Shimano 105 5703 vs Ultegra 6603

George_Walker
George_Walker Posts: 56
edited November 2010 in Workshop
Just a quick question is it worth paying the £15 or so more for a pair of 5703 105 shifters over the older ultegra ones as obviously there are some features that have trickled down from dura ace 7900 but is it really that noticable. The bike it would be going on already has a triple chainset because it is a dawes galaxy and furthermore would there be a noticable difference in shifteing with a dyna sys deore xt rear derailleur and would my exsisting deore chainset be satisfactory or would I have to invest in something a bit better?

Comments

  • CarlosDSanchez
    CarlosDSanchez Posts: 455
    Are you changing your chain and cassette for 10 speed versions as well? Looking at the spec of your bike its a 9 speed and both those shifters are 10. Assuming you are changing the chain and cassette for 10 speed versions it will all work fine. The fd403 front derailer is actually for use with flat bar shifters, but if it works okay with your current sti's it should be okay.
    Dolan Preffisio
    2010 Cube Agree SL
  • George_Walker
    George_Walker Posts: 56
    I am going to be changing the cassette and chain but mine is an 08 model so it has a tiagra 4500 derailleur which I have since replaced with a 5603 105 derailleur so again all that should be needed is the new shifters cassette and chain. But it wasd just a question of whether ultegra 6603 are better than 105 5703 for my current set up as it is not being used for touring for commuting only and I live in the flatest part of the country I suppose I could get away with any gearing ratio.
  • PeterBL
    PeterBL Posts: 209
    I would go with 5703 shifters just for the sake of under the handlebar cable routing.
  • Chris James
    Chris James Posts: 1,040
    Seconded, for a touring bike then concealed cables are better, allowing easier fitting of barbags, for example.

    Also, if you mount lights on the bars then the cables don't get in the way.

    Possibly the 6603 will have slightly better shifting, but there won't be much in it.
  • George_Walker
    George_Walker Posts: 56
    Also would my deore chainset be okay for this to go from 9 speed to 10 speed
  • Chris James
    Chris James Posts: 1,040
    I use a 9 speed chainset and front derailleur and 10 speed STIs, chain, rear derailleur and cassette.

    It all works fine.
  • PeterBL
    PeterBL Posts: 209
    Deore chainset might be tricky. Road derailleurs are designed to accomodate large rings (50-53) as the biggest, while most MTB-chainsets only have 44 as the biggest. But the chainrings match with the chain, and distance between chainrings shouldn't be a problem either.

    So what chainring would you run it with?
  • Chris James
    Chris James Posts: 1,040
    I assumed he would be running a Deore front mech too.

    The rear deraulleur needs to be sized accordingly - what is the max teeth diff between big/big and small /small gear combos, and does this match the rear derailleur's stated capacity?

    The 'speed' of the chainset shouldn't be a problem though.
  • PeterBL
    PeterBL Posts: 209
    A Deore front mech will not match STI shifters. The cable pull is very different. Unfortunately there aren't really any front mechs that will match the cable pull of STI's and at the same time match a MTB-crankset. But looking at Dawes Cycles, my guess is that your current setup is a trible road front mech and a 26-36-48 crankset. The crankset is outside the specs of the road front mech, but if it is running fine don't bother changing it. Specs of mechs should always be taken with a grain of salt.


    At the rear, 9-speed MTB mechs will be fine if you need more capacity (10 speed won't, so dynasys is a no go).
  • George_Walker
    George_Walker Posts: 56
    So it would probably be a better idea to stay with a 9 speed drivetrain and go for a set of tiagra shifters instead?
  • PeterBL
    PeterBL Posts: 209
    Why are you replacing shifters in the first place? Are the current ones broken?
  • George_Walker
    George_Walker Posts: 56
    I just don't like bar end shifters and as my route to work envolves a lot of changing gear because of traffic lights and constantly slowing down and speeding up I wanted something that is less awkward in those situations.
  • PeterBL
    PeterBL Posts: 209
    If you are satisfied with you gearing options, I would stay with 9-speed. Maybe pick up some secondhand 6500 or Sora's, if you are fine with the thumbshifter. This requires a road front mech, so you need to be absolutely sure you have that (I think bar ends can handle all types of front mechs, so be sure what you have).

    Another option would be Campagnolo shifters via the Shimergo method. Google for more info. This would be best with a MTB front mech, but they come rather cheap and Campagnolo shifters are much cheaper than Shimano.

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