Road Fan

That may matter for the indexed versions, but a lot of that stuff was put on new bikes as a friction system - indexing was not universally demanded or accepted. Plus the tricolor was used on the earlier 6207 gruppos as well. I got them on two new bikes. One was factory installed by Trek, and another was on a bike build up from frame by a bike shop. It served a lot of people as a decent low-price friction racing gruppo. My Trek even had a mix of tricolor and non-tricolor - all was marked 6207.

bradtx

Sixty Fiver, I think the tri color groups look good even when the dry apply decal goes AWOL:


Brad

rccardr 

And let's not forget the tricolor's younger brother- the '1055' 105 series group. Eeerily similar design but with a (to me) slightly less attractive finish.

Bulletproof stuff, all.

mcarter

Definitely learn something new at every turn with this stuff!

Bikedued

A can of aerosol solvent, and some light oil fixes 97% of them.,,,,BD


As for low end bikes getting 600. No bike was super high tech at the time. The difference between low end and high end, was what tubing was used, and where it was built. That gap is an abyss these days, lol.,,,,BD

Bikedued

The picture timeline is missing several models along the way. I have seen different models of the earliest edition, and the middle 6200 type as well.,,,,BD

T-Mar

IMO, what makes 600 Ultegra (tricolor) stand out are the revolutionary design changes. During it's lifespan, it heralded developments that were giant leaps in performance, far larger than the progress made during previous generation changes.

HyperGlide, with the notched and ramped cogs and matching chain that allowed shifting under load, is arguably the most significant development in shifting history, It transforms any derailleur and, when paired with SIS, makes shifting virtually foolprool, even for the novice. Then there was the incredible modualtion offered by the SLR brakeset, which had trickled up from new 105. The 7th cog was icing on the cake. Later, it flowed down of brifters, dual pivot brakes and an 8th cog from Dura-Ace, Too much for some C&V enthusiasts but a new era for others.

600 Ultegra definitely deserves it's stature a king of the mid-range range groups, solely for the revolutionary developments it introduced to that level. However, that may all change with this year's introduction of Ultegra Di2. Twenty years down the road (may we all still be cycling) it may be looked back upon just as reverantly.

r0ckh0und 

Note to self.................Add thread to favorites on tool bar!

T-Mar

I've never seen that! All the New 600EX components I've seen were labelled Shimano 600. The only place I've seen the tricolor associated with that group was in literature and on the boxes, never on the components themselves. Pics would be greatly appreciated.

RobbieTunes

what I want to know, is who coined the term "tricolor" in regards to this group?

I know what tricolor/tricolores, etc means.
I know what the little boxes are.

I'm curious as to who looked at that and said "600 tricolor" and started what became a widely-used term for it.
I'll send $10 to Livestrong for the finder of the earliest reference that makes sense to me. I'm serious.

I, too, would love to see a 6200-anything in the colors of the 6400 series...

I know I've seen the STI badges say both "600" and "600 Ultegra.
I know the 6500 ball-bearing-free headset says simply "Shimano 600" on it.
I know I've seen the cranksets with both the little boxes and without.
I know I've seen the components with/without the little boxes.

I appreciate the timeline. For me, the 600 "really" began with the "arabesque," then the "new" EX, and then the "tricolor," because I discounted the AX as a freak group and didn't know there was anything before the "arabesque."

For some reason, I'm under the impression that the "tricolor" reference started here on Bike Forums.

Puget Pounder

Yes, but I also meant going into the shifters themselves when that doesn't work.

T-Mar

I can't tell you who the originator was, but I can tell you that the colors were in use by Shimano as far back as 1974. They were used, primarily as borders on literature and decals, notably the Dura-Ace decals. I don't see it anywhere in the 1973 catalog.

The number 3 is long ingrained with Shimano. The original trademark was 3 bound spears. Their product were called 3.3.3. The modern logo has 3 elements. So, adoption of three colors as part of the corporate image/identity was logical.

As for the tricolor designation orignating on the forum, I can categorically state that this is not true. It was in use long before the site came in existance. I remember it being used while the group was still being manufactured.

frpax

The amount of brain lint you have floating around is truly staggering. And I mean this in a good way!

T-Mar

1st generation is historically signifcant as being the first true mid-range group. It was an instant success. You had the status of matching components, without the expense of buying a Record or Dura-Ace equipped bicycle.

While you could find 600 on entry level bicycles, this was typically a baiting routine used by the bicycle manufacturers. They would offer a 600 derailleur, with the knowledge that the casual, uneducated buyer looked at the rear derailleur as an indicator of the overall level of a bicycle. It was a fairly common ploy and should not be used as to judge the component itself. For instance, many Italian brands baited customers by installing a Campagnolo Nuovo Record rear derailleur on bicycles otherwise equipped with much less expensive offerings from companies like Gipiemme, Miche and Ofmega.

T-Mar

Thxs. But the lint is starting to escape though the scalp. The good news is that it covers the bald spot. The bad news is that I feel like a Chia-Pet and beginning to look like a grey headed version of Jeff Lynne. Don't bring me down, frpax.

frpax

ROFL! Go ELO!!

JesusBananas

I agree! Although I am so completely clueless that T-Mar could be making things up, and I wouldn't notice the difference.

Thanks for sharing the pics, Sixty; a thread can never have too many pictures.

mcarter

T-Mar the timeline for the 600 series is great. I wish I had found this when I was putting my gruppo together by trial and error.

The good news is that on the C&V forum everyone knows who this is!

CMC SanDiego

I've got one bike (Eddy Merckx) which has 600 tricolor drive train components, including the 8 speed brifters, which interestingly are paired with a 7 speed drivetrain. It all works fine, I've just got an extra click that I don't use when shifting down. The components work very well and are much cooler in my mind now than they were before I read this thread.

Thanks for all the information!

mcarter

Did you respace your cassette or run it as is? I had an RX100 setup that I did the respacing on the 7 speed cassette. Just interested to see how you set yours.

The 600 Tricolor is a really good group...very respectable.

Captain Blight

So... I seem to have a pair of what seem to be 1st gen 600. At least, I think so. They are completely unmarked save for a 'shimano' on the dust caps and have the oil port but no clip-cap. Are they worth overhauling if the cones are OK and how do they stack up against their contemporary rivals?

rat fink

IIRC, the spacing for 7 and 8 is the same, just another cog.

bradtx

The 8S 105 group was a different shade of gray and I used it when I built a triple on a black bike for the better color match. Worked as well as my 600 groups. I have to also mention the RX100 group, which to me was simply a bright 105 group.

Brad

Glennfordx4

I have two early sets as well with oil ports and the clips, the difference between the two sets I have are one says Shimano 600 on the dust caps and the other just says Shimano. I am not positive that the hubs that just have Shimano on the dust seals are considered 600 or not they look the same to me, but what do I know.

Glenn

T-Mar

Gentelemen, we should be able to figure this out. The only hubs that Shimano produced during the 1970s with oil ports were from the Dura-Ace or 600 families. The 600 hubs did not appear until 1976, one year after the rear derailleur, so any 600 hub should theoretically have the familar Shimano two letter date on the shell. Pictures wil also be required, since different generations were manufactured concurrently during this period. Depending on the year, there were sometiies difference in the hardware, such as skewers and locknuts, that can aid in identiifcation.

A 600 hub is definitely worth overhauling. At the time, they would have been considered comparable to a Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo hubset.