Shimano XT Di2 E-Bike Drivetrain: Setup Help, Impressions & Discussion

In March of 2023, I spent two days zipping around islands in Croatia on Shimano’s automatic shifting XT Di2 e-bike drivetrain. You see why I struggle to describe what I do for work? Fast forward to the start of 2024, and I was finally armed with a long-term test bike and intentions to uncover a perfect new world of unconscious shifting. Goodbye, thumb-actuated movements; hello to sending emails and learning a new language during climbs with all the extra time and brain space I’d be allotted.

But here I am, months into testing, and my opinions of XT Di2 are mostly the same as the ones I formed in the first two days. I’ve struggled to figure out how to relay useful insight into a product that isn’t necessarily my cup of tea, while balancing the fact that the technology is in its infancy, and others might see advantages that are in my blind spots. I created this forum post instead of a typical article to pass along my notes and impressions during testing so that riders with XT Di2 can ask questions and add to my impressions. I would also like to start a discussion around automatic shifting on mountain bikes—do you want it? How would you use it? Should it stay on e-bikes? Are we getting concerningly lazy? Who’s it for, etc. etc. 

▪️ Quick Overview ▪️

If you don’t know about Shimano’s XT Di2 system, or just got an e-bike that’s shifting to the beat of its own drum, read my original article for a crash course. TLDR: There are two XT Di2 groupsets that are only compatible with Shimano’s EP801 or 601 motor. The shifter and derailleur are wired and powered by the battery. To receive automatic shifting, you have to use the 11-speed Linkglide option. There is a 12-speed Hyperglide+ option, but it does not feature automatic shifting, only Free Shift (shifting without pedaling). You can purchase either drivetrain if you currently own an e-bike with EP801 or 601. The 11-speed shifter, derailleur, cassette, and chain will run you ~$725 USD, while the 12-speed parts cost ~$775 USD.  

I’ve been testing the 11-speed Linkglide XT Di2 drivetrain. Here are the two shifting features available with the drivetrain and the tools you have to adjust them to match your pedaling habits and trails.

Auto Shift: Gear changes that occur when pedaling or coasting without rider interference. In general, the system downshifts to easier gears when speed and cadence slow and torque increases. When cadence increases and torque drops, the system shifts into harder gears. Manual shifts can always override automatic shifts, and Auto Shift can be turned off.

Free Shift: The ability to shift gears without pedaling. This feature can be taken advantage of manually. You can also turn ‘Automatic Free Shift’ on/off, which enables automatic shifts while you aren’t pedaling.

Shift timing setting: This adjustment helps Auto Shift match how fast or slow you want to pedal your bike. It’s displayed as a cadence number, and comes set to 72 rpm, with a max of 100 rpm, and a minimum of 50 rpm. A lower cadence number will cause the drivetrain to trend towards a harder gear to keep you spinning slower. A higher cadence number will cause the drivetrain to trend to an easier gear to keep you spinning faster. Shift timing is adjustable in Shimano's App, or on the bike via the display unit.

Climbing response setting: This adjusts how easily the bike shifts to an easier gear when the rider pushes harder on the pedals going uphill. The lower the climb response, or ‘quicker’ the response, the less effort it takes from the rider for the bike to downshift. The higher the climb response, or more ‘stable’ the response, the more rider output it takes to achieve an easier pedaling gear. 

Start Gear: This determines the lowest gear Auto Shift will shift into when Automatic Free Shift is enabled. The lower the gear, the easier it will be to pedal after coasting and slowing down. Personally, I didn’t mess with this setting much, as my trails rarely have moments where I’m coming to a stop. It’s a simple adjustment within the app, so try a few gears to see what works best for you. 

▪️On The Trail ▪️

After months of riding my local spots around San Diego, I’ve accumulated my notes of various Auto Shift settings. Hopefully, what I experienced in my ideal setup and what surrounding settings rode like will give you an idea of where to start or make changes during your setup process. I rode mostly singletrack trails with a mix of grades and features, as well as some sustained road climbs. I’d describe my pedaling habits as slightly above average when it comes to intensity and output, but I ride with flats, so I’m not spinning as fast or aggressive as some. 

▪️ Settings and Discoveries ▪️

➡️ Shift Timing Setup

What does 72 rpm (stock setting) feel like? Good starting point for riding at a casual to moderate effort or when riding trails that aren’t too steep or flat. Shifts tend to happen slower or later than preferred because your cadence has to drop fairly low to cause a shift into an easier gear. Inversely, when you hit steep punches, and you are pedaling hard, it tends to shift up too soon to drop your cadence back into the target zone.  

What does 60 rpm feel like? It shifts into a harder gear too often to be functional on anything but flat terrain. If you plan to use your eMTB for commuting or have very gradual climbs, I could see going as low as 65-70 rpm.

What does 85 rpm feel like? Shifts are less frequent than at a lower setting, and trends towards an easier pedaling gear to keep cadence higher. This setting excelled during climbs that required keeping the cranks moving to carry momentum over technical features. The downside was that once I would clear a tricky section and wanted to slow down pedaling, the bike would shift into an easier gear to keep my cadence in the same zone. It also meant that on consistent, moderate road climbs, I was spinning faster than I preferred. 

What does 100 rpm feel like? Trends towards an easier gear to allow a high cadence to be reached, but tends to never shift up because it’s too hard to sustain such a high cadence. I don’t see riders using 90-100 rpm unless you've got too much caffeine in your system. 

My happy place— 78 rpm: This shift timing allowed me to climb singletrack at a moderately aggressive pace and have enough rpm’s on deck for quick punches, while also remaining in a consistent gear during gradually changing pitches.Any higher, and I had to spin too fast to get the bike to shift into a hard gear. Any lower, and I ended up in too hard of a gear too often.

Shift Timing in a nutshell: I think most riders should expect to land between 70-80 rpm if they are riding mountain bike trails with a mix of pitches, tricky climbs, and consistent grinds. If you like to spin fast, or ride clipped in, or have steep, challenging climbs, try a high shift timing. If you primarily use your e-bike as a shuttle replacement and climb roads, try a lower shift timing. Go in 2-3 rpm increments when making changes.

➡️ Climb Response Setup

What does 1 feel like? Pretty unusable as the system shifts down incredibly fast once you begin to lay down a normal amount of power. I would only see a climb response of 1 and 2 being useful if you don’t produce a lot of power when pedaling and you need the system to be able to downshift under little force; or you have really steep with features that come up out of no-where, and you need the system to get into a lower gear really fast.

What does 3 (stock) feel like? Good sweet spot of remaining in the same gear during subtle changes in rider output on mellower terrain, matched with fast response time when you hit a steep punch and need an easier gear. 

What does 7 feel like? Much slower to downshift during changes in trail pitch and rider input, requiring frequent manual shifts. It was best for climbs with a sustained grade or during extended periods of constant rider output—basically, any situation where you don’t need to shift down that much. It was the worst for technical climbs as it left me in too hard of a gear too often. 

My happy place—climb response 3 and 5: A climb response of 3 was good for my everyday singletrack climbs that were steeper than what I would climb on a regular bike, with intermittent rock gardens or ledges. The bike would shift down in a timely manner, but wouldn’t continue to downshift as I sustained a solid output. The downside was that once I would hit a mellower section of trail or a road climb, where my cadence wasn’t as high but my power output would spike during brief moments of increased incline, the system would start to bounce between gears. Climb response 5 solved this problem—the system stayed in the same gear more often and was less sensitive to my input. I did find that I exerted more energy and had to rely on the motor torque to pull me through undulations. 

Climb response in a nutshell: The stock setting will appeal to most riders due to its response time when you encounter tech features that require a burst of power. It also keeps the system from bouncing between gears too often on moderately undulating trails, allowing you to pedal a bit harder to get over little rises without causing a gear change. I don’t see many riders going below the stock setting, as it causes the drivetrain to downshift at a rate that matches very few terrain types. Going to a higher (slower) response time is more useful for riders who can push a tall gear or those who are hitting sustained, casual climbs and want to remain in the same gear more often—even if that means relying more on the motor when steep sections come up fast. 

➡️ Helpful Notes

Riders should create two Auto Shift profiles in Shimano’s E-TUBE Project App: one with a faster climb response for tech climbs, and one with a slower climb response setting for constant, flatter climbs. You can change your shift timing as well, but personally, I like to pedal within the same cadence range all the time, so I left shift timing the same between my two profiles. You can easily toggle between the profiles with the third button on the shifter. 

I didn’t feel like shift timing and climb response cross-contaminated much during setup. I found that getting my shift timing set to a range that kept me in the right gear the most often was best done first. And then the climb response really only came into play when the grade of a trail would change.

If you are really riding aggressively, you likely have a shift timing that is set high to push a fast cadence, and I would match that with a climb response that is also high. This will keep you from bouncing between gears as the pitch of a trail changes since you likely can produce a few extra watts to get over little climbs without needing to be given an easier pedaling gear. At the other end of the spectrum, if you like a lower shift timing setting, I would try a 2 or 3 climb response setting since you will, on average, be pushing a harder gear during a ride. When you encounter a section that requires some fast pedal strokes, you’ll want the system to get you to an easier gear quicker. 

▪️Useful Links ▪️

Complete EP8 groupset - https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/ep8-ep801.html

Shimano's Auto Shift manual - https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/technologies/component/details/autofreeshiftpromo/autocustomize.html

Shimano's Free Shift info - https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/technologies/component/details/steps/free-shift.html 

▪️ Long Term Durability ▪️

The XT Di2 Linkglide 11-speed drivetrain is the blue-collar drivetrain for e-bikes—it never complains, puts in long hours, and provides the same reliable performance day in and day out. It might not be the prettiest or always sound great during shifts, but it works flawlessly 99% of the time. I don’t see any area of concern after months of testing, and figure I could replace a few chains before I’d have to consider replacing the more expensive pieces. The 11-50T range was also never limiting on my trials, and I could care less about the extra weight compared to the 12-speed Hyperglide+ option—the weight is a small trade-off to receive both automatic shifting features. Lastly, I loved the tight, crisp feel of the shifter. I always seem to double shift with SRAM’s new Pod controllers, but I never had that issue with the XT levers.

Having ridden Transmission on a few e-bikes, I would put the Linkglide 11-speed on top when it comes to shifting consistency and reliability over time. Transmission has smoother shifts, but after a few months of use, I’ve found that the quality and accuracy of shifts diminishes.

‼️What’s The Bottom Line? ‼️

The automatic shifting Shimano has achieved with XT Di2 makes for a novel experience but not one I’d consider superior. Up to this point, I've never found shifting very cumbersome. Now that I’ve ridden a system that handles it for me, that opinion has been reinforced. I’m definitely high maintenance about being in the right gear and enjoy having total control over ensuring that happens. Handing that control over to some algorithms proved to be exciting and impressive at times, but overall was not better than what my brain can communicate to my right thumb. 

I don’t think the Auto Shift feature is something everyone will appreciate or that it will massively transform the way you ride—at least not yet. Auto Shift gave me the right gear 75-85% of the time throughout a ride, which is pretty good. Unfortunately, I struggled to accept that being in the wrong gear for 15-25% of a ride was satisfactory. Auto Shift performed best when trails allowed for a consistent cadence and rider input, or changes in grade happened gradually. Anytime there was a quick change in pitch or a sudden tech feature, shifts regularly came a moment (or two) later than I wanted. Such sections usually required the most finesse and focus to clean, which is when automatic shifting would have been the most beneficial. I did try a faster climb response, which did provide faster downshifts. The problem was that it often downshifted an extra gear or would continue to downshift as I was pedaling hard to make it up something. A climb response of 3 worked best once the system had time to shift down, as it remained in the right gear under power. Unfortunately, I'd usually be in the middle of navigating a technical section before I finally achieved the correct gear if I didn't initiate a manual shift.

I know Shimano is tirelessly working to make Auto Shift as intuitive as our minds, and future versions will hopefully narrow that gap. For now, I think experienced riders will find themselves dropping periodic manual shifts to be in that just-right gear. The alternative is to adjust your pedaling habits to give Auto Shift an extra moment when it needs it. I only see this as a justifiable option for riders looking to cruise up mellow climbs or new riders.

The M.V.P. of XT Di2 was Free Shift and Auto Free Shift (automatic shifts when coasting). Shifting up as your speed increases during a descent or dropping a few gears going into a tight corner or g-out opens up a heightened level of precision. It feels like you’re thinking one step ahead of the trail, always anticipating and ready for the next pedal stroke. I’d expect everyone to find benefits from both features. I can only dream of someday implementing this on a regular mountain bike. Wait, did you say gearbox?

That’s all I’ve got (for now) on Shimano’s XT Di2 shifting features and drivetrain performance. As more e-bikes come stock with the drivetrain, I’m excited to hear what other riders think of Auto and Free Shift and how they apply them during a ride. Please leave any questions about setup, how the system operates in specific situations, and thoughts about automated shifting below. I’d love this thread to act as a source for insight and discussion