6800 build tips

[Matthew]

Throwing some 6800 11 speed on a bike. Few questions though. My NOS shifters did not come with the cable end caps that fit into the shifter itself. The slotted ones. Are they absolutely needed or will regular end caps work? They have a little tail on the Shimano ones, mine would not. Also, the housing running to the brake calipers, do they need end caps too or run the housing only into the caliper arm? Better to run the shift cables in front or behind the bars? Cable exits on inside of shifter. Brake cables exit on inside of lever too. Run in front as well? And I've read the front derailleur can be a bit finicky. Tips for set up appreciated. Thanks!!! Matthew

[rowebr]

A good place to start is to flip through the Shimano dealer manuals for the 6800 series, link here:

https://si.shimano.com/#/en/search/S...6800&type=ROAD

If you haven't used these before, for example "ST-6800" refers to the shifters, and the "DM" files are the dealer manuals with installation instructions.

[jtbadge]

Originally Posted by Matthew

Throwing some 6800 11 speed on a bike. Few questions though. My NOS shifters did not come with the cable end caps that fit into the shifter itself. The slotted ones. Are they absolutely needed or will regular end caps work? They have a little tail on the Shimano ones, mine would not. Also, the housing running to the brake calipers, do they need end caps too or run the housing only into the caliper arm? Better to run the shift cables in front or behind the bars? Cable exits on inside of shifter. Brake cables exit on inside of lever too. Run in front as well? And I've read the front derailleur can be a bit finicky. Tips for set up appreciated. Thanks!!! Matthew

1. regular ferrules on the shift housing will work inside the shifter, but the slotted/longer ones will be better and should come with the Optislick cable kit
2. no ferrules into the brake caliper, but make sure your housing is cut cleanly
3. both shift and brake cables in front of bars, they exit the lever parallel to each other
4. for front derailleur setup, refer to this video, it helps achieve necessary cable tension: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5jnNScKhRs

[Gummee]

Highly recommend long nose ferrules for the shift cables.

Also recommend either Jagwire Pro or Elite Polished or Optislick cables. Both help with shifting performance

M