simonnca

Hi all,

I'm interested in purchasing a rebuilt bike - only problem is that it has downtube friction shifters! I'm interested to know how easy (and roughly what cost - i'm in Melbourne, Australia) it would be to upgrade to brake shifters. In particular, whether the existing groupset is compatible with brake shifters.

The groupset is:
- Ultegra 6500 Cranks (53/39 chain rings)
- ultegra 6500 cassette (12-23)
- Ultegra 6600 Front Derailleur
- Ultegra 6600 rear derailleur.
- Shimano 600 brake levers

Is it possible to use this existing groupset (minus the brake levers) with brake shifters? If so, grateful if someone could point me in the direction of what make/model would work.

Or will I need to swap out the derailleurs, cassette etc?

Thanks in advance!!

Joe Remi

You appear to have a slight mismatch there because the 6500 cassette denotes 9-speed but the 6600 derailleurs were in the 10-speed group. Will it matter? It'll be fine if you find Ultegra 9-speed brifters of that vintage, I'm not sure if a more modern lower-end Shimano 9-speed shifter will match the pull ratio of your derailleurs.

Another option is to get 6600 10-speed shifters and a new 10-speed cassette, I've heard they shift better (easier) and there's more still around. Ultegra 9 is pretty old kit now and most of them have been crashed into oblivion.

These are my thoughts but there's others here who will certainly have a more granular knowledge of these parts.

Crankycrank

I have nearly the same setup on one of my bikes as you're wanting to use. Full 6500 groupset and later fitted 6600 STI shifters and new 10sp cassette. You may need a new 10 speed chain as well if a 9 speed is on there now but try the 9 sp first but no other mods needed. Mine works flawlessly.

dedhed

Any 9 or 10 speed Shimano road shifter EXCEPT Tiagra 4700 will shift those derailleurs. 10 speed will require a 10 s cassette and likely chain.

Microshift Shimano compatible shifters are also an option
https://www.microshift.com/products/...x=pa_group:557

Unless there is something highly unusual with the existing brakes, brake pull shouldn't be an issue

icemilkcoffee 

The modern Sora R3000 (2x9) brifters have a different pull ratio for the FRONT derailleur. It uses the same pull ratio for the rear derailleur as all the 7-10 speed Shimano road groupsets (all except 4700 Tiagra). Now the R3030 (3x9) Sora brifters use the same front derailleur pull ratio as the 7-10 speed except 4700. So the R3030 brifters are compatible with the 9 speed 6500 groupset. You can use the triple brifters on double chain ring crankset perfectly fine- you just have some unused clicks in the left brifter.

alcjphil

One thing that the OP didn't specify is whether they have a 9 speed or 10 speed cassette

Iride01 

After having done pretty much the same thing myself, I'd personally suggest you just buy the bike you want that already has the components on it you want.

The only benefit you get is not having to reach down to grab the shift lever when you'd rather have both hands on the bar. And unless you can scrounge compatible components and know what to do with them, then you can spend more than what that other bike will have cost you.

curbtender

Lots of Shimano 9 speed shifters out there. Microshift has some at a budget price. You'll need cable stops, housing/ferrels and new cables also. If you can find a good set of Shimano 7700 they are pretty sweet. They will work with the 6600.

himespau 

As someone new to integrated shifters, Microshift might be easier to get used to that Shimano (and would work as well as Shimano with the parts already on there). 2 different levers (one for upshifting and one for downshifting) while the brake lever only moves to brake, not to shift. Plus, it's likely cheaper.

t2p

down tube shifters with that assortment of components might be a red flag

is your area flat ? if so the 12-23 cassette will be ok - otherwise it will be a negative

simonnca

Thanks, all. I'll check with the seller whether it is a 9 or 10 speed cassette / chain. Here is the text of the ad:

The build features NOS Ultegra 6500 Cranks, BB and cassette. Near-new 6500 brake calipers. NOS 6600 Front Derailleur and a used 6600 rear derailleur. Shimano 600 brake levers, headset and friction shift down tube shifters. The chain and cables are brand new. .... 525mm top tube - 100mm stem - 38cm bars - 170mm cranks - 53/39 chain rings - 12-23 cassette

So what i'm hearing is that, there are a number of shimano brifters out there that are compatible with the 6600 front/rear derailleurs. The only question is, what speed cassette / chain?

Assuming all I need is to remove the downtube shifters, add cable stops/housing and install the brifters - is this something I can do myself (I have some basic bike know-how), or should it be left to the bike mechs?

Area is pretty flat (Melbourne).

Joe Remi

Every listing I can find for Shimano 6500 cassette says it's 9-speed. You can grab a 10-speed cassette and match 10-shifters to it, or keep the cassette it has and look for 9-speed shifters.

Have you installed index shifters before? It's something you can learn from videos but kinda involved, you might want to have a bike shop do it unless you're super committed to learning. Up to you!

bluehills3149

I just returned from a visit to Melbourne and this is a wierd bike market. Bike parts and labor are very expensive so upgrading a bike like this can become expensive if you're not doing the work yourself and the only way to get reasonably priced parts is via Alibaba or if you're lucky the small second hand market.
That said, second hand bikes are a steal, especially if they need some work. I had a friend buy me a local 2nd bike so I could ride it while I was there and scored for $100 Aud (about $65 USD) and 90's steel framed Oz brand called Condor which was Japanese built tange 900 crmo frame with upgraded parts - dt swiss wheels and Shimano 105 10spd. It needed wheels to be trued and gears were out of whack but that was soon fixed. Bike ride like a gem.
As others have noted, sort out whether it's 9 or 10 sod but I'd recommend getting some Sensah shifters off Alibaba as they mate perfectly to older Shimano derailleurs and brakes and way cheaper than new Shimano.
Or, keep an eye out for a whoke bike and get it's parts. A quick browse on Gumtree (the Oz equivalent of craigslist) turned up this gem for $160 AUD or about $100 USD. Ad Says the gears skip but probably just needs a tune. Looks like a decent Shimano sti groupset to use as parts with bonus look pedals.

Leisesturm

This! AFAIK downtube shifters haven't been seen on anything production since ... 5/6sp? Seriously. I mean they made them (Dura Ace) up through 9sp for nuts like me with retro hankerings. But production output had long since shifted (nyuk) over to brifters. So the o.p. is buying a bodge (custom) bike, and nothing can be assumed. Agree with an earlier poster. If 'tis brifters o.p. be wantin', then 'tis brifters he ought be buyin' ...

Leisesturm

Oh come on, Larry. You know that 'gem' is either stolen or has been in a wreck. Maybe both.

andrewclaus

How are your cabling skills? Will you get just the right slack around the handlebar stem? Correct ferrule use? I've seen some fellow amateurs make a real mess of the first job they try solo. Get extra housing and cables if it's your first one.

Joe Remi

Eh, I wouldn't agree with that. Those L'Eroica rides require downtube friction shifters, I've seen some fairly modern drivetrains set up with them. Some years ago Bianchi even made an 11-speed Campy bike with friction downtube for just that reason.

The bike sounds put together in a particular way for a specific rider, I'm just not sure it's a good starting point for someone who wants an indexed system on the bars.

bluehills3149

Further browsing on Facebook market and Gumtree turns up many bikes with STI shifters, even 105 and carbon frames for under $300 USD. Unless the op's prospective purchase is close to a freebie I'd keep searching. And for those who think the bike ad pic I posted above is stolen, I'd say you don't know the Oz marketa as this is almost certainly legit. First, the bike is a Reid which is a local Oz brand and their resale value is terrible (Apollo is another local brand with terrible resale) and second is it needs work, hence the low price.
Browse Gumtree or Facebook market and you'll find many more bikes that'll make you want to get on a plane (if that weren't so expensive).

dedhed

really not that complicated

Joe Remi

Not to me, no, I've been doing it since around 1990. For a newbie it can be quite involving but I said it can be learned. Have a nice day 🙋‍♂️

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curbtender

If you can find a complete donor that cheap you could always take the best parts for your bike and resell the spare. If you haven't bought it yet then you may just want to look for something with the STI's already.

simonnca

Thanks for the input, all.

My cabling skills are not great (never tried). Seller has confirmed that it is a 9 speed, so I would be looking for 6500 shifters (for the 9 speed cassette) OR buy a 10 speed hub and 6600 shifters (10 speed). From what I can gather, the front/rear derailleur won't need to be replaced - whew!

The 9 speed shifters look to be around $300 AUD for a pair. Decent bit more for the 6600.

Understand it's possible to get a decent groupset (with brifters) for a pretty good price - but the bike i'm looking at has a great looking frame and nice wheelset, hence looking at whether it's worth the additional cost and effort of shifting (pun fully intended) to brifters at some stage.

Microshifters have been thrown about here. Which model would I be looking at for the 9 speed?

Thanks for all the advice!

Joe Remi

These Microshift R9 levers look like they'll work. I don't believe there was a pull ratio change in Ultegra rear derailleurs from 9- to 10-speed so there shouldn't be any problem getting these levers to click your derailleur over the 9-speed cassette.

https://www.jensonusa.com/Microshift...RoCtIIQAvD_BwE

Crankycrank

No need for a new hub either. 10sp cassette works fine on that hub.

Hondo6

Bingo. Just remember to use a 1.0mm spacer behind it if the cassette is Shimano.