105 5700 levers over Ultegra 6600

gepont

Hello!

I have a road bike with a full ultegra 6600 set (I know it is old, but that's what I had money for ) And I was thinking about changing the levers. There is mainly two reasons why I was thinking about the change. First the 6600 levers are pretty fat and it is not that comfortable all the time. The other one is only the look because the older one is really bulky and the external cable routing is not my style. The only option that I found is the 105 5700 levers, cause they are competable altough much cheaper then the 6700 Ultegra.

My question is, that is it a good idea to change it, or I will only find myself with a worse piece of hardware on my bike?

Thank you in advance!

andcp

gepont wrote:

My question is, that is it a good idea to change it, or I will only find myself with a worse piece of hardware on my bike?

Don't forget I'm only a bloke on the internet. One of my bikes has 6600 and one has 5700. Even though the 105 stuff is newer, I prefer the shifting on the Ultegra; it's smoother, but probably not as accurate. In terms of comfort I have no issues with either sets of shifters. The question is, why do you want to change? if the Ultegra is running OK, I would leave it and upgrade to a 5800 groupset when I could afford it - this (IMHO) would be a stepchange. Another issue may be the compatability between 5700 shifters and your existing groupset items - see here: viewtopic.php?t=12883346

jgsi

I put 5700 on my CAAD as a stopgap.. nearly 3 years later. despite me trying to break them and abuse them, they are as sweet as when new.
I have no real desire to go to one additional gear. it makes sod all difference to the real world of amateur cycling, despite what is spouted on forums. I'm just annoyed that prices for Dura Ace 7900 still refuse to budge downwards.. that is step up in perceived 'quality' not to Ultegra... I still have fond memories of 6700 LH shifter failing after a few rides in the wet over winter presumably because it felt itself too good for the job and a RH shifter that felt a new cable was a step too far and just broke.

amrushton

My wifes shifter failed last week (6600). She uses a triple so we got the 5700. Seem fine to me. Really if it's not broke don't fix it unless you really care about the cables

andy_s_t

I have 105 5600 levers on my CdF and 105 5700 on my other two bikes. The 5600 shift is far nicer than the 5700 IMO, the external cables don't make them look at 'cool' but you may notice that the shift isn't as smooth and light.

keef66

Andy_S_T wrote:

I have 105 5600 levers on my CdF and 105 5700 on my other two bikes. The 5600 shift is far nicer than the 5700 IMO, the external cables don't make them look at 'cool' but you may notice that the shift isn't as smooth and light.

+1 to that. I have the externally cabled 5600 on one bike and 4500 on the other and really like the light shift action and ease of replacing gear cables.

If ever I 'upgrade' to concealed cables it will be to 5800, not for an extra cog but for the improved front shifting.

Actually, the new Tiagra 4700 might suit me better...

mikenetic

I'd definitely stick with the 6600. I've worked on loads of bikes with the x700 generation of stuff, and Shimano took a bit of a backward step with the shifting. It works alright if you use the new generation polymer cables, but it's more troublesome than the old stuff.

The new 11-spd is a different ball game entirely, it's a leap forward from the last 10-spd generation.

But for now, save your pennies and when the time is right go for a full upgrade.

arthur_scrimshaw

keef66 wrote:

Andy_S_T wrote:

I have 105 5600 levers on my CdF and 105 5700 on my other two bikes. The 5600 shift is far nicer than the 5700 IMO, the external cables don't make them look at 'cool' but you may notice that the shift isn't as smooth and light.

+1 to that. I have the externally cabled 5600 on one bike and 4500 on the other and really like the light shift action and ease of replacing gear cables.

If ever I 'upgrade' to concealed cables it will be to 5800, not for an extra cog but for the improved front shifting.

Actually, the new Tiagra 4700 might suit me better...

And another +1 to that, apart from the aesthetics 5700 is a retrograde step from 5600, far heavier action and more prone to indexing issues (because of the cable routing?) I also have the hydraulic 11 speed 'Ultegra' as well (although not branded as such) and the shifting action on that is superb.

matt_n-2

I've got 5600 shifters on my winter bike, the shift action is so light, they're lovely, so would imagine 6600 are that little better.

I've also got 6700 and have to say the shift whilst more direct doesn't feel as nice as even the 5600, down to the external routing imo.

mugensi

Like most others have said, stick to 6600. From experience, 5700 is horrible in comparison (especially the FD shifting) I replaced a full 5700 groupset with 6800 and was considering upgrading my winter bike which was 4500 9spd Tiagra to 5700 but decided against it as 4500 was much nicer to use so sold the 5700 groupset.

If your determined to upgrade then go for 4700 Tiagra which is much nicer and slicker/smoother than 5700 although you will need to change front and rear derailleurs too.

gepont

Thank you for everyone!

As you recommended I will stick with the 6600 and when I will have a deeper pocket I will go with a full upgrade.