# Is there something wrong with Ultegra 6700 levers?



## draganM

I broke my 9-speed equipped DeBernardi Thron OS frame last friday : ( I loved that bike but I'm scrambling to build a new frame I had hanging and decided to go 10 speed. I'm concerned about the 6700 levers and the "new" concealed shifter cable routing. Experience tells me "new" is sometimes full of bugs. 

I also see people on flea-bay bidding up the 6600 levers up to $300., same price as a new pair of 6700 levers. That's worrisome and seams to point to problems with 6700 levers?
Can anyone confirm or deny whether the 6700 levers are A-OK? I mean other than the plastic levers guaranteed to break if you crash the bike.


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## DaveT

I've been running 6700 on my Taylor for almost a year now, about 2,000 mile with no issues at all. 6700/7900 shifters are shaped quite differently than the earlier Ultegra/Dura Ace and some folks prefer the older stuff because they're used to it.

I switched from Dura Ace 7800 and am very happy, 6700 fits me perfectly.



These pics show some of the size/shape differences. Both handlebars are identical. 7800 Dura Ace has the while Hudz.








I did a "rode report" last year and my thoughts and impressions of 6700 components was included. Here: https://forums.serotta.com/showthread.php?t=63990&highlight=rode+report


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## draganM

thanks Dave for the comprehensive reply. the pics are worth a thousand words. It looks to me like the new hoods are a lot more "hand friendly" than the old ones. If they've been working fine for you for 2K miles then it's time for me to hit the BIN button on flea-bay


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## Argentius

*9-speed supply and demand*

The increased price for used and NOS 9-speed components is becuase there are a lot of people still running 9-speed bikes, and, indeed, a lot of folks still buying them in Sora and Tiagra, but Shimano has not made a nice 9-speed Ultegra lever for, what, 4 or 5 seasons?

So, the price of what IS available, in 9-speed levers, has gone up accordingly.


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## RRRoubaix

draganM said:


> thanks Dave for the comprehensive reply. the pics are worth a thousand words. It looks to me like the new hoods are a lot more "hand friendly" than the old ones. If they've been working fine for you for 2K miles then it's time for me to hit the BIN button on flea-bay


I agree- nice shots, Dave!
I've got the 6700 gruppo waiting to go on my bike build. Glad to hear they're working so well fo you.


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## frdfandc

The only complaint about the new Shimano levers with the hidden cables is a slight increase in cable drag. The action of the shift is a little higher in effort. But I conclude that this is due to how the cable is routed under the bar tape.

I don't notice this "drag" or increase in effort over the older stuff and I see this stuff everyday (mechanic in a LBS). But I also run SRAM with routes the cables under the tape, so its probably a moot point for me.


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## draganM

Argentius said:


> The increased price for used and NOS 9-speed components is becuase there are a lot of people still running 9-speed bikes, and, indeed, a lot of folks still buying them in Sora and Tiagra,


 sweet, hopefully my old 6500 levers on flea-bay will bring some badly needed coin back to my checking account. This frame break has cleaned me out.
BTW, I sprung for the full Dura-Ace 7900 levers with cables and they came in the mail yesterday. They are real beauty's, makes my old 6500 levers look like junk.Without cables attached the 7900's are much smoother and not "notchy" like my old ones. 
thanks to everyone who replied.


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## DaveT

draganM said:


> sweet, hopefully my old 6500 levers on flea-bay will bring some badly needed coin back to my checking account. This frame break has cleaned me out.
> BTW, I sprung for the full Dura-Ace 7900 levers with cables and they came in the mail yesterday. They are real beauty's, makes my old 6500 levers look like junk.Without cables attached the 7900's are much smoother and not "notchy" like my old ones.
> thanks to everyone who replied.


7900 Dura Ace? Nice!

You understand that you WILL have to use the 7900 front and rear derailleurs with the 7900 shifters, right? The cable pull on the 7900 shifters is different and the 7900 derailleurs are built to use it, whereas the 6700 shifters are backwards compatible with 7800/6600/5600 10-speed derailleurs.


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## frdfandc

He can use the older rear derailleurs. Only the front will have to be a 7900.


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## Clevor

DaveT said:


> I've been running 6700 on my Taylor for almost a year now, about 2,000 mile with no issues at all. 6700/7900 shifters are shaped quite differently than the earlier Ultegra/Dura Ace and some folks prefer the older stuff because they're used to it.
> 
> I switched from Dura Ace 7800 and am very happy, 6700 fits me perfectly.
> 
> These pics show some of the size/shape differences. Both handlebars are identical. 7800 Dura Ace has the while Hudz.
> 
> 
> 
> I did a "rode report" last year and my thoughts and impressions of 6700 components was included. Here: https://forums.serotta.com/showthread.php?t=63990&highlight=rode+report


From the look of that last pic, it seems the 6700 shifters increase your virtual top tube length by a bit with your hands on the hoods, as your arm is extended further. Is this true or is it just the camera angle?


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## DaveT

Clevor said:


> From the look of that last pic, it seems the 6700 shifters increase your virtual top tube length by a bit with your hands on the hoods, as your arm is extended further. Is this true or is it just the camera angle?


The 6700 shifters do increase the reach by about 20MM. The pic was taken at a 90* angle to illustrate the true difference between 6700 and 7800.


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## draganM

frdfandc said:


> He can use the older rear derailleurs. Only the front will have to be a 7900.


 ARRGGGHH, I just found this out the hard way.: ( I was getting ready to start a new post then saw this one up top.
Why oh why did my GDM frame break on the year when Shimano decided to make their DA stuff incompatible with any other group? Thankfully I only spent $30. on a brand new 6600 front but now I have to spend more than $100. for the DA 7900 front : ( 
Even worse, another weeks delay off my bike : ( My night just went to S*# T


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## draganM

Even worse, I have brand new 6600 cranks. IS the distance between the chain-rings different for the new 7900 cranks.?
With the 6600 cranks + F. Derail. and FD 7900 levers it will shift into the big ring at the intermediate position. Not completely though, it's rubbing on the outside. If I try to shift one more time (3rd click) , it goes over too far and tries to push the chain past the outside stop screw setting. 
Please tell me I don't need to buy new DA cranks as well?


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## frdfandc

You don't need the DA crank. You need to tweak the FD setup some more.


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## Dustintendo

looks like that frame could be repaired easily by a framebuilder


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## Salsa_Lover

Your picture doesn't show a correct comparison because the levers are not mounted the same.

if you mount them in the same position, what would be the comparison ? does somebody has a picture of that ?


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## DaveT

Salsa_Lover said:


> Your picture doesn't show a correct comparison because the levers are not mounted the same.
> 
> if you mount them in the same position, what would be the comparison ? does somebody has a picture of that ?


If you're referring to my pictures, the comparison is correct. If the 6700 levers were mounted any higher on the bar, the ramp on the hoods would be pointing upwards. If the 7800 levers were further down on the bars then they wouldn't be where I like them. 

Looking at the clamp location on the bars, there is less than a 1/4" difference in location. The bars on both bikes are identical; Bontrager Flat Tops.

The pics were taken last year and since then I have replaced the bars with Control Tech compact bars. Still the same difference in reach between the 7800 and 6700 shifters.


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## kbwh

The DAs surely look to be mounted higher. Judging by the pix he Ultegras start out flat from the bar whereas the DAs start at some 30 degrees.


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## DaveT

kbwh said:


> The DAs surely look to be mounted higher. Judging by the pix he Ultegras start out flat from the bar whereas the DAs start at some 30 degrees.


Read my post; the 7800 are clamped 1/4" higher on identical bars.


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## kbwh

Ok, I misinterpreted that sentence. You run the DAs higher, ok.


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## Salsa_Lover

exactly my point.

Not the right way to compare when you have the Ultegras flat and the DA higher and pointing up.


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## DaveT

Salsa_Lover said:


> exactly my point.
> 
> Not the right way to compare when you have the Ultegras flat and the DA higher and pointing up.


It is the correct way to compare, the only way to compare. I've had the 7800 for a couple of years, set exactly where I like them. Put on a set of 6700 on my second bike last year, exactly where I like them. The comparison between the two set-ups is what I've shown. If I lowered the 7800 or raised the 6700 so the clamps were in exactly the same positions, they wouldn't be where I wanted them. I didn't set my components up to suit anyone else, just me. So when someone asks me to compare the two, this is what I show them. If you wanted to compare the 6700 shifters to what you have now, you wouldn't necessarily have them clamped in exactly the same spot. You'd mount them to suit you and measure the difference.


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## asad137

Salsa_Lover said:


> Not the right way to compare when you have the Ultegras flat and the DA higher and pointing up.


I disagree, it looks to me like the DA's are _designed_ to be run that way, not flat. Look at the shape of the hoods at the back, where they transition to the bars. If the DA's were positioned lower, that transition wouldn't be nearly as smooth because they'd be transitioning from a more curved area of the bar.

Remember, this was one of the selling points of the SRAM lineup -- that you could have a flat transition between the bar and hood, which only makes sense in contrast to the older Shimano philosophy. Now Shimano has wised up and is making their hoods (on 7900, 6700, and 5700) more SRAM-like.

Asad


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## OldChipper

Just replaced 7400 DA levers with 6700s and had to mount the 6700 levers almost a full inch higher to have the same reach. With the clamps in the same position, I felt like I was reaching *over* to bars to get on the hoods.


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## masi85

I totally agree with the people who updated to 6700/7900 shifters. I couldn't understand why I was getting lower back pains when I starting using my new bike with a Dura-Ace 7900 group. This is a bike with a 55.7 length top tube. When compared with another bike of mine with a 57 top tube with Campagnolo Ultra shifters the differance in length from the tip of the saddle to curved inner part of the shifters was over 2 cm more on the Shimano bike with the same 120mm length stems on both bikes. After putting on a 100mm stem on the Shimano equiped bike the distance tip of saddle to shifters is still slightly more! All I can say is buyer beware!


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## Freddymoto

Hi, new here and looking for some quick advice before I make a purchase. Sorry for the slight hijack. I rode a couple of Ultegra bikes and I sensed something, part of the shifter housing protrudes a bit and pokes my finger. It's the wedge that drops down between the levers, where the pin goes through, and I feel it when working the brake lever in shifts. The spot I'm talking about can be seen clearly in the side angle photo above.

I know this could be totally unique to me, I have pretty small hands and that might have something to do with it, but I was curious if anybody else experiences this. I'm trying to decide if it is just something I'd get used to or something that would have me cursing every time I ride.

Thanks folks.


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## Cut.Aussie

I have 6600 levers on my old bike and 6700 on my new Look 566 and I love them, I fitted Controltech carbon bars which have individual internal tubes for each brake, shifter cable to pass through, look really great without all that cable out there in the breeze.


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## easyridernyc

Argentius said:


> The increased price for used and NOS 9-speed components is becuase there are a lot of people still running 9-speed bikes, and, indeed, a lot of folks still buying them in Sora and Tiagra, but Shimano has not made a nice 9-speed Ultegra lever for, what, 4 or 5 seasons?
> 
> So, the price of what IS available, in 9-speed levers, has gone up accordingly.



i can second that. 

assploded a 105 right shifter, and there were none left, and i mean NONE. refused to "downgrade" (i dig the frame and if i had to make changes, i figured im goin symmetrical and up-gradin) to tiagra, and went looking for an ultegra nine speed replacement. was lucky to find a pair for three bucks, it took a long time, and like i say, i got lucky. only other choice would have been to go ten speed (ultegra, i guess i coulda gone 105 ten too, but, again, i was thinking up), i.e. four, four and a half bucks for shifters, three bucks for the crank, a buck each for the cassette and chain, buck for the bracket...etc etc. blowing out the shifter was defnitely not a good move on my part, i tell you true, man, i was going _nuts _until i found the nine speed set...


i do have the ultegra 6700 shifters on a second bike, and they are definitely no nonsense. the springs are tight and quick, a lot tighter than the late 105 it replaced. front shifting is flawless,almost without effort at all. boom boom, smooth effin click. also i have large hands, so for me, the wide platforms are kinda sweet, plus, as i am sure you know, the 6700 levers are carbon. the old silver 105's looked nice, but the 6700's cut a pretty awesome profile and perform much much better. i'd say get em while they last. no complaints here two thumbs up :thumbsup:


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## darwinosx

Thanks Dave. I'm slowly replacing the DA 7800 on my Moots with Ultegra. Have an Ultegra compact crank and hubs. Next will be shifters. I've noticed the Ultegra shifters have less throw, better shape, and of course now wires which will be really nice. 
I've used DA for years but the price differential is such that I'm fine with Ultegra.
I saw a comment from the director of race Across America that he thought Ultegra was more durable because they left more metal on rather than reduce weight as DA does. I've used Ultegra chains and cogs for years for longevity with DA everything else.



DaveT said:


> I've been running 6700 on my Taylor for almost a year now, about 2,000 mile with no issues at all. 6700/7900 shifters are shaped quite differently than the earlier Ultegra/Dura Ace and some folks prefer the older stuff because they're used to it.
> 
> I switched from Dura Ace 7800 and am very happy, 6700 fits me perfectly.


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