Shimano road shifter/caliper compatibility

dombo6
dombo6 Posts: 582
edited June 2016 in Workshop
I am in the process of building up a bike using new 10speed ultegra 6700 front and rear mechs, and brake calipers, using my existing 6600 shifters (easier to take the whole handlebar/stem/levers cockpit from my old bike as a complete unit). However the blurb with the calipers says they must be used with the new 6700 shifters, and compatibility charts say the same?
Am I ok to use the old shifters? They work fine with the derailleurs and seem to operate the brakes ok, but Shimano talk about having the correct cable pull with the matching shifters.
Thanks for any advice.

Comments

  • dgunthor
    dgunthor Posts: 644
    will be fine (with the added bonus that the 6600 shifters work better than the 6700!)
  • dombo6
    dombo6 Posts: 582
    dgunthor wrote:
    will be fine (with the added bonus that the 6600 shifters work better than the 6700!)

    Thanks. I had read that about them working "better". What is it about the 6700, apart form both cables being undertape routing, that makes them worse?
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Dombo6 wrote:
    dgunthor wrote:
    will be fine (with the added bonus that the 6600 shifters work better than the 6700!)

    Thanks. I had read that about them working "better". What is it about the 6700, apart form both cables being undertape routing, that makes them worse?

    That's it. The concealed gear cable routing introduced a lot more drag which the other components weren't optimised to deal with. They got it right with 6800.

    I have 5600 on one bike and 4500 on the other, both with exposed gear cables which give a light shift action and ease of cable replacement.

    I'm avoiding the 'upgrade' to 5700 or 4600 just to get concealed cables because I know they won't work as well.

    5800 and the new 4700 (once they sort out the left shifter issues) would be the better move

Categories