# Ultegra 6800 ferrules, lots of them - CXWrench, you there?



## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

I'm installing an Ultegra 6800 group which came with a lot of different cable ferrules. 










#1 (left most) and #2 came on the pieces of housing shipped with the groupset. 

#3 has a notch in it. Does it go inside the shifter? I see there is a little horizontal place where it seem like it would go.

#4 has no notch and is similar to #2 but longer.

#2 & #3 & #4 has some variation between the size of the hole.

I have no idea what #5 is. Is this to create a sealed shifting system?

#6 & #7. These look like they would go into the rear brake caliper. Only noticeable different is the length of the black bit at the end.

The instructions that came with the shifters did not describe how any of this works of course.

Thanks in advance for help.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

I don't normally use all of the Shimano ferrules cuz they've got o-rings which can cause a little too much drag. But, let me see if I can figure out what you've got. 
#1 normal ferrule, prob used where housing goes into frame or on down tube stops. 
#2 into barrel adjuster on rear der because the cable makes a sharp bend coming out of barrel adjuster to anchor bolt.
#3 as you thought, in the shifter.
#4 on chain stay, front of the last bit of housing to derailleur. rubber thing goes over end like you thought to 'seal' it there.
#6/7 are prob for brakes as you though. not sure about difference. 

I've never seen any instructions on their placement either. Maybe someone else will chime in if they know something I don't know. I haven't had time to keep up on my S-Tec training (the videos are sooooo exciting...) so there may be something there to explain. I'll check and let you know if I find anything.


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## goodboyr (Apr 19, 2006)

Ask, and you shall receive...(I only said this because I've been watching too many Easter/Passover movies this weekend!)

https://www.paul-lange.de/support/shimano/explosionszeichnungen_archiv/SM//Small_Parts-1327R.pdf

And in this manual, it shows where they go:

http://si.shimano.com/php/download.php?file=pdf/dm/DM-ST0002-04-ENG.pdf


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## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

Awesome thanks a lot guys.


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## nhluhr (Sep 9, 2010)

A quick reference:










Note, on the most recent ST9001 kit I received, the ferrule that fits into the rear derailleur was actually a metal one with the plastic tip that slots in and protects the cable from fraying its poly coating over the edge of the outlet. I'm sure people have seen this on the early 11spd setups: https://cdn.mos.bikeradar.imdserve....et/road/1355309022683-4tndihlq363q-700-80.jpg

The new ones have that little plastic nipple inside the metal ferrule which reduces that.


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## mikiek (Aug 18, 2014)

Jeez - after seeing this now I am wondering. Just replaced the shifter cables on a Ultegra 6800 using OT-SP41 shifter cable set. The ferrules included are nothing like what you are showing. There is 1 resin ferrule and 5 aluminum ferrules and none of them have that skinny tube coming out of them. The OE ferrules (all resin) did have the tubes.

Do I need those? Like deviousalex I'm stumped on which ones go where. They all seem to fit anywhere I need to put one.


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## mikiek (Aug 18, 2014)

mikiek said:


> Jeez - after seeing this now I am wondering. Just replaced the shifter cables on a Ultegra 6800 using OT-SP41 shifter cable set. The ferrules included are nothing like what you are showing. There is 1 resin ferrule and 5 aluminum ferrules and none of them have that skinny tube coming out of them. The OE ferrules (all resin) did have the tubes.
> 
> Do I need those? Like deviousalex I'm stumped on which ones go where. They all seem to fit anywhere I need to put one.


Well I happened to notice a diagram on the back of the packaging that might answer 1 question. The road shift cable set comes with 6 ferrules - 1 resin, 1 aluminum long, 4 aluminum short. The diagram shows the long aluminum on the housing end that goes to the RD barrel adjuster. The other end of that housing piece gets the resin ferrule and fits into the cable stop on the chainstay. The other 4 short ones are pretty obvious - 2 go into the shifter and 2 go to the cable stop on the downtube.

I still wonder a bit about the tounges. The OE ferrules had them the new ferrules do not. I took a tounge out of the old ferrule and tried to put it in a new one but it doesn't fit. The hole on the new ferrule is to small. So I suppose Shimano designed them out.

I will say one thing, what a difference a new cable & housing makes! Replacement will become an annual maintenance item from now on.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

You definitely don't have to have all the different ferrules. They really help reduce the wear on the polymer cables where they exit the ferrules. If you're not using the polymer cables, don't even worry about not having them.


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## Pedro S (Mar 28, 2011)

mikiek said:


> Jeez - after seeing this now I am wondering. Just replaced the shifter cables on a Ultegra 6800 using OT-SP41 shifter cable set. The ferrules included are nothing like what you are showing. There is 1 resin ferrule and 5 aluminum ferrules and none of them have that skinny tube coming out of them. The OE ferrules (all resin) did have the tubes.
> 
> Do I need those? Like deviousalex I'm stumped on which ones go where. They all seem to fit anywhere I need to put one.


My apologies for the thread dredge... I have the same question. I'm about to replace my OEM 6800 cables/housing with the OT-SP41 kit which does not have all the tongued ferrules. Should I use the new plain ferrules or re-use the original tongued ferrules?


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