Which shifters marry up to Ultegra 6400 Uniglide 6S - SORTED

Hello to all

Can someone help me with working out the correct down-tube shifter to marry up to an Ultegra 6400 Uniglide rear hub, running a 6 speed Uniglide cassette, with a RD-6400 rear mech?

This is 1st gen Ultegra, with single pivot brakes, aero SLR brake levers, blah, blah, blah.

The SL-6400 down-tube lever, which colour matches the rest of the gruppo (like the brake levers) for colour is 7S! The earlier 6200EX (SL-620 is 6 speed, but is not correct to the gruppo as it matches the RD-6207 rear mech, and is a silver lever.

I cannot find an Ultegra coloured 6 speed indexed shifter - does anyone know what it should be? I can't imagine that the 7 speed SL-6400 will work with a 6 speed uniglide cassette, and to just ignore the 7th click by limiting the rear mech travel? I can't imagine that the shift distances are correct across the range? (Would be grateful if anyone actually knows if this is correct or not?).

Thanks very much in advance for any pearls of wisdom!

Re:

62xx series went up to 6 speed, 64xx series started from 7 speed. So if you have a 6 speed uniglide cassette on a 64xx hub, it's the cassette that is out of place.

Re: Re:

foz":5xrz9kqq said:

62xx series went up to 6 speed, 64xx series started from 7 speed. So if you have a 6 speed uniglide cassette on a 64xx hub, it's the cassette that is out of place.

Click to expand...

Thanks for this Foz - I'm now a little confused.

The rear hub is Uniglide only, and is clearly a 600 Ultegra Tricolor hub. Did they make 7 speed Uniglide cassettes? I'm not aware of that if they did, as I recalled that 7 speed entered into the market straight with 7 speed HG70 and HG90 HG cassette's? I know that there was one year when there was a switchover from UG to HG and the hubs from that year (inc. DA) had UG and HG compatible hubs... but this one is UG only. :-(

I'm restoring a bike, that is almost complete 1st gen Ultegra, and it makes sense to change the DT shifters to Ultegra, complete the gruppo and complete the restoration to being catalogue correct.

Re:

6 speed started with screw-on blocks, then went to uniglide cassettes

7 speed started as uniglide, then swapped to hyperglide

and 8 speed onwards has only ever been hyperglide

sheldon has pics that make it easier to understand: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

but if your hub will only take a uniglide threaded sprocket, and not a hyperglide lockring, then the easiest thing to do is find a 7 speed HG compatible freehub body and swap it. UG cassettes are difficult to find

Re:

My 7 speed 6400 down tube shifters came with a plastic insert that goes inside the levers cable groove so that it could be used in a Shimano 6 set up. So, the same levers originally came as a 6 or 7 option

Re: Re:

pigman":1xkcs4la said:

My 7 speed 6400 down tube shifters came with a plastic insert that goes inside the levers cable groove so that it could be used in a Shimano 6 set up. So, the same levers originally came as a 6 or 7 option

Click to expand...

Thanks for this - can you show me what this looks like?

Re:

Shimano has a good site of archived documents here

https://si.shimano.com/#/

These documents may help.

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/si/SI-P-74B-002-00-ENG.pdf

and

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-SL-64 ... -0845B.pdf

both docs shows the 6 speed adaptor part.
Jonny.

Re: Which shifters marry up to Ultegra 6400 Uniglide 6S cassett?

There was an 8-speed Uniglide setup, I recently sold a boxed set that I had from NOS. In the box were spacers for 7-speed and 8-speed. I don't know what hub it went on, however, because it was too wide for either the standard 5/6/7-speed Uniglide freehubs or the later Uniglide/Hyperglide hybrid hubs with both sets of threads. There must have been a wider Uniglide one at some point.

Re: Which shifters marry up to Ultegra 6400 Uniglide 6S cassett?

I see you're looking for a 7-speed gear set in the Wanted section. Uniglide has got really expensive recently and hard to find. You may wish to buy this hub and swap the freehub over, then you can just use 7-speed Hyperglide cassettes which are easy to find.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392281974302

The swap is quite simple. Take the axle out, use a 10mm Allen key to undo the freehub and it's a straight swap. There are no additional dust covers or spacers to fit.

Re: Which shifters marry up to Ultegra 6400 Uniglide 6S cassett?

Jonny69":2ms0ftzx said:

There was an 8-speed Uniglide setup, I recently sold a boxed set that I had from NOS. In the box were spacers for 7-speed and 8-speed. I don't know what hub it went on, however, because it was too wide for either the standard 5/6/7-speed Uniglide freehubs or the later Uniglide/Hyperglide hybrid hubs with both sets of threads. There must have been a wider Uniglide one at some point.

Click to expand...

Dura-Ace hubs were 8-speed Uniglide at one point. As far as I know that was the only 8-speed Uniglide system Shimano made.

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-FH-74 ... 8-0957.pdf

http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/00_ ... _image.jpg

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254089288545