Can I upgrade to Ultegra brake calipers with 2300 shifters?

deadhead1971

Hi all

The bike I use in winter has Shimano 2300 STI shifters. The brake calipers are pretty awful and I'd like to upgrade them.

I put Ultegra brakes on my summer bike last year and couldn't believe what a difference they made.

Question is - will my 2300 shifters be compatible if I get another set of Ultegra brakes for this winter bike?
Some sites state this on the product blurb - "Must be used in conjunction with ST-7900 or ST-6700 STIs for correct leverage", but one often wonders if this isn't just a marketing gimmick to get us to upgrade the whole lot.

Grateful for any advice!
thanks

gozzy

The usual advice on here is to try changing your pads for better braking, koolstop orange often come highly recommended.

If you want to change the calipers look out for second hand 105 5600 or ultegra 6600 which will work fine with those 2300 shifters. Shimano slightly changed the pull ratio with 5/6700 brakes but it appears in practice most people seem to report them working fine with older shifters, ymmv.

tincaman

deadhead1971 wrote:

Hi all

The bike I use in winter has Shimano 2300 STI shifters. The brake calipers are pretty awful and I'd like to upgrade them.

I put Ultegra brakes on my summer bike last year and couldn't believe what a difference they made.

Question is - will my 2300 shifters be compatible if I get another set of Ultegra brakes for this winter bike?
Some sites state this on the product blurb - "Must be used in conjunction with ST-7900 or ST-6700 STIs for correct leverage", but one often wonders if this isn't just a marketing gimmick to get us to upgrade the whole lot.

Grateful for any advice!
thanks

As you already have the calipers fitted to the summer bike, just take off and try the front one and see if it works

deadhead1971

I was going to try that but then I thought it wouldn't harm to just test the water here first.
Thanks for the suggestions chaps!

slowbike

Well the 105 callipers worked with my 2300 levers, so ultegra will be fine