Originally Posted by
Dave Pace .
well the main reason for changing out is the shift/break leavers. When I was in the drops I could not change to a higher gear when i could use it with out getting out of the drops due to the way that the 2300's are designed. It has a thumb switch to go up a gear and is only able to be reached comfortably when you have your hands on top of the hoods.
I was looking at going with the 6700 ultra-gear group set due to it is all on the lever and that would be easier when in the drops and on the hood. Plus it would give me that 1 extra gear. Not only that but when i am in my highest gear on the rear. the chain always rubs on the Front Derailleur. I have had the bike shop check it out and they see it happening, but if they change the front derailleur it would not shift correctly should I ever want to use the small chain ring on the crank for some hill.
I agree that being fit takes priority. I may not look like the best in shape guy out there with my weight, but i can keep up with them when it comes down to ti and I will be trying some of the races with my club. i may not win but it is really the only way I can better myself and have fun doing it IMO.
is it possible to do just the rear derailleur, cog and shifter with the ultra gear if I wanted to and leave the front alone or is that a no no?
Based on what you said, you MAY be a candidate for different shfiters ...
BUT, really, you probably just need to
unwrap your handlebars & move the shifters to a new location on the forward curve of your handlebars ...
- I don't know for sure, but I would actually guess that there is 99% probability that the shifters were designed to be used from the Drops .... it's just that over the past 12+ years, in particular, that the average rider has finally realized that the "aerodynamic" brake levers work as well from the Hoods as from the Drops (vs. the older brake levers whose brake cable came out from the top of the lever) ...
- THAT can be evidenced by looking at older catalogs or issues of cycling magazines and seeing how Shimano (in particular) levers were set up with the horns much lower on the forward curve of the handlebar ...
As one of the people who uses Campagnolo levers, I think that I would have to work really hard to position them on my handlebars in a manner which would make them unusable from the Drops, but I'm sure it could done if someone hit me on the head and left me indifferent ...
Now, as far as the chain rubbing on the front derailleur cage, if your Crankset is a Double (
vs. a Triple) then because your 2300 shifters are probably Triple-capable (
that's right, SRAM users need-not-apply if they are having shifting problems ... but, they can apparently buy a new RED front derailleur which has "yaw" to overcome the limitations of the SRAM front shift mechanism in their Road levers -- the reason why the limitation was not anticipated is obvious to me, BTW ... but, that's another 'story'!), one option would be to put an OLDER (
e.g., 8-speed) front derailleur on your bike ...
- the plates of the cage on an 8-speed Shimano front derailleur are further apart than on either a 9-speed or 10-speed or 11-speed Shimano front derailleur
- FYI. It may NOT be considered to be ideal, but any Triple-capable Shimano Road shifter can be used to shift an otherwise inappropriate front derailleur across a Double Chainring crankset ...
- it then becomes less important to match the chain to the front derailleur
- if you wanted to, then, you could even use a 10-speed Shimano chain (but, why?!?) with an 8-speed Shimano front derailleur OR almost any vintage cable actuated front derailleur ...
Several years ago, to test THAT notion, I successfully mated a pair of 9-speed Shimano 105 Shifters with an 8-speed XT (
top pull) front derailleur. One of the "extra" indents moved the derailleur & 9-speed chain the "extra" distance between the two Chainrings.
- yes, that means that a large number of the Cyclocross riders can probably ditch the pulley wheel used to redirect a top mount cable with their Road front derailleur if they choose the RIGHT shifters (again, not SRAM!)
FWIW. While testing the compatibility limitations of a Campagnolo front shifter, I mated one with a vintage 6-speed (
c1980) Dura Ace front derailleur ...
It works fine, IMO. It just requires an
extra indexing "click" to move the Chain all the way from the inner to the outer Chainring.
The bottom line is that you should be able to resolve your shifter & chain problems for significantly less than the cost of a new Ultegra shifter ...
And, FYI, you can "fix" your existing front derailleur for less than $1.00 ...
- if the rear of the front derailleur cage is held together with a screw, then you simply need to insert a ~1mm-or-2mm thick spacer/washer + a longer bolt (available from Home Depot)
- if the rear of the front derailleur cage is riveted, then you need to drill out the rivet insert a ~1mm-to-2mm thick spacer/washer & bolt together
Adjust the the derailleur, if-and-as necessary.