Ultegra FD6700 compatibility

If, by chance, your 6700 front derailleur isn't compatible with your current shifters (a picture is worth a thousand words & quickly identify the model -- also, roll back the hood from the near handlebar & you will probably see the model number molded into the handle) then it will be MUCH MORE ECONOMICAL to simply buy the "correct" 105 front derailleur rather than a new set of 6700 shifters.

Thanks alfeng.
It's very late here, so won't be doing that tonight, but first thing in the AM I will be peeling back the hood. The 6700 DR is already on its way, or will be soon, so, though likely far more prudent, I won't be buying a 105 DR. I will be able to change only the left shifter, however, if I need to change. Fact is when I bought the DR, I had no suspicion that the shifter and new DR couldn't simply be re-connected. Alas, the price of ignorance.

That's a whole can of worms...

The 6700 brake levers, brake calipers and front mech are designed to work as a set - and are only fully compatible with the very latest 6700 series Ultegra and 5700 series 105. If you have an older Ultegra or 105 - ie the gear cables come out of the side of the brake levers rather than under the bar tape you will be better off going for the either an Ultegra 6600 or 105 5600 front mech.

If you change the brake levers to the new 6700 you will also need to change the brake calipers for correct operation as the "cable pull" ratio has changed on the levers... So you'll pretty much be replacing everything on the bike apart from the rear mech just because you didn't want to buy the correct front mech. The brakes will still work - but they'll require more lever travel for a given amount of caliper movement and the end result will be mushy braking - a bit like a set of mid 1980's sidepulls. I have both Dura Ace 7800 and 7900 and tried the older calipers with the newer levers just and the result is worse than the 7800 lever/caliper combo which isn't as good as the 7900 correctly set up.

If you have an older 105 groupset then return the new 6700 front mech and get either an Ultegra 6600 or 105 5600 front mech.

bike.shimano.com01)%20Drivetrain%20Compatability%20Chart.pdfOpen ↗

Thanks, swampy,
That's about as definitive as it gets and I now have some decisions to make.............I'm not sure which direction I will go because I chose to replace the brakes with U6700s, the front caliper having been bent and both of them being un-labeled, or generic, not realizing, of course that the levers would need to be replaced.
My inclination at the moment is to bite the bullet, get the 6700 shifter/levers and consider it money well spent. This stuff is all going on a 60cm Felt F55 which fits me to a tee and will be the last upgrade I will be doing to any bike.......unless something really intriguing comes along.................and to think I took up cycling because I thought it would be less costly than golf ( said with tongue in cheek)...........and because I really, really enjoy it.
Thanks again, this information is exactly what I was looking for. tog

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by swampy1970 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

If you change the brake levers to the new 6700 you will also need to change the brake calipers for correct operation as the "cable pull" ratio has changed on the levers...

I can concur with this. The bike I bough two years ago had the 6700 Ultegra brifters along with Tektro calipers. Braking was not great and I checked with Tektro and found out that the calipers were not considered compatible with 6700 brifters. I attributed it to the manufacturer being ignorant when switching from the 6600 series but I think these kind of miss-matches persisted. So maybe they just were trying to save money and didn't care.

The braking wasn't terrible and I might not have know better except it was just not as good as my much older 105 bike so I was concerned. Plus it really made noise that I could not adjust out.(Even using other pads.) I got 6700 calipers and all was fine.

Thanks all,
I now have 6700 FD, RD, calipers and levers. The only parts missing were the levers, so I bought a set and, as you already knew they were the most expensive outlay. In any case, I should never need to do this again, barring a crash, or other hard contact issue......... I know I won't wear them out
tog