# New Ultegra 8000 compatibility with 6800



## alxrmrs

Does anyone know if Shimano has stated whether the new Ultegra will be compatible with 9000/6800/5800? 

Specifically I'm wondering if the new rear derailleur and cassette will work with 6800 (hydro) shifters. Having an 11-34 on my CX/gravel bike would be nice for some of the steeper climbs around here.


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## rcb78

It'll work just fine, there was no change to the cable pull. R8000 is just a refinement of 6800.


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## MMsRepBike

The change is in the front and it's with the crankset and chainring spacing.

They're going to want the new crankset to be paired with the new front mech.

Other than that it's all compatible.


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## Marc

MMsRepBike said:


> The change is in the front and it's with the crankset and chainring spacing.
> 
> They're going to want the new crankset to be paired with the new front mech.
> 
> Other than that it's all compatible.



Oh lord...don't tell me Shimano went and made a groupo that'll only shift right on Shimano's own extremely limited gearing choices.... :mad2:


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## MMsRepBike

Marc said:


> Oh lord...don't tell me Shimano went and made a groupo that'll only shift right on Shimano's own extremely limited gearing choices.... :mad2:


The new front mech will be good and solid and compatible with several cranks I imagine.

So no worries there.

The new cranks however *might* not work so well at all with past front mechs or front mechs from other companies. 

That's pretty much the deal.


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## Migen21

Shimano if not going to add "Compatible with 3rd party components from Praxis, Rotor, Wolftooth, Stages and MORE.!" to their marketing. They are the market leader.

Those companies are more than welcome to market components to fill the odd gaps in Shimano's products. 

Shimano's target customer with this group set is the mainstream built road bike market.

The compact gearing available up to 11x34 is more than enough , even for the majority of the adventure bike crowd.


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## rcb78

The only difference is that the crank has moved the small ring inboard by .4mm and kept the large ring in the original position. The front derailleur has been profiled to allow it to move closer to the seat tube before it contacts and stops moving. Most bikes will have no issue here, but a handful may find their older derailleur may not be capable of moving far enough inboard to stop chain rub in the climbing gears. Not may bikes will have this issue, but a few will.


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## alxrmrs

MMsRepBike said:


> The change is in the front and it's with the crankset and chainring spacing.
> 
> They're going to want the new crankset to be paired with the new front mech.
> 
> Other than that it's all compatible.


At the end of the day will this matter? On both my 6870 and 5800/6800 bikes I run Quarqs with SRAM rings on them and they work fine.

Are the new rings backwards compatible with older cranks?


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## Migen21

alxrmrs said:


> At the end of the day will this matter? On both my 6870 and 5800/6800 bikes I run Quarqs with SRAM rings on them and they work fine.
> 
> Are the new rings backwards compatible with older cranks?


It matters if the spacing between the rings is different ( which I believe is the case here ).


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## alxrmrs

Migen21 said:


> It matters if the spacing between the rings is different ( which I believe is the case here ).


What I forgot to add to this is that IIRC the spacing on SRAM 11 speed rings is slightly different than Shimano's own 4-bolt style.


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## rcb78

It matters, but it doesn't. Like I said, the change is so small that Shimano's own techs mix and match on their personal bikes, I've seen it first hand and it works just fine 99% of the time.


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## spookiekabuki

*chainrings?*

Anyone know if 6800 chainrings are compatible with r8000 cranks. Would you need to adjust the FD?


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## Migen21

spookiekabuki said:


> Anyone know if 6800 chainrings are compatible with r8000 cranks. Would you need to adjust the FD?


The official answer from Shimano is "Nope!". 

The fact that the two have slightly different chainlines (*very slightly) probably matters quite a bit in this case.

Then there is the physical and aesthetic differences (color, shape, etc..).

I've never actually tried this, and personally wouldn't consider it. FWIW, I'm going to go with "Probably Not" compatible.


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## Not a hill

I changed a S works crankset due to the need for a shorter arm length (170mm) and to go from 53/39 to 50/34. It would seem FC 6800 cranksets are hard to come by, but a FC R8000 was available. So I used the BB30 bearings and fitted Wheel Manufacture adapators. It has Dura ace 9070 set up. A couple of points... The drive side crank arm seems to rotate close to the Fd housing and I was not able to adjust the cage inboard far enough to conform to Shimano's checks on there dealer manual. But there was still clearance in all gear positions. I then got a thin wave washer and put it on first to the axle. This now moves the chain rings outward by around 0.5mm. This now made the adjustment by the manual. It is working, not sure would the manual FD have the adjustment range. ..... I know it is not the tning to do, but as time goes on, Shimano will drop the spares for 6800/6870 and only the R8000 range will be available.


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## StillKeen

Anyone got a good resource for more info on mixing 6800 with 8000 and 9100?

I've got full 6800, with the medium cage RD with an 11-32. I'm wanting to get r8000 brakes for more power, and one of my shifters is sticky when riding below freezing conditions, so thinking of buying:

r8000 brake calipers for sure
maybe r8000 shifters
maybe r8000 cranks (to get stages gen3 power meter)
maybe r8000 derailleurs

Will all that work as shimano intended?

Thanks


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## cxwrench

You're good no matter what. Obviously if you get all R8000 it's gonna work. 6800 is compatible w/ 8000, brakes included. 

2018-2019 SHIMANO Product Information Web


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## Pierre

Not the question here, but the awesome thing with R8000 is the rear derailleur design, that incorporates a link in the style of the Wolftooth Roadlink. This allows larger cassettes. Officially up to 34t, but I have it working perfectly fine with an XT 11-40 cassette on a bunch of bikes. Very much awesome. Same with the R9100 Dura-Ace rear derailleur (but it is a good idea to swap the cage to something longer)

In front, the main issue is typically the chainline. If you stay with road components, it will work just fine. 10spd, 11spd, sram or shimano front der, no problem.


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## StillKeen

cxwrench said:


> You're good no matter what. Obviously if you get all R8000 it's gonna work. 6800 is compatible w/ 8000, brakes included.
> 
> 2018-2019 SHIMANO Product Information Web


Thanks, that's great.

Ordered the brakes, and will try to fix my right shifter (as if I can fix my 6800, then the shifters don't seem worth the upgrade).

I bough a 6800 long cage rear and 11-32 cassette maybe 3 months before 8000 came out. If 8000 had been out, I would have gone for the long cage shadow with a 34. Now I just can't bring myself to swap derailleur and cassette again (that would be the 4th rear derailleur, and 3rd cassette I've upgraded in 5,000 miles. Always upgrading to get more gears, never because of wear).

Thanks


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## cxwrench

StillKeen said:


> will try to fix my right shifter


'Fix' a Shimano shifter? Good luck. What's the problem?


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## weiwentg

spookiekabuki said:


> Anyone know if 6800 chainrings are compatible with r8000 cranks. Would you need to adjust the FD?


Adding new info. The guy in this video actually tried mixing 6800 and R8k chainrings on the opposite crank. He appears to say that:

Both outer chainrings don't fit the different model crank. He did not show his work on the video, but he said that he had tried both ways (8k chainrings on 6800 cranks and vice versa) and failed.

The 6800 inner chainring may fit the R8k crankset, but you have to dremel off one piece of metal. The R8k crankset isn't symmetrical, and one arm is differently shaped. That arm causes the interference

The R8k inner chainring will fit the 6800 crankset.

This probably won't affect many people, but I was thinking of setting my gravel bike up with a 46t outer. Unfortunately, this means I can't get cheaper 6800 outers for it.


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## yakobo

My ultegra 6700 rt shifter finally gave out. Seems hard to find 10 speed shifters these days. I'd go with ultergra 8000 if I don't have to change the rest of my drive change. Will these work with a ten speed cassette and compact crank?


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## jetdog9

No, don't try to get 11-speed shifters to work with your 10-speed cassette. 

Either time to really upgrade (and hope your wheels are 11-speed compatible), or just keep eyes open for used 10-speed shifter on eBay if you want 105/Ultegra/DA... but you could try a new Tiagra shifter as that should be 10-speed.


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## cxwrench

jetdog9 said:


> No, don't try to get 11-speed shifters to work with your 10-speed cassette.
> 
> Either time to really upgrade (and hope your wheels are 11-speed compatible), or just keep eyes open for used 10-speed shifter on eBay if you want 105/Ultegra/DA... *but you could try a new Tiagra shifter as that should be 10-speed.*


Won't work. The 4700 Tiagra is unique in that while it's 10 speed the cable pull is not the same as the 'old' 10 speed.


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## jetdog9

Whoops, i didn't check the compatibility chart when I suggested ST-4700. One thing I can't wrap my head around, though... per cxwrench's comments and compatibility chart, you cannot use ST-4700 shifter with Ultegra 6700 rear derailleurs... why are the cassettes all marked as compatible? Maybe I'm reading the chart wrong.


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## Jay Strongbow

jetdog9 said:


> Whoops, i didn't check the compatibility chart when I suggested ST-4700. One thing I can't wrap my head around, though... per cxwrench's comments and compatibility chart, you cannot use ST-4700 shifter with Ultegra 6700 rear derailleurs... why are the cassettes all marked as compatible? Maybe I'm reading the chart wrong.


Cable pull is different. That doesn't mean the der. movement is different.


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## jetdog9

Duh. I thought about it more and get it now, thanks.


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## yakobo

Thanks for the advice. You may have saved me a lot of hassle or extra expense. My shifters I see are actually 6600, 10 speed. I'll look for something 10 speed.


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## Dr_UNIX

cxwrench said:


> The 4700 Tiagra is unique in that while it's 10 speed the cable pull is not the same as the 'old' 10 speed.


Indeed, but you can mix the 4700 Tiagra shifters with any Shimano 11-speed rear derailleur -- the cable pull ratio is the same.

This is what Shimano *should* have done in 7900/6700/5700 when they went to "internally" routed shift cables. Those would shift well when new, but not with wear.


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