Road Cycling - STI Shifters

Were the first STI shifters to come out 6 speed or 7 speed. if it was 6 speed i would love to try and track down a pair. if its 7 speed than o well.

You can get 7sp, although the first ones were 8sp.

Nope they were/are 7speed RSX. I have two sets.

1old oradie is rightkinda right. 7 and 8 speed STi shifters were introduced at the same time. the 7 speed being the lower end of the lineup. And even tho they were 7 speed, they will shift a 6 speed shimano INDEX systen as the cog spacing is the same. One would have to get a later STI compatible front drailer though.A shimano road sti compatible front will have the arm that the cable attaches to perpindicular to the derailer cage.The good thing about the 7 speed rsx sti shifters was that the front would shift a double or a triple.Try e-bay.

I'm not sure if STI is the exact same thing as indexed, but my Panasonic DX-3000 6-speed has indexed downtube shifters.

I thought 8sp Dura Ace was the only STI shifter for a little while, but I guess it's an academic point :)

STI(Shimano Total Integration) is integrate brake shift levers.SIS is Shimano Index Shifting. SIS came first,6 speeds on the downtube in 1985.

Actually you may be right about DA sti being 'first'.but what came first or last or even fourth as David did when he slipped on a lion turd,has nothing to do with the correct aswer to the question as poorly articulated to begin with.

I understood the question!

and I think that your reply as to using RSX 7speed STI with the 6speed index (which is what IRC wants to do) is right on!

And even tho they were 7 speed, they will shift a 6 speed shimano INDEX systen as the cog spacing is the same.

Sorry to be contrary, but I don't think the cog spacing is the same. In my experience, a bike with 7sp Shimano shifters and a 6sp Shimano freewheel would occasionally show up for service and there was no way of getting it to hit all the gears properly, other than making the shifter and freewheel both 6sp or both 7sp.

I've been wrong before :) so I asked one of my former co-workers (over 10 years of shop experience) and he said no, 6 and 7 won't jive, although 7 and 8 will.

Worst-case scenario, WorldIRC can add a 7sp freewheel and respace + redish the rear wheel if necessary.

whatever

Bull $hit...6 and 7 speed shimano index spacing is 5mm. 8speed is 4.8mm but 8 speed shifters will shift a 7 speed shimano cogsed.Freewheels don't count,unless they were 6 speed index capable,Many were not.

NO FUSSING GUYS...we are all of our own opinion. Give everybody their right.

By cog spacing, are you referring to the thickness of the spacers themselves? Remember, cogs have gotten thinner over the years, altering the actual cog-to-cog spacing. Try grabbing two Shimano HG freewheels, a 6sp and a 7sp, from your parts selection, and see if the six cogs they have in common physically line up with eachother when you hold them up to eachother.

I'm at a disadvantage in that I don't have any of them here at home to confirm that, but I was a mechanic until recently, and my finding was that a 6sp Shimano HG freewheel would not sync with a 7sp shifter in the real world. My ex-co-worker agreed, and betwen us we have abou 25 years of experience in the field. So I'm saying it would be good to check the reality of the situation and plan a solution (namely, a 7sp freewheel) if it doesn't pan out. :)

Originally posted by 1oldRoadie
NO FUSSING GUYS...we are all of our own opinion. Give everybody their right.

Err, my apologies. :(

Cog spacing is C_C of adjacent cogs.That is the critical measurement and takes into acount cog thickness and spacer thickness.If he has a 6 speed cassette, a freewheel is not an option without changing the hub,and 7 speed cassettettes have a different spline pattern than 6 speed ones.

i have 6 speed cassette not freewheel so will 7 speed STI shifters work?

Shimano 6 speed cassettes are SIS compatible. OH I forgot in 7 speed cassettes the spacers are as follows. The single black spacer (HG 70 or 90) is 3.3mm and the 4 grey plastic ones are 3.1mm. Also shimano spacer sizes: 6 speed: 3.65mm 7 speed between 2nd & 3rd ultegra and sante (the "a" spacer): 3.3mm all other 7 speed (the "b" spacer): 3.1mm 8 speed: 3.0mm
Oh and a link fro a trusted source for those who prefer it.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

Cool,but the link still does not answer the question.What is shimano 6 speed SIS c-c cog spacing?

UMM lets see, as mentioned above shimaNO 6 speed cassette cog spacing 3.65mm.

Originally posted by Hunter
Shimano 6 speed cassettes are SIS compatible. OH I forgot in 7 speed cassettes the spacers are as follows. The single black spacer (HG 70 or 90) is 3.3mm and the 4 grey plastic ones are 3.1mm. Also shimano spacer sizes: 6 speed: 3.65mm 7 speed between 2nd & 3rd ultegra and sante (the "a" spacer): 3.3mm all other 7 speed (the "b" spacer): 3.1mm 8 speed: 3.0mm
Oh and a link fro a trusted source for those who prefer it.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

Hunter;
Did I hear that right? that on a 7speed there can be two DIFFERENT spacings between 2nd & 3rd????

If thats true, it explains a lot of things!!

Yes tis' true! Call it the shimaNO vs. anyone else who had index shifting. Since Suntour created it shimaNO had to do something. They are infamous for making of course shimaNO to work with shimaNO stuff.