# Ultegra 6700 rear shifting problem



## joey1 (Jan 2, 2007)

I just bought a pair of new 6700 shifters but they don't seem to work well. When I try shifting into a harder gear (smaller rear cog), many times the trigger doesn't engage and instead of making a small click into the next gear it sweeps all the way over and never engages. Has anyone experienced this before? It's maddening trying to shift when you constantly have to click several times to get into one gear. It seems to help if you make a quick tap to the trigger. If it's slow it usually doesn't work. 

HELP??!?!


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

That doesn't sound at all right. I'd first check to see if you have too much drag on the shifter cable, especially in the bends around the bar tape. You could also disconnect the cable from the shifter and see it you get the same behavior (with respect to not clicking when you shift) - if you do, the shifter may be faulty. You could also try with the cable in the shifter, cable out of the housing, hold the cable taught with one hand, and shift to see if the shifter is pulling and releasing the cable correctly as you shift gears.


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## Hank Stamper (Sep 9, 2009)

yes I've had it happen but no where near "constantly". More like twice a month so roughly every 500 miles (and I ride mostly rolling hills so do a ton of shifting).

Actually it had been a very long time since it happened but I got it a few times on my last ride which was the first time I was wearing lobster claws which caused me to kind of fumble around. So you're probably right about it having somthing to do with shifting speed because I can be pretty slow with lobster claws on.

Sorry I have not tips for how to fix it. For me, I consider it a non issue but it happens much less frequent then it sounds like it does to you.


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## cmg (Oct 27, 2004)

Have a read on how to adjust the derailluer screws from Park tools http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/rear-derailler-adjustments-derailleur sounds like it may be an adjustment problem. do this as a way to discover the problem.


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## matanza (Jun 9, 2004)

Spray WD-40 into the shift mechanism (not the cables). I have an old 6500 right shifter that missed a shift every now and then the WD-40 removed the dirt and grit and shifts perfectly.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

matanza said:


> Spray WD-40 into the shift mechanism (not the cables). I have an old 6500 right shifter that missed a shift every now and then the WD-40 removed the dirt and grit and shifts perfectly.


he's got BRAND NEW shifters...i wouldn't go spraying a solvent in there and blasting all of the NEW grease from where it should be. wd is the fix for old shifters when the grease gets sticky. 
i'd check to make sure the end of the cable is seated in the shifter the way it should be. you may want to take this to a shop and have a good mechanic take a look at it and then you'll know for sure.


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## frdfandc (Nov 27, 2007)

cxwrench said:


> he's got BRAND NEW shifters...i wouldn't go spraying a solvent in there and blasting all of the NEW grease from where it should be. wd is the fix for old shifters when the grease gets sticky.
> i'd check to make sure the end of the cable is seated in the shifter the way it should be. you may want to take this to a shop and have a good mechanic take a look at it and then you'll know for sure.



I've ran into this issue a couple of times when assembling new bikes. The head of the shifter cable doesn't get fully seated properly into the groove inside the shifter, so when a shift is made, the cable isn't pulled properly.


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## mhyman16 (Dec 17, 2009)

I've had this happen to me from time to time as well. I've noticed that It usually occurs if I'm shifting the paddle with my middle finger while my pointer finger is along side the brake lever. It seems that a little pressure on the side of the break lever will disengage the shift paddle, causing it to move all the way inward with out shifting. It's also fairly easy to get in to this situation while wearing bulky winter gloves with minimal dexterity, which is the case this time of year.

My guess, and it's only a guess, is that the side pressure on the brake lever effectively disengages the shift paddle as the shift pod is then set for an up shift (to a larger gear). In order to get the paddle to reengage, I take my fingers off of both paddle and lever, and then all functions as it should again. 
I think this might be considered a design 'feature...'

Hope this helps.
-Mike


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## wedge962005 (Jan 4, 2010)

There are two issues for this and you need to check them both but it sounds like your problem is tension on the brake lever. The "trigger" moving all the way in without any action screams of that problem. If you aren't touching the lever when this happens then you may have an issue with the internals that prevent the "trigger" from working under braking.

I would also check the alignment and seating of the cable as mentioned above but the feel of the problem caused by that is a bit different.

Good luck with it.


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## giosblue (Aug 2, 2009)

frdfandc said:


> I've ran into this issue a couple of times when assembling new bikes. The head of the shifter cable doesn't get fully seated properly into the groove inside the shifter, so when a shift is made, the cable isn't pulled properly.



I agree, with new shifters this is most likely to be the cause.


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## frdfandc (Nov 27, 2007)

I started thinking about this again last night. The 6700 shifters don't have the shifter cable go into the top. The cable is inserted into the bottom of the shifter and its a direct insert into the cable housing. 

So my initial post is incorrect.

I have seen with the 6700 shifters that the individual paddles sometimes do stick and drag up against one another. So this can cause what you are experiencing.A little tweaking of the small lever helps solve this issue.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

frdfandc said:


> I started thinking about this again last night. The 6700 shifters don't have the shifter cable go into the top. The cable is inserted into the bottom of the shifter and its a direct insert into the cable housing.
> 
> So my initial post is incorrect.
> 
> I have seen with the 6700 shifters that the individual paddles sometimes do stick and drag up against one another. So this can cause what you are experiencing.A little tweaking of the small lever helps solve this issue.


it is still possible to 'miss' the bit that the cable end sits in, and then the shifter will paddle w/o pulling cable. even harder to see because the cable goes in the bottom of the shifter. worth taking a look at


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## joey1 (Jan 2, 2007)

I think I have it figured out. And a few of you touched on it. Like I said I just got these shifters and as anyone who lives in the Northeast knows, it's freezing up here. I've been wearing my Lobster gloves almost exclusively since I put these shifters on. And because of that fact, my shifting has not been as precise as it would be with bare fingers. These shifters are soooo touchy that if you even move the brake lever slightly, it'll disengage the paddle shifter. If I watch what I'm doing with the lobster gloves on and shift with a focused determination, it will shift perfectly each time. I tested it out and fumbled a shift on purpose and brushed up against the brake and it indeed would not shift.

Not sure I like this extreme sensitivity as things can become very heated during a race and I'd hate to miss jumping on someone’s acceleration because I bumped the brake lever when trying to suddenly shift.


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## joey1 (Jan 2, 2007)

And thanks to everyone who replied. I appreciate all the thought and feedback.


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## Hank Stamper (Sep 9, 2009)

joey1 said:


> I think I have it figured out. And a few of you touched on it. Like I said I just got these shifters and as anyone who lives in the Northeast knows, it's freezing up here. I've been wearing my Lobster gloves almost exclusively since I put these shifters on. And because of that fact, my shifting has not been as precise as it would be with bare fingers. These shifters are soooo touchy that if you even move the brake lever slightly, it'll disengage the paddle shifter. If I watch what I'm doing with the lobster gloves on and shift with a focused determination, it will shift perfectly each time. I tested it out and fumbled a shift on purpose and brushed up against the brake and it indeed would not shift.
> 
> Not sure I like this extreme sensitivity as things can become very heated during a race and I'd hate to miss jumping on someone’s acceleration because I bumped the brake lever when trying to suddenly shift.


Makes total sense based on my experience.

And assuming you don't do any races during lobster claw season I'm 99% sure you won't have any problem or even need to think about it.


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## hoopingkld (Nov 17, 2008)

cxwrench said:


> he's got BRAND NEW shifters...i wouldn't go spraying a solvent in there and blasting all of the NEW grease from where it should be. wd is the fix for old shifters when the grease gets sticky.
> i'd check to make sure the end of the cable is seated in the shifter the way it should be. you may want to take this to a shop and have a good mechanic take a look at it and then you'll know for sure.



+1 Right on...WD40 can't be used on new shifters


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