What can the old Shimano 600 groupset compared to now?

it was so good, lotsa races were won on it, by folks all through the 90's.
this stuff was good enough to be quite usable today unless it was neglected over many miles and worn out.
it will not be a limiting factor unless you progress to a level worthy of the fractional advantage of the latest & greatest.

now, off for a pretty but slow ride on my show bike...

roger89 said:

Hello,

There's one 2nd hand bike up for sale which I'm quite intrested. But its components is made up of the old Shimano 600 groupset. I'm not sure if that groupset is good. Can it be compared to any of 2005 Shimano groupsets? If so which? Is it worth for me to get the bike with that components?

TQ.

Click to expand...

roger89 said:

Hello,

There's one 2nd hand bike up for sale which I'm quite intrested. But its components is made up of the old Shimano 600 groupset. I'm not sure if that groupset is good. Can it be compared to any of 2005 Shimano groupsets? If so which? Is it worth for me to get the bike with that components?

TQ.

Click to expand...

I think it would be equal to 105. At the very least, Tiagra.

roger89 said:

Any of Shimano 600 users wanna share their story?

Click to expand...

I bought a Schwinn Paramount in 2000 brand new. It was in a local bike shop where someone had put it on lay away yrs earlier and never paid it off. It has
the Shimano 600 groupset on it. I have nothing to complain about. It is reliable and good quality. I do believe the 105 replaced it.

Doug

djrocker257 said:

I bought a Schwinn Paramount in 2000 brand new. It was in a local bike shop where someone had put it on lay away yrs earlier and never paid it off. It has
the Shimano 600 groupset on it. I have nothing to complain about. It is reliable and good quality. I do believe the 105 replaced it.

Doug

Click to expand...

In fact Ultegra replaced it. 105 was on the market at the same time as 600.

the line up was Dura Ace, 600, 105 ......

Now it is Dura Ace, Ultegra ( stupid name), and 105 ............

shannons dad said:

I think it would be equal to 105. At the very least, Tiagra.

Click to expand...

I´ve tried it , nearest is ultegra for quality : seen the rear mech used on a 9 speed cyclocross bike , worked ok also with 9 speed ultegra levers .

My training bike has 600 on it I bought it in 1992 has 16sp, still works like new even won a crit last year on it, as long as its looked after it will last a long time, defenatly compares to ultegra maybe a little heavier. I still use it as a back up race bike.
Andy

roger89 said:

Any of Shimano 600 users wanna share their story?

Click to expand...

My Nishiki Olympic has a 600 derailuer (come on thats hard to spell) that's at least 35 years old. Aside from being bent in a drop, it still works perfectly when cleaned up.

It was exactly Ultegra, just a previous name. In fact for a while it was marketed as "600 Ultegra". There were no design changes at all from 8-speed 600 to 8-speed Ultegra.

If the bike you're looking at is older than 8-speed then you're looking at downtube shifters and there have obviously been a lot of changes since then.

DiabloScott said:

It was exactly Ultegra, just a previous name. In fact for a while it was marketed as "600 Ultegra". There were no design changes at all from 8-speed 600 to 8-speed Ultegra.

If the bike you're looking at is older than 8-speed then you're looking at downtube shifters and there have obviously been a lot of changes since then.

Click to expand...

I have a rear 600 deraileur working with an 8 speed 105 group. Works with no problems. It even would be able to shift the 10 speed cassettes which I'm plannig to upgrade, only chain, shifters and cassette.

BTW 600 became Ultegra.

As everyone has said, 600 became Ultegra around 1998. For awhile it was known as 600 Ultegra all the way up to 8-speeds, and then they completely dropped the 600 for the 9-speeds. The late 600 components were really good equipment. I built up a bike for my girlfriend using all 600, even down to the seatpost and platform pedals. It has worked flawlessly and shifts as good as the most recent 105 groups. Earlier 600, or 600EX as it was known, is not as good simply because it was based on old designs. The brakes were single pivot, although they were listed as SLR or Straight Linear Response brakes. They would stop you but they often needed recentering. The derailleurs were servo panta designs. If your bike has this equipment, it will still be a sweet ride, but it lacks about 30 years of development.

All of the above concerning 600 evolving into Ultegra is true.

However, 600 was a product line for many years. It ranges from friction shifting 5 speed (used to be called 10 speed), to indexed/downtube and eventually STI.

It was always pretty high up in the Shimano line... Note model numbers for Ultegra are still 6***.

Shimano also had 500 and 400 as well, and probably other lower *00 as well. I seem to recall vaguely a 300.

So, compared to today, some 600 is pretty close to the modern groups, and some (because of age) barely compares at all, but s still a quality group, just not modern.

Hi all

Shimano 600 groupsets were an excellent groupo, better long jevity than Dura Ace and smoother than 105. My mid '80s, 6 speed group set is very nice however the down tube rear shifter is broken. This was a design flaw that irritates every 600EX owner however I have been able to buy a later model 6 speed/friction lever to replace it.

Don't be put off by Shimano 600, if not worn out you will be rewarded with a groupo that is finished beautifully and will function just about as smooth as anything on the market.

Another benefit is that retro is currently cool so you will get comments about how good your bike is as well as the occassional offer to purchase it.

Cheers
John

I have almost an entire 600 group on a Univega from the mid 1990's. The group is from just before Shimano added the name Ultegra to the number designation 600. As Solcycle mentioned, my 8-speed setup shifts more smoothly and precisely than a 105 10-speed. Also, as he stated, the 600 shifter did have a design flaw so I now use an old 8-speed 105 shifter.

Hi there, I had 600 sti back in 90's, loved it smooth with no problems, I want to get back into cycling, as its been a while not sure whats good nowadays, any help and suggestion would be of great help.

steve ingram said:

Hi there, I had 600 sti back in 90's, loved it smooth with no problems, I want to get back into cycling, as its been a while not sure whats good nowadays, any help and suggestion would be of great help.

Click to expand...

There's not much out there that's bad. Go to your LBS, and test ride what interests you. The difference between now and the '90's are that shifting shifting is integrated for all the gruppos from the manufacturers, and SRAM has become a player in the road market in the last few years. Some bikes are carbon fiber, some are steel, some are aluminum, some are titanium, some are magnesium, some are a mix, and any of those can make great bikes.

Another thumbs-up from me for Shimano 600... been using/maintaining this groupset on my 97 spec Allez for past 12 years - any questions, feel free to ask. My bike has been more of a conversation-starter than any car I could ever own - people love to stop and gawp at it. Not bad for an "old " bike that is completely self-maintained...

I bought a 1997 Trek 5200 Carbon Fiber OCLV with Shimano 600 Ultegra STI components and Mavic SUP 700x23 rims/tires in 2000 and have loved the bike doing several triathlons until 2006. Back at it after 9 years. Haven't made any changes except for adding cheap Scott aerobars. Thinking about buying a new tri bike or making upgrades to my existing bike- i.e. replace bottom bracket, crank set, chain, rear cassette, front and rear derailure, cables (mabye). I am no gear-head, but would like to do-it-myself, so I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or lessons-learned.

I actually have the 600 on my current bike which is a handbuilt USA Cannondale and I love the components. It has the old shifters on the bottom tube but it still performs pretty flawlessly. They are the grey colored edition and I don't think there is a nicer looking set of components than these.