# quality of shimano 600 components?



## keeshadog (Jan 17, 2003)

i'm just trying to solicit a few opinions from folks who might know...
i retrofitted my road bike this spring. took off all the old 8 speed shimano 600 stuff and converted to a triple using a 9 speed shimano drivetrain along with 10 speed campy shifters.
it works fine as a 9 speed system.
i'm thinking of using the old 600 components - 8-speed shifters, derailleurs, and crankset - on a cyclocross build. i've already used the hubs to build a nice set of wheels, with new mavic rims. they roll very smoothly and nicely. i also have a bunch of other parts - including some almost-new 9-speed ultegra shifters - i could use for the build, but i'm seriously thinking of just using the old 8-speed 600 stuff.
i have read with some amusement the many complaints by shimano users - especially the people who use the shifters - and scratch my head. i never had any real problems in all of the years i used the 600 shifters and derailleurs. as long as i kept them lubed, they worked fine. when i took them off my road bike this spring they still worked fine. i simply wanted to convert to a triple and figured i may as well upgrade to a 9 speed while i was at it. (i do realize i'm a little late; everyone else is switching to 10's and i'm just now switching to 9 speeds.)
was i lucky? did i just get an unusually solid set of 600 series shifters? and hubs? and derailleurs? Or are the 600 series components just an unusually solid set of shimano components? 
was also thinking of selling the shifters and moving on with other components, but i'm wondering if i will regret getting rid of a set of reliable shifters, the kind of reliable shimano shifters that shimano doesnt make any longer. unless you spend money on their top end stuff.
any thoughts would be appreciated.
thanks.


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

Still have the original 600 groups on two bikes (early/mid 90s), and overall, they still work just fine. The only difficulty I've had is the occasional bout of sticky brifter, when the little right-hand lever goes on strike and I can't upshift on the rear. Flush 'em out with WD40 and everything's fine again (for a while...)


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## keeshadog (Jan 17, 2003)

*funny...*

that's exactly what i've had to do with mine. a couple of years ago, a local wrench advised me that my shifters were shot when i brought my bike in and complained because they just would not shift. he simply said that i'd gotten about 8 years of use out of em and i should be happy and just toss them and pony up for a pair of 9 speed shifters. then, i talked with a woman who worked at another shop and she described the remedy you just mentioned, and after a good, thorough rinsing with wd40 - sometimes i use a teflon lube after the wd40 - they worked as well as ever. seems like i had to rinse them out that way every 4 months or so, or if i didnt ride that bike for 3-4 weeks. but other than that i havent had a single problem with the entire group since i bought the bike they came on in '96.
then i read the horror stories about ultegra shifters in the review section and wonder how the 600 series shifters could be related to those ultegra shifters people complain about.


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## The Don (Feb 6, 2004)

*600 good stuff*

I had the grey ano version of the 600 group, and it was very good. It would be great on a cross bike. If you wanted to sell it, there are people who'd pay pretty good money for it. Ask the period correct people in retro-classic who are riding around on their steel frames.


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## Dave_Stohler (Jan 22, 2004)

600 = Ultegra.


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## BenR (Dec 14, 2001)

*yes, but...*



Dave_Stohler said:


> 600 = Ultegra.


I think old Ultegra (600) is much better quality than modern Ultegra. 600 was very close in quality and performance to Dura Ace 8 speed (I've had both) for much less money. After briefly riding several different Ultegra and Dura Ace 9 speed bikes (all with different quirks and degrees of maintenance), I'd say modern Ultegra has less bang for the buck ie. there is a bigger performance gap between the groups, especially in the shifters and hubs, but the price sure didn't go down. That said, I no experience with any of the shimano10 stuff, but I've "heard from so and so" that it's the same old story with the shifters. Might be true or it might not 

I still have my 8 speed dura ace bike with many miles on it and it is cheaper and easier to maintain than my campy 10 race bike. I like the campy shifters, but really, the 8 spedd stuff works fine. You can still find good cassettes and the parts are less fussy, which would make them ideal for cyclocross. I see no reason why you should upgrade to 9 speed right now. Run your current parts into the ground and then make a big leap to 10, 11, or whatever the latest and greatest is later on.


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## Sablotny (Aug 15, 2002)

*All I know is, if anybody wants to send me their 600 bits*

I'm building up this '88 Pinarello and trying to form up a mid-90's 600 "grupetto" for it... need some 8 speed downtube shifters, front & rear derailleurs (the creamy beige '94 105 RD just doesn't mate well)


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

*My 600 bike had down tube shifters.*

I thought the stuff worked great. The brakes are my all-time favorites and scan E-Bay for them once in a while. I didn't react well to wiggly Shimano brifters and don't have any of their newer stuff.


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## croswell1 (Feb 19, 2005)

*Negative, Sir*



Dave_Stohler said:


> 600 = Ultegra.


Ultegra eventually replaced '600' as Shimano's 2nd tier gruppo. But when you are talking about '600', 'Ultegra' should not even be mentioned. It is not the exact same stuff. It was 'old school' 2nd tier Shimano, much closer in quality and aesthetics to that era's 'Dura Ace' than 'Ultegra' is today. I have on my 'Tommasini' the very first year of Shimano '600' offered to the cycling public with integrated shifting. (STI). Mine is the 'early STI (8-speed) with the green(ish) colored madallions on top of the brifters. No where on it does it say 'Ultegra'. The brifters (brake/shifters) and the calipers are the anodized grey version, and are top quality. I have 8000 miles on this bike with never a problem with the shifting or anything. FWIW I believe my bike is a '91 (possibly a '92)


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## AsianPersuasion (Apr 3, 2004)

I had 600 on my 1996 trek 5200. Worked flawlessly as a whole until last year. One of the shifters got temperamental. So I did a partial upgrade to 9-speed. Still have the original crank and front deraileur and brakes. The system is just as smooth as the newer Ultegra but just a touch heavier. Perfectly fine for recreational riders. Why replace what's not broke? 
The only problem I have is finding new brake shoes/pads for the 600 system. Any help locating these?


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