Recommend 6600 or 6700 Ultegra group?

[tv_vt]

Thinking about upgrading the Ultegra 6500 9 speed gruppo on my wife's Roubaix. I think she likes the newer brake hood shape on the 6700 version. Not sure how she'd like the first 10 speed Ultegra hood shape.

Can folks comment on the pros and cons of the gruppos? Seems the hidden shifter cables on the last 10 speed versions of Ultegra and DA (7900) were not well thought of.

Not ready to go all the way to eleven...

Thanks,

TV

[rccardr]

I have 6600 on my Della Santa with STI's as a double, really nice, smooth, easy shifting. Also have it as a triple on my Century but with DT shifters and a Sugino crankset, very nice combo. No regrets here!

[kramnnim]

I only used 6700 a little before getting rid of it...the brifters seemed chunkier to hold on to.

[Veloo]

I rode 6600 for 7 years and 6700 for under a year. Both worked just fine. Shifting was the reliable and expected Shimano feel. I actually didn't mind having the 6600 shifter cable routing perpendicular to the levers. Let's you use the gear indicator if you like that.
Something to consider with older gruppos is replacement parts. Brake hoods for 6500 are almost extinct. Hudz makes 6600 so you should be fine but their mold was off a mm or so. I had several and they were all off center.
The 6700 Hudz seemed fine.
I didn't feel any discomfort with the different shaped hoods between 6600 and 6700.
If you want cleaner lines, go for the 6700.

One thing to consider for 6800 is the ability to go compact crank with the same spider.

[roydyates]

if you keep the 6500 brake calipers, she may not like the hand squeeze braking effort with the 6700 brifters. Also, she may or may not like the chunkier 6700 brifter. Other than that, either is fine.

[PSC]

I just upgraded part of my 6500 group to 10 spd. I went with 7800 shifters, 105 cassette and KMC chain, all for under $300. I am very happy with the upgrade. Got the shifters on Ebay for $200(almost new) and the cassette and chain be had for cheap if you look around.

[dave thompson]

Thinking about upgrading the Ultegra 6500 9 speed gruppo on my wife's Roubaix. I think she likes the newer brake hood shape on the 6700 version. Not sure how she'd like the first 10 speed Ultegra hood shape.

Can folks comment on the pros and cons of the gruppos? Seems the hidden shifter cables on the last 10 speed versions of Ultegra and DA (7900) were not well thought of.

Not ready to go all the way to eleven...

Thanks,

TV

Thom, you might consider the 7800 Dura Ace too. I run both 6700 and 7800 stuff on my bikes. The 7800 shifting is really sweet, the 6700 shifting is good too but not quite the Dura Ace feel. I think the shifter feel and shape is going to make the biggest difference to your wife, which one she will like. There's quite a bit of difference.

[rab]

Agree with Dave Thomson on checking into 7800. I love the feel of those shifters and have hoarded several pairs for use on both cx and road bikes.

Thought 6600 seemed kind of big and bulky, but then I have small hands...

May want to check out this older thread with some good related info as well:
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=112096
Some pretty good stuff. Good luck with the process!

[oldpotatoe]

Thinking about upgrading the Ultegra 6500 9 speed gruppo on my wife's Roubaix. I think she likes the newer brake hood shape on the 6700 version. Not sure how she'd like the first 10 speed Ultegra hood shape.

Can folks comment on the pros and cons of the gruppos? Seems the hidden shifter cables on the last 10 speed versions of Ultegra and DA (7900) were not well thought of.

Not ready to go all the way to eleven...

Thanks,

TV

6600/7800 known to eat der cables..not a big deal, check them often. 6700/7900, not as smooth shifting as exposed cable types BUT whichever lever her hands feel the best with is the one to go with. Set up right, 5mm housing, decent inner wires..they both work well and reliably. Much more so than 7700/6500...

Stay awash from anything SRAM, it's really junque.

[Dead Man]

6600/7800 known to eat der cables..not a big deal, check them often. 6700/7900, not as smooth shifting as exposed cable types BUT whichever lever her hands feel the best with is the one to go with. Set up right, 5mm housing, decent inner wires..they both work well and reliably. Much more so than 7700/6500...

Why do you supposed it eats cable? That extra little kink about 1/2" in from the stud?

[macaroon]

6600 has real nice shifting, but the shape of the hoods/levers could be a problem, especially if she has small hands.

6700 is a better shape, but I've had a left shifter fail on me, and I believe it's quite a common problem.

You could go 5700, which seems much cheaper and near enough the same as 6700.

But I'd go SRAM Rival, this replaced my 6700 and I've never had any problems (apart from the rubbish front mech which i replaced with an Ultegra) with it in 3 years. Probably better for small hands aswell.

[Rada]

For you wife you might want to look at a set of ST-R700. They are made for smaller hands and come with shims that can adjust levers closer. They are basically 6600 level and can be found pretty cheap.

[stien]

I'm in the same boat. My fiancé's r3 has 6600 mechs and I've really wanted to upgrade them for her. She didn't like campy hood shape, I refuse to buy SRAM, so back to shimano I go. Thinking about a 10 of 11 6800 setup, just FD, RD, shifters, chain/cassette. Seems like nominal gains. Maybe 6770 electronic would be the ticket.

[Highpowernut]

I have a 6700 set that I'll be selling after my 9000 parts show up this week, it's a triple and works great.

[Fatty]

The new 105, I think it's 5700 , is nice also.
Shimano sells 5 and 10 mm shims that bring the lever in a bit if needed.

[zennmotion]

Campy shifters are nicer for smaller hands than anything Shimano. Get a set of 10sp Veloces or Centaurs and a Jtek adapter and combine the best of both worlds with minimal expense using her existing 9 speed stuff. If it ain't broke, there is minimal benefits to buying a whole new drivetrain just to get an additional gear- and if you're going to replace the entire drivetrain, there's no point in going to new 10 speed stuff, you'll still be behind the market so you might as well make the jump to 11. Shimano (mechanical) drivetrains never really got any better after 9 speed anyway, just more cogs and more fuss. I love my Shimergo bikes and the parts get along just fine with a little help from Jtek. Or just get a used pair of campy shifters and try it out with the hubbub cable routing with no adapter and see if you like it, and if not, selling the shifters will be no problem.

[oldpotatoe]

Why do you supposed it eats cable? That extra little kink about 1/2" in from the stud?

Unknown but they often break right at the head. Batted 100% getting the remnants out if the head stuck in there but a major pita.