Sti shifters with old Shimano 600 groupset

[Sasha Nackovski]

Hi,

My first post to this newsgroup, so please show some mercy. I am looking at purchasing an old
Concorde road bike with Columbus tubes for the ride to work and back. Bike has a Shimano 600
groupset, with downtube shifters and a 7-speed rear sprocket. What is involved in converting the
bike to STi shifters? Is it just a matter of mounting the shifters and longer gear cables? Will i
need to weld cable retaining lugs to the frame? Also, any compatability issues with this groupset? I
want to get some idea of the amount of work and possible cost involved before I purchase the bike.

Any replies greatly appreciated.

Sasha

 

[Harris]

"Sasha Nackovski" wrote:
> I am looking at purchasing an old Concorde road bike with Columbus tubes for the ride to work and
> back. Bike has a Shimano 600 groupset, with downtube shifters and a 7-speed rear sprocket. What
> is involved in converting the bike to STi shifters? Is it just a matter of mounting the shifters
> and longer gear cables? Will i need to weld cable retaining lugs to the frame? Also, any
> compatability issues with this groupset? I want to get some idea of the amount of work and
> possible cost involved before I purchase the bike.

You say the bike has downtube shifters now. Those shifters probably are mounted to bosses on the
frame (unless there is a a clamp-on mount). The STI downtube cable stops mount on those bosses, and
are provided when you buy the shifters. There's a slim chance your older bike has non-standard
bosses which could be a problem.

Otherwise, you just install 7-speed STI brifters and go. Make sure the shifter cable housings are
the SIS type (different than brake cable housings).

Art Harris

 

[Lindsay Rowland]

Sasha Nackovski <[email protected]> wrote:
: Hi,

: My first post to this newsgroup, so please show some mercy. I am looking at purchasing an old
: Concorde road bike with Columbus tubes for the ride to work and back. Bike has a Shimano 600
: groupset, with downtube shifters and a 7-speed rear sprocket. What is involved in converting the
: bike to STi shifters? Is it just a matter of mounting the shifters and longer gear cables? Will i
: need to weld cable retaining lugs to the frame? Also, any compatability issues with this
: groupset? I want to get some idea of the amount of work and possible cost involved before I
: purchase the bike.

If the downtube shifters are attached to frame bosses, those are exactly what you need to mount the
cable adjusters for the STIs. If you're going to the trouble of gracing the bike with STIs, it would
be a wise investment to hand over the cash for a complete new set of cables - gear and brake. A new
chain is usually another requirement for a second hand bike and if it is significantly worn then a
new rear sprocket and possibly chainrings would be appropriate too.

If the bike doesn't have brazed on bosses then there are a number of options for clamp on retainers
and inline adjusters. Check for these parts with www.sheldonbrown.com.

Cheerz, Lynzz

 

[Qui Si Parla Ca]

Sasha-<< I am looking at purchasing an old Concorde road bike with Columbus tubes for the ride to
work and back. Bike has a Shimano 600 groupset, with downtube shifters and a 7-speed rear sprocket.
What is involved in converting the bike to STi shifters?

No new 7s STI now, so you will need-

-Shifters -New rear wheel or convert the present one to 8/9s freehub -Maybe front der if the one on
there is not a 90 degree to the seattube one -cogset and chain -'coldset' the rear triangle to 130mm
from the 126mm, easy to do, if done properly.

'May' need a rear der if the other one is worn out. If not, it will work fine with STI.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

 

[Gregr]

On Sat, 07 Jun 2003 09:59:36 GMT, [email protected] (Sasha Nackovski) wrote:

>My first post to this newsgroup, so please show some mercy. I am looking at purchasing an old
>Concorde road bike with Columbus tubes for the ride to work and back. Bike has a Shimano 600
>groupset, with downtube shifters and a 7-speed rear sprocket. What is involved in converting the
>bike to STi shifters? Is it just a matter of mounting the shifters and longer gear cables? Will i
>need to weld cable retaining lugs to the frame? Also, any compatability issues with this
>groupset? I want to get some idea of the amount of work and possible cost involved before I
>purchase the bike.

Shimano dual pivot shifters come with cable stops that mount to the downtube shifter bosses. So on;y
longer cables/housings will be needed.

If you can find some 7sp shifters, its just a straight swap for parts.

If you want to convert to 8sp or 9sp the rear dropouts need to be widened because the hub spacing is
wider with 8/9s. You will also need a new rear hub, or at least a new axle and freehub body if its
not the freewheel type.

Depends on how much you want to spend, and how well you want it to work. 7 and 8sp cog spacing is
very close to each other, and you could get away by just getting some 8sp shifters and use them on
your current 7sp cogset. The RD will need careful adjustment though.

G

 

[Harris]

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" wrote:
> No new 7s STI now, so you will need-
>
> -Shifters -New rear wheel or convert the present one to 8/9s freehub -Maybe front der if the one
> on there is not a 90 degree to the seattube
one
> -cogset and chain -'coldset' the rear triangle to 130mm from the 126mm, easy to do, if done
> properly.

Sheldon Brown has 7-speed Shimano Sora 7-speed STI Shifters.

See: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/derailers.html

Art Harris

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Qui si parla
Campagnolo) wrote:

> Sasha-<< I am looking at purchasing an old Concorde road bike with Columbus tubes for the ride to
> work and back. Bike has a Shimano 600 groupset, with downtube shifters and a 7-speed rear
> sprocket. What is involved in converting the bike to STi shifters?
>
> No new 7s STI now, so you will need-
>
> -Shifters -New rear wheel or convert the present one to 8/9s freehub -Maybe front der if the one
> on there is not a 90 degree to the seattube one -cogset and chain -'coldset' the rear triangle to
> 130mm from the 126mm, easy to do, if done properly.

It's worth pointing out that re-setting the frame, the one part of this operation most amateur
mechanics will not want to tackle, is not strictly necessary. I have exactly this setup (6v bike
converted to 8v), and left the frame alone. You will have to slightly spread the dropouts by hand
every time you put the wheel in and out, but it's not a big deal.

New rear wheel? Totally not. You replace the freehub ($20, tops) and re-dish the wheel. Unless your
time or the wheel is cheaper than that, of course.

Special tools needed: -chain whip -Shimano lockring remover (for the new cassette) -10mm Allen (hex)
wrench (available at Sears, but often not included in standard hex-wrench sets) for removing the
freehub body.

This conversion is an easy, though somewhat labour-intensive job for any shop. It's worth doing it
yourself just because so many small things have to be adjusted or replaced (change levers, re-do
brake and shifter cables, freehub, re-dish wheel, cogs, and tune everything) that the labour charges
may be a large part of the cost. I'm sure Andrew will tell me if I'm wrong

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

[Bikeracer]

[email protected] (Qui si parla Campagnolo), using his unclear quoting style, wrote:

> looking at purchasing an old Concorde road bike with Columbus tubes for the ride to work and back.
> Bike has a Shimano 600 groupset, with downtube shifters and a 7-speed rear sprocket. What is
> involved in converting the bike to STi shifters?
>
> No new 7s STI now, so you will need-

But you can probably find them used or NOS, try ebay.

> -Shifters -New rear wheel or convert the present one to 8/9s freehub -Maybe front der if the one
> on there is not a 90 degree to the seattube one -cogset and chain -'coldset' the rear triangle to
> 130mm from the 126mm, easy to do, if done properly.

This is overkill. Assuming the rear hub is an HG cassette (check, because some are IG), you can get
a 9 speed cassette, STI units, and chain, and put 8 of the 9 cogs on the back. Sheldon Brown has
this outlined in more detail, www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html I believe.

 

[Sasha Nackovski]

Many thanks to everyone that responded. Its great to find a newsgroup with such knowledgable and
helpful people.

It hadn't occured to me that 7spd STi's may be no longer available. I think I will scour Ebay for a
used pair or look for some NOS locally. I appreciate that Sheldon has these, but by the time the
crappy Aus$ gets converted to USD, and shipping to OZ is added, these shifters become an expensive
proposition. The rest of the drivetrain on the bike is in good condition, so it does not make a lot
of sense to me to spend money on a 8/9spd upgrade. I suppose bar end shifters may also be an option
also. In the meantime I may become used to the downtube sis shifters that came with the bike.

Thanks again.

Sasha

On Sat, 07 Jun 2003 09:59:36 GMT, [email protected] (Sasha Nackovski) wrote:

>Hi,
>
>My first post to this newsgroup, so please show some mercy. I am looking at purchasing an old
>Concorde road bike with Columbus tubes for the ride to work and back. Bike has a Shimano 600
>groupset, with downtube shifters and a 7-speed rear sprocket. What is involved in converting the
>bike to STi shifters? Is it just a matter of mounting the shifters and longer gear cables? Will i
>need to weld cable retaining lugs to the frame? Also, any compatability issues with this
>groupset? I want to get some idea of the amount of work and possible cost involved before I
>purchase the bike.
>
>Any replies greatly appreciated.
>
>Sasha