience for us than a normal race would have been. Whether you’re a pro or a first timer, I would highly recommend seeking out a gravel race with timed segments – I bet you’ll like it.

Gravel is in the eye of the beholder?

Earlier this year I wrote about my experience with mechanical 12-speed Shimano GRX . I don’t want to fangirl too hard but after another four months of riding the group (including one nasty, muddy gravel race in the pouring rain in Olympia, WA) it has solidified its place as the best drop-bar drivetrain I’ve ridden. So I was curious to get on the electronic Di2 2x12 group, knowing that it includes many of the details I love on the mechanical version but has two major differences: a front derailleur and a few extra batteries.

I was the only gear writer at the press event who represented a mountain bike publication. It was interesting to hear what the more road-focused folks had to say about the system, since they’re all quite familiar with Shimano’s recently-updated Dura Ace or Ultegra Di2 drivetrains. They care a lot more about big gears and power meters and switching screens on their cycling computers than I do – I was more preoccupied with the fact that it’s impossible or at least inadvisable to jerry rig a dropper post into a Di2 system.

It was a good reminder that I exist in a bubble. It’s been a long time since I’ve lived in a place where there’s enough good paved road riding to suit a true roadie (not to mention cars are terrifying). I have the luxury of mostly riding drop bars on nice singletrack and steep, gated logging roads. I don’t spend much time pacelining on smooth tarmac, or tucking on paved descents trying to keep up with heavy dudes, or obsessing about lactic thresholds or power output or heart rate. But a lot of the people I met last week do all those things when they ride drop bar bikes, so they are looking for different things out of their drivetrain than I am.

Drivetrain Performance

GRX Di2 was a great drivetrain for Stetina’s Paydirt. The race had a lot of flat paved transfer sections that called for pushing a big gear and no descents technical enough to warrant a dropper post. The granny gear was generous and I love the texture and shape of the GRX hoods and brake levers. I appreciate having a strong chain retention mechanism on the rear derailleur (just don’t call it a clutch).

And as many reviewers have said, Shimano drivetrains shift so well and so smoothly, you sometimes don’t even notice you’ve changed gears. Without cables, shifting is even smoother, especially for the front derailleur. No mechanical 2x group I've used could dream of having the crisp, easy, and decisive front-ring shifting of Di2.

But I was a little overwhelmed by having eight shift buttons (including the satellite shifters on the drops). When I use SRAM’s answer to electronic gravel shifting, EXPLR eTap AXS, I almost feel like there aren’t enough buttons. Using my left hand to shift on the cassette takes some mental adjustment, and the “screenshot” double hand action of actuating a dropper post is weird.

Conversely, Di2 might have too many buttons for me. I didn’t link any of the buttons to my Garmin because I never page through screens while riding, and I didn’t fiddle with the system enough before the race to customize the shifting into a configuration that meshed well with my brain. Even after seventy miles, I couldn’t decide if I preferred using the lever or the “Front Shift Next” enabled hood button to shift the front derailleur, and I was still sometimes mis-shifting on the cassette because the two buttons on the brake lever aren’t easy to differentiate by feel.

These operator errors were fine on the road but I wouldn’t want to risk them in a cyclocross race or on singletrack with any abrupt moves or features.

And as I mentioned in the product overview, the battery isn’t removable and you can’t carry a spare. (Well, technically you could, but with a bunch of delicate wires that require a specific tool to detach, this isn’t something I’d want to swap in the field.) The charger needs to be attached to the charging port carefully and in the correct direction – do not hamfist this, even though you’ll be trying to charge Di2 crouched in your garage dealing with a port on the butt of the rear derailleur.

Riding this drivetrain and hanging out with people who spend a lot of time on pavement made me reflect on what “gravel” really is. Is it mountain biking with curly bars and no suspension? Is it throwing down big watts on chunky dirt roads with 500 other people (or 5,000, if you’re in Kansas)? Or is it just connecting road routes that include unpaved sections? Mechanical wide-range 1x12 GRX fits the gravel riding that I love, but I was reminded in Nevada that there are multiple definitions for “gravel”, and this new GRX Di2 group is well suited to other kinds of riding.

My Takeaway

While it might not be the first choice for mountain bikers who like to dabble in gravel, Shimano’s 2x12 GRX Di2 system is a polished product that performs well and has a ton of customization options. I’ll be putting a lot more miles on the group so stay tuned for a long-term review.