Etixx Di2 remix: Shimano shifters reinterpretted at Tour of Flanders
Belgian powerhouse squad rewires and reconfigures satellite shifters
This article originally appeared on BikeRadar
With Shimano Di2 electric shifting, you can shift wherever you can put a button. Stock, satellite options, however, have thus far been limited to so-called sprint shifters with a short wire length, and the climber switch, which Shimano designed to be operated with the thumb. At the Tour of Flanders, Etixx-Quick Step riders rolled out with four different satellite configurations — plus the standard lever shifters, of course — thanks to some ingenuity from team mechanics.
Iljo Keiss and Stijn Vandenbergh both had sprint shifters on their handlebars almost touching their stems — a position similar to what Shimano proposed with the climber switch, but with much less bulk. To do so requiring splicing wires.
Mechanic Kevin Desmedt told BikeRadar the team added a little wire on each to get the buttons where the riders wanted them.
Matteo Trentin had a stock climber switch — but positioned on the front of his handlebar, for use with the index finger instead of the thumb. He also had sprint shifters in the Shimano-prescribed position just below the hood clamp.
Zdenek Stybar had the Etixx-extended sprint shifters up high and tight on his handlebars, but his faced forwards, like Trentin's climber switch.
Notably, all the riders but Trentin and Niki Terpstra used flat-top ergo handlebars. Keiss had the most dramatically shaped bars, the FSA K-Wing Compact.
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Click through the gallery above for a closer look at the various Di2 configurations, plus other details on the bikes of Belgium's powerhouse squad.
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